The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) is intensifying efforts to bring frontline government services closer to overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) worldwide through the “Bagong Bayani ng Mundo: OFW Serbisyo Caravan,” while targeting the opening of new Migrant Workers Offices (MWOs) abroad.
In a media briefing on Thursday, Migrant Workers Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac announced that the OFW Serbisyo Caravan has served over 10,000 OFWs since its launch in Hong Kong on June 7.
He said after Hong Kong, other Serbisyo Caravans have been held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; Osaka, Japan; Doha, Qatar; and Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.
“Summing up, we had served in all those five places, 10,000 OFWs were served, and 20,200 transactions were made,” Cacdac said.
“This is in line with President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s directive to bring our services closer to the people.”
Cacdac said the latest leg held in Dubai on Aug. 3 drew an estimated 12,000 OFWs, recording 5,928 served individuals, with 11,569 transactions completed in one day.
He said that because of the unexpected flock of OFWs, many were not accommodated.
“Marami pong hindi na-accommodate dahil sa dami ng dumating (Many were not accommodated because of the high number of attendees). We sincerely apologize to those we were unable to serve. We are learning from this and will add more service days and require online pre-registration to manage crowd size,” he said.
Among the most in-demand services availed of by OFWs during the caravan were Overseas Workers Welfare Administration membership renewal and e-cards; assistance from PhilHealth and Pag-IBIG, specifically its investment savings program; as well as Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) and PhilSys services like birth certificates and certificates of no marriage (CENOMAR), and the national ID applications.
Also present during the caravan to offer their services were the Social Security Systems (SSS) and the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT).
Due to its success, the DMW will also launch the caravans in Jeddah on Aug. 8 and Al Khobar on Aug. 15.
Cacdac said other future locations include Shanghai, China, and Rome, Italy, scheduled for October.
Meanwhile, to be able to serve more, he cited efforts to “sharpen digitalization” through partnerships with VFS Global and DataFlow, to enable OFWs to access services online when feasible, while maintaining specific services like legal counseling or sensitive welfare cases in face-to-face mode due to privacy and confidentiality concerns.
Cacdac said trainings would also be included to educate OFWs, noting that while Filipinos are generally active on the internet, many Filipinos still need guidance on the use of online platforms such as the eGovPH application.
“We’ll continue offering both physical and digital channels, and we’ll teach our OFWs how to use the digital platforms,” Cacdac added.
From Aug. 9 to 16, Cacdac said he will lead a foreign mission in Liberia and Nigeria, marking the first-ever DMW visit to West Africa.
“Ang purpose namin in both countries is to meet our Filipino communities, our Filipino workers, and then, yung (Our purpose in both countries is to meet with the Filipino communities, our Filipino workers, and our) ministerial government counterparts,” he said.
“Lastly, sa Nigeria, may specific pakay kami (we have a specific goal) which is we plan to set up a migrant workers office in Abuja, the capital. So we have an African MWO in North Africa in Rabat, Morocco, but now we are aiming for West Africa naman. Nigeria, Liberia, Ghana, Senegal and all those other countries, Ivory Coast, Sierra Leone, and all those other countries in Western Africa.”
He said Morocco currently hosts the only MWO on the African continent, and that Nigeria has over 6,000 Filipino workers, mostly employed in oil and gas, maritime shipping, manufacturing, construction, education, and information technology sectors, while about 150 Filipinos residing in Liberia are almost underserved.
“Nigeria is a strategic location. There are skilled Filipinos in universities, factories, and ports. We’ve also seen undocumented cases so placing an MWO there is a humanitarian and operational necessity,” he said.
Cacdac said without an MWO, OFWs in Africa can only raise concerns through the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), which handles consular matters.
“The DMW’s presence is expected to streamline the delivery of welfare assistance, legal help, and recruitment monitoring,” he said.
The DMW currently operates 42 MWOs globally, and four new offices are expected to be opened within the year, specifically in Cambodia, Vietnam, Turkey, and South Africa. (PNA)