EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 857
EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 857 - GOVERNING
THE REMITTANCE TO THE PHILIPPINES OF FOREIGN EXCHANGE EARNINGS OF
FILIPINO WORKERS ABROAD AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES
WHEREAS,
existing laws and regulations governing remittances of foreign exchange
earnings of overseas Filipino workers to their families, dependents
and/or beneficiaries have not been fully effective in ensuring that
they are coursed through official financial institutions of the
Philippine Government or their authorized agents;
WHEREAS, it is necessary to protect the welfare of families, dependents
and beneficiaries of Filipino workers abroad and to ensure that the
foreign exchange earnings of these workers are remitted through
authorized financial institutions of the Philippine Government in line
with the country’s economic development program;
WHEREAS, non-compliance with these aforesaid laws and regulations and
recourse to the use of unauthorized and unofficial financing
institutions has led to the detriment of the country’s balance of
payments and economic development program;
WHEREAS, it is imperative that the mandatory remittance requirement be
fully complied with by all concerned through the institution of
appropriate remittance facilities and the imposition of effective
sanctions;
NOW, THEREFORE, I, FERDINAND E. MARCOS, President of the Philippines,
by virtue of the powers vested in me by the Constitution, do hereby
order and promulgate:
Section 1. It shall be mandatory for every Filipino
contract worker abroad to remit regularly a portion of his foreign
exchange earnings to his beneficiary in the Philippines through the
Philippine banking system. Licensed agencies and other entities
authorized by the Ministry of Labor and Employment to recruit Filipino
workers for overseas employment are similarly required to remit their
workers’ earnings as provided for in this Order.
Sec. 2. All contracts of employment and agency or
service agreements submitted to the Ministry of Labor and Employment
shall contain a proviso that shall make it mandatory for workers to
remit to the Philippines in foreign exchange at least the following
portions of their earnings;
a)
Seamen or mariners: Seventy (70) percent of basic salary;
b) Workers of
Filipino contractors and construction companies: Seventy (70) percent
of basic salary;
c) Doctors,
engineers, teachers, nurses and other professional workers whose
contract provide for free board and lodging: Eighty (80) percent of
basic salary; 1
d) All other
professional workers whose employment contracts do not provide for free
board and lodging facilities: Fifty (50) percent of basic salary;
e) Domestic
and other service workers: Fifty (50) percent of basic salary;
f) All other
workers not falling under the aforementioned categories: Fifty (50)
percent of basic salary.
Sec. 3. Passports issued to Filipino contract
workers shall have an initial period of validity of one year provided
that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs may adjust, as circumstances may
require, the initial passport validity period. The passport shall be
renewable every year upon submission of usual requirements and
presentation of documentary proof of compliance to the remittance
requirement in the percentages provided for in this Order. The Ministry
of Foreign Affairs shall not extend or renew the passport of any
contract worker unless proof of his compliance with the mandatory
remittance requirement is submitted.
Sec. 4. The Ministry of Labor and Employment shall
not approve the renewal of employment contracts and agency or service
agreements unless proof of remittance of foreign exchange earnings is
submitted.
Sec. 5. For purposes of this Order, proof of
compliance with the mandatory remittance requirement as mentioned in
Section 1 hereof, may consist of any of the following documents or such
alternative as may be approved by the Central Bank of the Philippines
showing that the contract worker had in fact effected aforesaid
remittance and had caused the surrender of the same for pesos through
the Philippine banking system:
a.
Bank receipt evidencing the actual conversion of their foreign exchange
earnings into pesos in the Philippines; 2
b.
Certification from employer, duly authenticated, that remittance has
been effected;
c.
Certification as to the surrender for pesos to the Philippine banking
system; and
d. Receipt of
International Postal Money Order.
Sec. 6. Remittances of foreign exchange earnings
may be undertaken individually by the contract worker or collectively
through the employer under a payroll deduction scheme, in accordance
with Central Bank regulations and applicable guidelines.
Sec. 7. As a prerequisite for accreditation by the
Ministry of Labor and Employment, an employer shall commit to provide
facilities to effect the remittances and monitoring of foreign exchange
earnings of Filipino workers in his employ.
Sec. 8. The Central Bank of the Philippines shall
cause necessary arrangements to be made with the appropriate financing
institutions to handle the remittances called for in this Order. In the
absence of appropriate banking facilities, the Embassy or Consulate
nearest to the job site, in accordance with local laws and regulations,
may act in the interim as the channel for remittance of foreign
exchange earnings. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs shall immediately
inform the Central Bank of the Philippines these arrangements and shall
remit all funds thereto.
Sec. 9. Contract workers who fail to comply with
the requirements of this Order shall be suspended or excluded from the
list of eligible workers for overseas employment. In cases of
subsequent violations, he shall be repatriated from the job site at the
expense of the employer or at his expense, as the case may be.
Filipino or foreign employers and/or their representatives who fail to
comply with the requirements under this Order shall be excluded from
the overseas employment program. In the case of local private
employment agencies and entities, failure to comply with the provisions
hereof shall be a ground for cancellation of their license or authority
to recruit workers for overseas employment, without prejudice to their
liabilities under existing laws and regulations.
Sec. 10. The Ministries of Labor and Employment
and Foreign Affairs and the Central Bank of the Philippines shall draw
up the necessary rules and procedures for the proper implementation of
this Order within ten (10) days from the signing hereof.
Sec. 11. All provisions of existing orders, rules
and regulations inconsistent herewith are hereby repealed.
Sec. 12. This Order shall take effect thirty (30)
days after the promulgation of implementing rules and procedures.
Done in the City of Manila,
this 13th day of December, in the year of Our Lord, Nineteen Hundred
and Eighty Two.
Footnotes
1. As amended by Executive Order No. 925,
January 1, 1984.
2. As amended by Executive Order No. 935,
February 28, 1984.
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Since 19.07.98.