Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) rejected a proposed congressional measure for the adoption of a compulsory liability insurance system for all Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs).

This would help OFWs relieve from paying excessive fees due to the other insurances and other fees that they need to be paid.

The POEA had submitted to Congress its position on the proposed amendment to the Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipinos Act for the inclusion of a provision imposing mandatory liability insurance on all Filipinos working abroad.

POEA deputy administrator Hans Leo Cacdac says that additional insurance for OFWs should be voluntary. He says that to help OFWs against abuses in liability insurance scheme is to make it voluntary.

“Based on an assessment by the Office of the Solicitor General, the insurance would protect only the recruiters, not the OFWS,” says Cacdac.

“Let the OFW decide whether they shall be covered by liability insurance or not,” cacdac added.

Under the Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipinos Act, each OFW deployed by a licensed agency shall be covered by employment liability insurance equivalent to at least six months of the worker’s salary.

The insurance shall be used to pay money claims or damages given to workers if a case I decided by or settled before the National Labor Relations Commissions.

Recruitment agencies support the proposal since they will be relieved from shouldering claims, while Migrant worker’s group strongly opposed.

Although the proposal states that migrant workers will not pay for the insurances, Cacdac believes that there is no assurance that such a financial burden shall not be passed on the departing OFWs.

“The insurance would cost billions of pesos for the one million OFWs leaving the country annually and where would the recruitment industry get that fund if they would not require the workers to shoulder at least half of the cost?” Cacdac said.

At this time, Cacdac said, the POEA is looking at the adequacy of the escrow deposits of recruitment agencies to cover the OFW claims.

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