Philippines
Philippines Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipinos Act
Republic Act No. 8042, as amended by Republic Act No. 10022 and subsequently by Republic Act No. 11641 (2021), which created the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) as the lead agency for overseas Filipino worker protection, absorbing the functions of the former Philippine Overseas Employment Administration.
Why it matters: The law is important for displacement governance because it shows a strong model of mobility-related state responsibility beyond territory. The political economy archetype is citizenship-based transnational protection: the state protects nationals abroad more robustly than many systems protect non-citizens within their territory. The 2021 consolidation into a single cabinet-level department is itself evidence of the archetype's institutional weight: protection of citizens abroad commands a dedicated ministry, a level of institutional investment rarely extended to non-citizens inside the country.
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