The local government of Mandaue City’s Public Employment and Service Office in Cebu province is encouraging barangay officials in the city to establish a “Kasambahay Desk” in their respective villages.
PESO-Mandaue head Musuline Suliva disclosed that the desk will assist house helpers to register and hear their side whenever they have complaints and concerns against their employers.
“The purpose of the law is to see how many house helper are there in the barangays, to see if they were given the exact amount of their salary, they can be helped if they have a complaint against their employer,” Suliva said.
He stressed that only five out of the 27 barangays in the city were able to establish the desk and pass data regarding the number of registered house helpers in their barangays — Barangays Subangdaku, Cambaro, Looc, Basak and Maguikay.
Republic Act 10361 or the Act Instituting Policies for the Protection and Welfare of Domestic Workers was approved in January 2013 and it requires all employers to register their kasambahay under their employment in the barangay where their residence is located.
Sections 1 and 2 of the Implementing Rules and Regulations stipulate the barangays with SSS, PhilHealth and Pag-IBIG to conduct registration.
“When the law was passed, we launched it right away. We went to Insular Square, we invited all barangays. At least, they will know how to do it,” Suliva said.
After the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections, the 22 barangays are set to conduct house-to-house survey to determine how many house helpers are there in the barangays.