A top Philippine lawyer has called on the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) to defer its controversial Advisory No. 25, Series of 2025, which mandates raising the minimum wage for Filipino domestic workers abroad from USD 400 to USD 500.
In a letter dated September 12, Atty. Rahima S. Ayunan, General Manager of Jamal Human Resource Internationale, appealed to DMW Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac to delay the policy until proper bilateral labor agreements are secured with Gulf states. Ayunan, whose agency is one of the Philippines’ key recruiters for the GCC market, argued that the advisory, while well-intentioned, was “improper and premature”
Legal Grounds and Diplomatic Risks
Ayunan emphasized that while the DMW is empowered under Republic Act No. 11641 to regulate recruitment within the Philippines, the law requires coordination with the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and alignment with host country laws. She cited GCC labor officials’ public objections to unilateral wage measures, noting that such policies risk rejection, circumvention, and strained diplomatic relations
Recent talks in Doha between Secretary Cacdac and Qatar’s Minister of Labour, Ali bin Samikh Al Marri, underscored this tension. Gulf officials reiterated that wage issues must be negotiated through mutual consultation, warning against unilateral dictates from Manila
Burden on Philippine Agencies
Ayunan further pointed to the principle of joint and solidary liability under Philippine law, which makes recruitment agencies directly accountable for money claims if foreign employers refuse to honor wage terms. Without binding bilateral agreements, she warned, the financial liability could devastate Philippine recruiters and unjustly penalize their officers and directors
She outlined risks such as:
– Contract substitution, with employers altering terms post-deployment.
– Unilateral liability, where claims would be enforceable only against Philippine agencies.
– Deployment freezes, should GCC governments push back against the policy
GCC: The Core Market
The stakes are particularly high given that the GCC is the single largest bloc for Filipino domestic workers. From 2022 to 2024, more than 562,000 workers were deployed to the Gulf—235,448 to Saudi Arabia, 148,249 to Kuwait, 76,596 to the UAE, and tens of thousands more to Qatar, Oman, and Jordan
Call for a Phased Approach
Ayunan clarified that her appeal is not against improving worker welfare but rather about ensuring enforceability.
She recommended:
1. Deferring implementation until bilateral labor agreements are concluded.
2. Coordinating with the DFA to negotiate recognition of the USD 500 wage floor.
3. Phased enforcement, applying the new wage only where host country agreements explicitly support it
“The policy objective is noble, but without international recognition, its burden will fall squarely on Philippine agencies,” Ayunan wrote, stressing the need for a diplomatic rather than unilateral solution.
As the GCC hosts over half a million Filipino domestic workers, the outcome of this policy dispute will determine not only wage standards but also the stability of deployment pipelines critical to both Manila and Gulf states.
