The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) and Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) launched the new and upgraded OFW lounge at the NAIA Terminal 1 on Monday, December 1. First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos graced the event, along with New NAIA Infra Corp. (NNIC) President Ramon Ang.
The OFW lounge, has been relocated to a bigger and more accessible space on the right-hand side of the main lobby of the departures area. Open 24/7 from Monday to Sunday, it can accommodate 140 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), serves free food and equipped with free wifi, charging stations, and a luggage storage facility.
“Yung dating lounge po sa loob, after na ng immigration. At magse-stairs pa nga eh paakyat. So nagpapasalamat kami dahil sa NNIC… naka-1.5 million na tayo, served OFWs. So inaasahan natin sa mas malaking lounge dito sa Terminal 1, next year, mas marami tayong mase-serve na OFWs,” OWWA Administrator Patricia Yvonne “PY” Caunan said.
The OFW Lounge in NAIA Terminal 3, meanwhile, can accommodate up to 250. There are also plans to build more of OFW lounges in various international airports in the country.
“Ito po ay parte nung Alagang OWWA Fund, na ito ay bagong line item sa budget po ng OWWA na galing po sa GAA. We did the procurement process, para mas cost effective,” Caunan explained.
Migrant Workers Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac also emphasized that the lounge was designed to be more accessible to both departing and arriving OFWs. The upgrade is also timely for the upcoming holidays.
“For this Christmas, peak season, usually sa on average, inaantay nating mga OFWs, between fifty to a hundred fifty thousand, umuuwi ‘yan every Christmas season and we all try to provide the best for them in terms of the lounge of course, and then yung processing,” Cacdac said.
The DMW now offers digitalized services through the national government’s e-gov app. Over 400,000 workers have also benefited in the pilot testing of the “no-OEC” pathway through the DICT’s e-travel platform, which consolidates databases for the DMW and the Bureau of Immigration (BI) and other relevant government agencies. (ABS-CBN News)
