Short answer. Yes. The Labor Code establishes the Office of Emigrant Affairs within the Department of Labor. One of its mandated functions is to promote and facilitate re-integration of migrants into the national mainstream and to maintain close ties between overseas Filipino communities and their homeland.
What the law says
promote and facilitate re-integration of migrants into the national mainstream
Labor Code, Article 19 — Office Of Emigrant Affairs. Read the full provision →
The Office of Emigrant Affairs
Article 19 of the Labor Code creates the Office of Emigrant Affairs inside the Department of Labor. The article describes its purpose as maintaining close ties with Filipino migrant communities, promoting their welfare, and establishing a data bank to support national manpower policy. The Office is positioned as a unit directly under the Office of the Secretary, which reflects its policy-level mandate rather than a merely administrative role. Its funding is drawn from resources within the Department and its attached agencies, with regular appropriations provided thereafter.
What the Office is supposed to do
The statute lists several specific functions. The Office is to act as a liaison with migrant communities, provide welfare and cultural services, and promote and facilitate re-integration of migrants into the national mainstream. It is also tasked with promoting economic, political, and cultural ties with Filipino communities abroad and undertaking any activities that strengthen those cooperative links. The reintegration mandate means the Office has a role not only while migrants are abroad, but when they return and need to rebuild their lives in the Philippines.
The data bank mandate and policy context
Beyond direct services, the Office is meant to maintain a data bank in aid of national manpower policy formulation. This reflects a broader purpose: not only to assist individual returning migrants but to help the government understand and plan for migration trends. The policy goal stated in the article is to maintain close ties with Filipino migrant communities and promote their welfare. The Office's work is therefore both a welfare service and a planning instrument for the Philippine labor market.
What the article does not cover
Article 19 creates and mandates the Office, but it does not specify individual entitlements for returning migrants or set out a claims process. It does not define which migrants qualify for services, what welfare assistance looks like in practice, or what happens if the Office fails to carry out its functions. Those specifics would depend on implementing rules, annual appropriations, and the programs the Office has actually established. The article is an enabling provision: it brings the Office into legal existence and sets its mission, but the operational detail is left to administrative implementation.
A note on article numbering
The Labor Code has been administratively renumbered since it was enacted, so the same provision is sometimes cited under a different article number. The text of Article 19 is published on this site under its original numbering, which is what most published editions of the Code use. If you encounter a citation that uses a different number for this provision, it may be referencing the renumbered edition. The substance of the law is the same regardless of which number is used.