POEA revives validation of OFW exit clearance at NAIA

Starting March 1, 2011, overseas Filipino workers leaving the country through Ninoy Aquino International Airport will have to pass through the labor assistance centers of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) to validate their exit clearance. POEA Administrator Carlos Cao Jr. said in a release he is restoring the validation of OFW documents at the NAIA terminals 1, 2 and 3, as this is necessary to ensure that only workers who are properly documented or have passed through the legal processes are allowed to leave the country. “With the validation system in place, POEA is able to check on workers who are carrying tampered or fake travel documents secured through illegal means," the release stated. It added that validation of the exit clearance, also called the overseas employment certificate (OEC) or e-receipt, can be done in less than a minute through electronic connectivity. More validation machines will also be put in place for a faster service to some 3,500 OFWs who leave the airports daily, he said. Cao likewise stressed that the exit clearance validated at the NAIA terminal shall be valid only up to the date of the confirmed flight. Re-validation shall be allowed only for a flight that has been cancelled or re-scheduled for valid reasons, he said. Cao added that the POEA will put up special lanes for OFWs deployed by recruitment agencies that are recipients of performance awards. In March 2008, the POEA, then headed by Rosalinda Baldoz who is now Labor Secretary, dropped the validation of OFW documents through the labor assistance centers (LAC) at international airports, following a directive from then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to streamline processes in OFW deployment. Recruitment consultant Emmanuel Geslani earlier urged the POEA to bring back the OEC validation through the LACs, as the system proved effective against illegal deployment and human trafficking. Apart from LACs at NAIA, the POEA also has centers at Mactan International Airport in Cebu, Davao International Airport in Davao, and Diosdado Macapagal International Airport in Pampanga.—Jerrie M. Abella/JV, GMA News