A congresswoman is pushing for a more seamless departure process for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) through the full automation of the Overseas Employment Certificate (OEC) and its integration into the e-Travel system.

OFW Party-list Rep. Marissa Magsino on Tuesday, March 18, called on the government to integrate OECs into the e-Travel system because doing so "will significantly ease the burden on OFWs without compromising safeguards against human trafficking".

“The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) is already integrated with the Bureau of Immigration (BI). There’s no need to apply separately for OEC when the system can recognize an OFW’s status automatically," she stressed.

"We may just need to upgrade the integration to ensure all necessary details are reflected in the BI’s system," she added.

Magsino says her call is about streamlining the process while ensuring that the OEC remains a requirement for accountability and protection.

In a meeting with Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) Undersecretary David Almirol last week, Magsino called the upgraded integration as a necessary step toward a more efficient and modernized government service.

Under the proposed system, OFWs would no longer be required to obtain a separate OEC as their information would be automatically recognized through the integration of the DMW and the BI.

She says the initiative aligns with the government's broader digitalization efforts, benefiting millions of OFWs who frequently go through the process.

“Our OFWs deserve a hassle-free system that acknowledges their sacrifices and contributions to the economy. We need to make government transactions work for them, not the other way around,” she added.

If adopted, the integration could be a game-changer for OFWs, reducing paperwork and wait times while maintaining necessary protections against human trafficking, she said.