OWWA, DICT, party-list launch OFW app

A MOBILE application providing assistance to overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) worldwide will soon be up online after a memorandum of understanding was signed by the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA).

Aside from the DICT and the OWWA, the OFW Party-list group is also a vital party to the agreement, being the brains behind the OFW App project.

Called the OFW App, the mobile application is the brainchild of OFW Party-list Rep. Marissa del Mar-Magsino, who discussed the idea with ICT Secretary Ivan John Uy during the agency's budget deliberations in 2023.

(PHOTO: MIKE ALQUINTO)

In a statement, the OFW Party-list said the application would become an «essential tool» for OFWs, giving them access to welfare assistance, various benefits and an emergency button that connects directly to the OWWA Operations Center, which would give immediate support to OFWs in distress.

Other features in the app are the services of government agencies with frequent transactions with OFWs, with the Department of Migrant Workers' Affairs signifying its intent to link vital services in the application.

Magsino said the app would revolutionize how OFWs access vital services and information, bringing essential support to their fingertips.

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«The OFW App aims to provide our OFWs access to services, emergency assistance and vital information with just a few clicks. I have been pitching this idea to IT experts before, but only the DICT's technical assistance allowed us to move forward with the project. And today, here we are signing the agreement on this significant initiative,» Magsino added.

Magsino thanked Uy and DICT Undersecretary for Electronic Government David Almirol for bringing her idea to life and OWWA for their collaboration for the delivery of services, including welfare assistance.

«Our world is fast evolving through digital technology, and we should be in sync with the innovations in how we bring our services to our OFWs,» Magsino said.

The agreement was signed by Magsino as representative of the OFW Party-list, the DICT represented by Uy, and the OWWA represented by its administrator,