DOLE issues 51,696 Alien Employment Permits
Published Aug 6, 2019 07:02 pm
By Leslie Ann Aquino
A total of 51,696 Alien Employment Permits (AEPs) have already been issued by the Department of Labor and Employment during the first half of the year.
DOLE Secretary Silvestre Bello III (Photo by Jansen Romero / MANILA BULLETIN)
Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III said the number is higher than the 21,320 AEPS issued in 2018.
He attributed the increase to the higher number of labor laws compliance officers (LLCOs), who are inspecting business establishments.
"In the past, there were lacking inspectors. Now, they saw that there are a lot of inspectors. So they applied for AEPs," Bello said.
And the labor chief expects more foreign workers will file their applications as the number of LLCOs also increase.
An AEP is one of the requirements for the issuance of a work visa to foreigners, who intend to engage in gainful employment in the Philippines.
An AEP is issued once it is ascertained that a foreign worker will be performing a job that local workers are not capable of doing.
For a more efficient implementation of the Social Security System's involuntary separation benefit,
Meanwhile, the DOLE has released the guidelines on the issuance of certification to involuntarily laid-off employees who wish to apply for unemployment insurance.
According to DOLE, Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III signed last week Department Circular No. 01, series of 2019 that spells out the guidelines on the issuance of DOLE certification as a requirement for availment by eligible SSS-member employees, including kasambahay and overseas Filipino workers, who were involuntarily separated from work.
To qualify for the grant of unemployment benefit, DOLE said the employee, including kasambahay, and OFW, should not be over 60 years of age at the time of involuntary separation; has paid at least 36 monthly contributions, 12 of which should be in the 18-month period immediately preceding the month of involuntary separation; and has no settled unemployment benefit within the last three years prior to the date of involuntary separation.
The labor department said workers must have been involuntarily separated due to “authorized causes,” such as the installation of labor-saving devices; redundancy; retrenchment or downsizing; closure or cessation of operation; or disease/illness of the employee whose continued employment is prohibited by law or is prejudicial to his or her co-employees’ health.
Also eligible to file are those who lost jobs due to “just causes” as stated under the Labor Code of the Philippines; or due to an economic downturn, natural or human-induced calamities/disasters, and other similar cases as may be determined by the DOLE and SSS.
The certification must be secured from the DOLE field or provincial office where applicants reside or from where their company is located.
For OFWs, they can file their application at the Philippine Overseas Labor Office located in the areas where their employers operate or at their residences' nearest DOLE field or provincial office.
The DOLE said applicants must bring one valid identification card; a copy of the notice of termination issued by the employer, or if not available a duly notarized affidavit of termination of employment.
DOLE Secretary Silvestre Bello III (Photo by Jansen Romero / MANILA BULLETIN)
Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III said the number is higher than the 21,320 AEPS issued in 2018.
He attributed the increase to the higher number of labor laws compliance officers (LLCOs), who are inspecting business establishments.
"In the past, there were lacking inspectors. Now, they saw that there are a lot of inspectors. So they applied for AEPs," Bello said.
And the labor chief expects more foreign workers will file their applications as the number of LLCOs also increase.
An AEP is one of the requirements for the issuance of a work visa to foreigners, who intend to engage in gainful employment in the Philippines.
An AEP is issued once it is ascertained that a foreign worker will be performing a job that local workers are not capable of doing.
For a more efficient implementation of the Social Security System's involuntary separation benefit,
Meanwhile, the DOLE has released the guidelines on the issuance of certification to involuntarily laid-off employees who wish to apply for unemployment insurance.
According to DOLE, Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III signed last week Department Circular No. 01, series of 2019 that spells out the guidelines on the issuance of DOLE certification as a requirement for availment by eligible SSS-member employees, including kasambahay and overseas Filipino workers, who were involuntarily separated from work.
To qualify for the grant of unemployment benefit, DOLE said the employee, including kasambahay, and OFW, should not be over 60 years of age at the time of involuntary separation; has paid at least 36 monthly contributions, 12 of which should be in the 18-month period immediately preceding the month of involuntary separation; and has no settled unemployment benefit within the last three years prior to the date of involuntary separation.
The labor department said workers must have been involuntarily separated due to “authorized causes,” such as the installation of labor-saving devices; redundancy; retrenchment or downsizing; closure or cessation of operation; or disease/illness of the employee whose continued employment is prohibited by law or is prejudicial to his or her co-employees’ health.
Also eligible to file are those who lost jobs due to “just causes” as stated under the Labor Code of the Philippines; or due to an economic downturn, natural or human-induced calamities/disasters, and other similar cases as may be determined by the DOLE and SSS.
The certification must be secured from the DOLE field or provincial office where applicants reside or from where their company is located.
For OFWs, they can file their application at the Philippine Overseas Labor Office located in the areas where their employers operate or at their residences' nearest DOLE field or provincial office.
The DOLE said applicants must bring one valid identification card; a copy of the notice of termination issued by the employer, or if not available a duly notarized affidavit of termination of employment.