The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration has given all Philippine Recruitment Agencies (PRAs) and Licensed Manning Agencies (LMAs) until March 31 to submit monitoring reports in the Overseas Filipino Workers Welfare Monitoring System (OWMS).
In an advisory dated Feb. 26 and signed by Administrator Bernard Olalia that was released over the weekend, recruitment and manning agencies were ordered to furnish a copy of reports on the status and condition of deployed OFWs, who are onsite and seafarers abroad.
“Failure to submit the required reports shall warrant the imposition by the Administration of such sanctions as it may deem appropriate,” it said.
POEA Memorandum Circular 9, series of 2019, provides that the OWMS is the tool to be used by the PRAs and LMAs in submitting reports on the status and condition of OFWs.
It also provides that an initial report on the status and conditions of newly deployed OFWs onsite and seafarers onboard shall be done within three months after deployment. Updates of their status and condition should be submitted every quarter thereafter. However, significant and critical incidents involving deployed Filipino workers should be reported to the POEA within five days from the occurrence thereof. The POEA added that monitoring the status and condition of deployed Filipino workers complies with the revised POEA Rules and Regulations Governing the Recruitment and Employment of Landbased Overseas Filipino Workers of 2016, and the 2016 Revised POEA Rules and Regulations Governing the Recruitment and Employment of Seafarers and MC No. 12, series of 2018.*PNA
