Republic of the Philippines

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES DATHA 2 0 202 ¥
Quezon City, Metro Manila W,

NINETEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

4234

is RECEIVED ~ a
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HOUSE BILL NO.

Introduced by the Honorable BABY ALINE VARGAS-ALFONSO

EXPLANATORY NOTE

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, FURTHER STRENGTHENING THE STANDARD OF
PROTECTION OF THE WELFARE OF MIGRANT WORKERS BY
EXPANDING THE COVERAGE OF COMPULSORY INSURANCE, AND
FOR OTHER PURPOSES

The dire socioeconomic situation in the Philippines has forced
many of our fellow Filipinos to look for work abroad in order to provide
for their loved ones. The sacrifice that our “kababayans” make are
incredible, they leave their family, friends, and relatives behind to try
their luck in foreign soil that are thousands of miles away for home.
Hence, our Overseas and Migrant Workers have the moniker of
“Bagong Bayani” due to the immense sacrifices that they make. They
are modern day heroes, risking life and limb just to attain a better
quality of life for their family back in the Philippines.

Given this, the overarching policy of the state is to continue
safeguarding the interests of Filipino workers even if they are in
foreign soil. As enshrined in the Philippine Constitution, it is the duty
of the state to protect the rights of workers and promote their welfare,
and to afford full protection to labor, local and overseas (Sec. 18, Art.
Ii, Sec. 3, Art. XIII, 1987 Constitution). Accordingly, in the year 2010,
compulsory insurance coverage was provided for agency-hired
Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) under R.A. 10022, amending R.A.
No. 8042. In the minimum, the mandated insurance coverage includes,
death (natural or accidental), permanent disability, repatriation cost,
subsistence allowance, medical evacuation, and medical repatriation.

While RA 10022 speaks of migrant workers, the compulsory
insurance coverage was required only from recruitment/manning
agencies with respect to their deployed migrant workers. As to other

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migrant workers classified as rehires, name hires or direct hires, they
were only given option to have the insurance coverage which they may
pay themselves or by requesting their foreign employer to pay the
same. Likewise, for migrant workers recruited by POEA on a
government- to-government arrangement, this insurance coverage is
not even required or given the option to procure the same as the said
RA10022 merely declares that for them “POEA shall establish a
foreign employer’s guarantee fund which shall be answerable to the
worker’s monetary claim arising from breach of contractual
obligations.”

Therefore, under the present situation, when an agency-hired
migrant worker dies in his workplace, his beneficiary/ies receive
death benefits (i.e. US$15,000.00 if accidental death or US$10,000.00
if natural death) within ten (10) days from the filing of the claim
without contest or without any need to prove fault or negligence,
whatsoever, while the beneficiary of rehire, name hire or direct hire
migrant worker is not entitled to such benefit unless the worker or
foreign employer has opted to buy such kind of insurance cover
beforehand. The scenario is worse in the case of government to
government hired migrant worker or OFW because, in their case there
being no insurance coverage hence, there is no death benefit as the
“fund” would answer only for migrant worker’s monetary claim arising
from breach of contractual obligations.

Thus, overseas workers classified as above-mentioned continue
to be deployed without any clear indication whether they are insured
or not and are therefore exposed to the hazards of their jobs without
any guarantee that they or their families may have something to bank
on in cases misfortunes occur.

The classical example of the current sorry situation of our non-
agency hired overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) is best illustrated by
COVID-19/pandemic cases creating a crises that affected countless
OFWs, who are mostly bread winners particularly in the middle east,
resulting in many deaths leaving families of the deceased OFWs aside
from having to contend the grief of painful loss, the same is even
aggravated by the certainty of financial strain that goes with it arising
from the sudden loss of the income from these OFW providers. If only
they are covered under this insurance program, its existing benefits,
particularly the natural death benefit, shall without doubt mitigate, to
a large extent, such financial burden to their families left behind.

On the part of the government, in emergency crises like this
brought about by COVID-19/pandemic cases, had there been
coverage for these class of OFWs under the said mandated insurance
program, the government could have been saved from financial and
logistical problems incident to the return of deceased OFWs’ mortal
remains as the program adequately provides such benefit. What the


government needs to cope with this kind of emergency crises affecting
OFWs is the help and participation of the private sector and one of
which is through the implementation of this kind of insurance
program covering all OFWs without distinction, whether agency or
non-agency hired.

Furthermore, insurance coverage for our “modern-day heroes’ is
an enhancement of the standard of protection of the OFWs as
contemplated in R.A. No. 8042 as amended by R.A. No. 10022, and
the Law has set a benchmark for insurance benefits that applies to all
OFWs.

More importantly, it must be pointed out that workers under
this classification are most susceptible to abuse, maltreatment,
murder, human trafficking or landing on jobs that were not the jobs
promised them before they left considering that their employment
does not pass the meticulous scrutiny of our government agencies
anymore.

Clearly, the situation presents inequality in the government’s
efforts at protecting the welfare of Filipino migrant workers. This bill
seeks to remedy such glaring inequality by making the insurance
coverage mandatory to all Filipino migrant workers regardless of how
they are able to legally get their overseas employment.

This bill was filed by the former Representative of the 2"¢
District of Cagayan, the Honorable Samantha Louise Vargas Alfonso,
during the Second Regular Session of the 18 Congress. It has
reached the 3" reading in the House of Representatives and was
transmitted to the Senate. Unfortunately, it was not deliberated and
tackled before the sine die adjournment of the 18% Congress, thus
failing to be passed into law. Given the significance of this bill, it is
now being refiled for the 19% Congress.

In view of the foregoing, the approval of this bill is earnestly
sought.

: 7 lon
Seba Eats nchowso


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

NINETEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

House Bui wo.4234

Introduced by the Honorable BABY ALINE VARGAS-ALFONSO

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, FURTHER STRENGTHENING THE STANDARD OF
PROTECTION OF THE WELFARE OF MIGRANT WORKERS BY
EXPANDING THE COVERAGE OF COMPULSORY INSURANCE, AND
FOR OTHER PURPOSES

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

Section 1. Section 37-A on Compulsory Insurance Coverage of R.A.
No. 8042, as amended by R.A. No. 10022, is hereby amended to read
as follows:

“Sec. 37-A - Compulsory Insurance Coverage for MIGRANT
WORKERS OR OVERSEAS FILIPINO WORKERS —

Each migrant worker or OVERSEAS FILIPINO WORKER shall be
covered by a compulsory insurance policy which shall be secured, AS
FOLLOWS:

A) for agency-hired workers - In addition to the performance
bond to be filed by the recruitment/manning agency under
Section 10, THE REQUIRED INSURANCE POLICY SHALL
BE SECURED BY the deploying recruitment/manning
agency at no cost to the said worker; AND

B) FOR BALIK-MANGGAGAWA OR REHIRE WORKER,
DIRECT-HIRE WORKER, AND FOR GOVERNMENT TO
GOVERNMENT HIRED WORKER, THE REQUIRED
INSURANCE POLICY SHALL BE SECURED BY THE
FOREIGN EMPLOYER, AT NO COST TO THE SAID
WORKER.


Such insurance policy shall be effective for the duration of the migrant
worker/s or OVERSEAS FILIPINO WORKER’S employment contract
and shall cover, at the minimum:

“a)x x x

“() Money claims arising from employer’s liability which may be
awarded or given to the worker in a judgment or settlement of his or
her case in the NLRC. The insurance coverage for money claims shall
be equivalent to at least three (3) months SALARIES for every year of
the migrant worker’s employment contract;

[In addition to the above coverage, the insurance policy shall also
include:]

“(g) Compassionate visit. When a migrant worker is hospitalized and
has been confined for at least seven (7) consecutive days, he shall be
entitled to a compassionate visit by one (1) family member or a
requested individual. The insurance company shall pay for the
transportation cost of the family member or requested individual to
the major airport closest to the place of hospitalization of the worker
AND BACK TO THE PHILIPPINES. It is, however, the responsibility of
the family member or requested individual to meet all visa and travel
document requirements;

THE INSURANCE COVERAGE ENUMERATED ABOVE SHALL BE
THE MINIMUM INSURANCE COVERAGE PROVIDED TO ALL
OVERSEAS FILIPINO) WORKERS. THE IMPLEMENTING
GOVERNMENT AGENCIES, IN CONSULTATION WITH EACH
OTHER AND OTHER STAKEHOLDERS, MAY REQUIRE
ADDITIONAL INSURANCE COVERAGE AS THEY DEEM
NECESSARY. THIS AUTHORITY DOES NOT INCLUDE THE POWER
TO LIMIT OR REMOVE THE REQUIRED MINIMUM INSURANCE
COVERAGE AS ENUMERATED ABOVE.

xx x.”

“The recruitment/manning agency, FOREIGN EMPLOYER OR
WORKER, AS THE CASE MAY BE, WHO PROCURES THE
COVERING INSURANCE POLICY shall have the right to choose from
any of the qualified insurance providers company that will insure the
migrant worker [it will deploy]. After procuring such insurance policy,
the recruitment/manning agency OR FOREIGN EMPLOYER shall
provide an authenticated copy thereof to the migrant worker. It shall
then submit the certificate of insurance coverage of the migrant
worker to POEA as ONE OF [a] THE MANDATORY requirements for
the issuance of an Overseas Employment Certificate (OEC) to the
migrant worker.


IN FILING A CLAIM WITH THE INSURANCE PROVIDER, THE
RECRUITMENT/MANNING AGENCY SHALL ASSIST THE OFW OR
THE BENEFICIARY AND ENSURE THAT ALL INFORMATION AND
DOCUMENTS IN THE CUSTODY OF THE AGENCY NECESSARY
FOR THE CLAIM MUST BE READILY ACCESSIBLE TO THE
CLAIMANT.

In the case of seafarers who are insured under policies issued by
foreign insurance companies, the POEA shall accept certificates or
other proofs of cover from recruitment/manning agencies: Provided,
that the minimum coverage under sub-paragraphs (a) to (i) are
included therein.

WHEN THE PERSON OR ENTITY PAYING FOR THE INSURANCE IS
THE FOREIGN EMPLOYER, OR THE MIGRANT WORKER, THE
FOREGOING DUTIES SHALL BE PERFORMED BY THE POEA.

“Any person having a claim upon the policy issued pursuant to
subparagraphs (a), (b), (c), (d) and (e) of this section shall present to
the insurance company concerned a written notice of claim together
with pertinent supporting documents. The insurance company shall
forthwith ascertain the truth and extent of the claim and make
payment within ten (10) days from the filing of the notice of claim.

XXX.

[For migrant workers recruited by the POEA on a government-to-
government arrangement, the POEA shall establish a foreign
employers guarantee fund which shall be answerable to the workers’
monetary claims arising from breach of contractual obligations. For
migrant workers classified as rehires, name hires or direct hires, they
may opt to be covered by this insurance coverage by requesting their
foreign employers to pay for the cost of the insurance coverage or they
may pay for the premium themselves. To protect the rights of these
workers, the POEA shall provide them adequate legal assistance,
including conciliation and mediation services, whether at home or
abroad.

Section 2. Implementing Rules and Regulations. - The
departments and agencies charged with carrying out the provisions of
this Act shall, within ninety (90) days after the effectivity of this Act,
formulate the necessary rules and regulations for its effective
implementation.

Section 3. Repealing Clause. - All laws, decrees, executive order,
rules and regulations, or parts thereof inconsistent with the provision
of this Act are repealed or modified accordingly.


Section 4. 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 5. Effectivity Clause. - This Act shall take effect after (15)
days from its publication in the Official Gazette or in at least two (2)
national newspaper of general circulation, whichever comes earlier.

Approved,