Good news to all Overseas Filipino Workers. Starting July 12, a new identification card system will be launched which will replace the current Overseas Employment Certificate which is a requirement for those workers who aspire to work abroad.
According to Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III, the Department of Labor and Employment will launch it before the President in the Aguinaldo Room of Malacañang. The new ID will be called the ID of the Department of Labor and Employment or iDOLE. It will be a multi-purpose identification card that can also be used for Social Security System, PAG-IBIG Fund, and Philippine Health Insurance Corporation transactions.
Secretary Bello also added that they are looking into allowing the ID to be used as a passport.
Before, OFWs needed to secure an Overseas Employment Certificate as a requirement to exit the country.
“And maybe given another six months, we are trying to adopt a system that this iDOLE can serve as their passport,” he said. “And maybe given another six months, we are trying to adopt a system that this iDOLE can serve as their passport,” he said.
To make this possible, DOLE is coordinating with the Department of Justice through the Bureau of Immigration.
To obtain an iDOLE, OFWs do not need to apply or queue in long lines. The department is currently obtaining the inventory of all bonafide OFWs from the list from POEA. The secretary assured OFWs that they will start processing the ID once the OFW is included in the roster.
It can be recalled that OFWs needed to obtain an Overseas Employment Certificate that they need to apply for every time they leave the country. The program is among one of President Duterte’s campaign promises to migrant workers.
