Abu Dhabi: The Philippine diplomatic missions in the UAE will soon start renewing passports in three weeks, which now takes around two months, a top diplomat said here on Friday evening.
The passport renewal process takes two months because booklets are printed in the Philippines, said Perfecto Yasay Jr, Secretary of Foreign Affairs of the Philippines. However, this process will be further improved to issue passports within two to three weeks in the UAE.
“This will start in the next few months,” the official told a meeting of Filipino community leaders, organised by the Philippine Embassy in Abu Dhabi. Yasay was on a four-day official visit to the UAE, in which he had bilateral meetings with senior UAE officials.
He said a legislation to extend the validity of the passport from five years to ten years is in the process. “This will be implemented soon.”
The electronic passports issued by the Philippines have advanced security features and enough capacity to store data for even future needs.
The government will soon start issuing a unique identification card for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs). The ID card will help them in their transactions with government and private sector. It will also help them to get timely help during times of distress.
The official earlier inaugurated a Kabayan clinic, a dedicated medical clinic for Filipinos, at Universal Hospital in Abu Dhabi.
He said a ban on deployment of female Filipino domestic workers in some countries in the Middle East, including the UAE, still existed. Negotiations are going on with the respective governments to ensure the protection of rights of such workers. The government imposed the ban because many qualified women were lured by human traffickers and ended up working in lower level jobs, including that of housemaids, he explained.
Yasay praised the role of OFWs in strengthening the Philippines’ economy. Since the Southeast Asian financial crisis in 1990s, the remittance from OFWs helped the nation overcome all similar crises.
He said the government has set up a 100-million-peso legal assistance fund for OFWs, which could be utilised by everyone in need.
In the meeting, community members raised various concerns of the community. G.C. Dekl Mundo, an engineer, wanted a Filipino Community Centre in the lines of Indian Social and Cultural Centre in the capital. He asked whether the government can help get a land for the same. The official replied that the community has to directly make a request to the UAE government for that purpose.
Yasay spent around two hours to address community members and answer all questions.
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Philippine government to consider hiring expert Filipinos
Abu Dhabi: The Philippine government will consider constituting a coordination office that will look into the possibility of hiring expert Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) instead of foreign consultants in government jobs, a top diplomat told here on Friday evening.
The government is appointing foreign consultants in sectors where Filipinos do not have technical know-how, Perfecto Yasay Jr, Secretary of Foreign Affairs of the Philippines, said at a meeting with community leaders in Abu Dhabi on Friday.
However, Filipinos having international experience, including those who work in the UAE, can be considered for such positions, he said in response to a question from a community member, Edmark Dela Vega, 34, a civil engineer.
Vega, who has been working in the UAE for six years, told Gulf News that he has noticed that engineers from the Philippines and other Asian countries have a major role in the UAE’s construction industry because of their experience and expertise of international standards.
“However, the Philippine government is appointing American and European consultants in this sector and similar other sectors, instead of considering such experienced Filipinos,” he said.
Vega said if Yasay’s promise of constituting an office to look into this issue materialises, many expert OFWs will get an opportunity to serve their government back home.
