Section 15Sec./Art. 15

Migrant Workers Office (MWO). The Migrant Workers Office (MWO) of the Philippine Foreign Service Post shall be the operating arm overseas of the Department: Provided, That within three (3) years from the effectivity of this Act and as far as practicable, all Philippine Foreign Service Posts shall have an existing and operational MWO. The Foreign Service Posts in countries with large concentration of OFWs shall be prioritized in the establishment of the MWO.

Each MWO shall have the same jurisdiction, including concurrent and consular jurisdiction, as the Foreign Service Post to which it is attached.

The MWO shall absorb all the powers, existing functions and personnel of the Philippine Overseas Labor Offices (POLO), and the Office for the Social Welfare Attach (OSWA) and the powers and functions of existing ATN units of Foreign Service Posts with regard to OFWs in all Philippine embassies and consulates, and shall perform the following additional functions:

(a) Ensure the promotion and protection of the welfare and interests of OFWs and assist them in all problems arising out of employer-employee relationships including violation of work contracts, nonpayment of wages and other benefits, illegal dismissal, and other violations of the terms and conditions of their employment;

(b) Verify employment contracts and other employment-related documents;

(c) Monitor and report to the Secretary on situations and policy developments in the receiving country that may affect OFWs in particular and Philippine labor policies in general;

(d) Pursue, in coordination with the Philippine Embassy or Consulate, discussion on labor and other issues and concerns with the foreign government and/or the embassies concerned, and international organizations;

(e) Supervise and coordinate the operations of the Migrant Workers Resource Center (MWRC);

(f) Provide social and welfare programs and services to OFWs, including social assistance, education and training, cultural services, financial management, reintegration, and entrepreneurial development services;

(g) Provide prompt and appropriate response to global emergencies or crisis situations affecting Filipino nationals through close cooperation and coordination with the DFA;

(h) Manage cases of, and provide psychosocial services to, OFWs in distress, such as victims of trafficking in persons or illegal recruitment, rape or sexual abuse, maltreatment and other forms of physical or mental abuse and cases of abandoned or neglected children;

(i) Regularly update the online database system provided under Section 18 of this Act to facilitate and ensure the delivery of appropriate, timely and effective welfare services to OFWs and their families;

(j) Facilitate the repatriation of distressed OFWs and their families, including shipment of remains and personal belongings;

(k) Verify the whereabouts, status, and condition of OFWs;

(l) Provide assistance, legal or otherwise in labor, criminal, immigration and other cases filed by or against OFWs, whether detained or not;

(m) Provide appropriate assistance to victims of illegal recruitment and trafficking in persons, kidnapping, hostage victims and other victims of other crimes in cooperation with the DFA;

(n) Conduct hospital visitation, and provide necessary assistance until the full recovery of the OFW concerned, and their immediate family members, where practicable and appropriate;

(o) Ensure the protection of women migrant workers by ensuring the designation of a gender focal point officer in its offices and in MWRCs, and the conduct of regular gender-sensitivity including ending-VAW training, and gender audits to assess responsiveness of programs and services. The gender focal point officer shall serve as the ending-VAW focal point officer; and

(p) Perform other functions and responsibilities as may be assigned by the Secretary.

The qualifications, hiring and selection, continuous training and education, merit promotion system, and rotation system for deployment and recall of officials of the MWO shall also be established by the Department, in accordance with existing civil service rules and regulations.

The officials of the MWO who are deployed at Posts shall be designated as attaches, subject to prior clearance from the Secretary of Foreign Affairs. The Department of Migrant Workers Secretary shall designate a qualified person to head each MWO, with preference for migration specialists with at least five (5) years of experience in the said filed.

In all cases, all incidents relating to provision of ATN and other services shall be consistent with the implementation of the One Country-Team Approach. To this end, the functions of the MWO shall complement the diplomatic and consular functions of the DFA.

To deployment and performance of the officials of the MWO of the Philippine Foreign Service Posts shall be governed by the Philippine Foreign Service Act of 1991, Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations and the rules and regulations imposed by the receiving State.

For the avoidance of doubt, the OWWA Welfare Officers shall work jointly with the MWO at the Foreign Service Post and, to the extent practicable, hold officer therein.