The Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) will soon be converted to the Migrant Workers Office (MWO). The new MWO will absorb all of the functions and authorities previously carried out by existing POLOs, Offices of Social Welfare Attaché (OSWA), and Assistance to Nationals arm of Philippine embassies and consulates.
This news was announced by Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III during a recent interview. He said that the change is necessary in order to better reflect the agency’s mandate, which is to protect and promote the rights and welfare of Filipino migrant workers.
Also Read: OWWA Overseas Workers Welfare Administration Agency for OFWs
The MWO will continue to provide services such as counseling, repatriation, and legal assistance to Filipino migrant workers. It will also intensify its efforts in monitoring labor recruiters and employment agencies, as well as working closely with the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) in ensuring that our OFWs are treated fairly overseas.
What is the Migrant Workers Office (MWO)?
The Migrant Workers Office (MWO) is an actual office location based in the Philippines and abroad which is managed by the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW), a Philippine agency that is newly established in order to provide a one-stop agency for all Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs). The change in the office name is part of the projects of the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) to attend to the needs of the Filipino workers.
DMW is mandated to protect and promote the rights and welfare of Filipino migrant workers. It provides services such as counseling, repatriation, and legal assistance to Filipino migrant workers. It also intensifies its efforts in monitoring labor recruiters and employment agencies, as well as working closely with the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) in ensuring that our OFWs are treated fairly overseas.
What is the difference between MWO and DMW?
They’re the same, DMW is the main Philippine government agency department while the MWO is the physical office location. So just to clarify, if you want to inquire about the DMW services, you have to go to the MWO offices.
What are the services offered by the MWO?
The MWO offers a wide range of services for Filipino migrant workers, including but not limited to counseling, repatriation, and legal assistance. It also intensifies its efforts in monitoring labor recruiters and employment agencies.
The MWO office is also where Filipinos will process contract verification and process OEC (overseas employment certificate) applications.
Why are they changing the existing POLO office to MWO office?
The change in office name is part of the projects of the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) to merge and unify all existing OFW departments under one roof. The soon-to-be old name, POLO, will be changed to MWO in order to better reflect the agency’s mandate.
When is the actual date of the POLO offices to be changed to MWO offices?
There is no actual date because the DMW office implementation is still in the transition period. We must wait for the changes to reflect. Tentatively though, they plan to fully finish the transition by year 2023.
The POEA (Philippine Overseas Employment Administration, another agency merged into the new DMW office. Currently, the POEA website and office are already changed to the DMW website.
Summary
This change is necessary in order to better reflect the agency’s mandate, which is to protect and promote the rights and welfare of Filipino migrant workers.
It is still a bit of a task considering that there are many agencies to be merged into this new department, so we advise all Pinoys to please be patient.
We urge all Filipinos planning to work abroad to approach only licensed and reputable recruitment agencies, and to coordinate with the MWO for assistance and guidance.