Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City, Metro Manila

SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS
Third Regular Session

House Bill No. 8565

Introduced by DIWA Party-list Representative Pepito M. Pico

EXPLANATORY NOTE

‘There are afew things more terrifying than to be alone in a foreign land, without friends
or resources or at time even shelter, without a way to return home. This is the plight faced by
many of our overseas foreign workers, with repatriation at times taking longer than a year.
While existing lawsdo provide for repatriation as a remedy for overseas foreign workers, these
laws do not provide a period of time within which repatriation must be completed, giving rise
to situations wherein pleas to return home are lost amidst bureaucratic red tape and procedural
bottlenecks. This law will help ensure that requests for repatriation will be processed with the
utmost urgency

This law also aims to help add ress other obstacles to repatriation, such as the practice by
unscrupulous employers of confiscating the passports of our countrymen, as well asthe ease by
which employment agencies can evade even the most urgent of communications.

PEPITO M. PICO
Representative, DIWA Party-list

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Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City, Metro Manila

SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS
Third Regular Session

House Bill No. 8565

Introduced by DIWA Party-list Representative Pepito M. Pico

AN ACT TO EXPEDITE THE PROCESS OF REPATRIATION OF FILIPINO
MIGRANT WORKERS

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

SECTION 1. EXPEDITED REPATRIATION. - The request for repatriation
must be in writing, and may be made by the migrant worker, relatives of the migrant
worker up to the second degree of consanguinity or affinity, non-government
organizations or government offices. Such requests shall be resolved within the following
periods:

(a) _ In all cases of repatriation which fall under the coverage of the first
paragraph of Section 15 of Republic Act No. 8042 where the migrant worker is still
alive, the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) must complete its
evaluation of the written request for repatriation and inform the requesting party of its
decision within five (5) working days from the receipt of the written request by the
OWWA's Field Services Office (FSO), Workers Assistance Division (WAD), Regional
OWWA Units (ROUs), or other appropriate office. Should the OWWA find that there
is a need for repatriation, the OWWA must ensure that the migrant worker concemed is
repatriated within fifteen (15) working days from the date that notice of approval is given
to the requesting party.

(b) __ In all cases of repatriation which fall under the coverage of the first
Paragraph of Section 15 of Republic Act No. 8042 where the migrant worker is deceased,
the OWWA must complete its evaluation of the written report for repatriation and infor1J1
the requesting party of its decision within five (5) working days from the receipt of the
written request by the OWWA’s Field Services Office (FSO), Workers Assistance
Division (WAD), Regional OWWA Units (ROUs) or other appropriate office. Should the

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OWWA find that there is a need for repatriation, the OWWA must ensure that the body
of the migrant worker concerned is repatriated within thirty (30) working days from the
date that notice of approval is given to the requesting party. Inall cases of repatriation which
fall under the coverage of the first paragraph of Section 15 of Republic Act No 8042 in cases
of war, epidemic, disasters orca lami ties,natural or man-made, and other similar events, the
OWWA shall, without delay, undertake the repatriation of workers in the affected regions.
The OWWA shall bear the costs and primary responsibility for this repatriation, without
prejudice to reimbursement by the responsible principal or agency.

(©) __ Inall cases of repatriation which fall under the coverage of Section 16 of
Republic ActNo. 8042, the OWWA must complete its evaluation of the written request for
repatriation and inform the requesting party ofits decision within three (3) workingdays from
the receipt of the written request by the OWWA's Field Services Office (FSO), Workers
Assistance Division (WAD). Regional OWWA Units (ROUS), or other appropriate office.
Should the OWWA find that there is a need for repatriation, the OWWA must ensure that
the migrant worker concerned is repatriated within ten (10) working days from the date that
notice of approval is given to the requesting party.

SECTION 2. EMAIL REQUIREMENT: PENALTIES FOR UNRESPONSIVE
AGENCIES. - All licensed recruitment agencies must have at least one (1) current and active
email address on record with the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA).
It shall be the responsibility of the recruitment agency to keep the POEA updated as any
changes in the aforementioned email address.

Failure of the recruitment agency to respond to any communication from the POEA.
concerning the repatriation of a migrant worker, sent to the agency's email address on
record, within forty-eight hours, shall merit sanctions to be determined by the POEA within
thirty (30) days from the effectivity of this Act; Provided, That an automated email reply,
ora statement to the effect that the proper/appropriate official of the agency is unavailable,
shall not constitute a reply under this Section.

SECTION 3. PRE-EMPTIVE SUBMISSION TO THE DEPARTMENT OF
FOREIGN AFFAIRS. - Within ten (10) working days from the departure of the migrant
worker from the Philippines, pursuant to employment facilitates by a local recruitment or
placement agency, such agency shall submit to the Depal Iment of Foreign Affairs (DFA)
one original copy of the Birth Certificate of the migrant worker and one certified true copy of
the current passport of the migrant worker, which shall constitute part of the documentary
requirements under Section 4 of this Act. The license of a recl 1 litment/manning agency
which fails to comply with this provision shall be suspended until it has fully complied with
the same, without prejudice co any other sanctions that may be imposed by the POEA.

SECTION 4, EXPEDITED REPLACEMENT OF DETAINED PASSPORTS. - In
situations wherein the passport of a migrant worker, who is subject to an approved request for
repatriation as per Section | of this Act, has been detained by his/her employer or other party,
without the consent of the migrant worker, the migrant worker shall be issued a new passport
or travel document upon written request of the migrant worker, and under an expedited
procedure to be jointly enacted by the OWW A, POEA, and DFA within sixty (60) days from
the effectivity of this Act; Provided, that:

(@) No other pre-existing public or government issued document shall be required to be
submitted, as the documents submitted under Section 3 of this Act shall be deemed

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sufficient;

(b) Any fees required shall be considered as part of the repatriation cost, to be shouldered by
the principal, agency or OWWA as the case may be, subject to appropriate
reimbursement;

(c) The evaluation of the written request for repatriation must be complete within fifteen (15)
working days from the receipt of the written request by the appropriate agency/office as
determined by the expedited procedure;

(d) Should the request be approved, the new passport or travel document must be issued to
the migrant worker within fifteen (15) working days from such approval; and

(€) Such expedited rules shall be of uniform and shall apply to all Philippine embassies.

SECTION 5. REPEALING CLAUSE. - All laws, decrees, rules and regulations or
parts thereof, which are contrary to or inconsistent with this Act are hereby repealed or modified
accordingly.

Approved,

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