House OKs bill giving OFWs more protection

MANILA, Philippines — The House of Representatives has approved on third and final reading a bill seeking to provide increased protection to Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) against exploitation.

House Bill No. 5649, "An Act Improving the Standards of Protection and Assistance for Migrant Workers," seeks to beef up R.A. 8042, the "Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipinos Act of 1995."

"If amply protected, they will continue to remit the needed income for the support of their families as well as contribute to the fiscal growth of the government," Rep. Edgar Chatto (Bohol), one of the authors of the bill, said in an article on the House of Representatives website (www.congress.gov.ph).

He said the bill imposes stiffer penalty on officials and employees of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) who unlawfully allow the deployment of Filipinos to countries that has no guarantee to protect them as specified in RA 8042.

Chatto said the government should continue to protect the rights of all Filipino workers abroad.

The bill mandates government agencies involved in the deployment of overseas workers to provide a semi-annual report to Congress in the observation of these guarantees during the period of employment.

Under the bill, those who willfully and grossly violate the act shall be removed or dismissed from the service, and disqualified to hold any appointive public office for five years.

The bill also mandates free compulsory insurance coverage for all OFWs to make up for monetary claims or damages as a consequence of a judgment or settlement case to a worker.

The insurance coverage per worker should be equivalent to three months of an OFW's salary for every year of contract. - GMANews.TV

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