LABOR STANDARDS

Labor legislation consists of statutes, regulation, and

jurisprudence governing the relations between capital and
labor, by providing for certain employment standards and a
legal
framework
for
negotiating,
adjusting,
and
administering those standards and other incidents of
employment.
Labor standards that which sets out the least or basic
terms, conditions, and benefits of employment that
employers must provide or comply with and to which
employees are entitled as a matter of legal right.
- minimum requirements prescribed by existing laws, rules,
and regulations relating to wages, hours of work, cost-ofliving allowance, and other monetary and welfare benefits,
including occupational, safety, and health standards (GR.
No. 78909 6/30/89)
Labor relations that which defines the status, rights and
duties, and the institutional mechanisms that govern the
individual and collective interactions of employers,
employees, or their representatives.
Social legislation laws that provide particular kinds of
protection or benefits to society or segments thereof in
furtherance of social justice -> aim of labor laws.
Social justice as defined in Calalang v. Williams 70 Phil.
726 (1940), is neither communism, nor despotism, nor
atomism, nor anarchy, but the humanization of laws and the
equalization of social and economic forces by the State so
that justice in its rational and objectively secular conception
may at least be approximated. Social justice means the
promotion of the welfare of all the people, the adoption by
the government of measures calculated to insure economic
stability of all the component elements of society through
the maintenance of proper economic and social equilibrium
in the interrelations of the members legally justifiable, or
extra-constitutionally, through the exercise of
powers
underlying the existence of all governments, on the timehonored principle of salus populi est suprema lex
Social justice as a juridical principle: prescribes equality of
the people before the law.
Social justice as a goal: the attainment of decent quality of
life of the masses through humane productive efforts.
Article XIII, Sections 1, 2, 3:
Section 1. The Congress shall give highest priority to the
enactment of measures that protect and enhance the right
of all the people to human dignity, reduce social, economic,
and political inequalities, and remove cultural inequities by
equitably diffusing wealth and political power for the
common good.
To this end, the State shall regulate the acquisition,
ownership, use, and disposition of property and its
increments.
Section 2. The promotion of social justice shall include the
commitment to create economic opportunities based on
freedom of initiative and self-reliance.
Section 3. The State shall afford full protection to labor,
local, and overseas, organized and unorganized, and
promote full employment and equality of employment
opportunities for all.
The State affirms labor as a primary social economic force.
It shall protect the rights of workers and promote their
welfare.
Basic rights of workers guaranteed by the
Constitution

to organize themselves;

to conduct collective bargaining or negotiation with

management;

to engage in peaceful concerted activities,

including to strike in accordance with law;

to enjoy security of tenure;

to work under humane conditions;

To receive a living wage; and

To participate in policy and decision-making
processes affecting their rights and benefits as
may be provided by law.

*The basis or foundation of labor laws is the police power of

the State. It is the power of the government to enact laws,
within constitutional limits, to promote the order, safety,
health, morals, and general welfare of society.
*The right of every person to pursue a business, occupation,
or profession is subject to the paramount right of the
government as a part of its police power to impose such
restrictions and regulations as the protection of the public
may require.
*The police power of the state is a growing and expanding
power. But that power cannot grow faster than the
fundamental law of the state, nor transcend or violate the
express inhibition of the constitution.
Principles underlying the Code
1. Labor relations must be made both responsive and
responsible to national development.
2. Labor laws or labor relations during a period of
national emergency must substitute rationality for
confrontation; therefore, strikes or lockouts must
give way to a rational process which is arbitration.
3. Laggard justice in the labor field is injurious to the
workers, the employers, and the public; labor
justice can be made expeditious without sacrificing
due process.
4. Manpower development and employment must be
regarded as a major dimension of labor policy, for
there can be no real equality of bargaining power
under conditions of severe mass unemployment.
5. There is a global labor market available to qualified
Filipinos, especially those who are unemployed or
whose
employment
is
tantamount
to
unemployment because of their very little
earnings.
6. Labor laws must command adequate resources and
acquire capable machinery for effective and
sustained implementation; otherwise, they merely
breed resentment not only of the workers but also
of the employers. When labor laws cannot be
enforced, both the employers and the workers are
penalized, and only a corrupt few those who are
in charge of implementation may get the reward
they do not deserve.
7. There should be popular participation in the
national policy-making through what is now called
tripartism.
*our labor statutes are based upon or patterned after
statutes in foreign jurisdiction.
*the relations between capital and labor are not merely
contractual. They are so impressed with public interest that
labor contracts must yield to the common good. Therefore,
such contracts are subject to the special laws on labor
unions, collective bargaining, strikes and lockouts, closed
shop, wages, working conditions, hours of labor and similar
subjects (Art. 1700, NCC).
*neither capital nor labor shall act oppressively against the
other, or impair the interest or convenience of the public
(Art. 1701, NCC).
*no contract which practically amounts to involuntary
servitude, under any guise whatsoever, shall be valid (Art.
1703, NCC).
Related Laws

Civil code

Revised Penal Code

Special laws
Article 3 Declaration of policy
The state shall afford protection to labor, promote
full
employment,
ensure
equal
opportunities

regardless of sex, race, or creed, and regulate the

relations between workers and employers. The state
shall assure the rights of the workers to selforganization, collective bargaining, security of
tenure, and just and humane conditions of work.
*issues mentioned in this article are social issues. They are
concerns of labor law because labor laws are devices for
social equity.
*the goals of the national economy (1987 Constitution) are
a more equitable distribution of opportunities, income, and
wealth; a sustained increase of in the amount of goods and
services produced by the nation for the benefit of the
people; and an expanding productivity as the key to raising
the quality of life for all, especially the underprivileged.
*labor and management are interdependent.

Article 4 Construction in favor of labor

All doubts in the implementation and interpretation
of the provisions of this code, including its
implementing rules and regulations, shall be
resolved in favor of labor.
*while the Constitution is committed to the policy of social
justice and the protection of the working class, it should not
be supposed that every labor dispute will be automatically
decided in favor of labor. Management also has its own
rights which, as such, are entitled to respect and
enforcement in the interest of simple fair play.
*management prerogatives are subject to limitations
provided by law, contract or collective bargaining
agreements, and general principles of fair play and justice.
*the law, in protecting the rights of the laborer, authorizes
neither oppression nor self-destruction of the employer.
*the constitution provides: the state shall regulate the
relations between workers and employers, recognizing the
right of labor to its just share in the fruits of production and
the right of enterprises to reasonable returns on
investments, and to expansion and growth.
*employers have the right to make reasonable rules and
regulations.
*an employer has the right under the law to full freedom in
employing any person free to accept employment from him,
and this, except as restricted by valid statute or valid
contract, at a wage and under conditions agreeable to
them. He may refuse to employ whomever he may wish,
irrespective of his motive.
*the state has no right to interfere in a private employment
and stipulate the term of the services to be rendered; it
cannot interfere with the liberty of contract with respect to
labor except in the exercise of the police power.
*the general right to make a contract in relation to ones
business is an essential part of the liberty of the citizens
protected by the due process clause of the Constitution. The
right of the laborer to sell his labor to such person as he
may choose is, in its essence, the same as the right of an
employer to purchase labor from any person whom it
chooses. The employer and the employee have thus an
equality of right guaranteed by the Constitution. If the
employer can compel the employee to work against the
latters will, this is servitude. If the employee can compel
the employer to give him work against the employers will,
this is oppression. (Pampanga Bus Company, Inc. v.
Pambusco Employees Union, 83 O.G. 984)
Article 5 Rules and Regulations
The department of Labor and Employment and other
government
agencies
charged
with
the
administration and enforcement of this Code or any
of its parts shall promulgate the necessary
implementing rules and regulations. Such rules and

regulations shall become effective fifteen days after

announcement of their adoption in newspapers of
general circulation.
*a rule or regulation by an administrative body to
implement a law, in excess of its rule-making authority, is
void.
*an administrative interpretation which takes away a benefit
granted in the law is ultra vires, that is, beyond ones power.
Article 6 Applicability
All rights and benefits granted to workers under this
code shall, except as may otherwise be provided
herein, apply alike to all workers, whether
agricultural or non-agricultural.
*in case of a labor dispute between employees and the
government, Section 15 of E.O. No. 18, dated June 1, 1987
provides that the Public Sector Labor-Management Council,
not the Department of Labor and Employment, shall hear
the dispute. The same goes for employees of SSS.
*it is not correct to say that employment relationship is a
pre-condition to the applicability of the Code.
*when one speaks of employment benefits or of
unionization, then surely employment relationship is an
essential element.
*the
presence
or
absence
of
relationship is itself a labor question.

employer-employee

CHAPTER 2 EMANCIPATION OF TENANTS

BOOK ONE PRE-EMPLOYMENT
Article 12 Statement of objectives
It is the policy of the state:
(a) To promote and maintain a state of full
employment through improved manpower
training, allocation, and utilization;
(b) To protect every citizen desiring to work
locally or overseas by securing for him the
best possible terms and conditions of
employment;
(c) To facilitate a free choice of available
employment by persons seeking to work in
conformity with the national interest;
(d) To facilitate and regulate the movement of
workers in conformity with the national
interest;
(e) To regulate the employment of aliens,
including the establishment of a registration
and/or work permit system;
(f) To strengthen the network of public
employment offices and rationalize the
participation of the private sector in the
recruitment and placement of workers,
locally or overseas, to serve national
development objectives;
(g) To insure careful selection of Filipino workers
for overseas employment in order to protect
the good name of the Philippines abroad.
*the DOLE is named as the primary policy-making,
programming, coordinating, and administrative entity of the
executive branch of the government in the filed of labor and
employment. (Administrative Code)
*Admin. Code mandates that DOLE assume primary
responsibility for:
1. The promotion of gainful employment opportunities
and the optimization of the development and
utilization of the countrys manpower resources;
2. The advancement of workers welfare by providing
for just and humane working conditions and terms
and conditions of employment;
3. The maintenance of industrial peace by promoting
harmonious, equitable and stable employment
relations that assures protection for the rights of all
concerned parties.

TITLE 1
WORKERS

RECRUITMENT

AND

PLACEMENT

OF

CHAPTER 1 GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 13 Definitions
(a) Worker means any member of the labor
force, whether employed or unemployed;
(b) Recruitment and placement refers to 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 which, in any manner, offers or
promises for a fee, employment to two or
more persons shall be deemed engaged in
recruiting and placement;
(c) Private fee-charging employment agency
means any person or entity engaged in the
recruitment and placement of workers for a
fee which is charged, directly or indirectly,
from the workers or employees or both;
(d) License means a document issued by the
DOLE authorizing a person or entity to
operate a private employment agency;
(e) Private recruitment entity means any
person or association engaged in the
recruitment and placement of workers,
locally or overseas, without charging, directly
or indirectly, any fee from the workers or
employers;
(f) Authority means a document issued by the
DOLE authorizing a person or association to
engage
in
recruitment and
placement
activities as a private recruitment entity;
(g) Seaman means any person employed in a
vessel engaged in maritime navigation;
(h) Overseas employment means employment
of a worker outside the Philippines;
(i) Emigrant means any person, worker or
otherwise, who emigrates to a foreign
country by virtue of an immigrant visa or
resident permit or its equivalent in the
country of destination.
*people v. panis 142 SCRA 664:

The number of persons dealt with is not an

essential ingredient of the act of recruitment and
placement of workers.

Any of the acts mentioned in Article 13 (b) will

constitute recruitment and placement even if only
one prospective worker is involved.

The proviso merely lays down a rule of evidence

that where a fee is collected in consideration of a
promise or offer of employment to two or more
prospective workers, the individual or entity
dealing with them shall be deemed to be engaged
in the act of recruitment and placement. The words
shall be deemed create the presumption.
Article 14 employment promotion
The Secretary of Labor shall have the power and
authority:
(a) To organize and establish new employment
offices
in
addition
to
the
existing
employment offices under the DOLE as the
need arises;
(b) To organize and establish a nationwide job
clearance and information system to inform
applicants registering with a particular
employment office of job opportunities in
other parts of the country as well as job
opportunities abroad;
(c) To develop and 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;
(d) To require any person, establishment,
organization or institution to submit such
employment
information
as
may
be
prescribed by the SOLE.
Article 15 Bureau of Employment Services
(a) The bureau of employment services shall be
primarily responsible for developing and
monitoring a comprehensive employment
program. It shall have the power and duty:
1. To formulate and develop plans
and
programs to implement the employment
promotion objectives of this title;
2. To establish and maintain a registration
and/or licensing system to regulate private
sector participation in the recruitment and
placement of workers, locally and overseas,
and to secure the best possible terms and
conditions
of
employment
for
Filipino
contract workers and compliance therewith
under such rules and regulation as may be
issued by the DOLE;
3. To formulate and develop employment
programs designed to benefit disadvantaged
groups and communities;
4. To establish and 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. Te develop a responsible vocational guidance
and testing system in aid of proper human
resource allocation; and
7. To maintain a central registry of skills, except
seamen.
(b) The regional offices of the DOLE shall have
the original and exclusive jurisdiction over all
matters
or
cases
involving
employeremployee
relationship
including
money
claims, arising out of or by virtue of any law
or contract involving Filipino workers for
overseas
employment
except
seamen:
provided, that the bureau of employment
services may, in the case of the national
capital
region,
exercise
such
power,
whenever the DOLE deems it appropriate.
The decisions of the regional offices or the
bureau of employment services is so
authorized by the SOLE as provided in this
article, shall be appealable to the NLRC upon
the same grounds provided in article 223
hereof. The decisions of the NLRC shall be
final and unappealable.
(c) The SOLE shall have the power to impose and
collect fees, based on rates recommended by
the bureau of employment services.
(d) Such fee shall be deposited in the national
treasury as a special account of the general
fund, for the promotion of the objectives of
the beureau of employment services, subject
to the provisions of section 40 of P.D. 1177
*paragraphs b and c have been repealed by E.O. 191

*Public Employment Service Office (PESO) is intended to

serve as employment eservice and information center in its
area of operations.
Article 16 Private employment
Except as provided in Chapter 2 of this title, no
person or entity, other than the public employment
offices, shall engage in the recruitment and
placement of workers.
*article 25 provides a broad exception as it states that the
private employment sector shall participate in the
recruitment and placement of workers, locally or overseas.

*based of the IRR, the ff. entities are authorized to recruit

and place workers for local or overseas employment:

Public employment offices;

Private recruitment entities;

Private employment agencies;

Shipping or manning agents or representatives;

POEA;

Construction contractors if authorized to operate

by DOLE and the construction industry authority;

Members of the diplomatic corps although hirings

done by them have to be processed through POEA;

Other persons or entities as may be authorized by

DOLE secretary.
Article 17 Overseas Employment Development
Board
An OEDB is hereby created to undertake, in
cooperation with relevant entities and agencies, a
systematic program for overseas employment of
Filipino workers in excess of domestic needs and to
protect their rights to fair and equitable employment
practices. It shall have the power and duty:
1. To promote the overseas employment of
Filipino workers through a comprehensive
market promotion and development program;
2. To secure the best possible terms and
conditions of employment of Filipino contract
workers on a government-to-government
basis and to ensure compliance therewith;
3. To recruit and place workers for overseas
employment
on
an
government-togovernment arrangement and in such other
sectors as policy may dictate; and
4. To act as secretariat for the board of trustees
of the welfare and training fund for overseas
workers.
*section 4 of R.A. 8042 requires certain guarantee of
protection for the overseas workers before they are
deployed in countries that meet some criteria. It states:
Sec. 4. Deployment of migrant workers the state
shall deploy overseas Filipino workers only in countries
where the rights of Filipino migrant workers are protected.
The government recognizes any of the following as a
guarantee on the part of the receiving country for the
protection of the rights of overseas Filipino workers:
(a) It has existing labor and social laws protecting the
rights of migrant workers;
(b) It is a signatory to multilateral conventions,
declarations, or resolutions relating to the
protecting of migrant workers;
(c) It has concluded a bilateral agreement or
arrangement with the government protecting
rights of overseas Filipino workers; and
(d) It is taking positive, concrete measures to protect
the rights of migrant workers.
Sec. 5. Termination or ban on deployment
notwithstanding the provisions of section 4 hereof,
the government, in pursuit of the national interest
or when public welfare so requires, at any time,
terminate or impose a ban on the deployment of
migrant workers.
*the POEA has taken over the functions of OEDB and NSB.
*among the principal functions of the POEA are the
formulation, implementation, and monitoring of the
overseas employment of Filipino workers and the protection
of their rights to fair and equitable employment practices.
*OFW is understood as 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.
*OFWs are classified by DOLE as either land-based or seabased. Land-based OFWs are contract workers other than
seamen including workers engaged in offshore activities
whose
occupation
requires
that
majority
of
his
working/gainful hours are spent on land. Sea-based OFWs
are those employed in a vessel engaged in maritime

navigation. Sea-based work pertains to ship operations like

navigation, engineering, maintenance, including a variety of
occupations from kitchen staff to on-board entertainment in
large vessel ships.
*the POEA performs regulatory and adjudicatory functions.
It regulates the private sector participation in the
recruitment and overseas placement of workers through its
licensing and registration system.
*under R.A. 8042, the NLRC has exclusive and original
jurisdiction to hear and decide the ff. cases:
(a) Recruitment violation and related cases consisting
of
all
pre-employment
cases
which
are
administrative in character, involving or arising out
of recruitment laws, rules and regulations,
including money claims therefrom or violations of
the conditions for the issuance of license to recruit
workers.
(b) Employer-employee relations cases consisting of all
claims arising out of an employer-employee
relationship or by virtue of any law or contract
involving Filipino workers in overseas employment,
such as but not limited to:
1. Violations of the terms and conditions of
employment;
2. Disputes relation fo the implementation
and
interpretation
of
employment
contracts;
3. Money claims of workers against their
employers and duly authorized agents in
the Philippines or vice versa;
4. Claims for death, disability, and other
benefits arising out of employment; and
5. Violations of or noncompliance with any
compromise agreement entered into by
and between the parties in an overseas
employment contract.
(c) Disciplinary action cases consisting of all
complaints against a contract worker for breach of
discipline. The disciplinary action may take the
form of warning, repatriation, suspension, or
disqualification from the overseas employment
program, or inclusion in the POEA blacklist.
*section 10 of R.A. 8042 provides:
Notwithstanding any provision of law to the
contrary, the labor arbiters of the NLRC shall have
original and exclusive jurisdiction to hear and decide,
within 90 calendar days after the filing of the
complaint, the claims arising out of an EER or by virtue
of any law or contract involving Filipino workers for
overseas deployment including claims for actual, moral,
exemplary and other forms of damages.
The liability of the principal/employer and the
recruitment /placement agency for any and all claims
under this section shall be joint and several. This
provision shall be incorporated in the contract for
overseas employment and shall be a condition
precedent for its approval. The performance bond to be
filed by the recruitment/placement agency, as provided
by law, shall be answerable for all money claims or
damages that may be awarded to the workers. If the
recruitment/placement agency is a juridical being, the
corporate officers and directors and partners, as the
case may be, shall themselves be jointly and solidarily
liable with the corporation or partnership for the
aforesaid claims and damages.
Such liabilities shall continue during the entire
period or duration of the employment contract and
shall not be affected by any substitution, amendment
or modification made locally or in a foreign country of
the said contract.
xxx
*R.A. 8042 defines migrant worker as a person who is to
be engaged, is engaged, or has been engaged in a
remunerated activity in a state of which he or she is not a
legal resident. The phrase engaged in a remunerated
activity refers to an applicant worker who has been
promised or assured of employment overseas and acting on
such promise or assurance, sustains damage and/or injury.

*the
same
section
10
also
states
that
any
compromise/amicable settlement or voluntary agreement
on money claims inclusive of damages under this section
shall be paid within 4months from the approval of the
settlement by the appropriate authority.
*section 10. Noncompliance with the mandatory periods for
resolutions of cases provided under this section shall be
subject the responsible officials to any or all of the ff.
penalties:
(a) The salary of any such official who fails to render
his decision or resolution within the prescribed
period shall be, or caused to be, withheld until the
said official complies therewith;
(b) Suspension for not more than 90 days; or
(c) Dismissal from service with disqualification to hold
any appointive public office for five years.
Provided, however, that the penalties herein provided
shall be without prejudice to any liability which any
such official may have incurred under other existing
laws or rules and regulations as a consequence of
violating the provision of this paragraph.
*seafarers are contractual employees. Their employment is
contractually fixed for a certain period.
*where the workers employment contract is terminated
before its agreed termination date, and the termination is
not shown to be based on lawful or valid grounds, the
employer will be ordered to pay the workers their salaries
corresponding to the unexpired portion of their employment
contract.
*under section 10 of R.A. 8042, a worker dismissed from
overseas employment without just, valid or authorized
cause as defined by law or contract is entitled to full
reimbursement of his placement fee with interest at 12%
per annum, plus his salary for the unexpired portion of his
employment contract. (Changed in Serrano v. Gallant)
*procedural due process requires that a seaman be given
written notice of the charges against him and afforded a
formal investigation where he can defend himself personally
or through a representative before he can be dismissed and
disembarked from the vessel.
*the employer is bound to furnish him two notices:
1. The written charge;
2. The written notice of dismissal.
*distinction must be made between perfection of
employment contract and commencement of employeremployee relationship.
*even before the start of any E-ER, contemporaneous with
the perfection of the employment contract was the birth of
certain rights and obligations, the breach of which may give
rise to a cause of action against the erring party.
*where the laws of the host country are more favorable and
beneficial to the workers, then the laws of the host country
shall form part of the overseas employment contract.
(Cadalin, et al. v. POEA, et al., G.R. No. 104775 12/5/94)
*it has been ruled that a foreign law, being a matter of
evidence, must be alleged and proved in order to be
recognized and applied in a particular controversy involving
conflict of laws. But this ruling is not meant to apply in
cases before administrative or quasi-judicial bodies. Wellsettled is the rule that administrative and quasi-judicial
bodies are not bound strictly by technical rules (Dumez Co.
v. NLRC and Elibane, G.R. No. 74495 7/11/96)
*for death of a seafarer to be compensable, the death must
occur during the term of his employment contract. It is the
only condition for compensability of a seafarers death.
Once it is established that the seafarer died during the
effectivity of his employment contract, the employer is
liable. (Coastal Safeway Marine Services, Inc. v. Delgado,
G.R. No. 168210, 6/17/2008)

*remember difference between crystal shipping v. natividad

case and vergara v. hammonia maritime services case.
(whose opinion prevails as to evaluation of disability.
*disability is generally defined as loss or impairment of a
physical or mental function resulting from injury or
sickness.
*even after the passage of R.A. 8042, the POEA retains
original and exclusive jurisdiction to hear and decide:
1. All cases which are administrative in character,
involving or arising out of violations of rules and
regulations relating to licensing and registration of
recruitment and employment agencies or entities;
and
2. Disciplinary action cases and other special cases
which are administrative in character, involving
employers, principals, contracting partners and
Filipino migrant workers.
*POEA regulates the private sector participation in the
recruitment and overseas placement of workers through its
licensing and registration system.
*R.A. 8042 has not transferred to the NLRC the jurisdiction
of POEA over disciplinary action cases. Rule VII of book VII of
the POEA rules provides that complaints for breach of
discipline against a contract worker shall be filed with the
adjudication office or regional office of the POEA, as the
case may be. The POEA may motu proprio undertake
disciplinary action against a worker for breach of discipline.
It shall establish a system of watching and blacklisting of
overseas contract workers.
*commission by the worker of any of the offenses
enumerated below or of similar offenses while working
overseas, shall be subject to appropriate disciplinary actions
as the POEA may deem necessary:
(a) Commission of a felony punishable by Philippine
laws or by the laws of the host country;
(b) Drug addiction or possession or trafficking of
prohibited drugs;
(c) Desertion or abandonment;
(d) Drunkenness, especially where the laws of the host
country prohibit intoxicating drinks;
(e) Gambling, especially where the laws of the host
country prohibit the same;
(f) Initiating or joining a strike or work stoppage where
the laws of the host country prohibit strikes or
similar actions;
(g) Creating trouble at the worksite or in the vessel;
(h) Embezzlement of company funds or of moneys and
properties of a fellow worker entrusted for delivery
to kins or relatives in the Philippines;
(i) Theft or robbery;
(j) Prostitution;
(k) Vandalism or destroying company property;
(l) Gunrunning or possession of deadly weapons;
(m) Unjust refusal to depart for the worksite after all
employment and travel documents have been duly
approved
by
the
appropriate
government
agency/ies; and
(n) Violation/s of laws and sacred practices of the host
country and unjustified breach of governmentapproved employment contracts by a worker.
*POEA has no jurisdiction to hear and decide a claim for
enforcement of a foreign judgment. Such a claim must be
brought before the regular courts. It also does not have
jurisdiction over torts.
Article 18 Ban on Direct-hiring
No employer may hire a Filipino worker for overseas
employment except through the Boards and entities
authorized by the DOLE. Direct-hiring by members of
the diplomatic corps, international organizations and
such other employers as maybe allowed by DOLE is
exempted from this provision.
*also excepted from this provision are name hires or those
individual workers who are able to secure contracts for

overseas employment on their own efforts and

representation without assistance or participation of any
agency. Their hiring, nonetheless, has to be processed
through POEA.
*name hires should register with POEA by submitting the ff.
documents:
1. Employment contract;
2. Valid passport;
3. Employment visa or work permit, or equivalent
document;
4. Certificate of medical fitness; and
5. Certification of attendance to the required
employment orientation/training.
Article 19 Office of Emigrant Affairs
(a) Pursuant to the national policy to maintain
close
ties
with
the
Filipino
migrant
communities and promote their welfare as
well as establish a data bank in aid of
national manpower policy formulation, an
office of emigrant affairs is hereby created in
the DOLE. The office shall be a unit in the
office of the secretary and shall initially be
manned, and operated by such personnel and
through such funding as are available within
the department and its attached agencies.
Thereafter, its appropriation shall be made
part of the regular general appropriations
decree.
(b) The office shall, among others, promote the
well-being of the emigrants and maintain
their close link to the homeland by:
1. Serving
as
a
liaison
with
migrant
communities;
2. Providing welfare and cultural services;
3. Promoting and facilitating re-integration of
migrants into the national mainstream;
4. Promoting economic, political, and cultural
ties with the communities; and
5. Undertaking such activities as may be
appropriate to enhance such cooperative
links.
*office of emigrant affairs has been abolished and its
functions have been transferred to the commission on
Filipino overseas by batas pambansa blg. 79, approved on
June 16, 1980. Among other functions of the CFO provides
advice and assistance to the president and congress in the
formulation of the policies and measures affecting Filipinos
overseas
Article 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 employeremployee relations, arising out of or by
virtue of any law or contract involving
Filipino seamen for overseas employment.
The decision of the board shall be appealable
to the NLRC upon the same grounds provided
in article 223 hereof. The decisions of the
NLRC shall be final and unappealable.

*E.O. No. 797 abolished the NSB and transferred its

functions to the POEA which the order created
*article 20. No. 2 requires POEA to secure the best possible
terms of employment for contract seamen workers and
secure compliance therewith. The implications of this article
are illustrated in the ff. cases: Wallem Shipping, Inc. v.
Ministry of Labor, Vir-jen Shipping and Maritime Services v.
NLRC, Suzara v. Benipayo.
*an agreement (side agreement) that diminishes the
employees pay and benefits as contained in a POEAapproved contract is void, unless such subsequent
agreement is approved by POEA.
*any changes or alterations made in the same without prior
approval by POEA shall be null and void.
*the POEA regulations governing overseas employment in
part 5, rule 1 section 2 prescribes the following minimum
provisions of employment contracts:
a) Guaranteed wages for regular working hours and
overtime pay, as appropriate, which shall not be
lower than the prescribed minimum wage in the
host country, nor lower than the appropriate
minimum wage standard set forth in a bilateral
agreement or international convention duly ratified
by the host country and the Philippines or not
lower than the minimum wage in the Philippines,
whichever is highest;
b) Free transportation to and from the worksite, or
offsetting benefit;
c) Free food and accommodation, or offsetting
benefit;
d) Just/authorized causes for termination of the
contract or of the services of the workers taking
into consideration the customs, traditions, norms,
mores, practices, company policies, and the labor
laws and social legislations of the host country;
e) The administration may also consider the ff. as
basis for other provisions of the contract:
1. Existing labor and social laws of the host
country;
2. Relevant
agreements,
conventions,
delegations, or resolutions;
3. Relevant
bilateral
and
multilateral
agreements or arrangements with the
host country; and
4. Prevailing
condition/realities
in
the
market.
*parties to overseas employment contracts are allowed to
stipulate other terms and conditions and other benefits not
provided under these minimum requirements; provided the
whole employment package should be more beneficial to
the worker than the minimum; provided that the same shall
not be contrary to law, morals, or public policy, and
provided further, that Philippine agencies shall make foreign
employers aware of the standards of employment adopted
by the administration. (POEA Rules and Regulations, 2002)
Article 21 Foreign Service role and participation
To provide ample protection to Filipino workers
abroad, the labor attaches, the labor reporting
officers duly designated by the SOLE and the
Philippine diplomatic or consular officials concerned
shall, even without prior instruction or advice from
the home office, exercise the power and duty:
(a) To provide all Filipino workers within their
jurisdiction assistance in all matters arising
out of employment;
(b) To insure that Filipino workers are not
exploited or discriminated against;
(c) To verify and certify as requisite to
authentication that the terms and conditions
of employment in contracts involving Filipino
workers are in accordance with the labor
code and rules and regulations of the OEDB
and NSB;
(d) To make continuing studies or researches and
recommendations on the various aspects of

the
employment
market
within
their
jurisdiction;
(e) To gather and analyze information on the
employment situation and its probable
trends, and to make such information
available to the DOLE and DFA; and
(f) To perform such other duties as may be
required of them from time to time.
*R.A. 8042 assigns four government agencies to promote
the welfare and protect the rights of migrant workers and,
as far as applicable, of all overseas Filipinos. They are the
DOLE, OWWA, POEA, and DFA.
DFA shall take priority action or make representation with
the foreign authority concerned to protect the rights of
migrant workers and other overseas Filipinos and extend
immediate assistance including the repatriation of
distressed or beleaguered migrant workers and other
overseas Filipinos.
*R.A. No. 8042 created the position of legal assistant for
migrant workers affairs under the DFA. Its primary
responsibility is to provide and coordinate all legal
assistance services to Filipinos in distress.
*the same law also establishes a migrant workers and
other overseas Filipino resource center in Philippine
embassies in countries where there are at least 20,000
workers. The resource center is envisioned to provide such
services as counseling and legal assistance, welfare
assistance, registration of undocumented workers, and
conciliation of disputes arising from employer-employee
relationship.
DOLE shall see to it that the 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 referral to proper
medical centers or hospitals.
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.
OWWA 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
their principals. In the performance of this function, it shall
make representation and may call on the agencies or
entities concerned to conferences or conciliation meetings
for the purpose of setting the complaints or problems
brought about to his attention.
*the Re-placement and Monitoring (RPM) Center is expected
to develop livelihood programs for the returning workers
and formulate a computer-based information system on
skilled Filipino migrant workers.
*OWWA was created under P.D. No. 1694 (May 1, 1980).
*OWWA even has a role in cases of repatriation of workers.
But the primary responsibility to repatriate workers,
including their remains and personal effects, belong to the
principal or agency that recruited or deployed the workers.
Being primarily responsible, the principal or agency has to
advance the plane fare and immediately repatriate the
worker, as needed, without determining the cause of
termination of employment.
*if termination is solely due to the fault of worker, principal
or agency may recover cost of repatriation from worker
after return to the country. The cause of termination will be
determined by the labor arbiter. Such responsibility should
be stipulated in every contract for overseas employment.
*if principal/agency does not comply with its obligations,
POEA shall notify OWWA to advance repatriation cost with

recourse to the agency/principal. POEA may also impose

sanctions on the recalcitrant agency/principal.
*in no case shall an employment agency require any bond
or cash deposit from the worker to guarantee performance
under the contract of his/her repatriation.
Article 22 mandatory remittance of foreign
exchange earnings
It shall be mandatory for all Filipino workers abroad
to remit a portion of their foreign exchange earnings
to their families, dependents, and/or beneficiaries in
the country in accordance with rules and regulations
prescribed by the SOLE.
*E.O. No. 857, as amended, prescribed the percentages of
foreign exchange remittance ranging from 50% to 80% of
the basic salary, depending on the workers kind of job.
Article 23 composition of the boards
(a) The OEDB shall be composed of the SOLE as
chairman, the undersecretary of labor as
vice-chairman, and a representative of each
of the department of foreign affairs, the
DND, the CB, the DepEd, the national
manpower and youth council, the BES, a
workers organization and an employers
organization, and the executive director of
the OEDB as members.
(b) The NSB shall be composed of the SOLE as
chairman, the undersecretary as vicechairman, the commandant of the Philippine
Coast Guard, and a representative of each of
the DepEd, the CB, the maritime industry
authority, the BES, 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 boards
which shall not be more than P2000 per
month.
(c) The boards shall be attached to the DOLE for
policy and program coordination. They shall
each be assisted by a secretary 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 SOLE and shall receive an annual
salary fixed by law. The SOLE 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.
*the governing board is composed of the SOLE as chairman,
the administrator, and a third member, considered wellversed in the field of overseas employment who shall be
appointed by the president to serve a term of two years.
*the functional structure of the administration is established
along the areas of market development, employment,
welfare, licensing, regulation and adjudication, each headed
by a director.
Article 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.
CHAPTER 2 REGULATIONS OF RECRUITMENT AND
PLACEMENT ACTIVITIES.

Article 25 private sector participation in the

recruitment and placement of workers.
Pursuant to the national development objectives and
in order to harness and maximize the use of private
sector resources and initiative in the development
and implementation of a comprehensive employment
program, the private employment sector shall
participate in the recruitment and placement of
workers, locally and overseas, under such guidelines,
rules and regulations as may be issued by the SOLE.
*POEA retains original and exclusive jurisdiction over cases
involving violations of POEA rules and regulations,
disciplinary cases and other cases that are administrative in
character involving OFWs. Thus, POEA performs regulatory,
enforcement, and limited or special adjudicatory functions.
*the governing board of the administration (POEA) shall
promulgate the necessary rules and regulations to govern
the exercise of the adjudicatory functions of the POEA.
*power of subordinate legislation legislature entrusts to
administrative agencies the authority to issue rules to carry
out the general provisions of the statute.
Article 26 travel agencies prohibited to recruit
Travel agencies and sales agencies of airline
companies are prohibited from engaging in the
business of recruitment and placement of workers
for overseas employment whether for profit or not.
*in addition to those mentioned in the article, the POEA
Rules also disqualify:

Persons with derogatory records (e.g. convicted for

illegal
recruitment,
crimes
involving
moral
turpitude)

Any official or employee of DOLE, POEA, OWWA,

DFA and other government agencies directly
involved in the implementation of R.A. No. 8042 or
any of their relatives within the fourth civil degree.
Article 27 citizenship requirement.
only Filipino citizens or corporations, partnerships or
entities at least 75% of the authorized and voting
capital stock of which is owned and controlled by

Filipino citizens shall be permitted to participate in

the recruitment and placement of workers, locally or
overseas.
Article 28 capitalization
All applicants for authority to hire or renewal of
license to recruit are required to have such
substantial capitalization as determined by the SOLE.
*private employment agencies for local employment should
have a minimum net worth of P200k in the case of single
proprietorship and partnership and a minimum paid-up
capital of P500k in the case of corporations.
*private recruitment or manning agencies for overseas
employment should have a minimum capitalization of P2M
for single proprietorship or partnership, and a minimum
paid-up capital of P2M for corporations.
Article 29 non-transferability of license or authority
No license or authority shall be used directly or
indirectly by any person other than the one in whose
favor it was issued or at any place other than that
stated in the license or authority, nor may such
license or authority be transferred, conveyed, or
assigned to any other person or entity. Any transfer
of business address, appointment or designation of
any
agent
or
representative
including
the
establishment of additional offices anywhere shall be
subject to the prior approval of the DOLE.
*licensees or holders of authority or their duly authorized
representatives may, as a rule, undertake recruitment and
placement activity only at the authorized official addresses.
Under existing regulations, they may be allowed to conduct
provincial recruitment and/or job fairs only upon written
authority from the POEA.
*recruitment activities are conducted under the supervision
of a DOLE employee or officer designated by the regional
director.
*recruitment of workers for overseas employment cannot be
lawfully undertaken on a house-to-house basis, in
residences, or secluded places.