BAGUIO CITY: The Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) on Wednesday opened its North Luzon satellite office here to cater to immigrant visa grantees’ clearance and other needs.
‘We can cater to Region 1, 2 and 3 with the accessible road access build by government linking areas to Baguio,’ CFO Secretary Romulo Arugay said during the opening of satellite office.
CFO record shows that of the more than five million Filipino migrant workers, about 32 percent are from north Luzon. The top three destinations are the United States, Canada, and Japan.
Arugay said while the record shows about eight to nine out of 10 Filipino migrants became successful when they left the country, some are not, thus the importance of the CFO.
He said the Marcos administration’s ‘Bagong Pilipinas’ (New Philippines) concept aims to provide better and making services closer to people by opening satellite offices.
‘This is the brand of Bagong Pilipinas, bringing services closer to the clients. What migrant workers need is at their door
step and this is a testament of a shared vision for client satisfaction,’ he said.
Among the services the CFO Satellite office will provide includes the conduct of pre-departure orientation seminar (PDOS) for those who have already been issued an immigrant visa. A clearance will be issued as to such compliance which is among the mandatory pre-departure or exit documents needed before the Filipino immigrant leaves for a foreign country on a resident visa.
In a press conference on the sidelines of the launching, Arugay said that counselling as well as orientation to avoid culture shock and massive adjustments is among the aim of PDOS.
‘Especially for those who are leaving the country as a fiancée or a spouse of a foreign national or a personal migration not petitioned by a family member, the PDOS will be important to allow the immigrant to have an idea of the life outside the country without relatives to cling on to,’ he said.
Janet Ramos, OIC Migrant Integration and Education Division chief, in the same pr
ess conference, said the Baguio office can accommodate a maximum of 50 clients a day after they have obtained a schedule via the online site www.cfo.gov.ph.
Source: Philippines News Agency