The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) will be turning over its Assistance-To-Nationals functions (ATN) for Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) to the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) starting July 1, in compliance with Republic Act No. 11641.
In a statement released on Wednesday, the DFA said all assistance cases involving OFWs, including legal or medical assistance, repatriation, and shipment of remains is set to be handled by the DMW using its AKSYON Fund, except in countries where there are no resident Migrant Workers Offices (MWOs) under the DMW.
To ensure uninterrupted service to OFWs, the public is requested to refer to the DMW all requests for assistance involving OFWs (whether documented or undocumented) situated in countries/territories with resident MWOs, as listed below:
Asia-Pacific: Australia, Brunei Darussalam, China (including Hong Kong, Macau), Japan, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore
Middle East and Northern Africa: Bahrain, Israel, Jordan, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, United Arab Emirates
Europe: Czech Republic, Germany, Greece, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, United Kingdom
Americas: Canada, United States of America
OFWs from the above places who need assistance may personally, or through their relatives, contact the DMW through the following their hotline numbers or email.
For all OFWs situated in countries other than the above, the DFA will continue to be responsible for assisting them through its ATN and Legal Assistance Funds.
Moreover, it will continue to assist all other overseas Filipino nationals worldwide who are not OFWs/temporary workers, but fall under other categories (students, tourists, dual citizens, permanent residents, etc.). Such persons, or their relatives, may request the DFA for assistance through the agency’s telephone number, email, or Facebook page.
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