Republic of the Philippines '
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES \
Quezon City, Metro Manila \

SIXTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

House BLL No. 2190

Introduced by
HON. ROY VILLAREAL SENERES of the OFW Family Party-List

EXPLANATORY NOTE

This bill seeks to put into practice three (3) very important provisions
of the Constitution to wit:

1. Section 18, Article II, which states: “The State affirms labor as a
primary social economic force. It shall protect the rights of workers
and promote their welfare.”

&

Section 3, (first paragraph), Article XIII, which states: “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.”

3. Section 14, Article XIII, which states: “The State shall protect
working women by providing safe and healthful working conditions,
taking into account their maternal functions, and such facilities and
opportunities that will enhance their welfare and enable them to
realize their full potential in the service of the nation.”

This bill adopts the declaration of basic policy of Republic Act No. 442
otherwise known as the Labor Code of the Philippines which states: “Article
3. DECLARATION OF BASIC POLICY. - The State shall afford protection to
labor, promote full employment ensure equal work opportunities regardless
of sex, race or creed, and regulate the relations between workers and
employers. The State shall assure the rights of workers to self-organization,
collective bargaining, securing of tenure, and just and humane conditions of
work.”

The Bill also seeks to particularize the general statement of Section 27
of Republic Act No, 8042, otherwise known as the Migrant Workers and
Overseas Filipinos Act which states in part that: “the protection of the Filipino
migrant workers and the promotion of their welfare, in particular, and the
protection of the dignity and fundamental rights and freedoms of the Filipino
citizen abroad, in general, shall be the highest priority concerns of the
Secretary of Foreign Affairs and the Philippine Foreign Service Posts.”

For a long time now, there is a general sentiment among members of
the Filipino communities overseas as well as among families of OFWs in the
home-front, about the gross inadequacy of the services of Philippine
Embassies and Consulates-General, not only in logistics and_ financial
resources but also in terms of gaping deficits in personal touch and


humanitarian concern and caring from the Heads of Missions themselves to
provide genuinely sincere assistance to distressed Filipinos overseas in
violation of the above- cited Constitutional and statutory provisions.

Lately, this deficit was demonstrated more resoundingly by the
accusations emanating from wards or runaway Filipino domestic helpers who
sought shelter in the Embassies in Kuwait, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and
Jordan. Filipino community leaders say that no less than subordinates of the
‘Ambassadors in the said posts, and an Ambassador himself in one post
preyed on their wards instead of protecting them, such as demanding sexual
favors from the wards in exchange for plane tickets for their safe return to
their loved ones in the Philippines.

We take off our hats to those who came out openly to make their
ordeal known to the public, but reports persist that this has become
widespread and prevalent also in other posts aside from the three above-
mentioned. However, most of the victims chose not to complain for fear that
their husbands may not be able to cope with and/or understand their
situation; or of shaming their families back home.

These irregularities could be averted in the future if the Heads of
Missions themselves, leading by example, would exercise the diligence of
good parents of their families in taking care not only of the runaways but of
all Filipinos working or residing in their areas of responsibility. With the
Heads of Missions themselves personally spearheading all embassy efforts to
protect or oversee the welfare of OFWs they will also be sending strong
signals to Head of States or Governments of host states that the very
bedrock and/or cornerstone of Philippine Foreign Policy is the protection and
welfare of human beings, the Overseas Filipino Workers. And if foreign
governments value our bilateral and diplomatic relations with them, they
should see to it that our people are all treated fairly and well by all concerned
during their sojourn to earn a living in host states.

This bill therefore seeks to require Heads of Missions to perform the
role and/or discharge the duties and responsibilities of surrogate parents of
all OFWs in their jurisdiction and correspondingly they must exercise the
diligence of a good parent of a family in doing

In view of the foregoing, appr jis bill is most respectfully

requested.

NREAL SENERES


Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City, Metro Manila

SIXTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

HOUSE BILL NO. _2190

Introduced by
HON. ROY VILLAREAL SENERES of the OFW Family Party-List

AN ACT
REQUIRING AMBASSADORS/HEADS OF MISSION TO PERFORM
AND/OR DISCHARGE THE DUTIES OF SURROGATE PARENTS IN
TAKING CARE OF OVERSEAS FILIPINO WORKERS (OFWs) IN THEIR
AREAS OF RESPONSIBILITY

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines
in Congress assembled:

SECTION 1. Title. - This Act shall be known and cited as the

“Surrogate Parents of OFWs and Migrant Filipinos Act 2013.”
SEC. 2. Declaration of Policy. - This Act is in furtherance of three
(3) relevant provisions of the Constitution, to wit:

1. Section 18, Article II, as State policy: “The State affirms labor as a
primary social economic force. It shall protect the rights of workers
and promote their welfare.”

2. Section 3, Article XIII, provides that: “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.”

3. Section 14, Article XIII, which provides that: the State shall protect
working women by providing safe and healthful working conditions,
taking into account their maternal functions, and such facilities and
opportunities that will enhance their welfare and enable them to

realize their full potential in the service of the nation.


This Act further adopts the declaration of basic policy of Presidential
Decree No. 442 otherwise known as the Labor Code of the Philippines which
states: “Article 3, DECLARATION OF BASIC POLICY. - The State shall afford
protection to labor, promote full employment, ensure equal work
opportunities regardless of sex, race or creed, and regulate the relations
between workers and employers. The State shall assure the rights of workers
to self-organization, collective bargaining, security of tenure, and just and
humane conditions of work.”

Furthermore, this Act takes into cognizance the provision of Section 2,
Republic Act No. 8042, otherwise known as the Migrant Workers and
Overseas Filipinos Act, which mandates that the “highest priority concern of
the Secretary of Foreign Affairs and the Philippine Foreign Services shall be
the protection and welfare of Filipinos overseas.”

SEC. 3. Definition of Terms. - As used in this Act, the following
terms shall be defined as:

a). “Overseas Filipino Worker” shall refer to 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 citizen, or on board a vessel navigating the
foreign seas other than a government ship used for military or non-
commercial purposes, or on an installation located offshore or on the high
seas; to used interchangeably with migrant worker;

b). “Host Country” refers to a country or state where overseas Filipinos
are located or found;

c). “OFW in Distress” is a worker, regardless of membership status,
who is in urgent need of assistance at post;

d). “Legal Resident” means a person who has obtained permanent
residency status in accordance with the laws of the host country;

e) “Surrogate Parent” shall refer to mean a person that functions as a
substitute for another, as in a social or family role;

SEC. 4. Ambassadors as Surrogate Parents of OFWs in their

Areas of Responsibility. - In addition to the existing duties and


responsibilities of Ambassadors and/or Chiefs of Mission, they shall perform
the role of surrogate parents of OFWs or Migrant Workers in their areas of
responsibility. As such, they shall exercise the diligence of a good parent to
all his children.

SEC. 5. Duties and Responsibilities of an Ambassador. - The
duties and responsibilities of an Ambassador as surrogate parent are as

follows:

a). He shall personally visit jailed OFWs or migrant workers and
provide them with legal and other forms of assistance;

b). He shall personally attend to the problems of runaway housemaids,
giving them words of comfort and assurances of his protection and support;

c). He shall personally visit OFWs or migrant workers who are sick or
injured and confined in hospitals or in their homes and provide them with
appropriate assistance;

d). He shall personally visit stranded seamen, provide them with food,
legal and other forms of assistance;

e). He shall communicate directly with the families of all the above and
inform them of their conditions, furnishing the Department of Foreign Affairs
of his reports;

f). In cases of jailed Filipinos especially those undergoing trial which
might entail a life or death sentence, he must verify the background of the
accused Filipino by communicating with his parents, school teachers, the
Mayor and/or Barangay Chairman of his place of residence and request them
if the jailed Filipino is deserving of a sworn certificate from them of good
moral character or a clean police record and if so, for him to submit said
certificates to the foreign court having jurisdiction over the jailed Filipino for
whatever it may be worth in alleviating the predicament of the jailed Filipino;

g). He must befriend and pay regular visits to the host country’s
Secretaries of Labor, Justice, and Interior, and Foreign Affairs including the
Chief Justice, the Court Administrator, the Chief of Immigration and the Chief

of Police;


h). He must communicate with the Department of Social Welfare and
Development (DSWD), the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration
(OWWA), and the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) to inquire
into the status of the family of all of the above distressed OFWs and to
request food and/or financial assistance for them while their situations
remain unsolved;

i), He may delegate some of the above duties to his consuls or labor
attaches and welfare officers if the cases are too numerous for him to
personally handle but as a gauge of his job performance he should report to
his home office his substantial compliance with the above personally,

SEC. 6. Highest Priority Concern of the Philippine Foreign
Service. - All Ambassadors and Heads of Mission shall remind themselves
and comply at all times with the mandate of Section 27 of Republic Act No.
8042 that the highest priority concerns of the Secretary of Foreign Affairs
and the Philippine Foreign Service Posts shall be the protection and the
promotion of the welfare of Filipinos overseas, in particular, and the
protection of their dignity, fundamental rights and freedom in general. Being
the highest priority concerns, it is veritably the very cornerstone or bedrock
of Philippine Foreign Policy. As such there is no better way to convey this to
the host country with the Ambassador and/or Chief of Mission himself
personally discharging the duties as provided in Section 5 hereof. The
message that he should be able to convey should be loud and clear that if
the host country values our bilateral diplomatic relations or would want to
strengthen them, it should see to it that all concerned treat our people justly,
humanely, fairly and with respect.

SEC. 6. Penal Clause. - Non-compliance with Section 5 hereof, shall
cause the recall of the Ambassador and after due process, his disqualification
to hold any position in the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and the
Foreign Service without prejudice to any case that may be filed against him

for dereliction of duty.


SEC. 7. Repealing Clause. - All laws, decrees, executive orders,
issuances, rules and regulations which may be inconsistent with any of the
provisions of this Act, are hereby deemed repealed, amended or modified
accordingly.

SEC. 8. Effectivity. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after
its complete publication in two (2) newspapers of general circulation.

Approved,