Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2012, published 102nd ILC session (2013)

Migration for Employment Convention (Revised), 1949 (No. 97) - Philippines (Ratification: 2009)

The Committee notes the Government’s first and second reports and the legislation and statistical information attached thereto.

Statistics on migration flows. The Committee notes that the Philippines is mainly a country of emigration and that according to statistics of the Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO), 9,452,984 Filipinos were working and living overseas as of December 2010. Of those, 47 per cent are permanent residents in the country of destination, and 45 per cent are overseas Filipino workers who are expected to return at the end of their contract of employment. The remaining 8 per cent of the total estimated number of overseas Filipinos are in an irregular situation (i.e. undocumented, or without valid residence or work permits, or overstaying in a foreign country). The highest number of permanent overseas Filipinos is found in the Americas (3,481,263, mostly in the United States and Canada), while the highest number of temporary overseas Filipinos are found in West Asia (2,717,046, mostly in Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain) and in South and East Asia (644,446, mostly in China – Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Japan, Malaysia, Taiwan and Singapore). The Committee further notes from the statistics collected by the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) that of the 340,279 land-based overseas Filipinos deployed in 2010, 55 per cent were women, the majority of whom are employed in the services sectors. The Committee notes from the Government’s report to the United Nations Committee on Migrant Workers that according to the most recent data there are 36,150 foreign workers in the Philippines (CMW/C/PHP/1, 7 March 2008, paragraphs 36–45). The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide detailed information on the numbers of overseas Filipino workers (hires and re-hires) by economic sector, sex and country of destination. Please also provide up-to-date statistics, disaggregated by sex and nationality, as well as economic sector, on the number of migrants that have entered the Philippines for employment.

Laws, policies and structures promoting and protecting the rights of migrant workers. The Committee notes with interest the extensive legal and policy framework applying the Convention, illustrating the Government’s commitment to promoting and protecting the rights of Filipino migrant workers. It notes, in particular, Republic Act (RA) No. 8042 on Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipinos of 1995, as amended by RA No. 9422 to Strengthen the Regulatory Functions of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration of 2006; RA No. 10022 Further Improving the Standard of Protection and Promotion of Welfare of Migrant Workers, Their Families and Overseas Filipinos in Distress and for Other Purposes, the Omnibus Rules and Regulations Implementing the Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipinos Act of 1995; RA No. 9208 on the “Anti-Trafficking Act” of 2002, the POEA’s Rules and Regulations Governing the Recruitment and Employment of Land-Based Overseas Workers, 2002, and the Overseas Workers’ Welfare Administration (OWWA) Omnibus Policies. The Committee also notes with interest the ratification by the Philippines of a number of international instruments relevant to migrant workers, in particular the United Nations Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and their Families (1990), the Migrant Workers (Supplementary Provisions) Convention, 1975 (No. 143), and most recently, the Domestic Workers Convention, 2011 (No. 189).

Furthermore, the Committee notes with interest the multitude of programmes for overseas Filipino workers covering all stages of the migration process (from pre-departure, arrival in destination country and return), as well as the support structures for Filipino migrant workers, including the Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO), the National Reintegration Center for Overseas Foreign Workers (NRCO), OWWA, POEA, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), the Technical Education and Skills Development Agency (TESDA), the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT), the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and the Philippine Overseas Labor Offices (POLOs), and labour attachés and consulates abroad addressing migrant workers’ issues. The Committee notes in particular that the CFO is in charge of conducting a range of pre-departure programmes for Filipinos migrating permanently to other countries, including the pre-departure orientation seminars (PDOS), the Guidance and Counselling Programme for spouses and partners, the Peer Counselling Programme, and the Community Education Programme. It also notes the important role and functions of the POEA which is in charge of the recruitment and placement of overseas Filipino workers. The activities of the POEA include selection, referral to medical examination, processing of contracts, assistance and securing of passports and visas, pre-employment orientation seminars (PEOS) and anti-illegal recruitment seminars, PDOS and travel arrangements. PDOS are mandatory for all overseas Filipino workers going through the government-to-government arrangement and those who are directly employed by a foreign employer without the help of a recruitment agency (“name hires”). PEOS are offered in coordination with the local government units and aimed at providing prospective overseas workers with information on the realities of international labour migration including its challenges and risks. Gender-sensitive information and programmes and services are directed to prospective female migrants, including preparatory courses on conditions of work and life. The Committee further notes that Migrant Workers and Other Overseas Filipinos Resource Centers (MWRCs) are established in the premises of Philippine embassies in countries in which there are a large number of Filipino overseas workers. MWRCs provide a range of services, including counselling and legal services; welfare assistance, information, advice and programmes to promote social integration, including post-arrival orientation; registration of undocumented workers, training and skills upgrading, gender sensitive programmes and activities to assist with the particular needs of women migrant workers; orientation programmes for returning migrants, and monitoring of the situation with respect to migrant workers. The Legal Assistant for Migrant Workers in the DFA and the Legal Assistance Fund (RA 8042) have also been created with a view to ensuring that overseas Filipino workers have access to appropriate redress mechanisms while employed abroad. The National Re-integration Council for Overseas Foreign Workers (NRCO) delivers reintegration services to Filipino migrant workers using the full-cycle approach covering pre-departure, on-site and return phases of migration. Services include financial literacy orientation, counselling, and assistance with respect to local and overseas employment opportunities, skills training and upgrading and livelihood and business development. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on the activities undertaken by the above institutions to give effect to the provisions of the Convention and to promote and protect the rights of Filipino migrant workers.

The Committee is raising other points in a request addressed directly to the Government.