SSS requirement for OFW clearance unconstitutional – High Court

The Supreme Court declared unconstitutional the requirement for land-based overseas Filipino workers (OFW) to make Social Security System (SSS) contributions before they can be granted Overseas Employment Certificates (OEC).

The High Court en banc partly granted the petition filed by Migrante International and other groups, striking down Rule 14, Section 7(iii) of the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of the Social Security Act of 2018.

The invalidated rule required OFWs in countries without bilateral labor agreements with the Philippines to pay both employer and employee shares of social security contributions—amounting to P2,400 monthly—before receiving their OECs.

Without an OEC, which serves as an exit pass, OFWs are unable to leave the country for work. Sea-based OFWs, by contrast, pay only up to P800 monthly.

Petitioners said this provision was oppressive and discriminatory, violating OFWs’ constitutional rights to travel and due process.

They also said foreign employers often fail to fulfill their share of SSS contributions, leaving OFWs to shoulder the financial burden.

The SC decided that requiring advance SSS payments as a condition for issuing OECs is “unduly oppressive, unreasonable, and repugnant to the Constitution.”

It said that such a requirement undermines the mandate to protect overseas workers’ rights and welfare.

The court added that since the primary purpose of a land-based OFW’s travel abroad is to work, requiring them to pay their SSS contributions in advance to obtain their OEC effectively deprives them of their right to travel and, consequently, their livelihood.

The restriction does not serve national security, public safety or public health interests but is primarily aimed at enforcing contribution collection, it stated.

The SC also clarified that while social security protection is essential for OFWs, enforcement mechanisms must remain within legal bounds.

“The exercise [of rule-making powers] must be within the confines of the law it seeks to implement,” it said.

The ruling permanently prohibits the SSS, Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA), and Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) from implementing this requirement.