Ensure that migrant workers are supported and empowered. DMW Mobile App (Photo courtesy of PPA Pool/KJ Rosales)
This was the call of President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. to government agencies and the private sector as he led the launch of  a mobile app that will ease the process in securing overseas employment certificates (OEC). Designed specially for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) mobile app includes the OFW Pass, which serves as the digital alternative to OEC. Marcos encouraged everyone in the government and the private sector to pool their resources and expertise for the effective implementation and improvement of the mobile app. "Let us all work to ensure that our migrant workers are supported, empowered, and given every opportunity to succeed in their respective fields in the land where they choose to live and work," Marcos said on Friday, July 21. According to the DMW, the mobile app provides a more convenient and transaction-free replacement for the paper-based OEC which carries a P100 fee. The OFW Pass utilizes qryptal secure (QR) code technology, uniquely designed to render the electronic document tamper-proof and instantly verifiable when transacting with other government mobile applications. The validity of the OFW Pass is based on the expiration of the OFW’s working contract. Both the DMW Mobile App and the OFW Pass are free of charge. The President said the development revolutionizes the way OFWs access certain services  and is "only a glimpse" of what the government has in store for them. "We stand at an exciting juncture in our history, a time of technological marvel and boundless possibilities. And we will make sure to build on and integrate the advantages that all these developments bring into public service delivery," he said. He further said that the launch of the app reflects the government's duty to the welfare and the protection of OFWs. "It once again demonstrates our deepest desire to leverage technology for the betterment of their lives and the efficient delivery of government services that they need even if they are far away from home, especially when they are far away from home," he added. The Chief Executive also noted that the initiative is consistent towards the government's goal to digitalize its services. Meanwhile, the DMW and the Bureau of Immigration (BI) have already signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) to ensure that both agencies synchronize their data management and other relevant processes. The DMW App will be further developed to include additional features and will be integrated with the e-Gov PH App of the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT).