Migrant workers' department to launch repatriation command center
MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Migrant Workers will be launching a repatriation command center, which will be the one-stop office that will handle requests from overseas Filipino workers who wish to go back home.
The One Repatriation Command Center (ORCC) or the 1-Repat Command will be launched on Wednesday, DMW Secretary Susan Ople told One News’ “The Chiefs” on Monday evening.
"[We will] reveal the number that all families with OFW relatives that are in distress or are being exploited or simply want to come home because they have certain ailments, at pati ‘yung shipment of remains nung mga namatayan sa abroad (and even if it concerns the shipment of remains of relatives who died abroad)," Ople said.
"They will need to contact only one number, one social media page, and we will take care of the rest."
With the center, Ople said family members no longer need to visit the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration office in Manila just so they can get government assistance.
The ORCC will also work with the Department of Foreign Affairs should there be a case in countries where the Philippines does not have its own labor attaché.
Since the pandemic broke out in 2020, over 3.835 million returning Filipinos logged as of last week have gone back home, 2.347 million of which were OFWs.
Meanwhile, remains of 7,157 deceased overseas Filipinos were brought back in Manila, where 645 have succumbed to COVID-19.
Task force to focus on illegal recruiters online
Meanwhile, Ople said the DMW's Task Force Against Illegal Recruitment and Trafficking in Persons or TF-AIRTIP will embark on a crackdown against illegal recruiters who operate online.
She noted that there is now an "exponential" rise in the number of victims because of social media platforms such as Facebook, where illegal recruiters can post about a fake job opportunity abroad and they can profit off of fooling as many people as they can.
"I-DM lang nila yung 50% na nagco-comment na minsan nasa 500 plus, mahingan lang nila ng kahit tig- P10,000 in one day... and then lahat e-payments so we really need to address online illegal recruitment," Ople said.
(They just need to directly message half of those who commented on their post, which sometimes reaches over 500 individuals, they just need to charge each one of the P10,000 in one day... and then transactions would be done through e-payments so we really need to address online illegal recruitment.)
During the welcoming ceremony for Ople earlier this month, she revealed that she herself will lead the TF-AIRTIP with 18 years of experience in trying to combat human trafficking.
Ople said she already nudged Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla and Interior and Local Government Secretary Benjamin Abalos to help the department with the task force.
READ: Ople to lead DMW’s task force against illegal recruitment
"We also want to look at how we can use the laws in other countries to step up, accelerate our campaign against illegal recruitment and also against human trafficking," Ople said on Monday evening.
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