Republic of the Philippines

House Bill No.

Introduced by ACTS OF W Representative Aniceto D. Bertiz HL

EXPLANATORY NOTE

It is the avowed poli State to protect the rights of workers and promote their welfare,
and afford full protection to labor, local and overseas (Sec. 18, Art. Il; Sec. 3, Art, XIII.
Philippine Constitution),

While we the legislators have been exerting all our efforts to fulfill our duties to enact laws to
protect our citizenry, unscrupulous people continue to seck, find, and invent crafty ways to go
around or through these laws to victimize unwary workers.

‘The phenomenon of decking, a practice which requires overseas Filipino workers to go first to an
office for registration for their pre-employment medical examination and then being farmed out
to a selected medical clinic located elsewhere, is an invention of these unscrupulous and greedy
elements. It is a lucrative practice as the OF W has to pay the registrar (decker), an amount more
than double the fee charged by the medical clinic. This practice has directly contributed to the
establishments of monopolies in the medical examination of OFWs. in the process increasing the
pre-employment cost shouldered by the employers and workers. This practice also violates the
guaranteed rights of workers to choose from among government-accredited medical clinics.

In August 2016, Winston Q8 Certification Solutions Intemational, Inc,, a foreign-owned
company registered in the Philippines, announced that it has secured an agreement with the
Ministry of Health of Kuwait and that all medical testing of OFWs bound to Kuwait will have to
pass through them. They partnered with Mawared Service and ight (8) local medical clinics to
charge exorbitant fees to OF Ws with the following fees:

Winston Q8: P5,483.00
Mawared Service: P3,475.00
Visa: P4,000.00

Medical: P2,917.00

The practice of decking had reached our Supreme Court in the case Association of Medical
Clinics for Overseas Workers, Inc. Vs. GCC Approved Medical Centers Association, Inc. and
Christian E. Cangco/Hon. Enrique T. Ona Vs. GCC Approved Medical Centers Association, Inc.
and Christian Cangco (G.R. No. 207132/G.R. No. 207205. December 6, 2016). The GCC
Approved Medical Centers Association, Inc. (GAMCA) was the sole medical group accredited
by the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). GAMCA’s member clinics had the monopoly of

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conducting medical examinations on OF Ws bound to the GC states. The Supreme Court cited
the prohibition against the referral decking system under Section 16 of R.A. No. 10022, and
declared the provision as a valid exercise of police power.

However, our Supreme Court also declared in it that “xxx Section 16 of RA No. 10022 does not
specifically define the consequences of violating the prohibition against the referral decking
system Xxx.”

It is for these reasons that this bill is proposed. The bill defines and criminalizes the practice of
decking, It also clarifies that those who imposed, established, managed, and participated in the
decking practice are committing illegal recruitment and that these acts would be meted with
appropriate penalties and sanctions.

The bill is urgent because, as shown in the case of Winston Q8 Certification Solutions, other
unscrupulous groups and individuals. Filipinos and even foreign nationals, have realized that
monopolizing medical examinations for OFWs is a lucrative practice. They are emboldened to
establish monopolies for other countries. This bill is a statement that the Philippines will not
allow our workers to be their milking cows.

REP. ANICETO D. BERTIZ IIT


Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS
FIRST REGULAR SESSION

House Bill No. 5499

Introduced by ACTS OF W Representative Aniceto D. Bertiz IL

AN ACT FURTHER AMENDING REPUBLIC ACT NO. 8042, OTHERWISE KNOWN
AS THE MIGRANT WORKERS AND OVERSEAS FILIPINO ACT OF 1995, AS.
AMENDED BY REPUBLIC ACT NO. 10022, TO STRENGTHEN THE STANDARD OF
PROTECTION OF THE WELFARE OF MIGRANT WORKERS BY CRIMINALIZING
THE PRACTICE OF DECKING AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

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

Section 1, Short Title. — This Act shall be known as the “Amendment to the Migrant Workers
‘Act Criminalizing Decking.”

Section 2. SubSection (4) of Section 6 on Definition of Illegal Recruitment of R.A. No. 8042, as
amended by Section 4 of R.A. No. 10022, is hereby further amended to read as follows:

“(4) Impose a compulsory and exclusive arrangement whereby an overseas Filipino worker is
required DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY to undergo health examinations only from specifically
designated medical clinics, institutions, entities or persons, except in the case of a seafarer whose
medical examination cost is shouldered by the principal/shipowner”

“(5) IMPOSE, ESTABLISH, MANAGE, AND/OR PARTICIPATE IN THE PRACTICE OF
‘DECKING’ WHEREIN AN OVERSEAS FILIPINO WORKER IS REQUIRED TO
REGISTER FIRST TO AN OF . TITY, AND/OR WEBSITE WHICH WILL THEN
FARM OUT THE MEDICAL EXAMINATION TO OTHER MEDICAL
CLINICS, THEREBY SUPPRESS! OR LIMI OM OF THE WORKER
TO CHOO:! FROM AMONG OTHER MEDICAL CLINICS ACCREDITED BY
GOVERNM

Section 3. SubSection (c) of Section 23 on the Role of Government Aj 's of R.A. No. 8042,
as amended by 16 of R.A. No. 10022, is hereby further amended to read as follows:

“c. Department of Health. - The Department of Health (DOH) shall regulate the activities and
operations of all clinics which conduct medical, physical, optical, dental, psychological and other
similar examinations, hereinafter referred to as health examinations, on Filipino Migrant workers
as requirement for their overseas employment. Pursuant to this, the DOH shall ensure that:


(c.1) The fees for the health examinations are regulated, regularly monitored and duly published
to ensure that the said fees are reasonable and not exorbitant;

(c.2) The Filipino migrant worker shall only be required to undergo health examinations when
there is a reasonable certainty that he or she will be hired and deployed to the jobsite and only
those health which are absolutely necessary for the type of job applied for or those specifically
required by the foreign employer shalll be conducted;

(c.3) No group or groups of medical clinics shall have
health examinations on migrant workers
PROVIDED FOR IN SECTION 6 (5) HE!

a monopoly of exclusively
in receiving countries.
; SEAFARERS:

conducting
CEPT AS

(4) Every Filipino migrant worker shall have the freedom to choose any of the DOH operated
clinies that will conduct his/her health examination and that his or her rights as a patient are
respected. [The decking practice, which requires an overscas Filipino worker to go first to an
office for registration and then farmed out to a medical clinic located elsewhere shall not be
allowed]

ANY VIOLATION OF SUBSECTIONS (¢.2), (¢.3) AND (c.4) ABOVE ARE HEREBY
DECLARED UNLAWFUL OR PROHIBITED AND PUNISHABLE IN ACCORDANCE
WITH SI ION 7 ON PENALTIES HEREOF.”

Section 4. Implementing Rules and Regulations. — The departments and agencies charged with
carrying out the provisions of this Act shall, within ninety (90) days afier the effeetivity of this
Act, formulate the necessary rules and regulations for its effective implementation.

Section 5. Repealing Clause. - All laws. decrees, executive orders, rules and regulations, or
parts thereof inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are repealed or modified accordingly.

Sect 6. Separability Clause. — If, for any reason, any section or provision of this Act is held
unconstitutional or invalid, the other sections or provisions hereof shall not be affected thereby.

Section 7. Effecti Clause. — This Act shall take effect after fifleen (15) days from its
publication in the Official Gazette or in at least two (2) national newspaper of general circulation
whichever comes earlier.

Approved,