Recruitment firm officials ruled personally liable in OFW claims

CORPORATE OFFICERS of recruitment and manning agencies are jointly and severally liable with their companies for the money claims and disability benefits of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), the Supreme Court (SC) has ruled.

In a resolution promulgated on Oct. 13, 2025 and made public on Tuesday, the High Court clarified that individual officers, such as Sorwin Joy G. Rivera of Magsaysay Maritime Corp., cannot hide behind the company’s separate legal identity to avoid paying a worker’s claims.

The SC noted that protecting migrant workers under specific labor laws requires these officers to be personally responsible for ensuring payment, particularly if they signed the employment contract on the company’s behalf.

“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,” the SC special first division said in its 10-page ruling, written by Associate Justice Jhosep Y. Lopez.

The case involved seafarer Ruthgar T. Parce, who suffered a shoulder injury while working as a senior electrical fitter. Although the company’s doctors initially claimed he was fit to return to work, the SC found their medical assessment incomplete and indefinite.

As a result, the tribunal upheld an award of $60,000 for total and permanent disability, plus 10% in attorney’s fees and legal interest.

The court further noted that officers of manning agencies are already required by the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration to sign a formal promise — a “verified undertaking” — stating they will be personally liable for claims arising from the employment relationship. This policy, according to SC, is intended to ensure that Filipino workers abroad receive the “immediate and sufficient payment” they are rightfully owed. — Erika Mae P. Sinaking