NO. Article 22 of the Labor Code provides that it shall be mandatory for all Filipino workers abroad to remit a portion of their foreign exchange earnings to their families, dependents, and/or beneficiaries in accordance with the rules and regulations prescribed by the Secretary of Labor and Employment. Executive Order No. 857 prescribes the percentage of foreign exchange remittance from 50% to 80% of the basic salary, depending on the worker’s kind of job.
Hence, an overseas worker cannot refuse to remit his earnings. Otherwise, he shall be suspended or excluded from the list of eligible workers for overseas employment and in cases of subsequent violations; he shall be repatriated at his own expense or at the expense of his employer as the case may be.
Rate of remittance:
a) Seamen or mariners: Seventy (70) percent of basic salary;
b) Workers of Filipino contractors and construction companies: Seventy (70) percent of basic salary;
c) Doctors, engineers, teachers, nurses and other professional workers whose contract provide for free board and lodging: Seventy (70) percent of basic salary;
d) All other professional workers whose employment contracts do not provide for free board and lodging facilities: Fifty (50) percent of basic salary;
e) Domestic and other service workers: Fifty (50) percent of basic salary;
f) All other workers not falling under the aforementioned categories: Fifty (50) percent of basic salary.
(Lifted from “Answers to Bar Examination Questions in Labor Law and Social Legislation”, Atty. Icao, 2005)
