The SUN HK : DMW chief says OFW Pass & OEC are both valid exit passes

OFWs can use either the OFW Pass or OEC to leave the Philippines, says DMW

The Department of Migrant Workers has clarified that all overseas Filipino workers who can secure the OFW Pass through the DMW app may already use it as an exit pass in the Philippines instead of the OEC, or overseas employment certificate.

DWC Officer-in-Charge Hans Leo J. Cacdac made the clarification amid questions sparked by his advisory on Oct. 15 that the OEC “will continue to be a valid exit clearance for OFWs until further notice.”

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But at the same time, he said the OFW Pass “will continue to be available to the ten (10) pilot countries and the Philippines through the DMW app.”

Hong Kong was one of the pilot sites for the OFW Pass, along Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Qatar, Oman, Malaysia, Taiwan, Japan and the United Kingdom.

The test run for the OFW Pass ended on September 29, but OIC Cacdac said its implementation in other territories abroad was being put on hold pending an evaluation of the functionality and performance of the DMW App.

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He assured it would be made available to other places abroad in future, after consultations with the Migrant Workers Office and Filipino communities there/

In response to a query from The SUN on whether this meant that an OFW leaving the Philippines may use the OFW Pass if available, OIC Cacdac said, “Yes, they can use it in place of OECs. Kindly endorse anyone who may need help securing the OFW Pass.”

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Despite the assurance, many Filipino migrants seem to prefer getting the OEC still, apparently because of fear they could get held up on their way to their job sites in case the OFW Pass is not recognized by DMW staff at the airport.

This is despite the OEC having a validity of just 90 days while the OFW Pass remains valid for the duration of the OFW’s contract.

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Marites Nuval, president of Global Alliance and a longtime volunteer at the Migrant Workers Office, says her group continues to receive requests for help from OFWs in securing the OEC instead of the OFW Pass.

“Libre na rin kasi ngayon ang OEC kahit sa mga nag change employer,” she says. (It’s because the OEC is also free now even for those who change employers).

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She herself has yet to acquire the OFW Pass because she recently changed employers and was still waiting for her new work visa to be issued. She wants to wait until all her documents are available before she starts downloading them into the app.

Nuval also says many users of the DMW app have experienced difficulty logging in, or acquiring the OFW Pass despite uploading all the required documents.

But she says she has seen many OFWs managing to secure the blue-colored OFW Pass, mostly because the MWO staff helped them navigate through the DMW app when they had their new contracts verified.

As to whether anyone she knows managed to get past the DMW and immigration counters in the Philippines using just the OFW Pass, Nuval says she will know only early next month, when a friend who secured the digitized exit clearance goes home for a vacation.

Meanwhile, Unifil-Migrante Hong Kong chair Dolores Balladares says a member of her group was told to get both passes before going home to ensure a trouble-free return to Hong Kong.

“If they were confident that the OFW Pass was enough for her to get out of the country, why was she advised to secure the OEC as well?,” she asked.

The better alternative to getting rid of the queuing and other problems linked to the OEC is to junk it altogether, instead of replacing it with another pass which is equally, if not more, problematic to secure, Balladares said.