OWWA to start issuing e-card to OFWs in HK

 

The OWWA e-card is recognized as a government-issued identity document

Hong Kong will be the next overseas post after Taiwan where the e-card for overseas Filipino workers will be issued directly by the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration.

This was revealed by OWWA Administrator Arnel Ignacio during a press briefing at Malacanang on Friday, where he joined Palace Press Officer Claire Castro. He did not, however, say when he will be in Hong Kong for this purpose.

“We are going to Hong Kong, dadalhin namin yung machine para yung mga taga Hong Kong mabibigyan ng e-card,” said Ignacio.

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He said OWWA had previously extended the same service to OFWs in Taiwan.

While the e-card can be secured online, the physical card is currently only issued at the OFW lounges at terminals 1 and 3 of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, the Department of Migrant Workers Central Office in Mandaluyong and the OWWA-NCR Regional Office in Quezon City.

The physical card can be currently secured at OFW lounges at NAIA

With the machine for printing the e-card being brought to Hong Kong, OFWs will be able to obtain the ID-sized e-card without having to leave the city. And according to the OWWA chief, it could be printed within only five minutes.

The e-card is recognized as a valid government identification card, and is primarily used to make transactions with OWWA faster. It also serves as an exit clearance each time an OFW leaves the country.

To be eligible for the e-card, one must be a returning OFW (or Balik Manggagawa) with an active OWWA membership for at least 90 days, a valid overseas employment certificate (OEC), OFW Pass or OEC exemption number, and a valid passport.

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At the press briefing, the first question asked of Ignacio was how OFWs were reacting to the no-remittance calls by supporters of former President Rodrigo Duterte in protest at his arrest and detention in line with a warrant issued by the International Criminal Court in The Hague.

Ignacio said he had just arrived from a visit to Singapore and Thailand, and no one had brought this up with him there.

“OFWs never mentioned this to us,” he said. “Kung ano lang ang basic (need) yun lang ang hinihingi.” (They just asked us to provide them with their basic needs).

“Doon pa rin sila umiikot sa pangangailangan nila.” (They remain focused on their needs).

The gathering outside the ICC was both a celebration of Duterte's birthday and a protest

Meanwhile, hundreds of Filipinos across Europe gathered outside the ICC detention facility in The Hague on Friday to mark Duterte’s 80^th birthday with protests.

His supporters who gathered from morning until 3pm called for Duterte to be freed, and condemned the government of incumbent president Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. for surrendering him to the ICC.

Those who opposed the call staged their own rally afterwards, calling on the ICC to make sure Duterte is held to account for the thousands of Filipinos killed during his bloody war on drugs, from when he was mayor of Davao City, until he became the country’s president starting in 2016.

Across the Philippines, thousands of Duterte supporters staged separate rallies, with the biggest one being held in his Davao City bailiwick.

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