The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) has launched the OFW e-Link Deployment System last June 8, 2006, Thursday at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).

The OFW e-Link Development System is an electronic database system can be found in airports and it would expedite the validation of documents of departing Filipino workers.

The POEA said that it will be a hassle-free travel for overseas Filipino workers with valid documents from now on. Departing OFWs will no longer have to suffer the inconvenience of waiting a long time for their travel documents to be validated before being cleared for travel abroad.

“It will only take the OFW about five seconds to [have the documents] verified at the designated counters,” the POEA said.

According to POEA, through OFW e-Link Development System, airport authority staffers and immigration officers are given the authority to make an online verification of OFW documents and data with the POEA.

Among these documents is the Overseas Employment Certificate (OEC), it said.

Departing OFWs can avail of P550 terminal fee exemption if they were able to present the OEC to the airport staff aside from the POEA counter at the NAIA, then finally to the immigration officer who will verify the authenticity of the document.

The government agency also said that if any doubts raise on the authenticity of the OEC, for example, by an agency representative from the POEA, the airport authority or the Bureau of Immigration (BI) can be checked on the e-Link System.

The POEA added that the OFW e-Link Development System is part of the OFW e-Link Program, which implements an electronic system among all government agencies involved in the documentation of Filipino workers.

The POEA signed a memorandum of understanding with the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) and the BI for the implementation of the OFW e-Link Program at the NAIA.

Under the program, the MIAA and the BI will have a network connection that will allow them for a 24-hour online inquiry on the POEA’s OFW database.