PH Consulate General in Calgary Hosts Online Forum on Programs and Services of POLO, OWWA for Filipino
Philippine Consul General to Calgary Zaldy B. Patron (leftmost) thanks Labor Attache Margarita Victorino (middle) and Welfare Officer Lilia De Guzman (rightmost) for presenting the programs and services of Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) and Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) at an online forum on 07 August 2020.
CALGARY 12 August 2020 – The Philippine Consulate General in Calgary hosted its third Online Forum Education Series featuring Labor Attaché Atty. Margarita Victorino of the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) and Welfare Officer Lilia De Guzman of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) on 07 August 2020.
The Vancouver-based POLO and OWWA offices cover the provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan, which are under the jurisdiction of Philippine Consulate General in Calgary.
Philippine Consul General to Calgary Zaldy Patron, in his welcome remarks, referred to POLO and OWWA as the Philippine Consulate General’s partners in promoting the rights and welfare of Filipino temporary foreign workers (TFWs) in Alberta and Saskatchewan.
Atty. Victorino and Ms. De Guzman explained the various programs and services of POLO and OWWA for the Filipino TFWs.
Atty. Victorino underscored POLO’s mandate of promoting and implementing the overseas employment program of its head agency, the Philippine Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE). POLO ensures that the rights of the Filipino TFWs are recognized and respected, including seeing to it that the labor conditions of the Filipino TFWs are consistent with Philippine laws as well as the laws of the host government. Likewise, POLO oversees the employment contract verification process to make sure that the hiring and deployment of Filipino TFWs are aligned with the respective laws of the Philippines and the host government.
Ms. De Guzman, on the other hand, detailed the social benefits programs, education and training assistance programs, workers welfare assistance programs, and social services and family welfare services that OWWA offers for its members.
The online forum was done via Zoom and broadcasted live on the Philippine Consulate General in Calgary’s Facebook page.
Atty. Victorino urged Filipino TFWs not to hesitate to reach out to the Philippine Consulate General, POLO, or OWWA if they need assistance, saying that these offices are open to all Filipino workers regardless of their status in their host country.
Ms. De Guzman, for her part, encouraged Filipino TFWs to become OWWA members so they could fully enjoy OWWA’s services. With the ongoing pandemic, OWWA-Vancouver is now accepting applications by mail, as opposed to the mandatory in-person filing of applications prior to the pandemic.
Consul General Patron encouraged the listeners of the online forum to share the presentations of POLO and OWWA with other Filipino TFWs in Alberta and Saskatchewan. “The more informed our Filipino TFWS are about their rights and welfare, the better it is for our community,” he added. END
Poster on the online forum.
For more information, visit https://www.calgarypcg.dfa.gov.ph or https://www.facebook.com/PHinCalgary/.