01-AUG 2013- |;

MPA,

Republic of the Philippines

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES \
Quezon City
16" CONGRESS
First Regular Session =e
HOUSE BILL NO. 220 8

Introduced by REP. EVELINA G, ESCUDERO

EXPLANATORY NOTE

More than a million Filipinos leave the country every year to work abroad
through various overseas employment agencies and other programs. 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 of these recruitment agencies comply with the
standards set in charging placement fees, and some collect excessive processing
fees from the aspiring OFW. This practice often leaves the applicants in huge
debts even before getting hired, if not backing out from the recruitment process
altogether.

Hence, this bill seeks to penalize certain acts in the imposition of excessive
placement fees against overseas Filipino workers.

C-EVELINA G, ESCUDERO


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Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.
Quezon Ci

16" CONGRESS
First Regular Session

208
HOUSE BILLNo,__ 2208

Introduced by REP, EVELINA G, ESCUDERO

AN ACT
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:

SECTION 1. Title, This Act shall be known as the “Fair Placement Fees
for OFWs Act”.

SECTION 2. Statement of Policy; Prohibited Acts. The following acts
committed by any person involving, and relating to the imposition of placement

fees against Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW), are hereby prohibited:

a, Collecting placement fee above the legitimate placement fee
fixed and determined by the Philippine Overseas Employment Agency (POA)

without prejudice to Section 5 hereof;

b. Collecting placement fee in advance of the job’s availability
overseas;

c Not issuing the appropriate receipts for any placement fee
collected;

d. Not returning any placement fee collected when deployment

does not materialize;

e Forcing an OFW to issue post dated checks to guarantee
payment of any placement fee; and

f, Forcing an OFW to borrow money only from designated

persons or lending institutions.


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SECTION 3. Penalties. Commission of any of the following acts in the
immediately preceding Section shall be punished by six (6) years imprisonment
or a fine of One Hundred Thousand Pesos (Php100,000.00) to Five Hundred
Thousand Pesos (Php500,000.00), or both, at the discretion of the court.

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 licensed recruitment
agency, its agent or representative, such agency’s license shall be automatically

revoked with finality and no longer eligible for reinstatement.

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.

SECTION 6. Separability Clause. 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.

SECTION 7. Repealing Clause. All laws, presidential decrees, executive

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

repealed accordingly
SECTION 8. Effectivity Clause. This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days from
its publication in the Official Gazette or at least three (3) newspapers of national

circulation.

Approved,