Fast track system
The major problem with the system was that they’re not systematic at the Philippines Consulate (‘Filipinos applying to exit Dubai must show plane ticket,’ Gulf News, July 9). They don’t seem to be even thinking about how long those hundreds of people have waited just to get their Overseas Employment Certificate (OEC) done.
I will not go into details, but I know what it is: most people who are coming into the Philippines Consulate to get their OEC are not living in Manila. That’s why we prefer to get it done here in Dubai. Commonsense, our yearly vacation is only 30 days or less and every day is important to us. We will not spend money to go to Manila just for the OEC and fly back to our province.
Family is the main reason for our vacation. I would suggest a fast track system. It would help the efficiency of staff that works in the Philippines Consulate. I’ve also noticed some staff are not pleasant or approachable.
From Ms Mar
Dubai
Website comment
Slow process
The people working inside are so rude and they treat people processing papers like it’s a huge hassle. When you go, it is full of slow moving people and they are equally slow in processing.
From Ms Johan
Dubai
Website comment
Apply in Manila
I don’t understand why the Philippines requires OEC exit clearance of the sponsor when there is an Affidavit of Support and Consent (when sponsoring a visit visa), which is obtained by the sponsor at the Philippines Consulate.
Additionally, the OEC acronym is confusing and misleading. It should be referred to as the Overseas Filipino Worker Exit Clearance (OFWEC). In my opinion, don’t waste your time queuing at the office just to get this piece of OEC receipt. Try to allocate half a day at least and go directly to duty free Philippines. It is very near to the airport once you arrive in Manila to get the OEC.
From Ms Armi
Dubai
Website comment
No proper system
The Philippines Overseas Labour Office (POLO) and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) should start thinking about extending online services to obtain OEC. We are wasting a lot of time standing in line to get this small piece of paper. There is no proper system, there is no dedicated personnel to attend to queries, and those who are sitting in their stations are very difficult to talk to.
From Ms Liza Santos
Dubai
Website comment
Other options
This rule has already been in place for a long time. The Philippines Consulate here in Dubai just needs to add more staff to process the OEC for the large number of Filipinos applying for this clearance. But, if you can’t get it here in Dubai, there are a lot of branches in Manila where you can get it. There is also an option to apply online, easy!
From Ms Shan Lee Quez Vas
Dubai
Facebook comment
Disorganised
It’s really a pathetic situation there. I had visited twice for getting a contract attested, and it took more than three to four hours and no one knows who is doing what. They must get out of this system of attesting the contract as they do not check or verify anything. They only seem to be stamping the contract and that does not have any effect.
From Mr Steven
Dubai
Full name withheld by request
Unfair
I strongly disagree with the comment of the Philippines labour attache that the queuing system is efficient. They based the number tokens on the signatures collated by the food vendors the night before. When I visited the Consulate, some people stayed there overnight just to get in.
Should we really need to sleep overnight outside the gate with the scorching heat? Do we really need to suffer before going on vacation? Not everyone is staying in Manila and most provinces don’t have Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) regional offices.
From Mr Ram
UAE
Website comment
Helping refugees
It is sad to read about the plight of the Syrian refugees (‘Syrian women refugees wage lone battle for families,’ Gulf News, July 9). There are so many areas in various Arab countries that are lying barren. Huge plots of empty land. If they could temporarily use it for housing for the Syrian refugees or for make-shift schools, the refugees could have a better life.
From Mr Kokab R.
Dubai
Much aid given
It is very difficult to accept the fate of these people, especially the children. We live in a modernised world where people are suffering unnecessarily due to human ego and errors. May God help them and make their suffering less.
As for the UAE, the country has put a lot of efforts for humanitarian aid and it is still continuously supporting it. We can only pray to the Almighty that people live safely in their homes, and live a good, peaceful and loving life.
From Mr Ebrahim Al Mulla
Abu Dhabi
Website comment
Peace one day
May God bless Syria and all the Syrian brothers and sisters. My special prayers in this holy month of Ramadan to all of them. Syria has a very important place in my heart and I always tear up when I get to know something like this. We do hope and believe as God says. The problem will not always be there and one day there will be peace.
From Mr Mohammad Bilal
Abu Dhabi
Website comment
Least of the problems
This is an example of an expatriate’s problems that we are the least bothered about in this part of the world (‘We’re in hell’: Ajman tenants living without air conditioning,’ Gulf News, July 9). I suggest just taking life as it comes to you, unless you are back in your own country. I am very much sorry to hear about the misery of those families and what their children are going through. May God help them get justice.
From Mr Shaheen Latheef
UAE
Facebook comment
Waiting for democracy to work
The election crisis in Afghanistan has reached a level where nobody can now know if and when a new Afghan government will be installed. Though the election commission has declared Ashraf Ali Ghani victorious based on a preliminary result, this is by far not the end of the story. The other candidate, Abdullah Abdullah, is not going to accept this and is demanding a thorough recount of the votes because of allegations of rigged election results. The US and the EU has since then joined in with the demand for a thorough recount – otherwise the financial support for Afghanistan might be affected.
This is not a surprise for those who know Afghanistan and don’t close their eyes on the facts: democracy doesn’t work in a tribal society. It is an open secret that even Hamid Karzai was never elected in a way that in Europe would have been accepted as democratic. He was launched from the Bonn conference and pushed into a position of power. From there, with the help of the Western forces who thought they will have a pliant pro-Western poodle in him.
Already his re-election was a scandal, full of talk of rigging. This was so much so that some of the more sensitive members of the North American Trade Organisation (NATO) tried to find another candidate. But that wasn’t taken kindly by Karzai, who since then is not sugar-coating his opinion about the US and NATO anymore. Not because of Afghan national interests, but for his own interest of staying in power.
From Mr Ali Ashraf Khan
Karachi, Pakistan
Better business practices
While I have never raised a consumer issue with Gulf News, I look out for this section to read and see ‘the usual suspects’: some finance companies, airlines and telecom providers are making people’s lives miserable by over-charging or not returning money to the poor customers who have been calling, emailing and visiting to no avail, until Gulf News intervenes.
Your Turn and Complaints does a great service to the community, so please continue to do this with our appreciation and thanks. I wish the usual suspects wouldn’t hide behind smokescreens and bland statements such as ‘we are unable to disclose specific details in the interest of protecting and maintaining the confidentiality of the customer’. Instead, they should apologise, reimburse, and ensure they change their business practices to be more in favour of the customer.
From Ms G. Mitchell
UAE
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