8. Conduct studies on how the judiciary can further augment its institutional capacities for speedy disposition of cases. One of the key findings of this study is that the NLRC has generally been efficient in the resolution of cases, and the delays occur at the level of the Court of Appeals and Supreme Court. Considering further that this study has established that OFW cases constitute less than 1% of the annual caseload of the Supreme Court, the unreasonable length of time in resolving OFW cases is symptomatic of the larger problem of court inefficiency that needs to be addressed for the benefit of all. B. In order to address the problem of debt bondage among OFWs, the following are the recommended courses of action: 1. Continuing public education on related laws and policies to prevent illegal practices by recruitment agencies which lead to debt bondage. 2. Firm and consistent enforcement of recruitment laws in the Philippines that protect DWs. 3. Access to no-collateral, OWWA guaranteed credit with low or zero interest, from government financial institutions (i. e. Land Bank of the Philippines, or Development Bank of the Philippines). 4. Urge recruitment agencies to adopt a code of conduct promoting fair recruitment wherein recruitment agencies do not charge fees to workers and commit to strive for the protection of workers in the recruitment process and throughout the supply chain.110 5. To raise awareness of workers on their rights, the prohibited acts numbers (1), (2) and (3) in Section 6 of R. A. 8042, as amended, constituting, or leading to debt bondage, should be included in a disclosure statement required to be given by the lending agency to the OFW debtor before the execution of the debt instrument. 6. Inclusion of debt bondage and the prohibited acts constituting debt bondage, the legal remedies available to the OFWs, and options for low or interest-free loans, in the pre-employment, pre-departure and post-arrival seminars being given to OFWs. Other avenues for pro-active education and intervention by the CHR and NGOs should be identified in order to ensure that correct and helpful information can be given to prospective OFWs. 7. The POEA, and law enforcement agencies, in cooperation with civil society, should study ways and means to stop debt bondage on OFWs. In particular, special attention should be given on how to prosecute violations of the prohibited acts under Section 6 of R. A. 8042, as amended, constituting, or causing debt bondage among OFWs. A monitoring system should be established in order to ensure compliance by lending agencies on the applicable provisions of R. A. 8042. 110 Migrant Forum in Asia, Open Working Group on Labour Migration & Recruitment, Policy Brief #5, “Ethical Recruitment” http://mfasia.org/migrantforumasia/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/5-PolicyBrief-Support-for-Ethical-Recruitment.pdf 67

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