The Department of Migrant Workers has reported a rapid rise in the number of overseas Filipino workers securing their digital travel passes, with Daily Tribune citing more than 335,000 issued since the system’s introduction in mid-September.
DMW Undersecretary Dominique Rubia-Tutay said the digital pass has been generated 335,831 times through the eGov PH app, which became available for OFWs on 15 September. She noted that the shift to digital documentation aims to simplify the long-used overseas employment certificate by consolidating requirements into a single credential workers can carry on their devices.
Even with the sustained rollout, the agency has been addressing reports from OFWs who encountered difficulties at airports. Some airline personnel, Tutay explained, continue to request printed copies despite the digital pass already being accepted by immigration officers. She said the department will release an advisory confirming the pass’s full implementation to address these inconsistencies.
Tutay urged air carriers to align with the policy. “We are appealing to our colleagues in the airline industry that our fellow OFWs be allowed to simply show their travel pass on the eGov app,” she said. She added that coordination with immigration officials has been smooth so far, saying, “We have already coordinated with the Bureau of Immigration, and there are no issues on their end; what we are fixing now is with the airlines.”
Obtaining the digital travel pass requires downloading the eGovPH app, creating an account, and opening the DMW Balik Manggagawa Service, which automatically pulls a worker’s information from the agency.
