Latest news with #JohnRioBautista
Gulf Today
20 hours ago
- Business
- Gulf Today
Caravan invites Filipinos to avail government services
The UAE, host to the second largest overseas Filipino contract workers worldwide – nearly one million – is the second leg of a comprehensive service caravan began in Saudi Arabia last week. 'The Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) Serbisyo Caravan,' according to Philippine Labour Attache in Dubai and the Northern Emirates John Rio Bautista, welcomes all Filipinos from all over the UAE, who wish to avail of basic and special government services. However, unlike the caravan in Saudi Arabia that commenced in the capital of Riyadh and extended to Jeddah and Alkhobar, the UAE edition shall only take place in Dubai. On July 28 to 30 (Monday to Wednesday) and at the Migrant Workers Office (MWO) in Al Qusais – formerly the Philippine Overseas Labour Office-Dubai – will be the first-time enrollment as well as the reactivation or renewal of memberships at the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhillHealth), the government-owned and controlled corporation set up in 1995 to manage the universal health coverage, officially known as the National Health Insurance Programme for all Filipinos. Applicants are advised to pre-register through the QR code available over the MWO-Dubai website. Aside from the enrollment, reactivation and renewal of membership, offered as well concern receipt of claims documents, issuance of PhilHealth identification cards and Member Data Records. Questions on membership, premium contribution and benefits will be entertained, according to a copy of the MWO Dubai Advisory No. 21-A Series of 2025 – 'Availability of PhilHealth Services' – furnished Gulf Today and available to the public over the MWO-Dubai website. Wide-ranging as conceptualised, even as free legal assistance, financial literacy sessions, job contract verification, and passporting have been part and parcel of organised One Philippines Team periodic outreach activities, psychosocial consultation, Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) electronic-card processing, national identification registration, livelihood and reintegration programmes, and business support assistance shall also be available on August 3 (Sunday) at the Dubai World Trade Centre. Participating agencies are the Department of Social Welfare and Development; PagIBIG (Home Development Mutual Fund); Public Attorney's Office, the independent body attached to the Department of Justice; Philippine Statistics Authority; Social Security System; Department of Trade and Industry-Philippine Trade and Investment Centre (Dubai); OWWA (Dubai); MWO (Dubai); and the Philippine Consulate General (Dubai). There is no required pre-registration. The interested are requested to review the official websites of the participating offices so they are properly informed on what documents and papers to bring such as their Philippine passports (original and copy) and other Philippine Government-issued identification cards. 'Unfortunately, First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos will not be able to join the Dubai Leg,' Atty. Bautista said. He was asked about Araneta-Marcos who arrived in Riyadh last Friday to participate at the inauguration of the outreach programme for OFWS by the Ferdinand 'BongBong' Marcos Jr. Administration. Qatar was reported to be the third leg. On the purpose of the outreach programme, the main implementer of which is the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW), Bautista said: 'It is the mandate of the DMW to protect the rights and promote the welfare of OFWs. As part of its commitment, the DMW takes the lead in this inter-agency effort to reintroduce various government programmes and services through this one-stop shop OFW Serbisyo Caravan.' 'It is to provide easy access to government services, deliver information sessions and offer support channels to all OFWs and their families,' Bautista added. 'The Serbisyo Caravan ensures that under the Bagong Pilipinas administration, OFWs are provided with all available services and programmes within their reach to honour their sacrifices as the country's modern-day heroes,' according to the Philippine News Agency.
Gulf Today
08-07-2025
- Business
- Gulf Today
Filipino workers' digitisation project enters second day
A three-year digitalisation project of the Philippines' Migrant Workers Office-Dubai (MWO-Dubai) has been adopted by the two-year-old Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) and is now on its second day of its month-long pilot-testing. Launched on July 7 with 81 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) successfully submitting 'within four hours' all the required documents despite 'minor technical glitches,' this is the beefed up Optional Online Employment Contract Verification System, guaranteed to be safe and secure as it is compliant with the Data Privacy Act 2022 of the Philippines. Labour Attache in Dubai and the Northern Emirates John Rio Bautista termed the project as a 'game-changing system' because staggered debit/credit card online payment, amounting to Dhs61.50, has been added to the Optional Online Employment Verification System, effected since June 2022 and which was able to certify 50,000 job contracts. DMW improved the MWO-Dubai project so that OFWs have the choice of adhering to the Philippine Government requirement of job contract verification right in the comfort of their homes or offices. MWO-Dubai and DataFlow Group, a globally-recognised leader in credentials verification and workforce mobility technology, signed the first Memorandum of Agreement last year and for the enhanced Optional Online Employment Contract Verification System on June 6, 2024. 'The project is in compliance with the directive of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. to digitalise vital government services. We would be saving time and precious resources,' said Bautista. Moreover, the enhanced procedure addresses overcrowding and the consequent overall health issues such as fatigue, stress, anxiety and anger of all concerned which include employers. In the case of MWO-Dubai, and on a typical ordinary day, between two and four of the 24-manpower, evaluate a maximum of 250 onsite job contract verification applications. The number increases to 'as high as a thousand a day' during Christmas, Holy Month of Ramadan and towards summer when OFWs take a break and spend time with their kin and kith. Bautista was hopeful that the upgraded system shall eventually be applied to the other 33 MWOs across Asia (11), Middle East (12), Europe (7), and the Americas (3), adding that MWO-Abu Dhabi would 'soon' join the pilot-testing. Thus, OFWs and other stakeholders in the capital and the Western Region are also going to benefit aside from those in Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm Al Quwain, Ras Al Khaimah and Fujairah. Before logging into the official MWO website, the applicants must make sure that they have on hand their valid Philippine passport, Emirates Identification Card, and Employment Contract plus their unexpired debit/credit cards as they have to pay at once Dhs21.50 convenience fee for the documents submission to DataFlow Group. 'The fee helps cover the system maintenance and validation services,' said Bautista. Waiting time for the release and download of the verified employment contract, considering that all the required documents are submitted, is three days. A verification fee of Dhs40.00 is paid to the MWO. 'A separate online payment gateway charge of Dhs1.00 will be charged when paying the verification fee and this will go directly to the bank,' said Bautista. In the Monday interview, Bautista mentioned as well the 'direct link' of the upgraded Optional Online Employment Contract Verification System 'to the DMW Portal E-Registration system' that automatically generates the Overseas Employment Certificate. It has been a practice – at least among OFWs in the UAE – to have their employment contracts verified when they are going to spend their annual breaks in their country, even as the job contract verification must be ideally done immediately after their respective employment has become official. Thus, the mention of the OEC application which the Philippine Government requires so that there is a supporting data showing that vacationing OFWs are indeed returning to their respective current jobsites and not elsewhere. From the June 2022 pilot-testing of the Optional Online Employment Contract Verification System interview, Bautista reiterated the relevance of the strict adherence to job contract verification as a paper trail of reviewed and approved employment contract documents are pieces of evidence in case of labour problems.
Filipino Times
25-04-2025
- Business
- Filipino Times
Online contract verification: MWO Dubai to remove appointment system, increase slots to 800
Starting May 1, the Migrant Workers Office (MWO) in Dubai will remove its appointment system and increase the number of available online slots for contract verification to 800. This change is part of its preparation for a fully online system to serve Filipino workers better. 'We removed the appointment system and increased the online submission slots in preparation for the full online,' Labor Attache Atty. John Rio Bautista told The Filipino Times. Get the latest news instantly on your phone—join the Filipino Times WhatsApp channel now! The new advisory now gives two options for contract verification: online submission and walk-in visits one working day before the flight. MWO advises workers to use the online method to avoid long lines and delays. Every Monday at 8:00 AM, a new online form opens with 800 slots for OFWs based in Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Fujairah, Umm Al Quwain, and Ras Al Khaimah. Once all slots are taken or by Wednesday, 11:59 PM, whichever comes first, the form closes. Approved online applications are processed within 11 working days. Once approved, workers can collect and pay for their verified documents within the assigned schedule, which usually takes 15–20 minutes. For those unable to secure a slot, walk-in verification is allowed only one working day before a confirmed flight. MWO reminds everyone that if the day before the flight is a holiday, workers should visit on the closest working day instead.
