Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipinos Act
RULE XIII
REPATRIATION OF WORKERS
Section 1. Primary Responsibility for Repatriation.
The repatriation of the worker or his/her remains, and the transport of his/her personal effects shall be the primary responsibility of the principal, employer or agency that recruited or deployed him/her abroad. All costs attendant thereto shall be borne by the principal, employer or the agency concerned.
Section 2. Obligation to Advance Repatriation Costs.
Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 37-A of the Act, the primary responsibility to repatriate entails the obligation on the part of the principal or agency to advance the repatriation and other attendant costs, including plane fare, deployment cost of the principal, and immigration fines and penalties, to immediately repatriate the worker should the need for it arise, without a prior determination of the cause of the termination of the worker's employment. However, after the worker has returned to the country, the principal or agency may recover the cost of repatriation from the worker if the termination of employment was due solely to his/her fault.
In countries where there is a need to secure an exit visa for the worker's repatriation, the principal or employer shall be primarily responsible for securing the visa at no cost to the worker. The agency shall coordinate with the principal or employer in securing the visa.
Every contract for overseas employment shall provide for the primary responsibility of the principal or employer and agency to advance the cost of plane fare, and the obligation of the worker to refund the cost thereof in case his/her fault is determined by the Labor Arbiter.
Section 3 Repatriation Procedure.
When a need for repatriation arises and the foreign employer fails to provide for its cost, the POLO or responsible personnel on-site shall simultaneously notify OWWA and the POEA of such need. The POEA shall issue a notice requiring the agency concerned to provide, within 48 hours from such notice, the plane ticket or the prepaid ticket advice (PTA) to the POLO or Philippine Embassy. The agency shall notify the POEA of such compliance, which shall then inform OWWA of the action of the agency.
In case there is a need to secure an exit visa for the repatriation of the worker, the employer or principal shall have fifteen (15) days from notice to secure such an exit visa. Moreover, any agency involved in the worker's recruitment, processing, and/or deployment shall also coordinate with the principal or employer in securing the visa.
Section 4. Action on Non-Compliance.
If the employment agency fails to provide the ticket or PTA within 48 hours from receipt of the notice, the POEA shall suspend the documentary processing of the agency or impose such sanctions as it may deem necessary. Upon notice from the POEA, OWWA shall advance the costs of repatriation with recourse to the agency or principal. The administrative sanction shall not be lifted until the agency reimburses the OWWA of the cost of repatriation with legal interest.
If the principal or employer and/or agency fail to secure the exit visa within a period of fifteen (15) days from receipt of the POEA notice, the POEA shall suspend the employer or principal from participating in the overseas employment program, and may impose suspension of documentary processing on the agency, if warranted.
Section 5. Emergency Repatriation.
The OWWA, in coordination with DFA, and in appropriate situations, with international agencies, shall undertake the repatriation of workers in cases of war, epidemic, disasters or calamities, natural or man-made, and other similar events without prejudice to reimbursement by the responsible principal or agency within sixty (60) days from notice. In such case, the POEA shall simultaneously identify and give notice to the agencies concerned.
Section 6. Mandatory Repatriation of Underage Migrant Workers. Upon discovery or upon being informed of the presence of migrant workers whose actual ages fall below the minimum age requirement for overseas deployment, the responsible officers in the Foreign Service shall without delay repatriate said workers and advise the DFA through the fastest means of communication available of such discovery and other relevant information.
In addition to requiring the recruitment/manning agency to pay or reimburse the costs of repatriation, the POEA shall cancel the license of the recruitment/manning agency that deployed an underage migrant worker after notice and hearing and shall impose a fine of not less than five hundred thousand pesos (Php500.000.00) but not more than One million pesos (Php1,000,000.00). The POEA shall also order the recruitment/manning agency to refund all fees pertinent to the processing of papers or documents in the deployment, to the underage migrant worker or to his parents or guardian in a summary proceeding conducted.
The refund shall be independent of and in addition to the indemnification for the damages sustained by the underage migrant worker. The refund shall be paid within thirty (30) days from the date the POEA is officially informed of the mandatory repatriation as provided for in the Act.
Section 7. Other Cases of Repatriation.
In all cases where the principal or agency of the worker cannot be identified, cannot be located or had ceased operations, and the worker is in need and without means, the OWWA personnel at the jobsite, in coordination with the DFA, shall cause the repatriation in appropriate cases. All costs attendant to repatriation borne by the OWWA may be charged to the Emergency Repatriation Fund provided in the Act, without prejudice to the OWWA requiring the agency/employer/insurer or the worker to reimburse the cost of repatriation.
Section 8. Emergency Repatriation Fund.
When repatriation becomes immediate and necessary, the OWWA shall advance the needed costs from the Emergency Repatriation Fund without prejudice to reimbursement by the deploying agency and/or principal, or the worker in appropriate cases. Simultaneously, the POEA shall ask the concerned agency to work towards reimbursement of costs advanced by the OWWA. In cases where the cost of repatriation shall exceed One Hundred Million (P100,000,000.00) Pesos, the OWWA shall make representation with the Office of the President for immediate funding in excess of said amount.
Section 9. Prohibition on Bonds and Deposits.
In no case shall a private recruitment/manning agency require any bond or cash deposit from the worker to guarantee performance under the contract or his/her repatriation.