Ateneo de Davao University

Jacinto St., Davao City

Written report on Book One: Pre-employment

Title One: Recruitment and Placement of Workers
Chapter 1 GENERAL PROVISIONS

Submitted by:
ACASO
BAHINTING
BORNASAL
BRAGANZA
CABUG-OS
CALVEZ
CAMARAO
CANTILLA
CASTRO
CHIO
DAUGDAUG
DELA CRUZ

BL 430: Labor Law and Legislation

7:30-9:00 TTH
PRE-EMPLOYMENT
Art 12. It is the policy of the State:
1. to promote and maintain a state of full employment through improved manpower
training, allocation and utilization;
2. to protect every citizen desiring to work locally/overseas by securing for him the best
possible terms and condition of employment;
3. to facilitate a free choice of available employment by persons seeking work in conformity
with the national interest;
4. to facilitate & regulate the movement of workers in conformity w/ the national interest;
5. to regulate the employment of aliens, including the establishment of a registration and/or
work permit system;
6. to strengthen the network of public employment offices and rationalize the participation
of the private sector in the recruitment and placement of workers, locally and overseas, to
serve national development objectives;
7. to insure careful selection of Filipino workers for overseas employment in order to
protect the good name of the PH abroad.

The DOLE
- by Administrative Code of 1987 (EO 292)
- the primary policy-making, programming, coordinating and administrative entity of the
Executive branch of the government in the field of labor and employment
Its Primary responsibilities:
1. The promotion of gainful employment opportunities and the optimization of the
development & utilization of the country’s manpower resources;
2. The advancement of workers’ welfare by providing for just and humane working
conditions and terms of employment;
3. The maintenance of industrial peace by promoting harmonious, equitable and stable
employment, relations that assure protection for the rights of all concerned parties.

RECRUITMENT & PLACEMENT OF WORKERS

Art 13. Definitions
Worker – any member of the labor force whether employed or unemployed.
Recruitment & placement – any act of canvassing, enlisting, contracting, transporting, utilizing,
hiring, or procuring workers and includes referrals, contract services, promising or advertising
for employment, locally or abroad, whether for profit or not: provided, that any person or
entity w/c, in any manner, offers or promises for a fee employment to 2/more persons shall be
deemed engaged in recruitment & placement
Private fee-charging Employment Agency – any person/ entity engaged in the recruitment &
placement of workers for a fee which is charged directly/indirectly from the workers or
employers or both
License – a document issued by the DOLE authorizing a person/entity to operate a private
employment agency
Private recruitment entity – any person/association engaged in the recruitment & placement of
workers, locally/overseas without charging, directly/indirectly any fee from the workers or
employers.
Authority – a document issued by the DOLE authorizing a person/association to engage in
recruitment & placement activities as a private recruitment entity
Seaman – any person employed in a vessel engaged in maritime navigation
Overseas employment – employment of a worker outside the PH
Emigrant – any person, worker or otherwise, who emigrates to a foreign country by virtue of an
immigrant visa or resident permit to its equivalent in the country of destination

Art 14. EMPLOYMENT PROMOTION

The Sec of Labor shall have the power & authority:
1. to organize & establish new employment offices in addition to existing employment
offices under the DOLE as the need arises;
2. to organize & establish a nationwide job clearance & information system to inform
applicants registering w/ a particular employment office of job opportunities in other
parts of the country as well as job opportunities abroad;
3. to develop & organize a program that will facilitate occupational industrial and
geographical mobility of labor and provide assistance in the relocation of workers from
one area to another; and
4. to require any person, establishment, org, or institution to submit such employment
information as may be prescribed by the Sec of Labor.
Bureau of Local Employment (BLE) – assigned the effective allocation of manpower resources
in local
Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) – for overseas employment
Art 15. BUREAU OF EMPLOYMENT SERVICES (now BLE)
- Primarily responsible for developing & monitoring a comprehensive employment
program.
Powers & Duties:
1. To formulate & develop plans & programs to implement the employment promotion
objectives of this Title;
2. To establish & maintain a registration and/or licensing system to regulate private sector
participation in the recruitment & placement of workers, locally & overseas, and to
secure the best possible terms & conditions of employment for Filipino contract workers
and compliance therewith under such rules & regulations as may be issued by the DOLE;
3. To formulate & develop employment programs designed to benefit disadvantaged groups
& communities;
4. To establish & maintain a registration and/or work permit system to regulate the
employment of aliens;
5. To develop a labor market information system in aid of proper manpower and
development planning;
6. To develop a responsible vocational guidance & testing system in aid of proper human
resources allocation; and
7. To maintain a central registry of skills, except seamen

Original & Exclusive Jurisdiction of the regional offices of DOLE

- Over all matters/cases involving employee-employer relations including money claims,
arising out of or by virtue of any law or contracts involving Filipino workers for overseas
employment  except seamen: Provided, that the Bureau of Employment Services (BES)
(now BLE) may, in the case of the NCR, exercise such power, whenever the DOLE
deems it appropriate.
The decisions of the regional offices of the BES if so authorized by the Sec of DOLE shall be
appealable to the NLRC upon the same grounds provided in Art 233 hereof.
The decisions of the NLRC shall be final & irrevocable.
Minister of Labor – has the power to impose & collect fees, based on rates recommended by the
BES. Such fees shall be deposited in the National Treasury as a special acct of the General
Fund, for the promotion of the objectives of the BES, subject to the provisions of Sec 40 of
PD 1177.

 PD 850 – replaced BES w/ BLE, and created POEA

 AO 186 – made licensing of local recruitment agencies and the issuance of work permits
to non-resident aliens and EMPLOYMENT registration certificates to resident aliens a
function of the regional offices of DOLE
 RA 8795 – required the establishment of a Public Employment Service Office (PESO) in
capital towns, cities and other strategic areas
 PESO - serves as employment service & information center
 - Regularly obtains lists of job vacancies from employers, publicizes them,
invites and evaluates applicants, and refers them for probable hiring
- Provides training and educational guidance and employment counseling
services
- Also renders special services to the public such as holding of jobfairs,
livelihood and self-employment bazaars
- Special credit assistance for placed overseas workers
- Special program for employment of students (SPES) during summer or
semestral breaks
- Work appreciation seminars & conferences and
- Hiring of workers in infrastructure projects (WHIP)
 Ra 6885 – created WHIP, a program w/c requires the DPWH and private contractors to
hire 30% of skilled and 50% unskilled labor requirements from the area where the project
is being undertaken

Art 16. PRIVATE RECRUITMENT:

GR: No person/entity other than the public employment offices, shall engage in the recruitment
& placement of workers.

: Exceptions
1. Public Employment offices
2. Private recruitment entities
3. Private employment agencies
4. Shipping or manning agents or representatives
5. The POEA
6. Construction contractors if authorized to operate by DOLE and the Construction Industry
Authority
7. Members of the diplomatic corps although hiring done by them have to be processed
through the POEA
8. Other persons/entities as may be authorized by the Sec of DOLE

Art 17. OVERSEAS EMPLOYMENT DEVELOPMENT BOARD

POEA – has taken over the functions of the Overseas Employment Development Board (OEDB)
and the National Seamen Board (NSB)
OFW – a Filipino worker who is to be engaged, is engaged or has been engaged in a remunerated
activity in a country of which he/ she is not a legal resident
2 Classifications
1. Land-based – contract workers other than a seaman including workers engaged in
offshore activities whose occupation requires that majority of his working/gainful hours
are spent on land
 2. Sea-based – those employed in a vessel engaged in maritime navigation

Principal Functions of the POEA

1. Formulation, implementation and monitoring of overseas employment of Filipino
workers;
2. Protection of their rights to fair and equitable employment practices;
3. Deployment of Filipino workers through government-to-government hiring

Regulatory Functions
1. Regulate private sector participation in the recruitment & overseas placement of workers
through its licensing and registration system;
2. Formulate & implement, in coordination w/ 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;
3. Inform migrant workers not only of their rights as workers but also of their rights as
human beings;
4. Instruct and guide the workers how to assert their rights and provide the available
mechanism to redress violation of their rights;
5. In the recruitment & placement of workers to service the requirements for trained and
competent Filipino workers of foreign governments and their instrumentalities, and such
other employers as public interest may require, deploy only to countries:
a. Where the PH has concluded Bilateral labor agreements or arrangements;
b. Observing and/or complying w/ the international laws and standards of migrant
workers;
c. Guaranteeing to protect the rights of Filipino migrant workers.

Adjudicatory Functions
1. Administrative cases involving violations of licensing rules & regulations and registration
of recruitment and Employment agencies/entities; and
2. Disciplinary action cases and other special cases w/c are administrative in character,
involving employers, principals, contracting partners and Filipino migrant workers.

Jurisdiction of POEA
1. all cases w/c are administrative in character, involving or arising out of violations of rules
& regulations relating to licensing & registration of recruitment and employment
agencies/entities; and
2. disciplinary action cases and other special cases w/c are administrative in character,
involving employers, principals, contracting partners and Filipino migrant workers
3. NO jurisdiction to enforce foreign judgment (must be brought before the regular courts).
POEA is an administrative (not a court), exercising adjudicatory or quasi-judicial
functions
4. NO jurisdiction over torts

Grounds for Disciplinary Action:

 1. Commission of a felony punishable by Philippine laws or by the laws of the host country;
2. Drug addiction/possession or trafficking of prohibited drugs;
3. Desertion or abandonment;
4. Drunkenness, especially where the laws of the host country prohibit intoxicating drinks;
5. Gambling, especially where the laws of the host country prohibits the same;
6. Initiating/joining a strike or work stoppage where the laws of the host country prohibit
strikes or similar actions;
7. Creating trouble at the worksite or in the vessel;
8. Embezzlement of company funds or of moneys and properties of a fellow worker
entrusted for delivery to kinds or relatives in the PH;
9. Theft/robbery;
10. Prostitution;
11. Vandalism or destroying company property;
12. Gunrunning or possession of deadly weapons;
13. Unjust refusal to depart for the worksite after all employment and travel documents have
been duly approved by the appropriate government agencies; and
14. Violation/s of the laws and sacred practices of the host country and unjustified breach of
government-approved employment contract by a worker

COMPROMISE AGREEMENT
-consistent w/ the policy encouraging amicable settlement of labor disputes Sec 10 of RA 8042
allows resolution by compromise of cases filed w/ the NLRC
- any compromise agreement on money claims inclusive of damages shall be paid w/in 4 months
from the approval of the settlement
Penalties for Non-compliance of the mandatory period for resolution of cases
1. The salary of such official who fails to render his decision/resolution within the
prescribed period shall be, or caused to be, withheld until such official complies
therewith;
2. Suspension for not more than 90 days; or
3. Dismissal w/ disqualification to hold any appointive public office for 5 years

EMPLOYER/EMPLOYEE Relations Cases

 Millares & Lagda v NLRC: SC: seafarers are contractual employees

Premature Termination of Contract

If EMPLOYEE is terminated before end of contract without just cause, employers will be
ordered to pay their salaries corresponding to the unexpired portion of their employment
contract

Pre-termination under RA 8042

A worker dismissed from overseas employment without just cause as defined by law/contract is
entitled to “full reimbursement of his placement fee with interest at 12% per annum, plus the
salary for the unexpired portion of their employment contract.

Due Process required to terminate employment

Ex: in case of seamen – must be given written notice of the charges against him, and afforded
a formal investigation where he can defend himself or thru a representative before he can be
dismissed & disembarked. The employer is required to furnish him with 2 notices: (1) written
notice of charge; and (2) written notice of dismissal
Contracted but not Deployed: Perfected Contract

Death benefits of Seafarers

- entitled to death and other benefits under whichever is higher (foreign law or Philippine
law)
- entitled to death benefits if death occurs during the term of his contract of employment,
even if death is not work-related  death is caused by their own doing

Disability – loss or impairment of a physical or mental function resulting from injury/sickness

Permanent disability – the inability of a worker to perform his job for more than 120 days,
regardless of WON he loses the use of any part of his body
Total Disability – disablement of an employee to earn wages in the same kind of work of similar
nature that he was trained for or accustomed to perform, or any kind of work which a person
of his mentality and attainments could do. It does not mean absolute helplessness.
In disability compensation, it is not the injury which is compensated, but rather it is the
incapacity to work resulting in the impairment of one’s earning capacity
Disability benefits by seamen – a matter governed not only by medical findings but by law &
contract
- shall be paid beginning on the 1st day of such disability. If caused by an injury/sickness
it shall not be paid longer than 120 consecutive days  except where such injury/sickness still
requires medical attendance beyond 120 days but not to exceed 240 days from onset of
disability in which case benefit for temporary total disability shall be paid.
In case of differing medical assessment
a.) When a seafarer sustains a work-related illness/injury while on board, his
fitness/unfitness to work shall be determined by the company-designated physician.
b.) If the physician appointed by the seafarer disagrees with the company-designated
physician’s assessment, the opinion of a 3rd doctor may be agreed jointly bet the
employer and the seafarer to be the decision final and binding on them

Agencies Given the Duty to promote the welfare & rights of migrant workers:
1. Department of Foreign Affairs
2. Department Of Labor and Employment
3. POEA
4. OWWA – Overseas Workers Welfare Administration – provides social & welfare
services including insurance coverage, legal assistance, placement assistance and
remittance services to Filipino overseas workers. Under RA8042, it shall provide the
Filipino migrant worker & his daily assistance in the enforcement of contractual
obligations by agencies, entities and/or their principals;
5. RPM - Re-Placement and Monitoring Center – develops livelihood programs for the
returning workers to reintegrate the returning migrant workers to the Philippine society;
6. NLRC – tasked with the settlement/adjudication of labor disputes

Art 18: BAN ON DIRECT HIRING

GR: Direct hiring of Filipino workers for overseas employment is not allowed
 Exceptions:
1. Members of Diplomatic corps;
2. International organizations;
3. Other employers as may be allowed by DOLE; and
4. Name hires – individual workers who are able to secure contracts for overseas
employment on their own efforts and representations without assistance/participation of
any agency. Their hiring nonetheless, shall pass through the POEA for processing
purposes
Rationale of the Prohibition
1. To assure the best possible terms & conditions of work to the employee; and
2. To assure the foreign employer that he hires only qualified Filipino workers

Art 19: COMMISSION ON FILIPINO OVERSEAS

CFO – attached to the DFA; replaced the Office of Emigrant Affairs.

- assists in the formulation of policies affecting Filipinos overseas and formulates an
integrated program that promotes the welfare of Filipinos overseas

Art. 20. National Seamen Board.

 a. A National Seamen Board is hereby created which shall develop and maintain a
comprehensive program for Filipino seamen employed overseas. It shall have the
power and duty:
1. To provide free placement services for seamen;
2. To regulate and supervise the activities of agents or representatives of
shipping companies in the hiring of seamen for overseas employment and secure
the best possible terms of employment for contract seamen workers and secure
compliance therewith;
3. To maintain a complete registry of all Filipino seamen.
b. The Board shall have original and exclusive jurisdiction over all matters or cases
including money claims, involving employer-employee relations, arising out of or by
virtue of any law or contracts involving Filipino seamen for overseas employment.
The decisions of the Board shall be appealable to the National Labor Relations
Commission upon the same grounds provided in Article 223 hereof. The decisions of
the National Labor Relations Commission shall be final and inappealable.

Art 21. FOREIGN SERVICE ROLE AND PARTICIPATION

- necessary to monitor the status of OFWs in their respective areas of assignment and
insure that they are not exploited or abused by their foreign principal employers

Art 22. MANDATORY REMITTANE OF FOREIGN EXCHANGE EARNINGS

- All OFWs are required to remit a portion of their foreign exchange earnings ranging from 50%
- 80% depending on the worker’s kind of job, to their families, dependents, and/or
beneficiaries.
Seamen/Mariners – 80%
Workers for Filipino Contractors & Construction companies – 70%
Professionals whose employment contract provide for lodging facilities – 70%
Professionals without Board & Lodging – 50%
Domestic and other service workers – 50%

Exceptions to Mandatory Remittance

1. Fil servicemen working in US military installations;
2. Where the worker’s immediate family members, dependents, or beneficiaries are residing
with him abroad;
3. Immigrants and Filipino professionals and employees working with UN agencies or
specialized bodies

Effects of Failure to Remit

1. Workers who fail to comply with the mandatory remittance requirement shall be
suspended/excluded from the list of eligible workers for overseas employment.
Subsequent violations shall warrant his repatriation.
2. Employees who fail to comply shall be excluded from the overseas employment program.
Private employment agencies/entities shall face cancellation or revocation of their
licenses or authority to recruit, without prejudice to other liabilities under existing laws
and regulations.
Art. 23. Composition of the Boards.
a. The OEDB shall be composed of the Secretary of Labor and Employment as Chairman, the
Undersecretary of Labor as Vice-Chairman, and a representative each of the Department of
Foreign Affairs, the Department of National Defense, the Central Bank, the Department of
Education, Culture and Sports, the National Manpower and Youth Council, the Bureau of
Employment Services, a workers’ organization and an employers’ organization and the
Executive Director of the OEDB as members.
b. The National Seamen Board shall be composed of the Secretary of Labor and Employment as
Chairman, the Undersecretary of Labor as Vice-Chairman, the Commandant of the Philippine
Coast Guard, and a representative each of the Department of Foreign Affairs, the Department of
Education, Culture and Sports, the Central Bank, the Maritime Industry Authority, the Bureau of
Employment Services, a national shipping association and the Executive Director of the NSB as
members. The members of the Boards shall receive allowances to be determined by the Board
which shall not be more than P2,000.00 per month.
c. The Boards shall be attached to the Department of Labor for policy and program coordination.
They shall each be assisted by a Secretariat headed by an Executive Director who shall be a
Filipino citizen with sufficient experience in manpower administration, including overseas
employment activities. The Executive Director shall be appointed by the President of the
Philippines upon the recommendation of the Secretary of Labor and shall receive an annual
salary as fixed by law. The Secretary of Labor shall appoint the other members of the Secretariat.
d.The Auditor General shall appoint his representative to the Boards to audit their respective
accounts in accordance with auditing laws and pertinent rules and regulations.

Art. 24. Boards to issue rules and collect fees.

The Boards shall issue appropriate rules and regulations to carry out their functions. They shall
have the power to impose and collect fees from employers concerned, which shall be deposited
in the respective accounts of said Boards and be used by them exclusively to promote their
objectives.
Sources:

Everyone’s labor Code-Azucena - documents. (2014, October 24). Retrieved November 30,
2015, from http://docslide.us/documents/everyones-labor-code-azucena.html
Retrieved November 30, 2015, from http://hreplib.congress.gov.ph/cgi-bin/koha/opac-
detail.pl?biblionumber=77861