14 August 2015 – The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) - Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs (OUMWA) continues its effort to strengthen its frontline personnel in combating trafficking in persons and providing consular assistance to overseas Filipinos and their families.

OUMWA is organizing a seminar on civil registry documents and interview techniques to be participated in by OUMWA assistance-to-nationals officers and other DFA personnel who are preparing for overseas deployment. With experts from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), the Department of Justice (DOJ), and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), the participants are expected to acquire sufficient knowledge to detect forgery in civil registry documents, assist in the administrative correction of entries in civil registry documents, and elicit sufficient information in order to initiate prosecution against perpetrators of human trafficking and drug smuggling. The seminar shall take place on August 15.

OUMWA Undersecretary Jesus I. Yabes will welcome the participants to the seminar and will remind them of their responsibility to respond promptly and competently to the needs of our overseas Filipinos who are in distress. END