The Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) has issued 500,000 e-Cards to date, a figure the agency cited as evidence that more members are gaining access to its services. The card serves as proof of active OWWA membership and is recognized as a government-issued ID.
Getting the card into workers’ hands is one of the core tasks of the Alagang OWWA Serbisyo Caravan, a traveling one-stop service that is now holding a leg in Croatia for Filipino workers based there. Besides its stops in the Philippines, the caravan also visits countries with large communities of Filipino workers.
OWWA Administrator Patricia Yvonne “PY” M. Caunan said the program is built around a simple trade-off: fewer trips to separate government offices, and more time at home. Appearing on the program Serbisyong Bayanihan, Caunan said the caravan is meant to make it easier for OFWs to settle their paperwork and other needs.
“Ang gusto sana namin sa pamahalaan ay sa buong panahong ginugugol ng ating mga OFW dito sa Pilipinas, mas makasama nila ang kanilang pamilya kaysa isa-isang pumunta sa iba’t ibang government agencies para asikasuhin ang kanilang mga pangangailangan,” Caunan said.
Rather than having workers move from agency to agency, each caravan stop gathers those services under one roof. Workers and their families can process OWWA membership and e-Cards, apply for welfare assistance, and get information on skills training, livelihood and reintegration programs, scholarships, and health-related services, among other forms of support. Local government units, private institutions, and partner organizations work alongside national agencies to deliver these services.
OWWA is also using the events to walk OFWs and their dependents through its welfare, education and scholarship, training, livelihood, and reintegration programs, so they know which kinds of help they can tap at each stage of working overseas.
Outside of caravan events, members can reach the agency through OWWA Helpline 1348, which operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, for inquiries, concerns, and urgent needs.
The agencies taking part vary with each leg, depending on the location and the needs of the workers there. Among those that have joined are the Department of Migrant Workers, SSS, Pag-IBIG, PhilHealth, TESDA, PRC, LTO, LandBank, DSWD, DFA, PSA, PAO, CHED, DA, DOT, and DOH.
