Binay to suspend insurance coverage for OFWs

Vice President and presidential adviser on Overseas Filipino Workers’ (OFWs) Concerns Jejomar Binay urged the joint congressional oversight committee to suspend the implementation of the law requiring insurance coverage for agency-hired migrant workers.

Binay said he is pushing the review of Republic Act 10022 or the amended Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipinos Act in light of the issues raised concerning the compulsory insurance for OFWs.

“Considering the complaints, I believe it is necessary to re-evaluate RA 10022. That is why I’m calling on the labor committee of the Senate and the House of Representatives overseas workers affairs committees to defer the implementation of the law pending its review,” Binay said.

In a meeting with the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) Governing Board, representatives from the joint congressional oversight committee assured that they will convene to look into the issues pertaining to the RA 10022.

Section 37-A of RA 8042, as amended by RA 10022, requires that each agency-hired OFW be covered with a compulsory insurance policy at no cost to the worker. It also states that only private insurance companies duly registered with the Insurance Commission (IC) may provide the insurance coverage.

Recruitment agencies decried the mandatory insurance requirement, saying the required annual premium of $72 is too high and that some foreign employers have already enrolled their Filipino workers in insurance plans.

Meanwhile, the Poea reported a 50 percent decline in the number of contracts processed three days after the Migrant Workers Act took effect. Poea said that from 1,257 in October, the daily average of processed contracts dropped to 607 on Nov. 11.

“We will continue to hold consultations with various government agencies and stakeholders to address the complaints we received. Our primary concern is to protect the interests of our OFWs and not to cause them any additional and unnecessary burden,” Binay said.

Sen. Jinggoy Estrada is the head of the Senate committee on labor, employment and human resources development, while Rep. Walden Bello is chairman of the House committee on overseas worker’s affairs. –Jerrylyn Barcelo, Daily Tribune