Mandatory insurance for OFWs

There is currently a lot of reactions from the recruitment industry, on the implementation by POEA, of a specific mandate of a law that makes it compulsory to cover all departing OFW with insurance. The objection is based on the industry’s projection that the Philippines will allegedly suffer in terms of probable losses in our market share in the global labor markets.

The recruiters deploying migrant workers to Hong Kong and Taiwan are particularly concerned that our country may lose no less than 50,000 jobs in Taiwan and about a hundred thousand in Hong Kong. Vice President Binay, in his capacity as Oversight in-charge of overseas employment, has asked for a meeting with DOLE Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz. And all of us, Labor Attachés, are being asked to submit our assessment of the overall reaction of the global labor markets, vis-a-vis the mandataory insurance law.

It is important that we understand first, the context of all these current ado on OFW insurance. First of all, the State, through the government, is mandated by the Philippine Constitution to pursue two important goals relative to our overseas workers; One: The government is mandated to promote full employment, and Two: The same government is also directed to afford full protection to labor, local or overseas. In pursuance of these twin goals, we are very active in seeking employment for our migrant workers, to the extent that we even held various Employment Summits in the Middle East, with no less than the Previous President and the previous Labor secretary convening all sectors in the industry. We do marketing of our human capital, even as we demurely claim under both the Labor Code, the Migrant Workers’ Act and the latest amendatory law that we are supposedly not pursuing marketing as an instrument of national policy.

Even as we pursue marketing in the global labor markets, we are also making sure that the workers are amply protected. Empirical data show that hundreds of Filipino workers die, others are injured and permanently disabled while doing their work or while going to or from their places of work. Since the OFWs are not covered by the State Insurance fund, under Book IV of the Labor code, it is imperative that they should be insured from sickness. injury or death. Accordingly, Republic Act 10022 was passed by the House of Representatives on 18 December 2009,(House Bill No 5649 authored by House Labor committee Chair, Rep Manuel “way kurat’’ Zamora) and by the Senate on 18 January 2010 ( Senate Bill No. 3286 authored by Senate labor Committee Chair, Sen Jinggoy E Estrada). Then Pres GMA allowed it to lapsed into law without approving nor vetoing the same. It took effect on 08 Mar 2010.

The law created a new Art 37-A in RA 8042, the Migrant Workers’ Act, and required that each migrant worker deployed by any recruitment agency (for land-based workers) or manning agency (for sea-based workers), shall be covered by a compulsory insurance policy, which shall be secured, at no cost to the said worker.

Accordingly, on 21 October 2010, the POEA issued memo circular no.09, implementing this legal mandate. Based on the law and its implementing regulations, the following contingencies are covered as insurable risks: Accidental death, natural death, permanent total disability, repatriation cost, subsistence allowance for OFW who are distressed, settlement claims paid by agencies to OFWs for various money claims, cost of compassionate visits by family members who visit distressed OFWs on-site, medical evacuation costs, medical repatriation costs, and other related risks.

The law specifies that the recruitment agencies and their foreign principal employers shall pay the costs of the insurance premium and in no case shall the cost be shifted directly or indirectly to the OFWs. In case of violations, imprisonment and fines shall be imposed.In addition, the licenses of the erring agencies may be suspended or canceled, after due process. The POEA shall not process any work contract without a Certificate Of Insurance coverage. For these reasons, the recruiters are up in arms against the law. But the POEA has no choice but to implement the same.

In the face of all these much ado about mandatory insurance, this government is again put to test. Is it capable of implementing its own laws, or should it yield to the the mounting pressures of business interests? Is the State capable of complying with its constitutional mandates, or should it submit itself to the demands of the recruiters? I have a proposed modus vivendi: Recruiters, obey the law first, then work for the amendment of the law, if you can find some senators or congressmen who are willing to sponsor your cause. If not, then, consider other business ventures. The law may be hard, but is the law.We have asked too much sacrifices of our OFWs. It is high time to protect them by this insurance. We call them modern heroes, and so, when they die, we should not hesitate to provide their relatives with corresponding benefits. That is the simple truth about it. No more and no less.

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