PLDT Global, DMW forge partnership to empower OFWs

MANILA, Philippines — For overseas Filipinos, coming home after their stint abroad and starting the next chapter of their lives might be as uncertain and daunting as when they first left home.

To support returning Filipinos and help them reintegrate in their communities, PLDT Global Corp. (PLDT Global) and the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) have signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) to further strengthen their partnership with reintegration programs and services.

“Our expanded partnership represents our unwavering commitment to the empowerment of overseas Filipinos. Together with DMW, we are looking forward to providing more reliable services that will address the challenges faced by migrant Filipino workers from the moment they leave the country, up until they return, and reintegrate into the community,” said Albert Villa-Real, president and CEO at PLDT Global, the international arm of PLDT.

Under the agreement, PLDT Global will provide sustainable livelihood and skills development opportunities to support the reintegration program of the DMW, with the support of the PLDT-Smart Foundation, Smart Communications Inc., alongside the rest of the MVP Group of Companies, and other partners.

“Reintegration is as important as recruitment, departure and integration at the host country because it maximizes the gains of the OFW’s overseas migration journey, especially now that we have the President’s whole-of-nation approach to provide OFWs with innovative projects so they can continue their role as partners in national development,” said DMW Officer-in-Charge Undersecretary Hans Leo Cacdac.

Under the MOA, the DMW and PLDT Global will work together to implement a reintegration program for OFWs that could enhance their skills, knowledge and competence, and facilitate their safe and productive reintegration into their communities.

PLDT Global’s OFW Family Livelihood Program will train returning OFWs or their beneficiaries to own and manage a brick-and-mortar version of TINBO (Tindahan ni Bossing) that will showcase products and services from PLDT, Smart and other companies under the MVP Group.

PLDT Global and the DMW first signed a partnership in 2023, when the late DMW secretary Susan Ople stressed the need to train and transform OFWs into digitally skilled workers. Since then, PLDT Global has carried out initiatives to improve the digital literacy of OFWs.

Aside from providing free Wi-Fi at the DMW’s head office in Mandaluyong, the telco also hosted social media etiquette training for Filipinos who are about to work abroad.

The expanded partnership also enables PLDT Global to support OFWs under the government-to-government program, supported by partners like telco agency JDM Korea.

Powered by PLDT Global, TINBO is the one-stop online marketplace that enables Filipinos living overseas to buy load, pay bills, send food vouchers, e-gifts, healthcare PINs from mWell and even gaming PINs for their families in the Philippines.