MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr has issued a directive ordering the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) to explore ways to make the application for Overseas Employment Certification (OEC) free of charge, the Presidential Communications (PCO) said on Sunday.
In a statement, PCO said Marcos issued the directive during a meeting with the DMW along with the Bureau of Immigration (BI) and the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) after it presented the DMW Mobile App.
DMW Secretary Maria Susana Ople said the agency is just waiting for DICT’s approval to officially launch the “DMW Mobile App” before focusing on the OEC application-related directive.
Automation, digital
Earlier, Marcos also directed the DMW and the DICT “to automate the verification of contracts, and issue OECs that can be stored on smartphones.”
Citing Ople, PCO said the mobile app is free, to honor migrant workers’ service and hard work.
According to PCO, the app contains the OFW pass, a digital and secure version of the OEC, or the digital identity of migrant workers.
After two to three months, the OFW pass will replace OEC upon activation.
It also explained that OFW Pass is QR-code generated and can be acquired only through the mobile application, while OEC needs to be processed on-site with a P100 application fee.
PCO further revealed that the app would be integrated with BI’s eTravel and e-Gate systems and eventually link it to DICT’s eGov PH Super App.
When approved, the DMW Mobile App will be accessible in Google Play and Apple App Store.