POEA opens more kiosks to help overseas workers

Manila—The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration has opened additional kiosks at its main office in Mandaluyong City to help the expected 90,000 overseas Filipino workers who will be visiting the country during the holidays.

POEA Administrator Carlos Cao Jr. said they opened 10 additional kiosks at the POEA main office on Edsa, bringing the total number of kiosks to 27, to help OFWs process their overseas employment certificates (OEC).

“These additional windows will accommodate the expected influx of OFWs, who are seeking to have their OECs processed during the Christmas season,” Cao said.

He said around 90,000 OFWs usually return home to the country from December to January to celebrate Christmas with their families.

Cao said the POEA kiosks would be open as early as 7 a.m. and will remain open until all OFWs present are attended to by their staff.

Vacationing OFWs need to secure their OECs so that airport authorities would allow them to return to their jobs abroad.

Cao also reminded OFWs that the POEA main office would be closed on Christmas Day (Dec. 25), Rizal Day (Dec. 30), and on Dec. 31, which has been declared as a special nonworking holiday.

Meanwhile, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas is expecting  a 5 percent growth in OFW remittances in 2012 as demand for Filipino labor by employers in various parts of the globe remains robust.

The Central Bank said that money to be sent by migrant Filipinos may hit at least P21.105 billion in 2012 from the estimated P20 billion in 2011.

Quoting data from POEA, the central bank said the rising demand for Filipino workers in alternative labor markets compensated for the adverse impact on remittances by the weak US and Euro zone economies. /inquirer