President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has directed the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) to explore the possibility of making the application for an Overseas Employment Certificate (OEC) free of charge.
This would benefit an estimated 1.83 million overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who currently pay P100 each for an OEC, which lasts two months.
The President issued the directive during a meeting with the DMW, Bureau of Immigration, and Department of Information and Communications Technology in Malacañang where the migrant agency presented the DMW Mobile App.
DMW Secretary Maria Susana Ople said they are just waiting for the approval of the DICT for the official launch of the DMW Mobile App to ensure its cybersecurity features.
The app contains the OFW Pass, a digital and secure version of the OEC, which serves as the digital identity of migrant Filipino workers.
After a two- to three-month transition period upon activation, the OFW Pass will completely replace the OEC.
“Hopefully within the week we will be able to launch the app,” Ople said.
The OFW Pass and OEC have significant differences.
The OFW Pass, for instance, is a QR code generated and can be acquiredonly through the app, while the OEC requires onsite processing with a P100 charge.
The OFW Pass is valid until the expiration of the OFW’s work contract, while the OEC only lasts for 60 days.
Those who can avail of the OFW Pass are first-time OFWs; Balik Manggagawa OFWs or OFWs going 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.
The DMW will integrate its Mobile App with the BI’s eTravel and e-Gate systems, and eventually link it to DICT’s eGov PH Super App.
“The President said this should be free as one way to honor our modern-day heroes. The President underscored the sacrifices and honor that OFWs bring, not to mention their dollar remittances. They are the economic lifeline of so many households across the country,” Ople said.
“The President’s directive is for us to ensure our OFWs don’t pay anything for the mobile app and the OFW Pass,” she added.
Ople said the President was exuberant over the mobile application as it is a simple yet effective digital solution to the OEC problems encountered by the OFWs when seeking jobs abroad.
President Marcos earlier directed the DMW and the DICT during his 2022 State of the Nation Address to automate the verification of contracts, and issue OECs that can be stored on smartphones.