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Philippines – Calls for mandatory insurance for overseas agency workers to cover war risks

16 September 2014

Lawmakers are strong pushing for the inclusion of war risks in the mandatory insurance coverage for overseas Filipino workers, reports Thai News Service. The current Migrant Workers and Overseas Workers Act (1985) provides for compulsory insurance for all migrant and overseas workers. It does not, however, currently cover “war risk”.

Brothers and fellow politicians Wesley and Sherwin Gatchalian co-authored a bill (HB 4924), which provides for mandatory insurance coverage for agency hired overseas workers against risks sustained from war, invasion, insurrection, revolution, a military coup, and terrorism.

The brothers propose that Section 37-A be amended to read: “Compulsory Insurance for Agency-Hired workers, -- In addition to the performance bond to be filed by the recruiting/manning agency under Section 10, each migrant worker deployed by a recruiting/manning agency shall be covered by a compulsory insurance policy including war risk insurance, invasion, insurrection, revolution, military coup and terrorism, which shall be secured at no cost to the said worker. Such insurance policy shall be effective for the duration of the migrant worker's employment contract and shall cover, at the minimum: [yet to be determined].”

The bill follows unrest in several countries, particularly in the Middle East, with overseas foreign workers (OFWs) often caught in the cross-fire and exposed to various dangers; including injury, kidnapping, torture, unlawful detainment, and even death.

The brothers added: “While there are government efforts to secure OFWs from these war torn areas through evacuations and repatriations, our OFWs are not yet financially protected from all the risks they encounter in dangerous countries and/or high risk remote regions brought about by political or civil unrests, or even because of war.”