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Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

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Quezon City oaredUL_8 1 2019 Th
THE. ez
EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS nooo /
First Regular Session *e INDEX oe 7

House Bill No. au

Introduced by CIBAC Party-List Representatives
Eduardo ‘Bro. Eddie’ C. Villanueva and Domingo C. Rivera

AN ACT PROVIDING FREE INSURANCE FOR COVERED
APPLICANTS OF OVERSEAS EMPLOYMENT CERTIFICATES,
APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR AND FOR OTHER
PURPOSES

EXPLANATORY NOTE

From April to September 2018, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA)
accounts over 2.3 million Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs)' who worked abroad
at any time during the said period, excluding Filipino migrant workers who are
permanent residents or citizens of another country.

However, the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration's (OWWA)
reported only 1,315,584 members during that period in 2018. This means there
was an almost one million unaccounted OFWs deployed abroad deprived of
welfare protection and assistance on employer concerns.

Consider the incident of 22 Filipino truck drivers who suffered from social
dumping and wage exploitation in Padborg, Denmark.? The Philippine Overseas
Employment Agency (POEA) confessed during the Senate hearing of the issue that

‘otal umber of OFWs Estimated st 2.8 Millon (Reeuts om the 2018 Survey on Overseas Flpinos.

Philippine Statistics Authority. 2019. Retrieved from: hi for

(date last accessed: June 30, 2019)

2 2018, October 31. 22 Pinoy truck drivers rescued from ‘deplorable conditions’ in Denmark: DFA. Retrieved from:
Jnews.abs-cbn.com/o\ /10/31/18/22-pinoy-truck-drivers- rom. ble-conditions-in-

denmark-dfa (date last accessed: June 30, 2019)


the drivers were undocumented, unmonitored, and were only given attention to after
media outlets raised their situation to the Embassy.° This is but one of the many cases
of OFWs who did not go through the procedures of POEA and were abused by their
employers.

Hence, an incentive is necessary for OFWs who haven't registered their
membership with OWWA after their initial deployment or who have transferred to
another country by way of third-country recruitment to register with the POEA or the
Philippine Embassy abroad and get their corresponding overseas employment
certificates (OECs).

Given the abovementioned concerns, this bill aims to provide free insurance
coverage to all OFWs who apply for OEC. This way, undocumented OFWs will be
granted incentives in obtaining proper documentation so that they, too, can receive
the benefits and protection guaranteed to them by the State. This bill will also aid the
government in devising a system for the proper monitoring OFWs abroad and ensuring
their protection from human trafficking and abuses.

With this, the immediate enactment of this bill is earnestly requested.

HON. EDUARDO “BRO. EDDIE” C. VILLANUEVA

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® November 26, 2018 Senate Labor Committee Hearing Transcripts, at p. 118.


Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS.
First Regular Session

3217
House Bill No.

Introduced by CIBAC Party-List Representatives
Eduardo ‘Bro. Eddie’ C. Villanueva and Domingo C. Rivera

AN ACT PROVIDING FREE INSURANCE FOR COVERED
APPLICANTS OF OVERSEAS EMPLOYMENT CERTIFICATES,
APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR AND FOR OTHER
PURPOSES

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

‘SECTION 1. Declaration of Policies. — The State shall afford full protection to labor,
local and overseas, organized and unorganized. Towards this end, the State shall
provide adequate and timely social, legal and economic services to overseas
Filipinos workers. Pursuant to this, the State shall ensure that all overseas Filipino
workers are properly monitored and accounted for with due regard for their
protection and welfare, and that overseas Filipino workers are incentivized to
make themselves known to Philippine authorities abroad.

SECTION 2. Coverage. - The benefits under this Act shall apply to applicants of
overseas employment certificates (OECs); Provided, That the applicant-migrant
worker is abroad; Provided further, That he/she has no prior record with the
Philippine Overseas Employment Authority (POEA), or if he/she has a prior
record, is working in a vulnerable sector, as may be determined by the POEA in
consultation with relevant government agencies and other stakeholders.

SECTION 3. Benefits. - Covered migrant workers shall, upon securing an
overseas employment certificate from the POEA or the Philippine Embassy or
consular offices abroad shall be given a free one-year insurance with the same or


similar coverage as required under Republic Act No. 8042, as amended, otherwise
known as the “Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipinos Act.”

SECTION 4. Funding. - The payment for the premium of the insurance provided under
this Act shall be funded partly by the budget of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA)
‘earmarked for the Assistance to Nationals and partly by the appropriations in the General
‘Appropriations Act as included in the budget of the POEA. For the first year of the
implementation of this Act, an initial amount of Thirty Million Pesos (P30,000,000.00) is
hereby appropriated. Thereafter, such amount necessary for its continued implementation
shall be included in the annual General Appropriations Act.

SECTION 5. Implementing Rules and Regulations. — The Department of Labor
and Employment (DOLE), DFA, POEA, OWWA, Insurance Commission and other
relevant stakeholders, shall issue the implementing rule and regulations of this Act
within sixty (60) days from the effectivity of this Act.

To ensure the proper implementation of this Act, DOLE, POEA and DFA shall
establish a system that shall facilitate the processing and issuance of OECs
abroad.

SECTION 6. Separability Clause. - If any part or provision of this Act is held
unconstitutional or invalid, the other parts or provision hereof which are not
affected thereby shall continue to be in full force and effect.

SECTION 7. Repealing Clause. — All laws, executive orders, presidential decrees,
tules and regulations or parts thereof contrary to or inconsistent with any
provisions of this Act are hereby repealed, amended or modified accordingly.

SECTION 8. Effectivity. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its

publication in the Official Gazette or in two (2) national newspapers of general
circulation.

Approved,