The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) will formally turn over next month its Assistance-to-Nationals (ATN) services for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) to the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW).
The DFA said the turnover will happen on July 1, 2023 in compliance with provisions under Republic Act No. 11641 or the Department of Migrant Workers Act.
Under the law, all assistance cases involving the OFWs, such as legal or medical assistance, repatriation and shipment of remains, shall be handled by the DMW using its AKSYON (Agarang Kalinga at Saklolo para sa mga OFW na Nangangailangan) Fund.
But such policy will only apply in countries where there are DMW offices, namely, the Asia-Pacific states, Australia, Brunei, China, Hong Kong, Macau, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, and Singapore.
In the Middle East and Northern Africa, they are Bahrain, Israel, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Qatar and United Arab Emirates,
In Europe, these countries are Czech Republic, Germany, Greece, Italy, Spain, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, as well as Canada, and the United States.
OFWs in these countries who may need assistance can contact the DMW through hotline numbers 87221144 or 87221155, or email addresses: [email protected], [email protected] or [email protected].
In countries without DMW offices or for overseas Filipinos who are either students, tourists, dual citizens or permanent outside residents, ATN responsibilities will still be conducted by the DFA.
The agency may be contacted through 88344996 or [email protected].