SENATE OF THE PHILIPPINES 
SIXTEENTH CONGRESS 
First Regular Session 
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SENATE 
Senate Bill No. 1854 
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Introduced by SENATOR JOSEPH VICTOR G. EJERCITO 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
There are a few things more terrifying than to be alone in a foreign 
land, without friends or resources or at time even shelter, without a way 
to return home. This is the plight faced by many of our overseas foreign 
workers, with repatriation at times taking longer than a year. While 
existing laws do provide for repatriation as a remedy for overseas foreign 
workers, these laws do not provide a set period of time within which 
repatriation must be completed, giving rise to situations wherein pleas to 
return home are lost amidst bureaucratic red tape and procedural 
bottlenecks. This law will help ensure that requests for repatriation will 
be processed with the appropriate urgency. 
This law also aims to help address other obstacles to repatriation, 
such as the practice by unscrupulous employers of confiscating the 
passports of our countrymen, as well as the ease by which employment 
agencies can evade even the most urgent of com7~ca~i.ons. 
G\)-
JOSEPH VICTOR G. EJERCITO 


SENATE OF THE PHILIPPINES 
SIXTEENTH CONGRESS 
First Regular Session 
) 
) 
) 
SENATE 
Senate Bill No. 
1854 
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Introduced by SENATOR JOSEPH VICTOR G. EJERCITO 
AN ACT 
TO EXPEDITE THE PROCESS OF REPATRIATION OF FILIPINO 
MIGRANT 
WORKERS 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
Philippines in Congress assembled: 
SECTION 1. EXPEDITED REPATRIATION. -
The request for 
repatriation must be in writing, and may be made by the migrant worker, 
relatives of the migrant worker up to the second degree of consanguinity 
or affinity, non-government organizations, or government offices. Such 
I 
requests shall be resolved within the following periods: 
(a) In all cases of repatriation which fall under the coverage of the 
first paragraph of Section 15 of Republic Act No. 8042 where the migrant 
worker is still alive, the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration 
(OWWA) must complete its evaluation of the written request for 
repatriation and inform the requesting party of its decision within five (5) 
working days from the receipt of the written request by the OWWA's Field 
Services Office (FSO), Workers Assistance Division (WAD), Regional 
OWWA Units (rous), or other appropriate office. Should the OWWA find 
that there is a need for repatriation, the OWWA must ensure that the 
migrant worker concerned is repatriated within fifteen (15) working days 
from the date that notice of approval is given to the requesting party. 


(b) In all cases of repatriation which fall under the coverage of the 
first Paragraph of Section 15 of Republic Act No. 8042 where the migrant 
worker is deceased, the OWWA must complete its evaluation of the 
written report for repatriation and inform the requesting party of its 
decision within five (5) working days from the receipt of the written 
request by the OWWA's Field Services Office (FSO), Workers Assistance 
Division (WAD), Regional OWWA Units (rous), or other appropriate office. 
Should the OWWA find that there is a need for repatriation, the OWWA 
must ensure that the body of the migrant worker concerned is 
repatriated within thirty (30) working days from the date that notice of 
approval is given to the requesting party. 
(c) In all cases of repatriation which fall under the coverage of the 
first paragraph of Section 15 of Republic Act No. 8042 in cases of war, 
epidemic, disasters or calamities, natural or man-made, and other 
similar events, the OWWA 
shall, without delay, undertake the 
repatriation of workers in the affected regions. The OWWA shall bear the 
costs and primary responsibility for this repatriation, without prejudice 
to reimbursement by the responsible principal or agency. 
(d) In all cases of repatriation which fall under the coverage of 
Section 16 ~f Republic Act No. 8042, the OWWA must complete its 
evaluation of the written request for repatriation and inform the 
requesting party of its decision within three (3) working days from the 
receipt of the written request by the OWWA's Field Services Office (FSO), 
Workers Assistance Division (WAD), Regional OWWA Units (rous) , or 
other appropriate office. Should the OWWA find that there is a need for 
repatriation, the OWWA must ensure that the migrant worker concerned 
is repatriated within ten (10) working days from the date that notice of I 
approval is given to the requesting party. 


SECTION 
2. 
EMAIL 
REQUIREMENT: 
PENALTIES 
FOR 
UNRESPONSIVE AGENCIES. - All licensed recruitment agencies must 
have at least one (1) current and active email address on record with the 
Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA). It shall be the 
responsibility of the recruitment agency to keep the POEA updated as to 
any changes in the aforementioned email address. 
Failure 
of 
the 
recruitment 
agency 
to 
respond 
to 
any 
communication from the POEA concerning the repatriation of a migrant 
worker, sent to the agency's email address on record, within forty-eight 
hours, shall merit sanctions to be determined by the POEA within thirty 
(30) days from the effectivity of this Act; Provided, That an automated 
email reply, or a statement to the effect that the proper/appropriate 
official of the agency is unavailable, shall not constitute a reply under 
this Section. 
SECTION 
3. 
PRE-EMPTIVE 
SUBMISSION 
TO 
THE 
DEPARTMENT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS. - Within ten (10) working days 
from the departure of the migrant worker from the Philippines, pursuant 
to employment facilitates by a local re.cruitment or placement agency, 
such agency shall submit to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) one 
original copy of the Birth Certificate of the migrant worker and one 
certified true copy of the current passport of the migrant worker, which 
shall constitute part of the documentary requirements under Section 4 of 
this Act. The license of a recruitment/manning agency which fails to 
comply with this provision shall be suspended until it has fully complied 
with the same, without prejudice to any other sanctions that may be 
imposed by the POEA. 
SECTION 
4. 
EXPEDITED 
REPLACEMENT 
OF 
DETAINED 
PASSPORTS. _. In situations wherein the passport of a migrant worker, 
who is subject to an approved request for repatriation as per Section 1 of 


this Act, has been detained by his/her employer or other party, without 
the consent of the migrant worker, the migrant worker shall be issued a 
new passport or travel document upon written request of the migrant 
worker, and under an expedited procedure to be jointly enacted by the 
OWWA, POEA, and DFA within sixty (60) days from the effectivity of this 
Act; Provided, that: 
(a) No other pre-existing public or government issued document 
shall be required to be submitted, as the documents submitted under 
Section 3 of this Act shall be deemed sufficient; 
(b) Any fees required shall be considered as part of the repatriation 
cost, to be shouldered by the principal, agency or OWW A as the case may 
be, subject to appropriate reimbursement; 
(c) The evaluation of the written request for repatriation must be 
complete within fifteen (15) working days from the receipt of the written 
request by the appropriate agency/office as determined by the expedited 
procedure; 
(d) Should the request be approved, the new passport or travel 
document must be issued to the migrant worker within fifteen (15) 
working days from such approval; and 
(e) Such expedited rules shall be of uniform and shall apply to all 
Philippine embassies. 
SECTION 5. REPEALING· CLAUSE. - All laws, decrees, rules and 
regulations or parts thereof, which are contrary to or inconsistent with 
this Act are hereby repealed or modified accordingly. 
Approved.