BAGUIO CITY – The City Government and the Department of Labor and Employment will open the Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW) one-stop shop service center at the executive lounge of the Baguio Convention Center on Saturday, October 29, 2016.
Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III and Mayor Mauricio G. Domogan lead the inauguration and formal opening of the OFW one-stop service center that will provide OFWs with easier access to the services of different government agencies in processing documents they need with lesser delays and inconveniences.
Earlier, President Rodrigo R. Duterte, in his first State of the Nation Address (SONA), directed to all frontline offices to establish one-stop shop centers to ensure that all requirements needed by the public are housed in one location for public convenience.
Secretary Bello issued a memorandum to all regional directors of the labor department instructing them to spearhead the establishment of one-stop shop service for OFWs in the different regions.
Included in the Baguio OFW one-stop shop service center are representatives from the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA), Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), Professional Regulation Commission (PRC), Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA), Home Development Mutual Fund, Philippine Health Insurance Corporation, Social Security System, Philippine Statistics Authority, Bureau of Immigration, National Bureau of Investigation, Commission on Higher Education and Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority.
Upon receipt of the memorandum, Domogan directed the City General Services Office to clear the executive lounge of the Baguio Convention Center from the stored units of equipment and materials for the use of the OFW one-stop shop service center.
The local government refurbished the executive lounge for the representatives of the government agencies who will be assigned to the facility purposely.
Domogan said it is necessary to extend the appropriate assistance to regional line agencies in order to bring to the grassroots level important directives from the President.
He called on the OFWs to patronize the one-stop shop service center once it becomes operational to facilitate the processing of the pertinent requirements for their work overseas without delay.
He said it took sometime for the city to operate the OFW one-stop service center because it had to be repairedto make it suitable for those who will be manning the said office.
By Dexter A. See