THE Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) will no longer charge migrant Filipino workers requesting Overseas Employment Certificate (OEC) through their new mobile application.
In a press conference on Saturday, July 22, 2023, DMW Undersecretary Hans Cacdac said the Department of Finance (DOF) granted their request to allow them to make the issuance of the OEC cost-free.
The DMW launched on Friday, July 21, the pilot testing of the mobile application OFW Pass in the administration’s bid to strengthen digitalization in the country.
Cacdac said the mobile application is aimed at making the experience of OFWs easier and more efficient when it comes to securing documents prior to their departure from the Philippines.
It streamlines the documentation process for legitimate OFWs, replacing the traditional OEC with the QR code-based OFW pass.
“Ang objective natin dito ay i-document ang isang OFW para sa kaniyang paglabas ng ating mahal na bayan ay ma-process siya ng Immigration authorities; at bago pa man noon, makamit niya iyong dokumentong iyon in a lesser amount of time, in a more expeditious and effective and accurate process para he or she could spend more time with his or her family ‘no,” he said.
(Our objective here is to document an OFW so that when they leave our beloved country, they will be processed by immigration authorities. And even before that, they can obtain that document in a shorter amount of time through a more expeditious, effective, and accurate process so that he or she can spend more time with their family, you know.)
The DMW eyes about seven million OFWs who will benefit from the initiative once it goes into full implementation.
The pilot testing will be implemented in the countries of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Hongkong, Singapore, Malaysia, Oman, Japan, Taiwan, and the United Kingdom.
The app requires basic information and uploaded photos of the passport and visa information of the applicant, which will then be cross-referenced with the DMW database. Once the information is verified, the app will generate a QR code.
The OFW Pass will eventually take the place of the OEC, a printed certificate presented by an OFW as proof of employment abroad.
Aside from the long lines encountered when applying for an OEC, OFWs need to pay P100 for a paper document that is prone to wear and tear. (SunStar Philippines)