Text of the provision
Art. 21. Foreign service role and participation. To provide ample protection to Filipino workers abroad, the labor attaches, the labor reporting officers duly designated by the Secretary of Labor and the Philippine diplomatic or consular officials concerned shall, even without prior instruction or advice from the home office, exercise the power and duty: To provide all Filipino workers within their jurisdiction assistance on all matters arising out of employment; To insure that Filipino workers are not exploited or discriminated against; To verify and certify as requisite to authentication that the terms and conditions of employment in contracts involving Filipino workers are in accordance with the Labor Code and rules and regulations of the Overseas Employment Development Board and National Seamen Board; To make continuing studies or researches and recommendations on the various aspects of the employment market within their jurisdiction; To gather and analyze information on the employment situation and its probable trends, and to make such information available; and To perform such other duties as may be required of them from time to time.
Labor Code of the Philippines, Presidential Decree No. 442, as amended. Reproduced in full from the official enactment and verified against the LawPhil and ChanRobles renderings.
What this article means
Labor attachés, labor reporting officers and Philippine diplomatic or consular officials must act even without instructions from home to help Filipino workers abroad. They are to assist on all employment matters, ensure workers are not exploited or discriminated against, and verify and certify that contract terms comply with the Labor Code and the rules of the overseas employment boards, besides studying and reporting on the local job market.
Questions about this provision
- Does someone at the Philippine embassy check that my overseas employment contract follows Philippine law?
- What assistance can a Philippine labor attache give me if my employer abroad is mistreating me?
Related provisions
- Article 20 — National Seamen Board.
- Article 22 — Mandatory Remittance Of Earnings.
A note on article numbers. The articles of the Labor Code have been administratively renumbered, so the same provision is often cited under a different number. Supreme Court decisions write both, in the form “Article 297 [282]” — the new number first, the original in brackets. The text on this page is published under its original number, which is the numbering both source texts use. When citing, check which numbering your source follows.
Cases interpreting this article
- Authorities on this article will be added here as each is verified against primary sources.