SAN FERNANDO CITY, La Union (PIA) – The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) envisions becoming the ultimate one-stop shop for overseas employment concerns in the Ilocos Region, aiming to provide streamlined and efficient services for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and their families.
During the September 5 episode of the Kapihan sa Bagong Pilipinas, DMW Officer-in-Charge Regional Director Romeo Jaramilla highlighted that the agency’s core assistance to OFWs lies in its regulatory functions, ensuring better protection and support for migrant workers.
At the heart of the agency’s mission is the responsibility to ensure that all private overseas recruitment adheres to legal, professional, and ethical standards.
Jaramilla further emphasized that the agency’s regulatory role goes beyond merely ensuring the lawful recruitment of overseas workers; it is also committed to safeguarding their dignity and upholding their human rights.
“The approach we use in our programs follows the full migration cycle concept. We assist workers from pre-migration, when workers are still applying, when they are already on the job site, through their reintegration back to our country,” Jaramilla said.
DMW programs for OFW families, on the other hand, are designed to promote harmony within households, encouraging financial stability through savings while fostering consistent communication between OFWs and their loved ones.
“We also offer counseling in order to restore or maintain family relations. If this fails, we also help them through legal means and endorse them to proper authorities for further assistance,” Jaramilla added.
From January 2023 to June 2024, data reveals that a total of 14,692 OFWs were re-hired and issued Overseas Employment Certificates (OEC) by the agency.
The OEC serves as proof of lawful recruitment, making OFWs eligible for overseas employment travel, along with the benefits and privileges granted to them.
The issuance of OEC for OFW re-hires is provided free-of-charge through the DMW regional office.
Additionally, 1,127 government-to-government application documents were evaluated and registration cards issued during the same period.
These cards were specifically for countries with which the Philippines has bilateral labor agreements or where the labor markets are not serviced by the private sector.
During the same period, the DMW supervised a total of 60 job fairs.
These events serve as an employment facilitation service, where recruitment agencies showcase job vacancies and recruit qualified applicants. (AMB/CCMT/PIA La Union)
