The news about the OFW ID surfaced last July. The OFW ID, which is intended to replace the Overseas Employment Certificate (OEC). An OEC is needed by all overseas Filipino workers as proof that they underwent the standard procedure of the government before working in another country.

AN OEC differentiates an OFW from other passengers. An immigration officer would require a Filipino worker to show the OEC at the airport, together with a valid passport. To get exempted with the travel tax and terminal fee, an OEC is needed as well.

The Target Date

The target date of this OFW ID is on the first of December. According to the Labor undersecretary and Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) officer-in-charge Bernard Olalia, the start of the printing and distribution of these IDs is either on December 5 or 6, in time for the surge in the arrival of OFWs for the Christmas Holidays.

DOLE was not able to meet its tentative deadline for the release of the OFW ID, which was supposed to be last Wednesday, due to the delay in the release of its guidelines.

Undersecretary Olalia said that they are still waiting for the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to sign the necessary memorandum of agreement before they could issue the guidelines. These guidelines will contain the issuance as well as the application process for the OFW ID.

To Roll Out Soon

There is an allocated P50 million pesos budget for the printing of the OFW IDs. In an interview, Labor and Employment Secretary and chairman of the OWWA Board of Trustees, Silvestre Bello III said that initially, it was not assigned to the government agency but after further deliberation, they decided for OWWA to shoulder the printing.

But we decided for OWWA to shoulder the printing…we are wary that some (companies) might pay for it (ID) but might ask something in return.

How Much Is It?

The OFW ID will remain free for its intended beneficiaries except if they want it to be delivered straight to their homes.

If they would want it delivered, they would have to pay for the delivery cost. Otherwise, they could claim in OWWA.

The OFW ID can speed track the process instead of acquiring an OEC. Plus, it can serve as a valid government ID, too. It will also allow the OFWs to use the integrated DOLE system or iDOLE to help ease their deployment processing.