RP mission in UAE to hold outreach program

Philippine diplomatic and labor officials will hold an outreach program in two areas in the United Arab Emirates this weekend to cut down the large number of applicants for travel documents.

An 18-member team from the Philippine Consulate General and the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) in Dubai will hold the program in Ras Al Khaimah and Fujairah on Saturday.

“The outreach program will help reduce this number as applicants from RAK and Fujairah will not have to queue up at the Consulate," Consul General Benito Valeriano said in an article posted on UAE news site Khaleej Times Friday.

He said the mission will cater to Filipino applicants queuing up at the consulate for affidavits and e-passports.

Valeriano said the outreach program will serve the Filipino Community in Ras Al Khaimah in the morning and in Fujairah in the afternoon.

Applicants for notarized affidavits and e-passport had gone up to an average of 300 and 200 daily, he noted.

“Many of the staff have had a hectic schedule with long hours of work to be able to release the notarized affidavit within five days," he said.

Valeriano said he has only 15 consular staff and they are “saddled with too much work considering that there has been no additional staff since the implementation of the new travel requirement in Manila last month."

He said the 15 includes those assigned to assist Filipinos who have police, immigration and labor cases in the UAE.

On the other hand, Valeriano extended the number of days for releasing the notarized affidavit from five to 10 days because work on that has affected the issuance of the e-passport and other documents.

“It appears that more time has been used up in affidavit issuance as against our regular task of e-passport issuance and the authentication of special power of attorney and other documents, which are equally important," he said.

He called upon Filipino expatriates in RAK and Fujairah to be present during the Consular outreach program.

Services to be rendered during the program are e-passporting, receiving of applications for the notarization of affidavits, special power of attorney and other documents that require consular processing.

The team will include staff from the Consular Office, Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO), Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), Social Security System (SSS) and Pag-IBIG Fund.—JV, GMANews.TV

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