By Marita Moaje
MANILA – The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) is targeting the full implementation of the digital eTravel pass, replacing the Overseas Employment Certificate (OEC), and becoming the primary document for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) for departure.
At an event of the Philippine Association of Service Exporters, Inc. (PASEI) in Pasay City on Monday, Migrant Workers Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac said the new system, which aims to streamline processes for OFWs by merging the long-standing OEC requirement with the government’s digital travel platform, is currently on pilot run under the eGovPH app.
“Pina-pilot run ngayon yan, and hopefully, by the first day of next year or even possibly earlier, depending on the pilot run, ay maging ganap na siya talaga, lahat na ng returning workers, hopefully pati mga newly-hired workers, yun na yung outcome document (It is being piloted now, and hopefully, by the first day of next year or even possibly earlier, depending on the pilot run, it will be fully operational, all returning workers, hopefully including newly-hired workers, that would be the outcome document),” he said.
Cacdac said the transition forms part of the Marcos administration’s broader digitalization efforts through the eGov PH Super App, which integrates multiple government services into a single platform, and make government transactions more efficient for Filipinos at home and abroad.
The DMW secretary, however, clarified that OFWs still need to register with the DMW for monitoring and tracking purposes.
“Kailangan namin malaman kung sino sila, nasan sila, para pag may nangyari pwede natin tulungan, pero hindi na yung OEC ang outcome. Nag merge na ang e-travel pass at OEC. E travel pass na ngayon. Basta may eTravel pass ang worker at cleared siya sa DMW, yun na yung pinakadokumento (We need to know who they are and where they are so that we can help them if something happens, but the outcome would no longer be the OEC. The e-travel pass and OEC have merged. We will now use the e-travel pass. As long as the worker has an e-travel pass, and he is cleared with the DMW, that would be their main document),” he added.
Cacdac said around 70,000 OFWs already benefited from the system and that the DMW is targeting to reach about 200,000 workers before the launch.
He assured OFWs that the use of the eTravel pass would expedite and make the process easier and more efficient. (PNA)
