To decrease the number of undocumented Filipino workers abroad, the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) announces that they would resume validating the Overseas Employment Certificates (OEC’s), exit clearances ad other documents of overseas Filipino workers in airport terminals.

This required procedure would start on March 1, 2011. All departing OFWs would have to go to the POEA’s Labor Assistance Center (LAC) at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminals 1, 2 and 3 to validate their exit clearances and documents.  

The POEA restored this procedure to discourage Filipino workers who go out of the country with the intention of working abroad without proper working documents. They would also be able to check if the working and travel documents carried by an OFW is fake, tampered or secured through illegal means

The validation at the POEA Labor Center in NAIA uses electronic connectivity so the process would take only a minute. To make this service faster, the POEA also plans to set up more validation machines in places that are easily accessible by OFWs. According the POEA, an average of 3,500 OFWs leave the Philippines everyday to work abroad.

The POEA also said that the validated OFW documents are only valid until the date of the confirmed flight. Re-validation will only be allowed if the flight is either cancelled or rescheduled for valid reasons. There would also be special lanes for OFWs who are deployed by recruitment agencies that ate recipients of performance awards.