Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers’ Affairs launched OFW Help Facebook Page

OFW Help serves as a Facebook emergency help page for OFWs in distress. This provides practical alternative in reaching out to OFWs and their families. This page is primarily for EMERGENCY purposes and NOT for labor claims.

Nowadays, the usage of social media all over the world has been drastically increasing. This constant proliferation has made billions of people around the world more connected than ever before.

In 2019, the number of social media users in the Philippines has grown to a monumental 76 million from the previous year’s 67 million users, of which 75 million of these users are active on Facebook. In the Philippines, among any other social media platforms being used, Facebook is considered to be the most accessible and cheapest social media platform.

What is “Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers’ Affairs” (OUMWA)?

OUMWA is primarily responsible for the provision and overall coordination of all Assistance to Nationals (ATN) and legal services to all overseas Filipinos in distress and their families through the Foreign Service Posts (Philippine Embassies or Consulates).
It also coordinates with following government agencies:

• Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE)
• Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA)
• Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA)
• Bonafide Civil Society Organizations (CSOs)

What is “Overseas Filipino Workers Help” Facebook page?

The OFW Help Facebook page is a social media platform for undocumented or irregular workers who are not members of OWWA who are in distress and need an emergency response.

It aims to provide a more preferable system in receiving request for assistance from the next-of-kin of OFWs and OUMWA case officers. Especially if the client is unable to contact the OUMWA hotline or travel to the nearest Post.

How does OUMWA provide help for Overseas Filipino in distress?

1. The office receives requests for assistance from the next-of-kin (NOK) of OFWs in distress or the OFWs in distress themselves through various means and refers the said request to the concerned Foreign Service Post (Philippine Embassy or Consulate).
2. The Philippine embassies abroad and consulates abroad do the groundwork in making representations with the employer and concerned authorities of the host government to assist the said OFW in distress.
3. Foreign Service Post (Philippine Embassy or Consulate) will report to OUMWA developments on the case, for onward transmittal to the next-of-kin or the requesting party.

How OUMWA handles emergency situations of OFW?

In case of emergency situations (political unrest, natural or man-made calamities and similar events), OUMWA monitors the situation abroad through reports from our Embassies and Consulates and provides information to interested parties, as well as dispatches additional personnel to reinforce the concerned Foreign Service Posts (Philippine Embassies or Consulates)./div>

You can follow this page through: https://www.facebook.com/OFWHelpPH/