DOLE: Unified registration for helpers to be launched soon

A one-stop multi-agency registration system for household helpers will roll out in the next two weeks, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) said on Friday.

DOLE Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz said the one-stop registration aims to ensure the welfare of helpers as mandated by the Kasambahay Law.

"We have all agreed that the (unified registration system) will be pilot-tested and then rolled out," said Baldoz in a news release.

Once it is rolled out, the URS will feature an interactive web-based facility, she added.

Unified procedure

The URS will be a standard procedure to facilitate seamless transactions for the registration of domestic workers with Pag-IBIG, PhilHealth, and the SSS.

Under the URS, there will be only three one-page forms to be used. These are the Household Employer Unified Registration Form, Kasambahay Unified Registration Form, and the Household Employment Unified Report Form.

However, for now, the employer and helper may have to bear with three different ID numbers until a common ID issuance system is developed and adopted.

In the meantime, joint teams from the Pag-IBIG, SSS, and PhilHealth are making the rounds of residential areas to brief and register helpers using existing forms.

For its part, the DILG said the barangay registration of all helpers is ongoing, though separate from the registration with the SSS, Pag-IBIG, and PhilHealth.

Stakeholders

The DOLE is one of the agencies taking part in the unified registration system. The other agencies include:

• Department of Interior and Local Government
• Pag-IBIG Fund
• Social Security System, and
• Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth)

Representatives of the agencies met earlier this week to assess the progress of the URS and agreed to roll out the system in two weeks.

Present at the meeting were:

• Emilio de Quiros Jr., SSS CEO
• Atty. Darlene Marie Berberabe, Pag-IBIG CEO
• Alex Aguilar, Pag-IBIG SVP for provident operations
• Alexander Padilla, PhilHealth President and CEO, and
• Leocadio Trovela, DILG National Barangay Operations Office head.

The DOLE said that once a memorandum of understanding is signed and the URS is ready, they will conduct an information drive to raise public awareness. - VVP, GMA News