Do all OFWs in Japan need an agency to get their contracts verified by MWO?
POEA Administrator Bernard Olalia: “Kung hindi Technical Intern Trainee o Special Skilled Worker, hindi kailangan ng agency sa Pilipinas.”
Nakuha ko ang YT link from the post below. Ito ang sinulat ng poster, mababasa mo plainly ang hirap na dinadanas ng mga OFW dahil sa hindi makakuha ng OEC.
I hope you know how this has affected so many of us MENTALLY and EMOTIONALLY. Some couldn’t even be with their family members who have passed away or were sick in the Philippines, were forced to find another employer, or have lost so many working opportunities along the way. All of us have not seen our families for YEARS because we couldn’t risk not being able to go back to Japan and lose our jobs.
Fortunately, base sa sagot ni POEA Administrator Bernard Olalia, hindi kailangan ng agency sa Pilipinas para sa mga visa na kagaya ng Specialist in Humanities, Engineer, etc.
Unfortunately, this begs the question, paano naman yung mga SSW? Bakit exempted ang ibang workers pero hindi ang SSW?
Ang mga Technical Intern Trainees, understandable dahil manggagaling sila directly sa Pilipinas, the employer in Japan needs a partner agency in the Philippines to recruit, train and deploy them to Japan.
Pero kung ikaw ay isang kumpanya sa Japan at may nag-apply sa iyong dating trainee at gusto mo siyang bigyan ng SSW visa, why do you need to pay a partner agency in the Philippines (na wala namang ginawa para sa iyo) to employ that prospective special skilled worker?
Ito ang dahilan kung bakit maraming kumpanya sa Japan ang nagsisimulang mag-hire ng mga SSW na walang verification from MWO, and this is going to be a problem for these SSW.
These companies are not breaking any Japanese laws, just employing hard-working Filipinos. Pero magkakaroon din ng ganitong problema ang mga SSW dahil sa requirement ng DMW na partner agency sa Pilipinas.
UPDATE as of June 19, 2022:
POLO Tokyo has already updated their requirements for contract verification. No need for AGENCY if you fall under Balik Manggagawa.
If you are changing employers on-site, or undocumented (student/tourist to working visa), you can already submit your requirements for contract verification unless you’re SSW or TTIP.
For Professionals/Skilled:
https://polotokyo.dole.gov.ph/checklist-of-requirements…/
For Household services workers (HSW):
https://polotokyo.dole.gov.ph/checklist-of-requirements…/
You may also join our OEC support group to get recent updates:
OFWs In Japan: OEC Support Group
OEC and Contract Verification Rules Clarification with POEA and DOLE (Japan)
Last May 7, 2022, with the help of Ma’am Gemma Sotto of United Filipinos Global, we were able to seek clarifications and talk to POEA Administrator Bernard Olalia and Secretary Silvestre Bello III of DOLE.
For years, so many OFWs in Japan were not able to come home because of Polo Tokyo’s requirement to hire an agency for those who are already legally working here in Japan and even those who are already documented and have their Balik Manggagawa accounts.
In this video, Administrator Olalia and Secretary Bello have clarified these issues and have promised to communicate this to Polo Tokyo and Osaka so processes can be simplified and make it easier for OFWs for contract verification and OEC acquisition.
Clearly, for most parts, we OFWs (except for specific working visas), already here working legally in Japan DO NOT NEED TO HIRE AN AGENCY anymore to get our contracts verified. Factors discussed in this video are as follows:
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documented OFWs (already in the POEA database and have BM accounts)
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(undocumented) dependent to working visa holder
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(undocumented) student/tourist to working visas
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third-country hires (hired from a country outside the Philippines and Japan)
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repatriation clause
On behalf of the 450+ (and still growing) members of our OFW group, we sincerely thank Ma’am Gemma Santos, Administrator Bernard Olalia, and Secretary Silvestre Bello for heeding our call for help.
I would also like to thank the women behind this group who have tirelessly spent their precious time making this happen. Thank you. This journey has been hard for all of us but so worth it. We also thank all the members of the group who have helped us as well.
Shout out to my husband, who spent his day off editing this video.
Lastly, to Polo-Owwa Tokyo, we really hope this video is enough proof that we are only asking for what is right and what is just in accordance to the memorandum and rules set by POEA. We have been calling and have been trying to communicate with your office for years, even begging you to give us consideration, but were sadly not accommodated unless we hire an agency. I hope you know how this has affected so many of us MENTALLY and EMOTIONALLY. Some couldn’t even be with their family members who have passed away or were sick in the Philippines, were forced to find another employer, or have lost so many working opportunities along the way. All of us have not seen our families for YEARS because we couldn’t risk not being able to go back to Japan and lose our jobs.
We hope that the processes related to our OEC can be simplified because we want nothing more than to see and be with our families again.
“We are OFWs. We are Filipinos. And we deserve to go home.”
