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| Labatt Chavez promises an open-door policy during his watch |
The Philippine Migrant Workers Office is set to open thus week a new and bigger shelter for distressed Filipino migrant workers in Hong Kong.
This was one of the changes disclosed by the country’s
labor attaché to Hong Kong, lawyer Cesar L. Chavez, Jr, when he met with a select
group of Filipino community leaders at the OFW Global Center in Admiralty on
Sunday, Jan. 25.
Labatt Chavez said in an interview with The SUN afterwards
that he intends to hold more meetings with stakeholders in the next few days so
he can get a better grasp of the issues and concerns affecting Filipino migrant
workers in Hong Kong.
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| PINDUTIN PARA SA DETALYE |
He said the new shelter in Tai Po will have 6-7
bedrooms, and can accommodate more than 30 OFWs at any given time.
This is more than three times the capacity of the existing halfway-home in
Kennedy Town which has three bedrooms and can only take in a maximum of 10
residents.
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| Basahin ang detalye! |
Migrant Workers Secretary Hans Cacdac first
disclosed the move to set up a bigger shelter during his visit to Hong Kong in
November last year (see story here: https://www.sunwebhk.com/search?q=OFW+shelter)
Secretary Cacdac said then that he wanted a more
vibrant refuge for OFWs in distress, “not ostentatious but something that is
clean, up to standard, spacious, and can house a whole array of activities and
events.”
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| Chavez addresses Filcom leader at Sunday's 'meet and greet' (photo by Marie Reyes) |
In line with this, Chavez said the MWO is hiring four “house mothers” to oversee operations at the shelters on a permanent basis, so that OFWs who run into trouble can seek refuge there “at any time of the day and night.”
Apart from the four new personnel who will be
assigned to the shelter, the MWO is also asking the head office for six additional
personnel who will be tasked with handling their frontline operations.
Chavez said one of his immediate concerns is to improve
services to the OFWs through automation, installing queue ticket dispensers and
providing bigger space for their transactions.
He said there are plans to move the current MWO to a
bigger space, also at United Centre building, when its lease expires in August
this year.
This should allow the MWO to conduct more trainings
and other activities for OFWs, alongside those provided at the OFW Global
Centre on the 18th floor of the same building, which is managed by
the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration.
At his dialogue with the Filcom leaders, Chavez said
many participants asked for improvement in services, in particular, to address
the perennial overcrowding and long queuing time for those applying for the
overseas employment certificate, especially during the peak travel season around Christmas.
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| The queue for OEC applications often spill out into the lift lobby, all the way to the ground floor |
Asked if it was possible to get volunteers to help speed up the processing of OEC applications, he said the MWO could not share sensitive records in their system because of data accountability.
But he agreed that those who have not changed employers since they last obtained their OEC need not spend their precious time queuing at the MWO as their records do nit need any updating.
They can simply ask a friend or a volunteer to help them obtain the exit clearance they are required to present at Philippine airports, wherever they may be.
Chavez took over as MWO head after his predecessor, Melchor Dizon, retired and went back to the Philippines months ago. Appointed in the interim as officer-in-charge was assistant labor attache Tony Villafuerte who has since been recalled to the home office.
