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| The temporary exemption slip is no longer honored at 2 Philippine airports |
By Vir B. Lumicao
Overseas Filipino workers going home for Christmas will now
have to register online to get exemption from the overseas employment
certificate or OEC.
Labor Attache Jalilo de la Torre told The SUN that at least
two airports in the Philippines
are no longer accepting the temporary exemption slips that he ordered to be
issued to fast-track the process for the thousands of OFWs set to go home over
Christmas.
He anticipates that the Philippine Overseas Employment
Administration itself will stop allowing those with the temporary slips to go
through airports unhindered.
“Natatakot kami baka
idi-disable na ng POEA, kasi kapag nagbigay kami, baka hindi io-honor
doon, mabuti i-BM Online na lang lahat,” Labatt De la Torre said.
He said immigration officers in at least two airports
outside Metro Manila have begun refusing to honor the temporary slip – fist, Clark International
Airport in Pampanga last month, and Mactan International
Airport in Cebu
last week.
The hiccup prompted Labatt De la Torre to ask the POEA to
intervene.
“Bakit sa ibang lugar
sa Pilipinas puwede tapos sa Cebu hindi
puwede?” Labatt said.
But without any official word from POEA, he decided not to
take the risk of seeing OFWS getting stranded back in the Philippines
because they don’t have the officially recognized pass.
Thus, starting last weekend, his office began processing OEC
exemption only for applicants with online appointments.
First-time online registrants will also have to pay the $20
OEC processing fee in order to get their registration validated, the Philippine
Overseas Labor Office said.
The labor attaché said the quota for the appointment system
was 400, but, about 200 applicants unregistered online also came. Thus, two
queues were formed: one for those already registered, and those applying to be
registered.
People with the temporary paper slips were directed to go to
the POLO office on the 16th floor to get help in registering online from
volunteers.
At the 8pm close of the POLO last Sunday, all the 600 had already
been registered online and given their OEC exemptions.
“Kaya naman pala,”
Labatt de la Torre told The SUN.
He said he would rather be criticized for the long queues of
workers waiting for their turn to be helped with the online registration, than
having to rescue anybody long-distance if the POEA suddenly scrapped the temporary
exemption slips.
He said for now he would issue the temporary slips only in
extreme cases, such as for OFWs who had to go home urgently for three days only
without any opportunity to go online there, or for old people.
