Section 19Sec./Art. 19

Section 26 of Republic Act No. 8042, as amended, is hereby amended to read as follows:

"SEC. 26. Uses of the Legal Assistance Fund. - The Legal Assistance Fund created under the preceding section shall be used exclusively6 to provide legal services to migrant workers and overseas Filipinos in distress in accordance with the guidelines, criteria and procedures promulgated in accordance with Section 24 ( a ) herof.

The expenditures to be charged against the Fund shall include the fees for the foreign lawyers to be hired by the Legal Assistant for Migrant Workers Affairs to represent migrant workers facing charges or in filing cases against erring or abusive employers abroad, bail bonds to secure the temporary releases and other litigation expenses: Provided, That at the end of every year, the Department of Foreign Affairs shall include in its report to Congress, as provided for under Section 33 of this Act, the status of the Legal Assistance Fund, including the expenditures from the said fund duly audited by the Commission on Audit (COA): Provided, further, That the hiring of foreign legal counsels, when circumstances warrant urgent action, shall be exempt from the coverage of Republic Act No. 9184 or the Government Procurement Act."