The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) ) will kick off its modernization program with the forthcoming launch of a digital app containing the OFW Pass, the digital alternative to the Overseas Employment Certificate (OEC).
DMW secretary Susan Ople said the DMW mobile app which would be free of any cost, is now undergoing rigorous testing by the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) prior to a formal launch.
“It will be a more convenient alternative to the OEC which comes in paper form and with a P100 fee,” Ople said.
“We acknowledge the help and support being provided by the DICT to make sure that our mobile app will be secure,” the secretary said.
She said the foregone revenues from the OEC fee can still be recovered to annual remittances of Filipinos abroad which amounts to billions of pesos.
Based on the directive of President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. the DMW has issued an order making the OFW Pass and DMW Mobile App free to all OFW users.
“President Marcos made it clear that the OFW Pass should be free in honor of the huge sacrifices being made and contributions of our modern-day heroes to the needs of their respective families and the Philippine economy as a whole,” Ople said.
She cited data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) that shows a 3.2% increase in dollar remittance flows from January to April 2023 ($10, 487, 040) to that of the same period last year ($10,166, 678).
“Foregoing the P100 per OEC charge was an easy decision to make given the enormous and consistent contributions of our OFWs to the country’s economic growth and the sustenance of their families,” Ople stressed.
The OFW Pass is set to be launched right after the DICT gives its green light to the DMW. The DMW mobile app will be available on Google Play and Apple Store. The DMW and the Bureau of Immigration signed a Memorandum of Agreement to make sure both agencies are in sync in terms of database management and other relevant processes.
“Our goal is to make the journey of our OFWs much easier. The OFW Pass, in comparison with the decades-old OEC, is convenient, practical, and free of use. In the next phase, we hope to be able to add more features to our mobile app and integrate this with the e-Gov app of the DICT, but for now, we prefer to focus on educating our OFWs on the features of the OFW Pass,” Ople said.
