ART.

21 PRE-employment

Finally, R.A. No. 8042 establishes a “Migrant Workers and Other Overseas
Filipinos Resource Center” in Philippine Embassies in countries where there
are at least 20,000 migrant workers. The resource center is envisioned to
provide such services as counseling and legal assistance, welfare assistance
including procurement of medical and hospitalization services, registration of
undocumented workers, and conciliation of disputes arising from employer-
employee relationship. The resource center is to be established and operated
jointly by the government agencies mentioned, although its operation is to be
managed by the Labor Attaché.
(b) Department of Labor and Employment. — The Department of Labor
and Employment shall see to it that labor and social welfare laws in the foreign
countries are fairly applied to migrant workers and whenever applicable, to other
overseas Filipinos including the grant of legal assistance and referral to proper
medical centers or hospitals.
(c) Philippine Overseas Employment Administration. — The POEA shall
regulate private sector participation in the recruitment and overseas placement
of workers by setting up a licensing and registration system. It shall also formulate
and implement, in coordination with appropriate entities concerned, when
necessary, a system for promoting and monitoring the overseas employment
of Filipino workers taking into consideration their welfare and the domestic
manpower requirements.
(d) Overseas Workers Welfare Administration. — The Welfare Officer or in
his absence, the coordinating officer, shall provide the Filipino migrant worker
and his family all the assistance they may need in the enforcement of contractual
obligations by agencies or entities and/or their principals. In the performance
of this function, he shall make representation and may call on the agencies or
entities concerned to conferences or conciliation meetings for the purpose of
setting the complaints or problems brought to his attention.
2. THE RPM CENTER
A migrant worker returning to the country has to be reintegrated into
the Philippine society. To serve as a promotion house for local employment
of these returning workers and to tap their skills for national development,
R.A. No. 8042 created in the Department of Labor and Employment the “RPM
(Re-Placement and Monitoring) Center.” Coordinating with the private sector,
the RPM Center is expected to develop livelihood programs for the returning
workers and formulate a computer-based information system on skilled Filipino
migrant workers.
3. THE OWWA
The Welfare Fund for Overseas Workers Administration was created by P.D.
No. 1694 (May 1, 1980) as amended by P.D. No. 1809 (January 16, 1981). Known
as the Welfund, it was intended to provide social and welfare services, including

72