OVERSEAS Filipino workers are assured of greater protection amid the global health crisis with the expanded compulsory insurance coverage for rehires or ‘Balik-Manggagawa’ and direct hires.
Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III, who chairs the governing board of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA), said on Sunday the guidelines have been issued implementing DOLE Department Order No. 228, Series of 2021, or the Expanded Compulsory Insurance Coverage for Rehires and Direct Hires.
“The pandemic has left our migrant workers vulnerable to various risks and perils. By expanding the compulsory insurance coverage, we aim to extend the protection to all OFWs, at no cost to our workers,” Bello said.
The mandatory insurance coverage of OFWs provided for under existing laws and POEA rules and regulations shall now include rehires or ‘Balik-Manggagawa’ and direct hires. The guidelines are spelled out in POEA Memorandum Circular No. 10 signed by POEA Administrator Bernard Olalia, and released last week.
The insurance policy shall be effective for the duration of the migrant worker’s employment contract and assures coverage in case of death, disability, repatriation, medical emergency, and litigation.
It provides for at least US $15,000 survivor’s benefit in case of accidental death; at least US $10,000 survivor’s benefit in case of natural death; and at least US $7,500 disability benefit.
The insurance policy also covers repatriation, including transport of the worker’s personal belongings, when his/her employment is terminated by the employer without any valid cause or terminated by the employee with just cause.
In case of death, the insurance provider shall arrange and pay for the repatriation or return of the worker’s remains.
It also provides for subsistence allowance benefit of at least US $100 per month for a maximum of six months for a migrant worker who is involved in a case or litigation, and money claims arising from the employer’s liability which may be awarded or given to the worker in a judgment or settlement of his/her case in the National Labor Relations Commission.
The insurance policy also covers medical evacuation, medical repatriation, and compassionate visit by one family member of a migrant worker who is hospitalized and confined for at least seven consecutive days.
The insurance coverage shall be secured by the recruitment/manning agency at no cost to the OFW, while the expense for the insurance coverage of rehires and direct hires shall be borne by the foreign employers or the workers themselves subject to a full refund upon the first day of the latter’s arrival at the worksite or country of destination.
Only reputable private insurance companies duly registered and currently accredited with the Insurance Commission are qualified to provide the insurance coverage.
The guidelines on the expanded compulsory insurance coverage shall be observed during the period of the public health emergency due to COVID-19 and shall remain in force until the full completion of the national government’s vaccination program.
An extension of the implementation of the memorandum circular may be granted at any time by the Labor Secretary as conditions and circumstances may warrant.
