Promoting and Protecting the Rights and Welfare of Overseas Filipino Workers:
The Philippine Experience
Remarks by Secretary Imelda M. Nicolas as Panel Member
Chairperson, Commission on Filipinos Overseas
Office of the President of the Philippines
“Enhancing the Socio Economic Welfare of Labour Migrants:
Good Practices from Asia and Europe”
Side Event during the 26th Session of the Human Rights Council
10 June 2014
Geneva, Switzerland
Given the limited time we have, I would like to get straight to the point to give more time
for you to ask questions or to make your comments regarding the findings of August
Gachter and the panel’s remarks.
Philippine labor migration policies are framed within the context of promoting and
protecting the rights and welfare of Filipino migrants. Under the administration of
President Benigno S. Aquino III, this is clearly articulated in his administration’s 16‐
point Social Contract with the Filipino People, stressing his commitment to a
transformational leadership, in this case, with regards to international migration:
“From a government that treats its people as an export commodity and a means to earn
foreign exchange, disregarding the social cost to Filipino families to………. a
government that creates jobs at home, so that working abroad will be a choice rather
than a necessity; and when its citizens do choose to become Overseas Filipino
Workers, their welfare and protection will still be the government’s priority” (National
Economic Development Authority, 2011, p.398).
This statement is a recognition of the reality of migration and our people’s right to move
but it does not mean that the Aquino government is pursuing labor migration as a
development strategy. We acknowledge the development potential of migration and
the need to maximize that potential but we are also cognizant of its social cost and the
need to minimize the cost.
For the past four decades of the country’s massive labor migration phenomenon, the
Philippines has been at the forefront of international, regional and national efforts to
institute policies, programs, and mechanisms to promote and protect the rights of our
migrants at every stage of the migration cycle.
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These include the ratification by the Philippines of the UN Convention on the Rights of
Migrant Workers and their Families in July 5, 1995. At about the same time, the
Philippine Congress passed the comprehensive Migrant Workers and Overseas
Filipinos Act of 1995 to “institute the policies of overseas employment and establish a
higher standard of protection and promotion of the welfare of migrant workers, their
families and overseas Filipinos in distress………”.
This law was amended and enhanced in 2010 through Republic Act No. 10022 to
further improve “the standard of protection and promotion of the welfare of migrant
workers…….” Just to name two of its additional provisions were the adoption of a
“selective deployment policy” and the importance given “to bilateral labor agreements
(BLAs) in managing migration in countries of destination” (Casco, 2013).
In May 2012, President Aquino signed ILO Convention 189 on Decent Work for
Domestic Workers to protect and promote the rights of domestic workers. This was very
much in line with the Philippine advocacy and commitment to protect the rights of one
of the most vulnerable among our migrant workers, the household help. In fact, it was
the Philippines (through the Department of Labor and Employment Undersecretary and
POEA Administrator Hans Cacdac) who ably and commendably chaired the ILO
conference that passed ILO Convention 189.
On the national level, the ratification of this ILO Convention was followed closely by
the passage of Republic Act No. 10361 or the “Batas Kasambahay”, “instituting
policies for the protection and welfare of domestic workers.”
Aside from pay standardization, this law states that “domestic workers will be entitled
to other social benefits provided under existing laws, like Social Security System,
PhilHealth and Pag-Ibig Fund. It also entitles domestic workers who have rendered at
least one year of service to an annual service incentive leave of five days with pay, as
well as 13th month pay. Furthermore, employers are prohibited from placing their
helpers under debt bondage, as well as from hiring minors below 15 years. They must
allow their helpers to finish basic education and access higher education, technical and
vocational training, or other alternative learning systems.” (CFO, 2013)
This is the country’s loud and clear message to the world that we live up to our
advocacies, whether internationally or domestically.
At the regional level, please note that in 2007, the ASEAN Summit held in Cebu,
Philippines resulted in the Heads of State coming out with a Declaration on the
Protection and Promotion of the Rights of Migrant Workers. The Philippines was the
proponent of the Declaration and it helped that the country was the host of the ASEAN
that year.
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Despite our government’s ratification of the UN Migrant Workers Convention and the
ILO Convention on Domestic Workers, we have to face the reality that there is a lack of
ratification of these Conventions from the side of receiving countries. Thus, the
Philippines through the Department of Labor and Employment (or DOLE) has
aggressively forged bilateral labor agreements (BLAs) with countries of destination.
August mentioned in his remarks that this is one of the recommendations of their study
(together with Manolo Abella).
As of November 2013, the Philippines signed 87 BLAs which vary in content and
coverage. So far, they comprise of 38 general agreements on employment, welfare
and cooperation (mostly on health professionals and domestic workers), 9 agreements
on social security and 40 agreements related to seafarers.
I will cite in detail the 2 most recent bilateral agreements which are quite trail-blazing.
The first one is the bilateral agreement signed a year ago (May 5, 20130) with the
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia with regards to the recruitment and deployment of Filipino
domestic workers. It provides for the following, among others: a standard employment
contract accepted by the two countries and binding among all parties from employer to
domestic worker, from Saudi recruitment agency to its Philippine counterpart; the use
of recruitment companies that practice ethical recruitment, regulation of recruitment
costs in both countries, that the salary of the domestic worker will not be charged any
cost attendant to his/her recruitment and deployment, that there will be no imposition of
any kind of unauthorized salary deductions.
In addition, it states that it is the responsibility of the Saudi government: to facilitate the
opening by the employer of a bank account under the name of the domestic worker for
the deposit of his/her monthly salary as provided by the employment contract, to
establish a mechanism which will provide 24-hour assistance to the domestic workers
and facilitate the issuance of exit visas for the repatriation of domestic workers upon
contract completion, emergency situations or as the need arises.
The second BLA which I will cite is the one signed with the Government of Germany
on March 19, 2013, this time on the “Placement of Filipino Health Professionals in
Employment Positions in Germany”. Specifically, the agreement declares that “Filipino
health professionals may not be employed under working conditions less favorable that
those for comparable German workers and that employers must provide adequate
accommodations to them.” It also provides that “both parties will explore projects to
sustain and promote human resource development in the Philippines”.
Incidentally, this agreement was dubbed by both countries as the Triple Win
project, where as they put it, while addressing the health professional that: “Everyone
wins: you as a professional, your country of origin and Germany. It’s a win-win-win
situation.”
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The project asserts that it follows the Code of Conduct of the World Health Organization
and that it does not recruit nurses from countries where are is a shortage of nursing
professionals. It provides the health professionals the following: to acquire skills in the
German language as well as supplemental nursing skills, support with the emigration
process in the Philippines, as well as integration upon arrival and up to three months
after. Filipino health professionals are initially entitled to a one year visa/residence
permit, with the possibility of a 2-year extension provided that continuous employment is
guaranteed and that German recognition of her work credentials is in place. This in turn
may translate into possible permanent residence status for the Filipino health
professional after a legal stay of 5 years in Germany.
Although the Philippines has shown again and again its commitment to protect and
protect its overseas Filipinos, we know that we still need to ramp up our efforts to
ensure that the migration experience benefits not only the migrants themselves and
their families, but also the Motherland and their countries of destination. This can be
achieved through a holistic framework of protection and promotion of the rights of
migrants and their families and the enabling environment to harness the potential of
migration for the development of both their home and host countries.
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