More than a year ago, the government, through the initiative of the Department of Labour and Employment (DOLE) had announced the development of a unified services ID, known as the iDOLE, which aims to replace the Overseas Employment Certificate (OEC) of overseas Filipino workers.
However, due to some unforeseen issues, Labour Secretary Silvestre Bello III had announced that the distribution of the IDs will be postponed until further notice.
iDOLE to Resume Distribution in late August to September
The iDOLE cards were supposed to augment the services of key government agencies, and make the processing of OFWs’ Pag-Ibig Fund, SSS, and Philhealth transactions more convenient under the directive of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte himself.
In a recent interview with Presidential Communications Office Assistant Secretary Mocha Uson, Bello said that while the distribution of the iDOLE will be temporarily ceased, distribution will tentatively resume during the latter part of August or mid-September. Moreover, Bello maintained that the cards can be availed by OFWs at no cost. Those who will be issued the new ID card will no longer need to apply for an OEC, shared Bello.
Secretary Bello confirmed that the iDOLE cards are absolutely free of charge upon distribution. As the system for the distribution of the OFW ID cards is being reviewed at the moment, Bello is hoping for a fool-proof system that cannot be taken advantage of by those who wish to make money out of it. The distribution system is now under the direction of OWWA Administrator Hans Leo Cacdac.
Recently, allegations of corruption were thrown by a party-list representative against Secretary Bello regarding the distribution of the iDOLE cards for a price via online transactions.
Here is a short clip on the news report:
Similarly, the Philippine Embassy in Singapore, through the Philippine Overseas Labour Office (POLO), had released an advisory regarding the issuance of the iDOLE cards in the country through their Facebook page.