5/19/2021 E-Library - Information At Your Fingertips: Printer Friendly privilege granted to them by the State,[39] they accept all the conditions attached therein, including the joint and solidary liability with principal foreign ship owners that may arise under the POEASEC, such as the payment of SSS contributions. The joint and several liability of manning agencies indicated under the 2016 POEA Rules only echoes the statutory provision stated under Section 10 of R.A. No. 8042, or the Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipinos Act, as amended, to wit: SEC. 10. Money Claims. — Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, the Labor Arbiters of the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC) shall have the original and exclusive jurisdiction to hear and decide, within ninety (90) calendar days after the filing of the complaint, the claims arising out of a employer-employee relationship or by virtue of any law or contract involving Filipino workers for overseas deployment including claims for actual, moral, exemplary and other forms of damage. Consistent with this mandate, the NLRC shall endeavor to update and keep abreast with the developments in the global services industry. The liability of the principal/employer and the recruitment/placement agency for any and all claims under this section shall be joint and several. This provision shall be incorporated in the contract for overseas employment and shall be a condition precedent for its approval. The performance bond to be filed by the recruitment/placement agency, as provided by law, shall be answerable for all money claims or damages that may be awarded to the workers. If the recruitment/placement agency is a juridical being, the corporate officers and directors and partners as the case may be, shall themselves be jointly and solidarily liable with the corporation or partnership for the aforesaid claims and damages. (emphasis supplied) x x x x[40] Thus, the solidary liability of manning agencies with respect to principal foreign ship owners has been established by law, particularly, R.A. No. 8049, as amended, and duly implemented by the 2016 POEA Rules. Sec. 9-B(b) of R.A. No. 11199, which treats manning agencies as employers for the sole purpose of recognizing their joint and solidary liability in favor of seafarers, simply acknowledged the existing law and regulations. This provision was not created by Congress out of thin air; instead, it was based on the cited law and regulations, which manning agencies already acceded to. Due to this existing and recognized solidary liability of manning agencies, it was reasonable for the law to no longer mandate the DFA and DOLE to secure bilateral labor agreements because the SSS coverage of the seafarers are already safeguarded. Further, in the case of Sta. Rita,[41] the petitioner manning agency therein was criminally charged for non-payment of SSS contributions of its seafarers. It argued that https://elibrary.judiciary.gov.ph/thebookshelf/showdocsfriendly/1/66432 13/28