A lawmaker proposed the creation of a new office overseas which seeks to appoint arbiters per Embassy or Consulates for complaints of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).
Camarines Sur Rep. Gabriel Bordado Jr. filed House Bill 7181 seeking the creation of the Office of the Philippine Overseas Labor Arbiter, where one Chief Overseas Labor Arbiter (COLA) and one Assistant Overseas Labor Arbiter (AOLA) per Philippine Embassy and/or Consulate will be appointed.
“Without an office abroad where they can lodge or file their complaints and grievances against foreign employers, many OFWs are helpless as they suffer forms of slavery as well as physical, psychological and economic abuse. This is because any cause of action that an OFW has over his or her employer can only be heard before the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC) which has no office abroad,” Bordado said.
The new office seeks to protect the rights of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), with or without the possession of their passports, and will operate under the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).
“This Act does not discriminate between a Filipino holding his Philippine passport, and a Filipino who has no Philippine passport at all because, more often than not, passports are confiscated by employers,” Bordado said.
“Likewise, this Act does not require that the OFWs should have an employment agency or be documented before their concerns could be heard, ” he added.
The bill also states that the COLA will have control over the offices overseas and will have concurrent jurisdiction on cases handled by NLRC.
