Philippine Association of Service Exporters v Drilon

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Philippine Association of Service Exporters v Drilon
GR No. 81958
June 30, 1988

Facts:

PASEI is engaged in the recruitment of Filipino workers, male and female, for overseas employment. It challenged the validity of Department Order No. 1 of the Department of Labor and Employment in the character of Guidelines Governing the Temporary Suspension of Deployment of Filipino Domestic and Household Workers.

Measure is assailed for being discriminatory against female domestic workers/helpers and that it is violative of the right to travel. Further, the company contended that the measure is an invalid exercise of the lawmaking power, being that police power is legislative and not executive in character.

Issue:

Whether or not the Department Order is a valid regulation.

Held:

The Labor Code has vested the Department of Labor and Employment with the rule-making powers in order to effectively promote the welfare and interests of Filipino workers.

Protection to labor does not only signify the promotion of employment alone, more important is that such be decent, just and humane.

The preference for female workers being covered by the said regulation has been motivated by a growing incidence of Filipina abuses overseas.

Official acts enjoy a presumed validity.

Acknowledgement: Flor Bonador