THE BUREAU of Immigration (BI) has received new gadgets from the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) that would expedite the processing of departing overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA). In a press statement, BI Port Operations Division Chief Grifton SP. Medina said the six tablets and six bar code readers from OWWA will be used by BI personnel at NAIA to check the authenticity and validity of OWWA e-cards presented by departing OFWs. The OWWA e-card serves as an exit clearance for OFWs, and also allows faster availment of OWWA services. Mr. Medina said the gadgets will be used to conduct pre-screening of departing OFWs. “This means that we will be able to detect immediately if an e-card is not valid, even before they reach the immigration counter,” he said. Mr. Medina noted that there were instances that OFWs were victimized by syndicates and were caught with fake or invalid overseas employment certificates. — Vann Marlo M. Villegas

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