Fayette C. Riñen
CEBU CITY, June 8 (PIA) -- More than 300 overseas Filipino workers
(OFWs) came together in a luncheon “salo-salo” at the office of the Philippine
Overseas Employment Administration (POEA-7) in celebration of 20th Migrant
Workers’ Day.
Aside from chomping on popular Pinoy foods like lechon,
roasted chicken and pansit and home-made ice cream, OFWs
also availed of the free laboratory tests on blood sugar, blood typing, ECG and
blood pressure taking.
The lab exams were provided free by the University of Cebu Medical
Center.
POEA-7 Chief Evelia Durato said “this is our way of saying thank
you to our OFWs who have contributed so much to the country’s economy.”
Durato said some licensed recruitment agencies also gave some
items for free to be raffled off to the OFWs.
“This is just a simple celebration as a way to honor our OFWs and
to bond with them and with each other,” bared Durato during the weekly forum of
the Association of Government Information Officers (AGIO-7) held
to highlight the annual celebration.
The gathering also gave the POEA-7 the chance to promote their
“Balik Manggagawa” Online Processing System or the BMOnline system which is a
hassle-free way of getting the Overseas Employment Certificate (OEC), a
mandatory requirement for any OFW to be able to work abroad.
Durato said the OEC is presented by the OFW at the airport.
Without one, the OFW cannot depart to his work destination.
Instead of being inconvenienced by the long queue at POEA-7 to get
the OEC, Durato said the OFW can simply access the OEC at the BMOnline where
one merely has to register at www.bmonline.ph to access OEC.
In line with the celebration, the Overseas Workers Welfare
Administration (OWWA-7) conducted a Financial Literacy briefing to 95 OFW
leaders within the region representing 40 organizations.
“Financial Literacy is a regular program of OWWA where we teach the
value of savings and investments to OFWs,” said Mae Codilla, chief of programs
and services of OWWA-7.
Codilla in the same forum said the program aims to encourage OFWs
and their families to save and manage their income.
“We want the OFWs to see the fruits of their labor by managing
their earnings wisely,” said Codilla. (rmn/fcr/PIA-7)
- See
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