SIXTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE 
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES 
First Regular Session 
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SENATE 
S. B.No. 
Introduced by Senator FRANCIS G. ESCUDERO 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
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,JUL -4 118 :08 
Each year, more than a million Filipinos leave the country to work abroad 
through overseas employment agencies and other programs; and in the course of 
the recruitment process, the government allows one (1) month salary placement 
fees charged to the prospective OFW to allow the employment agency to cover 
the cost of processing the application. 
However, very few recruitment agencies comply with the standards set in 
charging placement fees, and some collect as much as four (4) times the monthly 
salary of the aspiring OFW. This practice of charging excessive processing fees 
can cost the prospective OFW as much as one-hundred thousand pesos 
(PIOO,OOO.OO), and most get mired in debts even before getting hired, if not 
backing out from the recruitment process altogether. 
Therefore, this bill deserves immediate consideration and approval. 
FRANCIS G. ESCUDERO 


SIXTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE 
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES 
First Regular Session 
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) 
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SENATE 
S. B. No/ia2 
Introduced by Senator FRANCIS G. ESCUDE~O 
AN ACT 
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JUL -4 lUi:O 8 
PENALIZING CERTAIN ACTS IN THE IMPOSITION OF EXCESSIVE 
PLACEMENT FEES AGAINST OVERSEAS FILIPINO WORKERS 
Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Republic of the 
Philippines in Congress assembled: 
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SECTION 1. Title. This Act shall be known as the "Fair Placement Fees 
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for OFWs Act". 
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SECTION 2. Statement of Policy; Prohibited Acts. The following acts 
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committed by any person involving and relating to the imposition of placement 
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fees against Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW), are hereby prohibited: 
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a. 
Collecting placement fee above the legitimate placement fee 
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fixed and determined by the Philippine Overseas Employment Agency (POEA) 
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withou~ prejudice to Section 5 hereof; 
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b. 
Collecting placement fee in advance of the job's availability 
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overseas; 
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c. 
Not issuing the appropriate receipts for any placement fee 
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collected; 
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d. 
Not returning any placement fee collected when deployment 
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does not materialize; 
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e. 
Forcing an OFW to issue post dated checks to guarantee 
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payment of any placement fee; and 
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f. 
Forcing an OFW to borrow money only from designated 
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persons or lending institutions. 
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SECTION 3. Penalties. Commission of any of the following acts in the 
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immediately preceding Section shall be punished by six (6) years imprisonment 
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or a fine of One Hundred Thousand Pesos (Php100,000.00) to Five Hundred 
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Thousand Pesos (Php500,000.00), or both, at the discretion of the court. 
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The penalties herein provided shall be treated as separate and 
distinct from any liability ariSing from the same pUnishable acts in Section 1 
hereof. 
If any of the acts in Section 1 is committed by a corporation, its 
officers and directors shall be made liable in the same manner as the employee or 
person related in any capacity to the corporation who actually committed the 
same. 
Moreover, if any of the acts is committed by a lic"ensed recruitment 
agency, its agent or representative, such agency's license shall be automatically 
revoked with finality and no longer eligible for reinstatement. 
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SECTION 4. Implementing Rules. The POEA is hereby mandated to 
promulgate the schedule of placement fees abroad together with the 
implementing rules and regulations within ten (10) days from the effectivity of 
this Act. 
SECTION 5. Definition of Terms. For purposes of this Act, placement fee 
shall refer to the amount charged by a Private Recruitment and Placement 
Agency (PRPA) or any person from a recruit as payment for placement services 
which shall not exceed the equivalent of one (1) month salary of the job for which 
an OFW has been recruited. 
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SECTION 6. Separability Clause. If any provision or part hereof is held 
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invalid or unconstitutional, the remainder of the law or the provision not 
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otherwise affected shall remain valid and subsisting. 
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SECTION 7. Repealing Clause. All laws, presidential decrees, executive 
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orders, proclamations and! or administrative regulations which are inconsistent 
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with the provisions of this Act are hereby amended, modified, superseded or 
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repealed accordingly. 
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SECTION 8. Effectivity Clause. This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days from 
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its publication in the Official Gazette or at least three (3) newspapers of national 
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circulation. 
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Approved, 
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