o Republic of the Philippines a DEPARTMENT OF LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT opti Intramuros, Manila DEPARTMENT ORDER No. 221-A Series of 2022 Puan GUIDELINES IN THE ACCREDITATION OF AGENTS AND APPOINTMENT OF EMPLOYER'S AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVES FOR FILING OF ALIEN EMPLOYMENT PERMIT (AEP) APPLICATIONS AND RELATED DOCUMENTS Pursuant to Section 26 of the Department Order No. 221 series of 2021, also known as the Revised Rules and Regulations for the Issuance of Employment Permits to Foreign Nationals, this Supplemental Department Order is hereby issued to institutionalize the accreditation of Agents and Employer's representatives authorized to represent, to act for and on behalf of a Philippines- based employer and/or foreign national for the application and issuance of Alien Employment Permit (AEP) by the Department of Labor and Employment through its Regional Offices (DOLE-RO). This Department Order shall also cover applications for Certificate of Exemption and Certificate of Exclusion by entities or foreign nationals in the performance of their duties and responsibilities requiring their presence in the Philippines. Section 1. Objective: This Department Order is issued to institutionalize and prescribe the Guidelines in the accreditation of Agents and their personnel, and Employer's authorized representatives in the application of an AEP or Certificate of Exemption or Certificate of Exclusion. Section 2. Definition of Terms: a. Alien Employment Permit (AEP) — a permit issued by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) to foreign nationals pursuant to the employment arrangement with a Philippines-based company, after the conduct of the Labor Market Test (LMT). Application for an AEP may either be filed by the foreign national or the Philippines-based employer or through their authorized representatives. b. Applicant - the applicant for Certificate of Accreditation or Registration may either be a: i. Consultancy Firm Law Office . Employer's Authorized Representative through his/her employer Page 1 of 6. Accredited Agents (AA) — establishments or firms registered with the DOLE and issued with Certificate of Accreditation allowed to legally transact business for and in behalf of employers and/or foreign national/s applying for AEP, or Certificate of Exemption/Exclusion |. Accredited Personnel (AP) — employee of the Accredited Agent authorized to legally transact with DOLE and issued with Accreditation ID . Authority to Transact — authority issued by the DOLE-RO concerned to the AP to transact in behalf of the Philippines-based employer or foreign national applying for an AEP, Certificate of Exemption or Certificate of Exclusion, Authority to Transact shall be issued with the corresponding Accreditation ID/s, which shall be used by the Accredited Agent's personnel (AP) in transacting official business with the DOLE. Certificate of Accreditation — a document issued by DOLE certifying that the Agent is authorized to transact business, specific only to the application of AEP, Certificate of Exemption and Certificate of Exclusion; for and in behalf of the Philippines-based employer and/or the foreign national. . Certificate of Exclusion — a document issued to categories of foreign nationals enumerated under Section 20 of DO 221 series of 2021. . Certificate of Exemption — a document issued to categories of foreign nationals enumerated under Section 18 of DO 221 series of 2021 Employer's Authorized Representative (EAR) an employee of the Philippines-based employer who may be an i. Appointed human resource personnel/s, liaison officers and/or employee/s covered by a duly notarized Special Power of Attorney (SPA) — in case of sole proprietorship, or ii, Authorized officerlemployee/s covered by a duly notarized Board Resolution’ Secretary's Certificate in case of partnership or corporation Supplemental Authority to Transact - authority issued by the concerned DOLE-RO to the AP duly accredited by another DOLE-RO, to transact in behalf of the Philippines-based employer or foreign national applying for an AEP, Certificate of Exemption or Certificate of Exclusion subject to the conditions set forth in this Rules. Section 3. Coverage. — The following entity/ies or individual/s may apply for an AEP or Certificate of Exemption or Exclusion, in behalf of the employer or foreign national, provided that they shall have been accredited and registered with the DOLE subject to the provisions under this Guidelines: Page 2 0f 6a. Consultancy Firms b. Law Offices cc. Employer's authorized representative Section 4. Application and Requirements for Accreditation — All individuals or entities applying for Accreditation covered by Section 3 of this Rules shall submit the following to the DOLE-RO where the principal office is located: a. Application form duly accomplished b. Certified True Copy (CTC) of DTVSEC registration and Articles of Incorporation c. CTC of valid business/Mayor's permit d. Duly notarized list with a maximum of three (3) of authorized personnel to transact with DOLE e. Payment of required fees 4.1. The three (3) authorized personnel listed in 4 (d) above shall submit the following: Photocopy of company ID Photocopy of one (1) government-issued ID Updated contact information NBI Clearance Police Clearance 2x2 ID picture SP Rere Applications with incomplete requirements shall not be accepted or received and processed by the DOLE-ROs. Section 5. Validity of Accreditation — Accreditation shall be valid for two (2) years across all DOLE Regional Offices. A Certificate of Accreditation shall be issued to the applicant together with the Accreditation ID/s to its authorized personnel indicating the same validity, unless ‘sooner revoked or cancelled. For clients situated in another region, the Accredited Agent may apply for a Supplemental Authority to Transact with the concemed DOLE-RO for its AP to be able to transact in the said region and shall pay for the corresponding fee. The Accredited Agent shall attach the certified true copy (CTC) of the Certificate of Accreditation in its application for the Supplemental Authority to Transact with the name/s of its registered AP, together with the photocopy of documents mentioned in Section 4.1. Section 6. Fees ~ The following fees to be paid by the applicant shall be non- refundable: a. PhP 8,000.00 for Accreditation registration b. PhP 8,000.00 for renewal of Accreditation Page 3 of 6c. PhP 2,000.00 for each Accreditation ID and/or replacement thereof d. PhP 4,000.00 Supplemental Authority to Transact per regional application Section 7. Processing and Issuance of Certificate of Accreditation — The DOLE-RO evaluate and process the approval of application for Accreditation, and shall issue the Certificate of Accreditation within five (5) working days and schedule the Orientation/Seminar of its AP within one (1) month from the date of issuance. No Accreditation ID shall be issued to the AP prior to his/her attendance to the Orientation/Seminar. A maximum of three (3) personnel of the Accredited Agent may be authorized to represent and transact with DOLE to apply for an AEP, Certificates of Exemption or Exclusion, who shall also be eligible to be issued with the Second Authority to Transact. Section 8. Transactions Covered by Accreditation - Only transactions related to the application for new and renewal of AEP, Certificate of Exclusion and Certificate of Exemption shall be covered by the Certificate of Accreditation. All applications for AEP, Certificate of Exemption and Exclusion filed by the Accredited Agent shall be covered by a Service Contract/Agreement which shall clearly define the scope and extent of authority in the said application/s duly executed by and between the Accredited Agent and the Philippines-based employer or foreign national. The agreement may be in a form of master contract for employers and individual contracts for FNs. The same shall be submitted to the DOLE-RO prior to the commencement of any transaction. In case of partnership or corporation, a duly notarized Board Resolution! Secretary's Certificate or its equivalent, shall also be submitted as a proof of representation and contracted by the employer or foreign national, as the case may be. Section 9. Employer's Authorized Representative - The Philippines-based employer may appoint employee/s as Authorized Representative/s (EAR) to transact with the concerned DOLE-RO: The EAR shall be required to submit the following: a. Photocopy of company ID b. Photocopy of one (1) government-issued ID c. Updated contact information A fee of PhP 2,000.00 shall be paid for the DOLE pass ID for each EAR to be worn upon entry and at all times while in the DOLE-RO premises. No DOLE pass ID shall be issued to the EAR prior to his/her attendance to the Orientation/Seminar, which shall be valid for two (2) years unless sooner revoked or cancelled by the Philippines-based employer. Page 4 of 6Section 10. Renewal - An application for renewal may be filed within thirty (30) days before the expiration of the Certificate of Accreditation, subject to the submission of updated requirements under Section 4 of this Department Order. The renewed Certificate of Accreditation shall be valid from the date of expiry of the previous Certificate. Similarly, the employer shall renew the appointment of its EAR within thirty (30) days before expiration of the DOLE Pass ID. Section 11. Duties and responsibilities - The Accredited Agent/Employer and their AP/EAR shall have the following duties and responsibilities, respectively: e. Adhere and comply with the provisions of DOLE DO 221 series of 2021, or any existing guidelines, in applying for an AEP, Certificate of Exemption and Certificate of Exclusion. Provide the DOLE updated documentary requirements in case of expiry during the validity of the Accreditation or expiry of the DOLE Pass ID, as the case may be. Ensure attendance of its AP/EAR to the Training/Seminar conducted by DOLE for awareness and compliance to AEP Guidelines. Ensure that the AP/EAR shall present upon entry and wear at all times their respective IDs while in the DOLE premises for proper identification. Likewise, a photocopy of their ID shall be attached in all applications they facilitate for processing. ‘Submit immediately a notification of any changes in representation Section 12. Prohibitions - The following acts of the Accredited Personnel shall be prohibited: a. Submission of tampered or fraudulent documents/requirements (e.g. company ID, NBI, and police clearance). Transacting without prior submission of Service Contract Agreement with a Philippines-based employer Entry of DOLE premises except when transacting for their clients. Lobbying with employers applying for AEP for their foreign workers within the 2km vicinity of DOLE-RO. Other acts prohibited and punishable under section 17 of DO 221 series of 2021. Section 13. Penalties - Accredited Personnel found to have violated this Department Order shall be imposed of the following penalty/ies: First Offense: Reprimand Page 5 of 6Second Offense: Suspension of one (1) week Third Offense: Suspension of one (1) month Fourth Offense: Suspension of three (3) months Five (6) times consolidated offenses of AP/s shall result to the revocation of Agents AP's Authority to Transact and reprimand of the Accredited Agent, without prejudice to the other compliant APs ‘Accredited Agents shall be barred for five (5) years from filing three (3) counts of fraudulent AEP applications, after due process, pursuant to Section 17 of DO 224 Likewise, the employer and its authorized representative shall be penalized accordingly for the same offense. Section 14. Reportorial Duties - Accredited Agents shall ensure to: a. Provide and notify the DOLE-RO of any changes or updated contact details, residential and employment addresses. b. Submit a semestral report or list of companies and/or foreign nationals served. Section 15. Effectivity — This Department Order shall become effective 15 days after publication in a newspaper of general circulation. Section 16. Transitory Provision — This Department Order shall be fully implemented ninety (90) days after its effectivity 21 January, 2022 wi A Page 6 of 6