The SUN HK

The POLO office will be used as venue for the exams.

Staff of the Philippine Overseas Labor Office will skip their weekend break this Friday and Saturday to accept applications for the maiden civil service examinations for Filipinos in Hong Kong on Nov. 27, Labour Attache Jalilo de la Torre said.

The POLO official said more than 300 prospective examinees queued at Admiralty last Sunday to file their applications for the yearly test, which would enable passers to work for the government.

This Friday and Saturday, POLO will assign six people to receive applications and a further six will be on standby just in case they will be needed to help, he said.

The civil service exam will be held at the POLO offices on the 11^th and 16^th floors of Admiralty Centre Tower 1, Labatt Dela Torre said.

On Sunday, Nov 13, the last day of filing, the applicants will be served on the 16^th floor of Admiralty Centre Tower 1 and at Metrobank United Centre, he said.

Weekday applicants will be entertained on the 11^th floor of the Admiralty Centre Tower 1,  De la Torre told The SUN in reply to online queries.

Regular services at the offices of the POLO were not disrupted by the huge number of applicants last Sunday, as the processing of the applications was done at the Metrobank on the second-floor lobby of United Centre.

The United Centre lobby is spacious so big crowds of OFWs lining up for services, such as the phased-out overseas employment certificate, are easier to handle there.

He said that the filing of paper applications was part of procedures that prospective examinees go through before they go online to register.

“Three hundred-plus filed applications on Sunday. After filing papers with us they go online for registration,” Labatt Dela Torre said.

The rush to file applications led to long queues at the picture studios where applicants had their passport-size photos taken.

The labor attaché advised applicants to have their pictures taken in photo shops elsewhere before they go to Admiralty so as to avoid congestion and long lines at the photo studios in the commercial centre.

“We advise that you avoid the long queues by having your pictures taken somewhere else. Just advise studio to prepare a hand-held sign showing your signature over your full name. You can then proceed to POLO HK for processing,” Labatt De la Torre said.

One prospective examinee expressed her relief after successfully filing her application on Sunday afternoon – with the photo-taking session accounting for much of the long wait that started at 10:30am and lasted until 3:15pm.

“Sana may ibang studio na mag-facilitate na pareho lang ang bayad, $60, para mas madali lang… Pero salamat na din, at least natapos at na-submit na,” Rose Magallanes commented on a post by Labatt De la Torre.