Government looking to waive fees for Overseas Employment Certifications --- By JON VIKTOR D. CABUENAS, GMA Integrated News

The Philippine government is looking to waive Overseas Employment Certification (OEC) application fees and replacing it with the OFW Pass after a transition period that could take three months. The OEC — required from all departing overseas Filipino workers to serve as an exit clearance— presently requires onsite processing with a P100 charge, lasting 60 days. It also serves as an exemption from payment of travel tax and airport terminal fees. According to Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) Secretary Susan “Toots” Ople, the department hopes to launch the DMW Mobile App within the week, allowing overseas workers to secure an OFW Pass or a “digital and secure” version of the OEC. The OFW Pass will be QR code generated and will be valid until the expiration of the OFW’s work contract. This is set to completely replace the OEC after a two- to three-month transition period. Among those who can avail of the OFW Pass are first-time OFWs; Balik Manggagawa OFWs or those going to the Philippines temporarily but will be returning to the same employer; and OFWs who transferred to a different employer or whose contacts need to be registered and verified by the Office of the Labor Attaché. “Hinihintay lang namin ‘yung green light ng DICT (Department of Information and Communications Technology) para makatiyak tayo sa cybersecurity features ng app. After that, hopefully within the week ma-launch na siya,” said Ople in a Presidential Communications Office statement. “Kaunting hintay na lang po. Kami po ay nakikinig sa inyo. Alam namin na napakalaking bagay ‘yung OEC so ginagawa po namin lahat para ma-address itong issue na ito with the use of technology, so abangan niyo na lang po. Kaunting pasensya pa po pero malapit na ang ating launch,” she added. (We are just waiting for the DICT's green light to ensure the cybersecurity features of the app. After that, hopefully, we can launch it within the week. Just wait for a little. We are listening. We know that the OEC is a big deal, so we are doing everything to address this issue using technology, so watch out for it. Just a little more patience. But the launch will be soon.) The announcement comes nearly a year after President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., in his first State of the Nation Address (SONA), called for the automation of the verification and issuance of the OECs which could be accessed via mobile phones. — DVM, GMA Integrated News

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