The State Party's answers in 13.1 and 13.2 both refer to local domestic workers pursuant to
RA10361 or the Kasambahay Law (National Domestic Workers Law) and not to migrant
domestic workers.
Since the enactment of the amended Migrant Workers’ Act (Republic Act 10022) in 2010 and the
Household Service Workers (HSW) policy in 2006, investigations into the working lives of
women migrant domestic workers called for the urgent need to direct reforms towards the root
causes of women migrant worker abuse: the relations of power, primarily between employers and
workers, and between recruiters and workers, that legitimize the exploitation of women migrant
workers.
The nature of this exploitation is sustained by exclusion of migrant domestic workers from
national labour laws in destination countries, reinforced by lack of harmonization in rights-based
policies between the Philippines and countries of destination, and capitalizes on patriarchal view
of domestic workers and feminized labour sectors. These systemic and structural factors suggest
that neither the amended Migrant Workers’ Act nor the HSW policy can, on their own, provide
substantive access to rights and protections.
The table below from the POEA shows that OFWs go where the jobs are regardless of whether
protection measures are available or not.
Given that deployment bans have the potential to increase irregular migration through illicit and
dangerous channels, significant efforts must be made to reduce the potential for exploitation
before women migrate, including improving alternatives to migrant work, improving the
regulation of private recruitment agencies, and ensuring women have access to comprehensive
and updated rights-based education prior to departure.