Article 9Labor and Agrarian Laws and Social Legislation, p. 9

LABOR LAWS AND SOCIAL LEGISLATION SPECIAL LAWS AND IMPLEMENTING RULES AND REGULATIONS

Filipino

workers

of

foreign

governments

and

their

instrumentalities, and such other employers as public

interests may require, the Administration shall deploy

only to countries where the Philippines has concluded

bilateral labor agreements or arrangements: Provided,

That such countries shall guarantee to protect the rights

of Filipino migrant workers; and: Provided, further, That

such countries shall observe and/or comply with the

international laws and standards for migrant workers. (As

amended by RA No 9422, [April 10, 2007], and RA No.

10022, [March 8, 2010])

(b.2) Overseas Workers Welfare Administration — The

Welfare officer or in his absence, the coordinating officer

shall provide the Filipino migrant worker and his family all

the assistance they may need in the enforcement of

contractual obligations by agencies or entities and/or by

their principals. In the performance of this function, he

shall make representation and may call on the agencies

or

entities

concerned

to

conferences or conciliation

meetings for the purpose of settling the complaints or

problems brought to his attention. The OWWA shall

likewise formulate and implement welfare programs for

overseas Filipino workers and their families while they are

abroad and upon their return. It shall also ensure the

awareness by the overseas Filipino workers and their

families

of

these

programs

and

other

related

governmental programs.

In the repatriation of workers to be undertaken by

OWWA,

the

latter

shall

be

authorized

to

pay

repatriation-related expenses, such as fines or penalties,

subject

to such guidelines as the OWWA Board of

Trustees may prescribe. (As amended by RA No 10022,

[March 8, 2010])

(c) Department of Health. — The Department of

Health (DOH) shall regulate the activities and operations

of all clinics which conduct medical, physical, optical,

dental, psychological and other similar examinations,

hereinafter referred to as health examinations, on Filipino

migrant

workers

as

requirement

for

their

overseas

employment. Pursuant to this, the DOH shall ensure that:

(c.1)

The

fees

for

the

health

examinations

are

regulated, regularly monitored and duly published to

ensure

that

the

said

fees

are

reasonable

and

not

exorbitant;

(c.2)

The

Filipino

migrant

worker

shall

only

be

required to undergo health examinations when there is

reasonable certainty that he or she will be hired and

deployed

to

the

jobsite

and

only

those

health

examinations which are absolutely necessary for the type

of job applied for or those specifically required by the

foreign employer shall be conducted;

(c.3) No group or groups of medical clinics shall have

a

monopoly

of

exclusively

conducting

health

examinations on migrant workers for certain receiving

countries;

(c.4) Every Filipino migrant worker shall have the

freedom

to

choose

any

of

the

DOH-accredited

or

DOH-operated clinics that will conduct his/her health

examinations and that his or her rights as a patient are

respected.

The

decking

practice,

which

requires

an

overseas Filipino worker to go first to an office for

registration and then farmed out to a medical clinic

located elsewhere, shall not be allowed;

(c.5) Within a period of three (3) years from the

effectivity of this Act, all DOH regional and/or provincial

hospitals shall establish and operate clinics that can serve

the health examination requirements of Filipino migrant

workers to provide them easy access to such clinics all

over the country and lessen their transportation and

lodging expenses; and

(c.6) All DOH-accredited medical clinics, including the

DOH-operated clinics, conducting health examinations

for Filipino migrant workers shall observe the same

standard operating procedures and shall comply with

internationally-accepted standards in their operations to

conform with the requirements of receiving countries or

of foreign employers/principals.

Any foreign employer who does not honor the results

of

valid

health

examinations

conducted

by

a

DOH-accredited

or

DOH-operated

clinic

shall

be

temporarily

disqualified

from

participating

in

the

overseas employment program, pursuant to POEA rules

and regulations.

In case an overseas Filipino worker is found to be not

medically

fit

upon

his/her

immediate

arrival in the

country of destination, the medical clinic that conducted

the health examination/s of such overseas Filipino worker

shall pay for his or her repatriation back to the Philippines

and the cost of deployment of such worker.

Any

DOH-accredited

clinic

which

violates

any

provision of this section shall, in addition to any other

liability

it

may

have

incurred, suffer the penalty of

revocation of its DOH accreditation.

Any government official or employee who violates

any provision of this subsection shall be removed or

dismissed from service with disqualification to hold any

appointive public office for five (5) years. Such penalty is

without prejudice to any other liability which he or she

may

have

incurred

under

existing

laws,

rules

or

regulations.

(d) Local Government Units. — In the fight against

illegal recruitment, the local government units (LGUs), in

partnership with the POEA, other concerned government

agencies, and non-government organizations advocating

the rights and welfare of overseas Filipino workers, shall

take a proactive stance by being primarily responsible for

the dissemination of information to their constituents on

all aspects of overseas employment. To carry out this task,

the following shall be undertaken by the LGUs:

(d.1) Provide a venue for the POEA, other concerned

government

agencies

and

non-government

organizations to conduct PEOS to their constituents on a

regular basis;

(d.2) Establish overseas Filipino worker help desk or

kiosk in their localities with the objective of providing

current

information

to

their constituents on all the

processes and aspects of overseas employment. Such

desk

or

kiosk

shall,

as

far

as

practicable,

be

fully

computerized and shall be linked to the database of all

concerned government agencies, particularly the POEA

for its updated lists of overseas job orders and licensed

recruitment agencies in good standing. (As amended by

RA No 10022, [March 8, 2010])

V. The Legal Assistant for Migrant Workers

Aƌairs

SECTION 24. Legal Assistant for Migrant Workers

Affairs . — There is hereby created the position of Legal

Assistant

for

Migrant

Workers

Affairs

under

the

Department of Foreign Affairs who shall be primarily

responsible for the provision and overall coordination of

all legal assistance services to be provided to Filipino

migrant workers as well as overseas Filipinos in distress.

He shall have the rank, salary and privileges equal to that

of an undersecretary of said Department.

The said Legal Assistant for Migrant Workers Affairs,

shall be appointed by the President and must be of

proven competence in the field of law with at least ten

(10) years of experience as a legal practitioner and must

not have been a candidate to an elective office in the last

local or national elections.

Among

the

functions and responsibilities of the

aforesaid Legal Assistant are:

(a)To issue the guidelines, procedures and criteria for

the

provision

of legal assistance services to Filipino

migrant workers;

(b)To establish close linkages with the Department of

Labor and Employment, the POEA, the OWWA and other

government

agencies

concerned,

as

well

as

with

© Compiled By RGL

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