DMW ordered to make Overseas Employment Certificate free of charge
MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. has ordered the Department of Migrant Workers and other agencies to explore the possibility of waiving the fees for Overseas Employment Certification applications.
Marcos issued the directive during a meeting with the DMW, Bureau of Immigration, and Department of Information and Communications Technology, Malacañang said in a release Sunday.
All departing OFWs are required to secure an OEC, which shall serve as exit clearance, and as an exemption from payment of travel tax and airport terminal fee.
Migrant Workers Secretary Susan Ople said the department is just waiting for the DICT’s approval of the DMW Mobile App to ensure its cybersecurity features.
“His only order is for the department to make sure that our OFWs will not pay anything for using the mobile app, and downloading the OFW Pass,” Ople said in Filipino.
The DMW App will contain the OFW Pass—a digital and secure version of the OEC that will serve as the digital identity of Filipino migrant workers.
Malacañang said the OFW Pass will completely replace the OEC after a two- to three-month transition period upon activation.
The OFW Pass is QR-code generated and can be acquired only through the mobile app, while the OEC requires onsite processing with a P100 charge.
The OFW Pass is valid until the expiration of the migrant worker’s work contract.
First-time OFWs, migrant workers returning to the Philippines temporarily but will be returning to the same employer, and OFWs who have transferred to a different employer or whose contracts need to be registered and verified by the Office of the Labor Attaché can avail OFW Pass.
BI earlier flagged fake OECs that are usually procured online. In June, the bureau intercepted six individuals at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) in Manila and the Clark International Airport in Pampanga for presenting bogus OECs. All of the victims said they secured their documents through recruiters online. — Gaea Katreena Cabico
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