S~nllti? 
SIXTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC) 
{~fij;f, {If tt}t ~v(;n't\1.(,~ 
OF THE PHILIPPINES 
) 
First Reguiar Session 
) 
'13 
JUL -8 A8:59 
SENATE 
Senate Bill No. 552 
INTRODUCED BY SEN, JINGGOY EJERCITO ESTRADA 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
Despite the provision of Section 3 of Article XIII of the Constitution which 
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 alf', still, the Philippines suffers from massive 
unemployment. 
The unemp,loyment issue does not only affect Filipino workers! in the 
Philippines but also Overseas Filipino Workers victimized by unscrupulous 
recruiters. A sizeable number of workers fail in their respective ehdeavor 
because the government failed to provide comprehensive contingency measures 
to ensure the workers' protection and assistance. 
This bill seeks to create a National Employment Assistance Center of the 
Philippines in order to assist and help the country fight the soaring 
unemployment problem that threatens not only the economy but also the political 
stability of the Philippines. 
Hence, the enactment of this bill is recommended. 
OY EJERCITO ESTRADA 
Senator 


, 
, t. 
~. 
SIXTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC) 
OF THE PHILIPPINES 
) 
, 
I 
First Regular SessIon 
) 
'13 I JUL -8 AS :59 
SENATE 
flECEIVi<O Bv:L 
U 
\. 
Senate Bill No, __ 
5_5_2_ 
INTRODUCED BY SEN. JINGGOY EJERCITO ESl'RADA 
AN ACT 
ESTABLSHING THE NATIONAL EMPLOYMENT ASSISTANCE CENTER OF 
THE PHILIPPINES AND APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in 
Congress assembled: 
SECTION 1. Title. - This Act shall be known as the "National 
Employment Assistance Center of the Philippines Act of 2013". 
SEC. 2. Declaration of Policy. - It is the policy of the State to afford full 
protection to labor and promote full employment and equality of employment 
opportunities for all. It is therefore the responsibility of the government to address 
the various legitimate concerns of the Filipino workers by preparing 
comprehensive contingency measures to ensure the workers' protection and to 
extend critical assistance to those adversely affected by the economic crisis. 
SEC. 3. Creation. -There is hereby created the National Employment 
Assistance Center (NEAC) of the Philippines, hereinafter referred to as the 
Center, which shall be under the supervision and control of the Department of 
Labor and Employment. 
SEC. 4. Purpose. - The Center shall provide both employJes and 
employers with the basic information on local manpower demand, com Jj)etency, 
assessment and orientation, manpower pooling, and referral for retraining. The 
Center shall likewise provide a one-stop action center which shall facilitate the 
processing and documentation of all long-term employment. It shall encourage 
consolidation of the effort of various public and private entities involved in the 
labor sector of similar and other related programs. 
SEC. 5. Functions. -The Center shall perform the following functions: 
a) 
to provide information to prospective employers, public or private, local 
and foreign, on the different kind of skills I expertise available for 
utilization; 
b) 
to establish an updated data bank of all industries and businesses 
requiring manpower; 


c) 
d) 
e) 
f) 
g) 
h) 
i) 
j) 
to establish an updated data bank of all skilled but unemployed Filipino 
workers, which includes basic information such as name, address, date of 
birth, telephone number, educational and professional background as 
special skills; 
to organize and maintain centralized one-stop shop services or 
assistance center that shall expedite the processing of all requirements 
necessary in employment; 
to formulate and coordinate the conduct of relevant research projects to 
help attain the Center's goals; 
to formulate and develop employment programs designed to benefit the 
more disadvantaged groups; 
to develop a responsive vocational guidance and testing system in aid of 
proper human resources allocation; 
to receive donations, contribution, gifts, grants from any source, public or 
private, whether from domestic or international sources, proceeds of which 
shall not be used for any other purpose; 
to enter into all kinds of arrangements or joint ventures with other 
government and/or private entities that will help promote its aims and 
purposes; and 
! 
to exercise such other functions as may be assigned by the Secretary of 
I 
Labor and Employment. 
SEC 6. Structural Organization. - The Center shall have a Board of 
Governors under which shall be the offices of Director-General and the Deputy 
Director-General. Under the Office of the Director-General shall be two (2) 
departments which shall be headed by their respective directors, namely: 
1 .) Domestic Employment, to handle all local employment matters; and 
2.) Overseas Employment, to handle all overseas employment matters. 
Under each department shall be three (3) divisions which shall be headed 
by their division chiefs, namely on: 
1.) Technical Research Division, to handle the registration for workers and 
industries / businesses; 
2.) Testing and Skills Upgrading Division, to handle all matters pertaining 
to the development of a responsive guidance, testing and training system; 
and 
3.) Referral and Placement Division, to handle all matters pertaining to the 
working permits, referral to and placement in industries / businesses of the 
employees by their division chiefs, namely on: 
A central documentation and information service headed by a Director, to 
handle all documentation, information and related matters, including public 
relations, shall be constituted to private staff support to the Director-General. 
SEC. 7. Board of Governorsj Composition, Term and Compensation. 
-The Center shall be governed and its activities and properties shall be managed 
by a Board of Governors which shall be under the supervision and control of the 
Office of the President, to be chaired by the Secretary of Labor and Employment, 
and shall be composed of ten (10) members five (5) of whom shall come from the 
government sector and five (5) of whom shall come from the private sector, all of 
whom shall be appointed by the President; Provided, That a representative from 
the private sector shall be appointed as Vice-chairman; Provided further, That all 


board members shall have broad experience in human resources, labor and 
industrial relations. 
The term of office of Board members from the government sector shall be 
for the duration of their public office or three (3) years, whichever comes earlier, 
while the term of office of the private sector Board members shall be three (3) 
years each until their successors shall have been appointed and qualified; 
Provided, That they shall be eligible for reappointment after the expiration of their 
respective terms; Provided Further, That any private sector Board member 
appOinted by the President to fill a vacancy in the Board of Governors occurring 
prior to the expiration of the term for which his predecessor was appOinted shall 
serve only for the unexpired portion of his predecessor. 
The Board members shall meet regularly at least once a month or as often 
as the exigencies of the service demand. The presence of at least six (6) 
members shall constitute a quorum, and the vote of a majority of the members 
present shall be necessary for the adoption of any resolution, rule or decision. 
The Board members shall receive for every meeting attended a per diem 
to be fixed by the President of the Philippines. 
SEC. 8. Board of Governors. - The Board of Governors shall have the 
following powers and function: 
a) 
to formulate policies, guidelines and programs to effectively 
implement the purposes of the Center; 
b) 
to approve the annual and supplemental budgets for the 
Center; 
c) 
to promulgate rules as may be necessary for the effective 
exercise of the powers and functions of the Center; 
d) 
to authorize any contract or agreement as may be necessary for 
the proper, efficient and stable administration of the Center; 
e) 
to determine and approve the appointment of other officers of the 
Center, 
with 
their corresponding 
qualifications, 
duti~s and 
emoluments; and 
. 
f) 
to prepare and submit periodic and/or special reports for 
I 
the President. 
SEC. 9. Office of the Director-General. - The chief operation officer and 
principal representative of the Center shall be the Director-General assisted by a 
Deputy Director-General, working full time, both to be appointed by the 
President. 
SEC.10. Removal or Suspension for Cause. - An officer of the Center 
may be suspended or removed by the President for mismanagement, grave 
abuse of discretion, infidelity in the conduct of fiduciary relations, gross 
negligence in the performance of duties, dishonesty, corruption, or any act 
involving moral turpitude. 
SEC. 11. Appointments, Promotion, Terms and Conditions of 
Employment. - The officers and employees of the Center shall be covered by 
the Civil Service Law, as well as the Rules of the Office of Compensation and 
Position Classification. 


SEC. 12. Location. - The Center's head office shall be located in a 
convenient and accessible site in the National Capital Region: Provided, That the 
regional offices of the Center may be integrated with the regional offices of the 
Department of Labor and Employment whenever feasible and shall obtain all its 
service functions under one roof, including the head office. 
SEC. 13. Coordination with Private Agencies. 
Private agencies 
concerned shall coordinate with the Center and shall, when requested by the 
Center, provide information and such other assistance for referral and placement 
purposes. For this purpose, all private agencies concerned shall henceforth detail 
their appropriate representatives to the Center; Provided, That suchl private 
agencies shall provide for such detailed personnel's salaries and/or other 
emoluments. 
Moreover, the Department of Foreign Affairs, through its commercial 
attaches worldwide, shall extend assistance to the Center by disseminating data 
properly released by the Center to the different countries concerned. The 
commercial attaches shall also furnish the Center with current and relevant data 
from other countries for circulation in the Philippines. 
SEC. 14. Appropriation. -An amount not exceeding Fifteen Million Pesos 
(P15,OOO,OOO.OO) shall be charged to the current appropriations of the 
Department of Labor and Employment for the initial implementation of this Act. 
Thereafter, the amount as may be necessary for the continued operation of the 
Center shall be included in the Annual General Appropriations Act. 
SEC. 15. Rules and Regulations. - The Department of Labor and 
Employment shall promulgate all rules and regulations as may be necessary for 
the proper and effective implementation of this Act. 
SEC. 16. Repealing Clause. - All laws, orders, decrees, rules and 
regulations, and other issuances or parts thereof, inconsistent with this Act, are 
hereby repealed or modified accordingly. 
SEC. 17. Effectivity Clause. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days 
after its complete publication in two (2) newspapers of general circulation in the 
Philippines. 
Approved,