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| Queueing up to get into POLO for OEC online registration |
By The SUN team
The queue to the Philippine Overseas Labor Office for online
registration for the overseas employment certificate (OEC) has remained long,
weeks after the Christmas holiday rush.
And among those who have come back from their holidays,
several have complained about being held up at airports in the Philippines
because of problems with the OEC exemption that they got back home.
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| Weekday applicants for OEC exemption average 300 a day, double this figure on Sundsya |
Merly Bunda, a longtime correspondent of Bombo Radyo in the Philippines , said that on her way back from Iloilo on Jan. 4, she met a fellow OFW who was barred from
taking the flight back to Hong Kong because of
problems with her OEC exemption slip. The OFW reportedly said she obtained the
certificate from POEA Iloilo.
Another OFW from Capiz reportedly complained about having
made to pay P300 at a computer shop just to access her records and have her
slip printed. She said she had to stay long at the shop because the internet
signal in their area was weak.
The same experience has been shared online by OFWs who
complained about the proliferation of shops around POEA offices and the
Department of Foreign Affairs in Manila
that take advantage of the OEC requirement by offering online and printing
services for a high fee.
Earlier, hiccups were also reported by those who were held
up at the Cebu International Airport because
the temporary exemption slip issued them by POLO were not being honored at the
immigration counters.
One of them, Novie Maglasang, got so incensed on being told
that her slip was of no use that an airport official ended up helping her
register online so she could board her flight back to Hong Kong.
“Mabuti na lang nagpunta ako sa aiport nang maaga kaya
nakaalis ako,” she told The SUN.
There were at least two other Hong Kong-bound OFWs who were
unable to board their flights ahead of her, she said.
On Jan. 10, another OFW, Joan Ibayan Bruce, posted a
complaint on the wall of Assistant Labor Henry Tianero about her online records
not being found.
“Pati sa immigration NOT
FOUND kaya bumalik aq ng POEA sa airport, muntik na aq maiwan ng eroplano sa
manila.”
Joan posted a screenshot of the stage where her online
registration stalled.
In reply, Tianero said, “If no
record has been found click ‘CLICK HERE’ to continue and complete your BM
account registration and for appointment with POLO or POEA anywhere at your
convenience to get your OEC.”
“In your case, this is an
incomplete registration which requires to be fully accomplished to make an
appointment and for your OEC,” he added.
Meanwhile, the long wait at POLO Hong Kong for the
registration with the Balik Manggagawa Online (BMOnline) system has continued.
On weekdays POLO is still besieged daily by about 300 people
waiting to get their registration completed so they are enabled to get the OEC
exemption that they need when they go back to the Philippines for a vacation.
On Sundays the number doubles. Given these figures, the online
registration of the estimated 187,000 OFWs in Hong Kong
should continue well into the next year’s peak periods.
As of mid-December last year, only 38,000 OFWs have
registered with the online system. Of this number, some may even have to
re-register if they transfer to another employer.
The need to register online to enable POEA to build up its
data base continues to meet resistance from older OFWs.
“Ang hirap naman mag-register
sa online,” one middle-aged OFW in
the queue to POLO in Admiralty Centre said recently, as she tinkered with her
cell phone as the registration’s closing time neared.
Each of the 40 or so people who were also lined up was trying
to create an online account using their phones with help from volunteers and fellow
registrants.
Under the new system for the queue, applicants must have
already created an online account, and have set an appointment so validators in
POLO can finalize their registration.
Those with appointments on the same day are listed batch by
batch on a pink elevator access form by NOPT volunteers who marshal the crowd.
“Ayaw na ninyo ang
pumila para sa OEC, iyan na ang kasagutan sa hiniling ninyo. Minsan lang ang
online registration na ito at pagkatapos ay wala na. Diyan na lang kayo magkuha
ng exemption sa mga phone ninyo,” Tianero told those waiting to get in.
He was shuttling between the POLO offices on the 11th
and 16th floors and visiting the applicants on the bridge leading to
the building.
POLO expects the crunch to ease up a bit after requiring
accredited employment agencies in Hong Kong to register their new recruits from
the Philippines .
By mid-December, Labor Attache Jalilo dela Torre also made it mandatory for all
those processing a new contract to register with BMOnline.
But the full impact of these new arrangements has yet to be
felt.
