Pinoy group in HK rallies vs. OEC as requirement for OFWs

A pro-migrants Filipino group in Hong Kong held a picket at the Philippine Overseas Labor Office on Sunday to protest the long lines of overseas Filipino workers have to bear just to secure their overseas employment certificate (OEC). 
 
"Nababahala ang Migrante sa sobrang haba ng pila para sa OEC," said Vicky Casia-Cabantac, chairperson of the Migrante Sectoral Party,
 
Cabantac said the OEC is a useless document that serves no other purpose but to generate revenues for the government. 
 
"Kasi may passport naman at may employment contract ang OFWs," she said. "Talagang fund-raising lang iyan para sa gobyerno." 
 
An OFW is required to present an OEC before being allowed to depart from the Philippines to their employment destination. 
 
With many OFWs spending Christmas in the Philippines, the POLO is packed with those securing the document. 
 
"Ang gusto lang naman ng mga migrante ay makauwi at magkaroon ng panahon para sa pamilya nila," Cabantac said. "Ngayon dahil sa OEC na iyan, whole day ang gugugulin nila at kailangan nila na magpabalik-balik." 
 
The Philippine Overseas Employment Agency (POEA) has rolled out the "Balik-Manggagawa (BM) Online" to allow a web-based system to secure the OEC.
 
However, Casia-Cabantac said the system is not fully web-based as the OFW still needs to pay in person to actually get the OEC. 
 
"Kahit na sabihing P100 o $20 lang ang OEC, kailangan pa din ng mga kababayan natin na pumila. Talagang perwisyo ang dulot nito sa mga kawawang migrante," she said.  —KBK, GMA News

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

PCG: China’s bullying in West Philippine Sea undermines international law --- Ghio Ong - The Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines — Letting China sustain its aggression in the West Philippine Sea would make other countries doubt the strength of international law currently being asserted by the Philippines, Commodore Jay Tarriela of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said. “Allowing China to blatantly disregard the established rules-based order threatens the very foundation that we all depend on,” he wrote in a post on X last Tuesday. He added, “If we permit this, countries worldwide may forget why this order was created in the first place. Nations could begin to doubt the significance of adhering to international law if powerful bullies can easily violate it.” Tarriela also said defiance of other countries to a rules-based order would result in the prevalence of cruelty. He wrote, “This could lead us back to a time when might makes right, undermining the global structures that keep human greed, savagery and barbarism in check. Such a scenario would not only invite challenges from aggressive ...
Read more

China ships maintain presence in key West Philippine Sea areas --- Michael Punongbayan - The Philippine Star

STAR / Michael Varcas MANILA, Philippines — While Chinese vessels in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) have decreased in number, they have maintained a presence in three key land features where naval and coast guard ships have intensified operations in the past seven days, according to the Philippine Navy. Latest monitoring by the Philippine Navy showed armed ships of the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) maintaining a menacing presence around the grounded BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal, Panatag Shoal and Escoda Shoal. According to the Philippine Navy, there are 17 Chinese military vessels and 28 China Coast Guard (CCG) boats spotted inside the country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) between Sept. 23 and 30, or one vessel more than in the previous week Sept.17-23. Five of the warships were seen roaming around the vicinity of Escoda Shoal, along with 10 CCG vessels and 12 maritime militia vessels (MMVs). There are also two PLAN ships in Ayungin Shoal as well as 10 CCG boats and 12...
Read more

Social media seen as cause of rising intermarriages --- Helen Flores - The Philippine Star

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) sees social media as the main reason for the rising number of Filipinos marrying or becoming partners of foreign nationals. In 2022, the CFO recorded 6,854 marriages or partnerships with foreign nationals, a 40.1 percent increase from the 4,891 “intermarriages” recorded in 2021. “First of all, what we see in the increase in the marriage rate of Filipinos or Filipinos with foreign partners is because of social media, (that) is number one; matchings; letters, introduction of their friends,” CFO chairperson Romulo Arugay said at the Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon public briefing yesterday. Arugay said the agency has been registering a high number of intermarriages since 2007, but the figures went down during the COVID-19 pandemic. From over 6,500 Filipinos who married foreign nationals, only 600 are men, he said. Most of them are married to Americans, Japanese, Germans, Canadians and Australians, Arugay said. Arugay warned Fi...
Read more