Strengthening the Administrative and Operational Capabilities of Overseas Employment Program

May 1, 1985

EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 1022

ON STRENGTHENING THE ADMINISTRATIVE AND OPERATIONAL CAPABILITIES OF THE OVERSEAS EMPLOYMENT PROGRAM

WHEREAS, changed realities in the international labor market have brought keener competition among labor supplying countries for diminishing job opportunities and also the lowering of employment benefits under totally different terms and conditions of employment;

WHEREAS, this development overseas requires the fine tuning of overseas employment policies and the adoption of new and innovative approaches both at the administrative and operational levels of the overseas employment program if it has to maintain relevance and remain highly competitive;

WHEREAS, in pursuance with the above considerations, there is a compelling need to assure the continued and efficient delivery of services and maintenance of critical operations of the overseas employment program;

WHEREAS, there is the necessity of continuing the fight against illegal recruitment in order to prevent innocent applicants for jobs overseas from being fleeced of their hard earned possessions for non-existent jobs overseas;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, FERDINAND E. MARCOS, President of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by the Constitution, do hereby order:

1. the intensification of the campaign against illegal recruitment particularly on the three important aspects of information dissemination, arrest and prosecution of offenders. The closure and arrest power granted to the Minister of Labor and Employment or his duly authorized representatives under P.D. 1920 is hereby expanded to include authority to seize any and all documents involved in an illegal recruitment operation. A yearly allocation of P3 million chargeable against the Welfare Fund is hereby authorized for the intensive and massive implementation of P.D. 1920 including the hiring of additional personnel for purposes of prosecution and special operations.

2. the establishment of an Employment Guarantee Trust Fund for workers hired on a government-to-government arrangement which shall be used to answer for monetary claims of workers arising from inadequate or unsatisfactory enforcement of contractual obligations by foreign government entities as employers. For this purpose, an amount of US TEN DOLLARS (US $10.00) shall be set aside from the welfare fund contributions paid by the foreign government employers for each worker hired through POEA. The fund shall be managed by POEA which shall, together with the Office of Budget and Management and the Commission on Audit, issue the necessary implementing guidelines.

3. the immediate completion and operationalization of the infrastructure component of the One-Stop Processing Center for overseas workers and the streamlining of its operations. For this purpose, the authority granted under Letter of Instructions No. 1319 is hereby extended for a period of twelve (12) months retroactive to May 1984. Subsequently, POEA is allowed the use of ten percent (10%) of its annual income for the maintenance of the physical facilities of the One-Stop Processing Center.

4. the Ministry of Labor and Employment and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to study and implement where possible the grant of amnesty to Filipinos who left the country as tourists but were able to find employment overseas and who now want to regularize their status overseas as contract workers. asia dc

5. the formulation of guidelines allowing the consolidation or merger or the conversion into partnerships or corporation of licensed private employment agencies, manning agencies or contractors with the view of upgrading or raising their capabilities to meet the stiff competition in the international labor market and to enable them to better comply with their responsibilities arising from the recruitment and deployment of workers overseas. The prohibition of the issuance of new licenses under LOI No. 1190 shall not apply to the new entity created by reason of the above merger, consolidation or upgrading.

6. the maximization of overseas job opportunities for Filipino construction workers and for this purpose, the repeal of the exclusive privilege granted to local construction companies to export Filipino construction workers under LOI No. 852.

7. the authorization of the Ministry of Labor and Employment and its designated representatives in Philippine foreign missions to collect a service fee for the verification of overseas employment contracts, recruitment agreement or special powers of attorney and the setting aside of a special fund from the collection of these fees to be used exclusively for the promotion of overseas employment and for welfare services to Filipino workers within the area of jurisdiction of said foreign missions under the administration of the MOLE.

DONE in the City of Manila, this First day of May, in the year of Our Lord, Nineteen Hundred and Eighty-Five.