Atty. Teresita R.

Manzala has a wide span of public service

experience having served, for almost three decades, the various publics of the
Department of abor and !mployment "D#!$ including the overseas %ilipino
wor&ers.
'mmediately before her appointment as (R) )hairperson, she served as the
#**A Deputy Administrator for Reintegration +ervices and )enter Director of
the ,ational Reintegration )enter for #%*s ",R)#$. (rior to this twin
designation, Atty. Manzala occupied various senior positions at the D#!. +he
has been a Director of two important and critical -ureaus, a Regional Director
of five large Regional #ffices, and abor Attach. in two (hilippine #verseas
abor #ffices "(##s$.
As the Director of the -ureau of ocal !mployment "-!$, she was responsible
for the development of the (hil/0ob,et and the )omputerized ,ational
Manpower Register of +&ills as well as the formulation of Regional
!mployment (lans. +he was also responsible in the formulation of such
important policy issuances as the 'mplementing Rules and Regulations of the
(!+# Act of 1222, #mnibus 3uidelines on the 'ssuance of Alien !mployment
(ermits and Manual of #perations, Revised 3uidelines on the Recruitment and
(lacement of *or&ers for ocal !mployment by (rivate Recruitment and
(lacement Agencies, among others.
During her stint at the -ureau of *or&ing )onditions "-*)$, Atty. Manzala can
be credited for the development and issuance of the abor +tandards
!nforcement %ramewor& and its Accompanying Manuals. As Regional Director
of D#! Regional #ffices ', '', ''', 4' and )AR, she implemented various
employment and social protection programs for %ilipino wor&ers, chaired the
Regional *ages and (roductivity -oard, and enforced labor standards.
5nder her stewardship as its abor Attach., (##/Rome "'taly$ was able to
formulate a pro6ect proposal for the Reintegration of 5ndocumented #%*s in
'taly, which was funded by the 3overnment of 'taly in coordination with the
'nternational #rganization for Migration. *hile in (##/Tel/Aviv "'srael$, Atty.
Manzala developed a 7andboo& on )ritical 'ncident Debriefing, +tress
Management, )ounseling and )ase Management for #%*s in 'srael as an
offshoot of the 'srael/ebanon "7ezbollah$ *ar. 'n both overseas (osts, she
was responsible for the resolution of numerous welfare cases involving #%*s,
in verification of 6ob orders and employment contracts for #%*s, and in
negotiations with host countries on matters of #%* protection and
advancement.
'n addition, Atty. Manzala also served as negotiator for the D#! in various
trade negotiations. +he headed the (hilippine ,egotiating 3roup on Movement
of ,atural (ersons under the 0apan/(hilippine !conomic (artnership
Agreement "0(!(A$ as well as the (hilippine ,egotiating 3roup on Movement
of ,atural (ersons under the A+!A,/,ew 8ealand %ree Trade Agreement. +he
was also a member of the (hilippine Delegation in the R(/'srael +ocial
+ecurity ,egotiations and the (hilippine ,egotiation Team on A+!A,
)oordinating )ommittee on +ervices.
#n top of these, she also represented the country in numerous international or
regional conferences9fora on various areas of concern "e.g., employment,
productivity, labor standards, international labor migration, migrant
reintegration, etc.$ either as delegate, government adviser or resource
spea&er.
+he also taught international labor laws, and employment and wor&ing
conditions at the 3raduate +chool of -usiness and !conomics of the Dela
+alle 5niversity Manila and its !xtension )lass in fort -onifacio in its Master
of +cience in 'ndustrial Relations Management.
Atty. Manzala holds two baccalaureate degrees // -achelor of aws from +aint
ouis 5niversity of -aguio )ity and A- (olitical +cience from 5niversity of the
(hilippines Diliman : and a masteral degree in (ublic Administration from the
5( )ollege of (ublic Administration. +he also completed non/
degree9fellowship programs on #ccupational 7ealth and +afety "+wedish
'nstitute, 5niversity of Aston in -irmingham$; *omen in the *or&place "5+
Department of abor, %lorida 'nternational 5niversity$; and ,egotiating
+&ills9Disciplines in *T# "5nder *orld -an&, *T# and Ministry of %oreign
Affairs of +ingapore$.