DMW's gov’t services caravan in Dubai attracts 3k OFWs, 11k transactions

DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES – The use of visit visas to gain employment was one of the reasons for the Philippines’ launch of a unified document processing for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) here, Migrant Workers Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac said on Sunday.

“We all know that visit visa is a phenomenon. There is nothing wrong with that, The UAE is very, very cooperative. (But) maraming pumupunta dyan to look for work,” Cacdac said via a Zoom press conference during the launch of the two-day “Bagong Bayani ng Mundo: OFW Serbisyo Caravan” at the Dubai World Trade Center (DWTC).

Many Filipinos enter the UAE by using visit visas and look for any work to have it changed to an employment visa.

In the process, some OFWs tend to forego responsibilities like their membership with the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) that entitles them to benefits in case something happens to them while working abroad; and their coverage with the Social Security System (SSS) and Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (Philhealth), among others.

The Department of Migrant Workers’ “Serbisyo Caravan” included personnel of 11 government agencies to process documents for OFWs.

The caravan included the OWWA, SSS, Philhealth, Pag-IBIG Fund; Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) and Land Bank of the Philippines (LDP), etc.

Migrant Workers Undersecretary Bernard Olalia agreed that the sheer number of OFWs needing assistance with the processing of their documents prompted them to bring the caravan to Dubai.

“Pinakamarami sa buong mundo in terms of OFWs needing Philippine government services because napaka-daling pumasok dito. Visa visa and then you cross border,” Olalia said.

(We have the most number in the whole world in terms of OFWs needing Philippine government services because it is so easy to come here. You just need a visa and then cross border.)

The service caravan also enables OFWs to save time and process their documents in Dubai, instead of having it done in the Philippines while they are on vacation.

“Sayang yung oras. Dinala lahat ng Pilipinas dito para di na nauubos oras nila kapag umuwi sila ng Pilipinas,” he said in an interview.

(Time is wasted. We brought everyone from the Philippines here so that they [OFWs] can spend more time with their family when they come there.)

Labor Attaché John Rio Bautista of the Migrant Workers Office (MWO) in Dubai said close to 3,000 individuals registered for the caravan, with 11,300 transactions processed during the two-day event.

The OWWA, Pag-IBIG Fund, SSS, and MWO were the government agencies with the most number of clients.

The OWWA had eight staff flown from Manila and 10 driven from Abu Dhabi, while 17 were from Dubai.

Bautista said the MWO also received almost 22,000 applications for the Online Employment Contract Verification System.

This was the second leg of the Serbisyo Caravan in Dubai, with the first one held in August this year.

The first caravan was able to accommodate only 5,000 OFWs out of the almost 12,000 OFWs that showed up for government services.

“Dati na-overwhelm kami. Sobrang daming tao,” Olalia added. — JMA, GMA Integrated News