MANILA, Philippines — Migrant Workers Officer-in-Charge Hans Cacdac on Friday revealed that the number of Overseas Employment Certificates (OECs) issued by the agency has breached the 2 million mark as of December 29, 2023, 17.87 percent more than those issued in 2022.
“What we have right now is the OECs issued data. Sa tingin namin at this [day] ay mahalaga munang mailahad ang OECs data kasi ito ‘yung pinaggugulan namin ng pondo, ng trabaho ng personnel, so at this stage nire-report namin ‘yung tinrabahong OECs issued. Then yung deployment, once we reconciled with the Bureau of Immigration will come in the first quarter of next year,” said Cacdac.
(What we have right now is the OECs issued data. We think that on this [day] it is important to present the OECs data first because this is what we spend our funds on and what our personnel worked on. So at this stage, we will report the work done on the OECs issued. As for the data on deployment, we will release it in the first quarter of next year once we’ve reconciled it with the Bureau of Immigration.)
OECs serve as an “exit clearance” and a legal document signifying that the Philippine government has allowed an individual to work overseas.
Asked where this increase may be attributed to, Cacdac said among the factors include the rise in the number of sea-based workers.
“608,000 versus 554,000 sea-based workers last year. Sa land based workers, 491,000 versus 411,820. Both fronts tumaas pero mas notable yung 608,000 because first time tayo nag issue ng 608,000 [OECs] for sea-based sector,” Cacdac explained.
(608,000 verus 554,000 sea-based workers last year. For land based workers, 491,000 verus 411,820. Both fronts have increased, but the 608,000 is more notable because it is the first time that we have issued 608,000 OECs for the sea-based sector.)
He likewise emphasized that 2023 was the first full year of post pandemic recovery, adding that the post pandemic stage meant reopening of economies, job markets, and global trade.
“We are projecting that there will be [an] improved economic climate for 2024. Last year there were modest targets, but this year, we have more expectation[s] that [the economy] will open,” said Cacdac in English and Filipino.