Table 6: OFW cases classified per main cause of action (2015-2019)
CATEGORY
claims for
disability
benefits
claims for death
benefits
Illegal dismissal
cases
claims for
damages
Illegal
recruitment
and estafa
validity of law or
regulation
Total
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
30
19
38
38
34
5
4
6
3
3
5
3
3
4
6
0
0
0
0
1
2
7
6
2
0
1
3
0
0
0
43 cases
36 cases
53 cases
47 cases
44 cases
The combined claims for total or partial disability benefits and claims for death
benefits filed exclusively by seabased OFWs accounted for 80.72% of the total number of
OFW cases decided by the Supreme Court from 2015-2019.
Cases for illegal dismissal which include claims for non-payment of wages and
benefits, and claims for damages and attorney’s fees ancillary to the main cause of action
accounted for 9.42% while criminal cases for illegal recruitment and estafa accounted for
7.62% of the of the total number of OFW cases decided by the Supreme Court from 20152019. For the same period, there were only four (4) cases that involved the validity of a law
or regulation concerning overseas employment that were decided by the Supreme Court.
IV.
HUMAN RIGHTS AND MIGRANT RIGHTS ISSUES CONFRONTING
OVERSEAS FILIPINO WORKERS: GAPS AND PROBLEM AREAS AS
SEEN FROM CASES DECIDED BY THE PHILIPPINE SUPREME COURT
4.1
The Right to Access to Justice and the Right to Speedy Disposition of
Cases of OFWs
“Access to justice” has been defined as “the ability of citizens to seek and obtain
remedies through formal or informal justice institutions, and in conformity with international
human rights standards.”18 Access to justice is recognized as a basic human right and as a
means to protect other universally recognized human rights. 19
18
19
American Bar Association, “Access to Justice Assessment Tool (AJAT)”
https://www.americanbar.org/advocacy/rule_of_law/publications/assessments/access_to_justice_a
ssessment_tool/
American Bar Association, “Human Rights and Access to Justice”
https://www.americanbar.org/advocacy/rule_of_law/what-we-do/human-rights-access-to-justice/
12