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Also, the matters contained in the following were written in accordance with the law, rules, and jurisprudence prevailing at the time of writing and posting, and do not include any future developments on the subject matter under discussion.
AT A GLANCE:
The following are disqualified from engaging in the business of recruitment and placements: Travel agencies and sales agencies of airline companies, individuals, partners, officers or directors of an insurance company who make, propose or provide an insurance contract under the compulsory insurance coverage for agency-hired Overseas Filipino Workers, sole proprietors, partners or officers and members of the board with derogatory records and any official or employee of the DOLE, POEA, OWWA, DFA, DOJ, DOH, BI, IC, NLRC, TESDA, CFO, NBI, PNP, CAAP, international airport authorities, and other related government agencies and/or any of his/her relatives within the fourth civil degree of consanguinity or affinity. (Section 3, Rule I, Part II, 2016 POEA Rules and Regulations Governing Overseas Employment)
The law provides –
Recruitment and placement refers to any act of canvassing, enlisting, contracting, transporting, utilizing, hiring, or procuring workers, and includes referrals, contract services, promising or advertising for employment, locally or abroad, whether for profit or not: Provided, That any person or entity which, in any manner, offers or promises for a fee employment to two or more persons shall be deemed engaged in recruitment and placement. (People v. Jamilosa, G.R. No. 169076, January 23, 2007, citing Pres. Decree No. 442, Labor Code of the Philippines (1974), as amended, art. 13(b))
Section 3, Rule I, Part II, 2016 POEA Rules and Regulations Governing Overseas Employment provides that The following persons and entities are disqualified to participate or engage in the recruitment and placement of workers for overseas employment:
- Travel agencies and sales agencies of airline companies;
- Officers or members of the Board of any corporation or partners in a partnership engaged in the business of a travel agency;
- Corporations and partnerships, where any of its officers, members of the board or partners is also an officer, member of the board or partner of a corporation or partnership engaged in the business of a travel agency;
- Individuals, partners, officers or directors of an insurance company who make, propose or provide an insurance contract under the compulsory insurance coverage for agency-hired Overseas Filipino Workers;
- Sole proprietors, partners or officers and members of the board with derogatory records, such as, but not limited to the following:
- Those convicted, or against whom probable cause or prima facie finding of guilt is determined by a competent authority, for illegal recruitment, or for other related crimes or offenses committed in the course of, related to, or resulting from, illegal recruitment, or for crimes involving moral turpitude;
- Those agencies whose licenses have been revoked for violation of RA 8042 (Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipinos Act of 1995), as amended, PD 442 (Labor Code of the Philippines), as amended, and RA 9208 (Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003), as amended, and their implementing rules and regulations;
- Those agencies whose licenses have been cancelled, or those who, pursuant to the Order of the Administrator, were included in the list of persons with derogatory record for violation of recruitment laws and regulations; and
f. Any official or employee of the DOLE, POEA, OWWA, DFA, DOJ, DOH, BI, IC, NLRC, TESDA, CFO, NBI, PNP, Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP), international airport authorities, and other government agencies directly involved in the implementation of RA 8042, as amended, and/or any of his/her relatives within the fourth civil degree of consanguinity or affinity.
Jurisprudence provides –
Sections 1 and 2, Rule I, Part II of the POEA Rules and Regulations provide the qualifications and disqualifications for private sector participation in the overseas employment program. Section 1 of this rule provides that for persons to participate in recruitment and placement of land-based overseas Filipino workers, they must not possess any of the disqualifications as provided in Section 2. Section 1 partly reads:
Section l. Qualifications. Only those who possess the following qualifications may be permitted to engage in the business of recruitment and placement of Filipino workers:
xxx xxx xxx
c. Those not otherwise disqualified by law or other government regulations to engage in the recruitment and placement of workers for overseas employment.
In connection with the foregoing, Section 2 provides for the disqualifications. Specifically, Section 2 (d) (4) and (f) provides that persons, directors and officers of whose licenses have been previously revoked or cancelled are disqualified from engaging in the recruitment and placement of workers. It states: EATCcI
Section 2. Disqualification. The following are not qualified to engage in the business of recruitment and placement of Filipino workers overseas.
xxx xxx xxx
d. Persons, partnerships or corporations which have derogatory records, such as but not limited to the following:
xxx xxx xxx
- Those agencies whose licenses have been previously revoked or cancelled by the Administration for violation of RA 8042, PD 442 as amended and their implementing rules and regulations as well as these rules and regulations.
xxx xxx xxx
f. Persons or partners, officers and Directors of corporations whose licenses have been previously cancelled or revoked for violation of recruitment laws. (Emphases supplied)
Thus, upon the cancellation of a license, persons, officers and directors of the concerned corporations are automatically prohibited from engaging in recruiting and placement of land-based overseas Filipino workers. The grant of a license is a privilege and not a right thus making it a proper subject of its regulatory powers. If we are to protect the welfare of vulnerable overseas workers, then we must prevent all instances wherein they may be taken advantage upon. This must be so since the rules must be read as a whole to achieve its particular purpose. Particular words, clauses and phrases should not be studied as detached and isolated expressions but as a whole and every part of the statute must be considered in fixing the meaning of any of its parts and in order to produce a harmonious whole.||| (Republic v. Humanlink Manpower Consultants, Inc., G.R. No. 205188, [April 22, 2015], 759 PHIL 235-247)
Read also: WHAT ARE THE MODES OF COMMITTING ILLEGAL RECRUITMENT?
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