Page 16 - Labor_Code_of_the_Philippines_2016_fulltext_DOLE-Edition

the regional offices of the Bureau of Employment Services, if so authorized by the
Minister of Labor as provided in this Article, shall be appealable to the National
13
Labor Relations Commission upon the same grounds provided in Article 223
hereof. The decisions of the National Labor Relations Commission shall be final and
14
unappealable.

(c) The Minister of Labor shall have the power to impose and collect fees based
on rates recommended by the Bureau of Employment Services. Such fees shall be
deposited in the National Treasury as a special account of the General Fund, for the
promotion of the objectives of the Bureau of Employment Services, subject to the
provisions of Section 40 of Presidential Decree No. 1177.
15

ART. 16. Private Recruitment. Except as provided in Chapter II of this Title, no
person or entity other than the public employment offices, shall engage in the
recruitment and placement of workers.

16
ART. 17. Overseas Employment Development Board. An Overseas
Employment Development Board is hereby created to undertake, in cooperation
with relevant entities and agencies, a systematic program for overseas employment
of Filipino workers in excess of domestic needs and to protect their rights to fair and
equitable employment practices. It shall have the power and duty:

1. To promote the overseas employment of Filipino workers through a
comprehensive market promotion and development program;

13
Now renumbered as Art. 229 (Appeal).

14
Paragraph (b) of Art. 15 was superseded by E.O. No. 797 (1982), Sec. 4 of
and exclusive jurisdiction over all cases, including money claims, involving employer-employee relations arising out of or by virtue of any law or contract involving Filipino workers for

15
P.D. No. 1177, Revising the Budget Process in Order to Institutionalize the Budgetary Innovations of the New Society

16 The functions of the Overseas Employment Development Board (OEDB) are now being undertaken by the POEA. These, as provided for in Sec. 3 of EO No. 247 Reorganizing the
(a) Regulate private sector participation in the recruitment and overseas placement of workers by setting
up a licensing and registration system; (b) 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; (c) Protect the rights of Filipino workers for overseas
employment to fair and equitable recruitment and employment practices and ensure their welfare; (d) Exercise original and exclusive jurisdiction to hear and decide [all claims arising out
of an employer-employee relationship or by virtue of any law or contract involving Filipino workers for overseas employment including the disciplinary cases (Note: Sec. 10 of R.A. No.
8042, "Migrant Workers Act of 1995," transferred the original and exclusive jurisdiction to hear and decide money claims and cases involving overseas Filipino workers to the NLRC); and]
all pre-employment cases which are administrative in character involving or arising out of violation or requirement laws, rules and regulations including money claims arising therefrom, or
violation of the conditions for issuance of license or authority to recruit workers. All prohibited recruitment activities and practices which are penal in character as enumerated and defined
under and by virtue of existing laws, shall be prosecuted in the regular courts in close coordination with the appropriate Departments and agencies concerned; (e) Maintain a registry of
skills for overseas placement; (f) Recruit and place workers to service the requirements for trained and competent Filipino workers by foreign governments and their instrumentalities and
such other employers as public interest may require; (g) Promote the development of skills and careful selection of Filipino workers; (h) Undertake overseas market development activities
for placement of Filipino workers; (i) Secure the best terms and conditions of employment of Filipino contract workers and ensure compliance therewith; (j) Promote and protect the well-
being of Filipino workers overseas; (k) Develop and implement programs for the effective monitoring of returning contract workers, promoting their re-training and re-employment or their
smooth re-integration into the mainstream of national economy in coordination with other government agencies [Note: This was modified by Sec. 17 of R.A. No. 8042.]; (l) Institute a
system for ensuring fair and speedy disposition of cases involving violation or recruitment rules and regulations as well as violation of terms and conditions of overseas employment; (m)
Establish a system for speedy and efficient enforcement of decisions laid down through the exercise of its adjudicatory function [Note: Sec. 10 of R.A. No. 8042 -
judicial functions.]; (n) Establish and maintain close relationship and enter into joint projects with the Department of Foreign Affairs, Philippine Tourism Authority, Manila International
Airport Authority, Department of Justice, Department of Budget and Management and other relevant government entities, in the pursuit of its objectives. The Administration shall also
establish and maintain joint projects with private organizations, domestic or foreign, in the furtherance of its objectives [Note: Paragraph (n) should be read together with the provisions of
R.A. No. 8042. The functions previously exercised by Philippine Tourism Authority are now performed by the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (TIEZA) pursuant to R.A.
No. 9593 Tourism Act of 2009
16