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

= DATE September 8, 2020)

‘TWENTIETH CONGRESS TIME 4:31pm *
First Regular Session \ al Jonah

So moet

House Bill No.4422

INTRODUCED BY REPRESENTATIVES RALPH WENDEL P. TULFO
AND JOCELYN P. TULFO

AN ACT
REDEFINING THE CRIME OF ILLEGAL RECRUITMENT COMMITTED BY A
SYNDICATE, AMENDING FOR THE PURPOSE PRESIDENTIAL DECREE NO.
442, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS THE LABOR CODE OF THE PHILIPPINES, AS
AMENDED, AND REPUBLIC ACT NO. 8042, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS THE
MIGRANT WORKERS AND OVERSEAS FILIPINOS ACT OF 1995, AS
AMENDED

EXPLANATORY NOTE

The Philippines is one of the top labor-exporters in the world. Personal
remittances from Overseas Filipino Workers (“OFWs”) grew by 3.0 percent to an all-
time high of US$3,73 billion in December 2024 from the US$3.62 billion registered in
December 2023, The full-year 2024 remittances represented 8.3 percent of the
country’s Gross Domestic Product and 7.4 percent of the country’s Gross National
Income.! While OFWs are dubbed as our modern-day heroes, many are left as victims
of fraudulent recruiters.

In 2024, the Bureau of Immigration (“BI”) referred 998 victims of human
trafficking to the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (“IACAT”). The BI also
referred 215 Filipinos to the Department of Migrant Workers (“DMW”) for illegal
recruitment cases.?

Moreover, on March 2025, the National Bureau of Investigation - International
Airport Investigation Division received an endorsement from the NAIA Taskforce
Against Trafficking - IACAT regarding six (6) passengers who were denied departure
by the BI. The investigation revealed that the passengers were originally bound for

* “Personal Remittances Reach a Record High of US$3.7 Billion in December 2024; Full-Year Level of
US$38.3 Billion Highest to Date”, BANGKO SENTRAL NG PILIPINAS, 17 Feb 2025,

https:/ / www.bsp.gov.ph/SitePages /MediaAndResearch/MediaDisp.aspx?Itemld=7426.

2 Manalo, Jown, “BI referred over 990 human trafficking victims to LACAT in 2024”, INQUIRER.NET,
31 Dec 2024, https:/ / globalnation.inquirer.net/259830/ bi-refers-over-990-human-trafficking-victims-
to-iacat-in-2024,


Singapore on a company incentive tour. However, the true purpose of their travel was
to seek employment as performers. Verification with the DMW confirmed that their
two (2) companions who were acting as their escorts are neither licensed nor
authorized to recruit workers for overseas employment and were arrested?

The 1987 Constitution mandates that the State shall afford full protection to
labor, whether local and overseas. Towards this goal, the Labor Code of the
Philippines and The Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipino Act of 1995, including
their amendments, define and penalize the crime of illegal recruitment committed by
a syndicate, which is illegal recruitment carried out by a group of three (3) or more
persons conspiring or confederating with one another. Due to the gravity of the
offense, offenders convicted of illegal recruitment committed by a syndicate are meted
with a harsher penalty vis-a-vis simple illegal recruitment. However, many
unscrupulous recruiters escape the stiffer penalty simply by failing to prove that three
(3) persons acted in concert to commit the crime. It is not unlikely that two (2) persons
ganging up on unsuspecting victims would do as much or even more damage than
three (3) or more illegal recruiters. As the saying goes, it only takes two to tango.

In the spirit of protecting our local and overseas workers and curbing illegal
recruitment activities, this proposed bill seeks to amend and redefine the definition of
illegal recruitment committed by a syndicate by lowering the required number of
perpetrators from three (3) to two (2) persons.

In view of the foregoing, the urgent passing of this bill is earnestly sought.

RALPH WENDEL P. TULFO Loy op

Representative Representative
2m District of Quezon City ACT-CIS Partylist

3“"NBI Arrests Two For Illegal Recruitment in Large Scale”, NATIONAL BUREAU OF

INVESTIGATION, 14 Mar 2025, https:/ /nbi.gov.ph/ press_releases/2025/03142025/7760/.
4 Article XIII, Section 3 and Article II, Section 18 of the 1987 Constitution,


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

TWENTIETH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

House Bill No. 4422

INTRODUCED BY REPRESENTATIVES RALPH WENDEL P. TULFO
AND JOCELYN P. TULFO

AN ACT
REDEFINING THE CRIME OF ILLEGAL RECRUITMENT COMMITTED BY A
SYNDICATE, AMENDING FOR THE PURPOSE PRESIDENTIAL DECREE NO.
442, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS THE LABOR CODE OF THE PHILIPPINES, AS
AMENDED, AND REPUBLIC ACT NO. 8042, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS THE
MIGRANT WORKERS AND OVERSEAS FILIPINOS ACT OF 1995, AS
AMENDED

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

assembled:

SECTION 1. Article 38 of Presidential Decree No. 442, otherwise known as the
“Labor Code of the Philippines,” as amended, is hereby further amended to read as

follows:

“Article 38. Iegal Recruitment. - (a) Any recruitment activities,
including the prohibited practices enumerated under Article 34 of this
Code, to be undertaken by non-licensees or non-holders of authority,
shall be deemed illegal and punishable under Article 39 of this Code.
The Department of Labor and Employment or any law enforcement

officer may initiate complaints under this Articles.


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Workers and Overseas Filipinos Act of 1995,” as

“(b) Illegal recruitment when committed by a syndicate or in large scale
shall be considered an offense involving economic sabotage and shall be
penalized in accordance with Article 39 hereof.

“Illegal recruitment is deemed committed by a syndicate if (1) carried
out by a group of three (3) or more persons conspiring and/or
confederating with one another in carrying out any unlawful or illegal
transaction, enterprise or scheme defined under the first paragraph
hereof], OR (2) IF THE OFFENDERS ARE NON-LICENSEES OR
NON-HOLDERS OF AUTHORITY AND THE ACT WAS CARRIED
OUT BY TWO (2) OR MORE PERSONS.

Illegal recruitment is deemed committed in large scale if committed

against three (3) or more persons individually or as group.

[(©) The Secretary of Labor and Employment or his duly authorized
representatives shall have the power to cause the arrest and detention of
such non-licensee or non-holder of authority if after investigation it is
determined that his activities constitute a danger to national security
and public order or will lead to further exploitation of job-seekers. The
Secretary shall order the search of the office or premises and seizure of
documents and entities found to be engaged in the recruitment of
workers for overseas employment, without having been licensed or
authorized to do so]

SEC. 2. Section 6 of Republic Act No. 8042, otherwise known as the “Migrant

amended by R.A. 10022, is hereby
further amended to read as follows:


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“SEC. 6. Definition. - For purposes of this Act, illegal recruitment shall
mean any act of canvassing, enlisting, contracting, transporting,
utilizing, hiring, or procuring workers and includes referring, contract
services, promising or advertising for employment abroad, whether for
profit or not, when undertaken by non-licensee or non-holder of
authority contemplated under Article 13(f) of Presidential Decree No.
442, as amended, otherwise known as the Labor Code of the Philippines:
Provided, That any such non-licensee or non-holder who, in any
manner, offers or promises for a fee employment abroad to two or more
persons shall be deemed so engaged. It shall likewise include the
following acts, whether committed by any person, whether a non-

licensee, non-holder, licensee or holder of authority:

“(a) To charge or accept directly or indirectly any amount greater than
that specified in the schedule of allowable fees prescribed by the
Secretary of Labor and Employment, or to make a worker pay or
acknowledge any amount greater than that actually received by him as

a loan or advance;

“(m) Failure to reimburse expenses incurred by the workers in
connection with his documentation and processing for purposes of
deployment, in cases where the deployment does not actually take place
without the worker's fault. Illegal recruitment when committed by a
syndicate or in large scale shall be considered an offense involving

economic sabotage]; and

“(n) To allow a non-Filipino citizen to head or manage a licensed

recruitment/manning agency.


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ILLEGAL RECRUITMENT WHEN COMMITTED BY A SYNDICATE
OR IN LARGE SCALE SHALL BE CONSIDERED AN OFFENSE
INVOLVING ECONOMIC SABOTAGE.

Illegal recruitment is deemed committed by a syndicate if (1) carried out
by a group of three (3) or more persons conspiring or confederating with
one another, OR (2) IF THE OFFENDERS ARE NON-LICENSEES OR
NON-HOLDERS OF AUTHORITY AND THE ACT WAS CARRIED
OUT BY TWO (2) OR MORE PERSONS. It is deemed committed in
large scale if committed against three (3) or more persons individually
or asa group.

XXX

SEC. 3, If any provision or part hereof, is held invalid or unconstitutional, the
remainder of the law or the provision not otherwise affected shall remain valid and
subsisting.

SEC. 4. All laws, presidential decrees, orders, issuances, rules and regulations
or parts thereof inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are hereby repealed,

amended or modified accordingly.

SEC. 5. This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication in the
Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation.

Approved,