Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello insisted that the overseas Filipino worker (OFW) ID, or iDOLE, is free.
“The issuance of ID will be on August after the issuance of implementing rules. i-DOLE is free to all OFWs,” Bello said in a text message on July 15 to GMA News Online.
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This statement came after reports about how some OFWs found out that they have to pay for the card and its delivery when they logged in to the iDOLE page.
Kodao Productions reported on July 15 that Filipino expats were disappointed to find that the iDOLE, which Bello described President Rodrigo Duterte’s “best gift” to OFWs, is not free, unlike earlier claims.
“Some Filipino expats tried to apply for the OFW card by accessing the iDOLE portal https://ofw.idole.ph/ and were surprised to discover that they will be charged with 501 pesos to get the card, aside from the delivery fee,” Kodao reported.
DOLE had a soft launching for the OFW ID on July 12. It is designed to replace the Overseas Employment Certificate (OEC) that OFWs have to obtain before being deployed abroad.
“This will serve as your OEC…so they don’t have to go to the POEA (Philippine Overseas Employment Administration) every time they go and come back. All they have to do is to show their ID,” Bello said.
Aside from this, the OFW ID will also serve as the migrant workers’ Social Security System (SSS), PhilHealth membership, Pag-ibig Fund IDs.
There are even plans to make the OFW ID a passport replacement.
“We are talking to the DFA (Department of Foreign Affairs) and the DOJ (Department of Justice) through its agency, the Bureau of Immigration, so that the IDOLE may be used as a passport,” Bello said.
However, OFWs deemed the OEC as a useless document that only served to generate income for the government.
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DOLE said in a statement during the ID’s soft-launch that the employers will be responsible for processing the ID so it comes of no cost to the OFWs.
“The processing of the iDOLE would be shouldered by the employers; hence, OFWs need not pay for the cost of the ID, which would be delivered by PhilPost to their respective addresses,” it said.
OFW ID is not free, says OFWs
But according to the Kodao report, the DOLE web page asked them to pay P501 pesos and a delivery fee.
“At the onset, we already had doubts that this ID is totally free. After I encoded my personal and employment details, I was asked to pay 501 pesos and another 200 pesos to have it delivered at my hometown,” said Sharjah resident and Migrante Middle East coordinator Nhel Morona.
Labor Undersecretary Ciriaco Lagunzad III told Khaleej Times on July 12 that the OFW ID is free, echoing what DOLE said about the employer shouldering the cost of the card.
“Walang babayaran ang OFWs (OFWs will not pay anything). Recruitment agencies will pay on behalf of employers. This will be enforced by POEA. Because POEA issued a governing board resolution authorizing and imposing fees,” Lagunzad said.
“The amount will be set by POEA based on charges by three government offices – DBP Philpost and APO. Validity is term of contract but ID number is same. The ID will be updated every time there is new contract. The POEA will process the contract and OEC then send to DOLE the names and other details of the processed OFW then have the ID printed by APO Printing (the same company that prints Philippine passports). Then Philpost will deliver the ID to the forwarding address of the OFW,” Lagunzad added.
Dubai resident Jun Cargullo said that the OFW ID is only meant for domestic transactions and has nothing to do with their work abroad. He also scored how the OFWs will end up paying for the card, which is a few times more costly than the OEC.
“At the end of the day, it is us, OFWs, who will have to pay for the card. The OFW ID is actually more expensive than the OEC. We used to pay only 100 pesos to acquire an OEC every time we travel and we go back home at least once every year. So it will take at least five travels or five years before we can recoup the same expense of getting an OEC five times,” Cargullo said.
Morona noted how OFWs who are already working abroad are supposed to pay for their IDs if the recruitment agencies would be the ones to pay for the IDs before the OFW’s deployment. He also calculated how, at P501, will make the government billions of pesos, considering the millions of Filipinos working abroad.
On July 14, the iDOLE portal went offline for a few hours. When it came back on, it already has a note saying: “This website is for testing purposes only. To our beloved OFWs, please wait for the official launching, rest assured that the OFW card is 100 per cent free of charge to the OFW.”
Saudi-based Filipino community leader urged DOLE to clarify if the OFW ID is indeed free and posted a photo of the iDOLE portal asking P701 for the card and delivery fee.
Migrante says no to OFW ID
Pro-OFW militant group Migrante International rejected the OFW ID on July 17, disagreeing with how it was described as Duterte’s “best gift” to OFWs.
“How could it be the ‘best gift’ when even the DOLE is clueless on its relevance?” asked Migrante spokesperson Arman Hernando.
“There is as yet no implementing guidelines on how it is supposed to function. It will not even benefit all OFWs and only new hires,” he added.
“It will not even benefit all OFWs and only new hires. Worse, the DOLE claims that it will be free of charge, to replace the useless scrap of paper that is the OEC (overseas employment certificate), but it turns out to be seven times more expensive at Php701,” Hernando said.
“Thanks, but no thanks, President Duterte. Hindi po ito regalo kundi dagdag-perwisyo para sa mga OFW,” he added.
Hernando also said the iDOLE is the government’s haphazard attempt to impress OFWS before Duterte’s SONA on July 22. However, he considered it a money-making scheme for the government.
He hit how there is no guarantee of the card’s zero cost for the OFWs.
“Employers are expected to pay for the iDOLE but since when has this stopped them from passing on the burden to recruitment agencies and, consequently, to OFWs?” ” Hernando asked.
ID cards for August distribution
The Philippine Overseas Employment clarified that the OFW IDs will not be distributed until the implementing guidelines have been formalized. The OFWs will be informed more about the proper ID application procedure after the guidelines are finalized.
Bello said on July 17 that DOLE will release the guidelines within a week or two and the IDs might be distributed by “the first or second week of August.”
Concerning worries as to OFWs possibly ending up paying for their ID, Bello said, “Depende na yan sa pag uusap ng technical people maaring ung employer maaring ung recruitment agency basta inportante walang babayaran ang OFW.”
Labor Undersecretary Dominador Say said that DOLE would prepare an online system where the OFWs can apply for an ID and the employers will pay for it.
Sources: ( gmanetwork.com , rappler.com , khaleejtimes.com )
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