CEBU CITY, Cebu (PIA) – The Department of Migrant Workers in Region 7 (DMW-7) organized its first Overseas Recruitment Agencies Forum to gather recommendations for the improvement of the deployment process journey of the Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs).
DMW-7 gathered around 46 representatives from both land-based and sea-based overseas recruitment agencies from Central Visayas and other regions.
In his message, DMW-7 OIC regional director Atty. Karl Frederick Arriola said the forum’s objective is to draw solutions and recommendations to enhance the deployment process experience of the OFWs.
“The primary objective of this forum is to come up with doable solutions and process improvement recommendations that will enhance the deployment process journey of our beloved OFWs,” Arriola said.
The forum is also aligned with three of the 10-point agenda of DMW Sec. Hans Leo Cacdac, namely: the digitalization of OFW services, improvement in recruitment processes, and the social dialogue with stakeholders.
“Let me emphasize that the private recruitment agencies and the foreign employers are also the key stakeholders of the DMW and one of our initiatives is to sincerely apply the ease-of-doing business principles,” Arriola said.
Decongesting capital region
Decongesting Metro Manila, particularly the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), is one of the identified items that could ease and improve the deployment process.
Taking advantage of the avenue, Cebu Maritime Group (CMG) and Philippine Employment Agencies and Associates for Corporate Employers in the Middle East (PEACEME) joined the forum to discuss their current processes in deploying OFWs in the respective fields, either land-based or sea-based, as well as their recommendations on “decongesting Metro Manila.”
Mactan Cebu International Airport (MCIA), as the second largest and most-awarded airport in the country, is being promoted to be an exit gate for OFWs especially from regions in Visayas and Mindanao towards their destinations to decongest the volume at NAIA.
The cost efficiency of the processing for the OFWs based in Visayas and neighboring areas is the initial recommendation from the recruitment agencies.
CMG president Prince Batiancila recognizes the cost incurred by the OFWs or applicants, especially from Visayas and nearby areas who need to pay for travel to Metro Manila to process their travel documents.
Two of the recommendations of the recruitment agencies are the digitization of the documents or process that requires no personal appearance and the partnering with airlines to increase the availability and frequency of flights towards destinations of the OFWs.
According to OIC Director IV Liza Alcera from the Licensing and Regulations Bureau (LRB) in her presentation of the latest update on the DMW that ‘Middle East’ remains to be the top destination of the OFWs.
As of the report, the OFW deployment rate in 2023 spiked at 2.3 million, which is 192 percent higher than the 1.2 million deployment rate in 2022.
“From January to July 2024, we already processed close to 180,000, that’s only for new hire, agency hired workers,” Alcera added on the recent update in the land-based deployment alone.
Gov’t recommendation for recruiters
Bureau of Immigrations (BI) MCIA administrative supervisor-legal Atty. Mark Lennin C. Degamo and administrative supervisor-operations Leo Roffus Divinagracia raised that sea-based deployment practices are not observed among land-based workers.
“Based on experience with seafarers and sea-based recruiters, we really admire them because they are very organized sa ilang (on their) documents,” Divinagracia said.
Degamo encouraged recruiters to equip the OFWs with the necessary knowledge on what to bring.
“OFWs are one of the easiest passengers to process as long as they have complete documents. So a tip to all recruitment agencies – check on the documents to inform their OFWs what to bring, to inform them to be mindful of their contracts. From our end really, we just check the documents,” he said.
DMW kiosk at MCIA
DMW-7 announced its partnership with Aboitiz GMR Megawide Cebu and the Cebu Pacific to establish a kiosk at the international airport to assist OFWs in their acquisition of the Overseas Employment Certificate (OEC) upon their arrival.
“Consistent with what we want that Cebu as the most OFW-friendly airport, especially with the vulnerable ‘Balik Manggagawa’ (OFW returnee), we are actually in partnership with DMW and Cebu Pacific. We are going to have an OFW facilitation center or kiosk at the airport,” said Aines Librodo, head of External Affairs Stakeholder Management of Aboitiz GMR Megawide Cebu Airport Corp.
Librodo added that this is to assist OFWs, especially the most vulnerable sector who are hesitant to process documents as the OEC online. (JJT/PIA-7 Cebu)
