Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipinos Act
RULE X
ROLE OF DOLE
Section 1. On-Site Protection. The DOLE shall see to it that labor and social welfare laws in the foreign countries are fairly applied to migrant workers and whenever applicable, to other overseas Filipinos, including the grant of legal assistance and the referral to proper medical centers or hospitals.
Section 2. POLO Functions. The DOLE overseas operating arm shall be the POLO, which shall have the following functions and responsibilities:
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;
b. Coordinate the DOLE's employment promotion mandate, consistent with the principles of the Act;
c. Verify employment contracts and other employment-related documents;
d. Monitor and report to the Secretary of Labor and Employment on situations and policy developments in the receiving country that may affect OFWs in particular and Philippine labor policies, in general;
e. Supervise and coordinate the operations of the Migrant Workers and Other Overseas Filipinos Resource Center; and
f. Such other functions and responsibilities as may be assigned by the Secretary of Labor and Employment.
A. POEA
Section 3. Regulation of Private Sector. The POEA shall regulate private sector participation in the recruitment and overseas placement of workers by setting up a licensing and registration system. It shall also formulate and implement, in coordination with appropriate entities concerned, when necessary, a system for promoting and monitoring the overseas employment of Filipino workers taking into consideration their welfare and the domestic manpower requirements. It shall be responsible for the regulation and management of overseas employment from the pre-employment stage, securing the best possible employment terms and conditions for overseas Filipino workers, and taking into consideration the needs of vulnerable sectors and the peculiarities of sea-based and land-based workers.
Section 4. Hiring through the POEA. The Administration shall recruit and place workers primarily on government-to-government arrangements. In the recruitment and placement to service the requirements for trained and competent 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 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.
Section 5. Foreign Employers Guarantee Fund. For migrant workers recruited by the POEA on a government to government arrangement, the POEA shall, through relevant guidelines, establish and administer a Foreign Employers Guarantee Fund which shall be answerable for the workers' monetary claims arising from breach of contractual obligations.
Section 6. Jurisdiction of the POEA. The POEA shall exercise original and exclusive jurisdiction to hear and decide:
(a) all cases which are administrative in character, involving or arising out of violations of Rules and Regulations relating to licensing and registration, including refund of fees collected from the workers and violation of the conditions for issuance of license to recruit workers; (Based on jurisdictional areas under the POEA Charter or E.O. 247, as amended.)
(b) disciplinary action cases and other special cases, which are administrative in character, involving employers, principals, contracting partners and OFWs processed by the POEA.
Section 7. Venue.
Pre-employment/recruitment violation cases may be filed with the POEA Adjudication Office or at any DOLE/POEA regional office of the place where the complainant applied or was recruited, at the option of the complainant. The office where the complaint was first filed shall take cognizance of the case.
Disciplinary action cases and other special cases shall be filed with the POEA Adjudication Office.
Section 8. Who may file. Any aggrieved person may file a complaint in writing and under oath for violation of the Labor Code and the POEA Rules and Regulations and other issuances.
For this purpose, an aggrieved person is one who is prejudiced by the commission of a violation or any of the grounds for disciplinary actions provided in the POEA Rules and Regulations.
However, the Administration, on its own initiative, may conduct proceedings based on reports of violations or any of the grounds for disciplinary actions provided in the POEA Rules and Regulations and other issuances on overseas employment, subject to preliminary evaluation.
Section 9. Prescriptive Period. All pre-employment/recruitment violation and disciplinary action cases shall be barred if not commenced or filed with the Administration within three (3) years after such cause of action accrued.
Section 10. Imposition of Administrative Penalty. For pre-employment/recruitment violation cases, the Administrator, in the exercise of adjudicatory power, may impose the penalty of reprimand, suspension, or cancellation or revocation of license.
Where the penalty of suspension is imposed, the Administrator may impose disqualification from the overseas employment program. For disciplinary action cases against workers, the Administrator may likewise impose suspension or disqualification.
Section 11. Appeal.
The decision of the Administration may be appealed to the Secretary of Labor and Employment within fifteen (15) days from the receipt of the Decision.
B. OWWA
Section 12. Programs and Services. The OWWA shall continue to formulate and implement welfare programs for overseas Filipino workers and their families in all phases of overseas employment. It shall also ensure the awareness by the OFWs and their families of these programs and other related government programs.
Section 13. Assistance in the Enforcement of Contractual Obligations. In the implementation of OWWA welfare programs and services and in line with the One-Country Team Approach for on-site services, the Welfare Officer or in his/her absence, the coordinating officer shall:
1. Provide the Filipino migrant worker and his/her family all the assistance they may need in the enforcement of contractual obligations by agencies or entities and/or by their principals; and
2. 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/her attention. If there is no final settlement at the jobsite and the worker is repatriated back to the Philippines, conciliation may continue at the OWWA Central Office, or in any OWWA Regional Welfare Office.
C. NRCO
Section 14. Establishment of the National Reintegration Center for OFWs. The NRCO is hereby created in the Department of Labor and Employment for returning Filipino migrant workers, which shall provide the mechanism of their reintegration into Philippine society, serve as a promotion house for their local employment, and tap their skills and potentials for national development.
The NRCO shall, in coordination with appropriate government and non-government agencies, serve as a One-Stop Center that shall address the multi-faceted needs of OFW-returnees and their families.
For this purpose, TESDA, the Technology Resource Center (TRC), and other government agencies involved in training and livelihood development shall give priority to household service workers and entertainers.
The NRCO shall be attached to the Office of the Administrator of OWWA for supervision and policy guidance.
Section 15. Functions of the NRCO.
The NRCO shall undertake the following:
(a) Develop and support programs and projects for livelihood, entrepreneurship, savings, investments and financial literacy for returning Filipino migrant workers and their families in coordination with relevant stakeholders, service providers and international organizations;
(b) Coordinate with appropriate stakeholders, service providers and relevant international organizations for the promotion, development and the full utilization of overseas Filipino worker returnees and their potentials;
(c) Institute, in cooperation with other government agencies concerned, a computer-based information system on returning Filipino migrant workers which shall be accessible to all local recruitment agencies and employers, both public and private;
(d) Provide a periodic study and assessment of job opportunities for returning Filipino migrant workers;
(e) Develop and implement other appropriate programs to promote the welfare of returning Filipino migrant workers;
(f) Maintain an internet-based communication system for on-line registration of returning OFWs and interaction with clients, and maintain and upgrade computer-based service capabilities of the NRCO;
(g) Develop capacity-building programs for returning overseas Filipino workers and their families, implementers, service providers, and stakeholders;
(h) Conduct research for policy recommendations and program development; and
(i) Undertake other programs and activities as may be determined by the Secretary of Labor and Employment.
Section 16. Formulation of Program. The DOLE, OWWA, TESDA, and POEA shall, within sixty (60) days from effectivity of these Rules, formulate a program that would motivate migrant workers to plan for productive options such as entry into highly technical jobs or undertakings, livelihood and entrepreneurial development, better wage employment, and investment of savings.
D. Migrant Workers and Other Overseas Filipinos Resource Center
Section 17. Establishment of Migrant Workers and other Overseas Filipino Resource Center.
A Migrant Workers and other Overseas Filipinos Resource Center shall be established in countries where there are large concentration of OFWs, as determined by the Secretary of Labor and Employment. It shall be established within the premises of the Philippine Embassy or the Consulate and be under the administrative jurisdiction of the Philippine Embassy.
When the Migrant Workers and other Overseas Filipinos Resource Center is established outside the premises of the Embassy or Consulate, the Department of Foreign Affairs shall exert its best effort to secure appropriate recognition from the receiving government in accordance with applicable laws and practices.
Section 18. Services. The Migrant Workers and other Overseas Filipinos Resource Center shall provide the following services:
a. Counseling and legal services;
b. Welfare assistance including the procurement of medical and hospitalization services;
c. Information, advisory programs to promote social integration such as post-arrival orientation, settlement and community networking services and activities for social interaction;
d. Registration of irregular/undocumented workers to bring them within the purview of the Act;
e. Implementation of DOLE and OWWA Programs;
f. Human resource development, such as training and skills upgrading;
g. Gender-sensitive programs and activities to assist particular needs of migrant workers;
h. Orientation program for returning workers and other migrants;
i. Monitoring of the daily situation, circumstances and activities affecting migrant workers and other overseas Filipinos;
j. Ensuring that labor and social welfare laws in the receiving country are fairly applied to migrant workers and other overseas Filipinos; and
k. Conciliation of disputes arising from employer-employee relationship, in accordance with this Rule.
Section 19. Personnel. Each Migrant Workers and Other Overseas Filipinos Resource Center shall be staffed by Foreign Service personnel, a Labor Attaché and other service attachés or officers who represent Philippine government agencies abroad.
The following personnel may be assigned to the Center:
a. Psychologists, Social Workers, and a Shari'a or Human Rights Lawyer, in highly problematic countries as categorized by the DFA and DOLE and where there is a concentration of Filipino migrant workers;
b. Individual volunteers and representatives from bona fide non-government organizations from the receiving countries, if available and necessary as determined by the Labor Attaché in consultation with the Chief of Mission;
c. Public Relations Officer or Case Officer conversant, orally and in writing, with the local language, laws, customs and practices; and/or
d. Legal Officers (POEA/NLRC/DOLE) and such other professionals deemed necessary by the Secretary of Labor and Employment.
Section 20. Administration of the Center. The POLO through the Labor Attaché shall supervise and coordinate the operations of the Migrant Workers and other Overseas Filipinos Resource Center and shall keep the Chief of Mission informed and updated on all matters affecting it at least quarterly through a written report addressed to the Chief of Mission.
Section 21. Round-the Clock Operations. The Migrant Workers and other Overseas Filipino Resource Center shall operate on a 24-hour basis including Saturdays, Sundays and holidays. A counterpart 24-hour Information and Assistance Center to ensure a continuous network and coordinative mechanism shall be established at the DFA and the DOLE/OWWA.
Section 22. Budget. The establishment, yearly maintenance and operating costs of the Migrant Workers and other Overseas Filipinos Resource Centers, including the costs of services and programs not specially funded under the Act, shall be sourced from the General Appropriations Act (GAA) and shall be included in the annual budget of the DOLE.
However, the salaries and allowances of overseas personnel shall be sourced from the respective agencies' budgets.