our morning at the new (and soon-to-be old) POLO-OWWA office in dubai

Early this morning, we went to the POLO-OWWA office with the plan to process everything we needed before our vacation so that we would have one less thing to worry about during Ramadan. As luck would have it, this was the sign on the gate that welcomed us when we got there:

Since we were there anyway, we decided to process whatever we could so that the OEC would be the only thing left to take care of. When we entered the gate, we were told to wait under a big garage-like area because the office hadn’t opened yet. There was a kabayan who was selling all sorts of Filipino food (palabok, puto, cassava cake, etc), and while we were waiting, he shared two pieces of information: (1) by November, the POLO-OWWA office would move (again?!?!? kakalipat lang nila last year ah!), this time to Ghussais, approximately 2 villas away from the Philippine Consulate (which is very good news), and (2) the POLO-OWWA office’s Ramadan timings would be 9am to 2pm, beginning 1st of August.

Just before 8am, they allowed the first twenty people to go in, and since we were part of that group, we quickly followed the others. The office has three main doors. The one at the right was the first one we entered to get our numbers and forms for Pag-IBIG and OWWA Membership. Since I had already paid for my OWWA Membership last year, I didn’t have to fill this form up. Then we went out and proceeded to the door at the left. This is where the actual processing and payment was done as per the numbers given to us. The minimum payment for Pag-IBIG is Dhs10; the OWWA Membership fee is Dhs92, valid for a maximum of 2 years (no matter how many times you enter the Philippines); and the OEC is Dhs10, valid for 2 months and for one time use only. So if you go to the Philippines six times a year, you have to get an OEC six times as well. The actual processing took just a few minutes, but because the people started very late, we finished this part a little after 9am. After that, we went to the door at the middle which opened to the Verification Area.

As mentioned in the sign posted on the gate, all household service workers and those who entered the UAE on Visit Visa and were later employed need to have their contracts attested at the POLO-OWWA office before they go on their first vacation to the Philippines.
Household service workers (like Caila’s nanny) need the following documents:
•*Affidavit of Undertaking of the Employer (1 original and 1 copy)
•*Employment Contract (1 original and 1 copy)
•*Information Sheet of the Employer (1 original and 1 copy)
•Worker’s Passport w/ Residence Visa (2 copies)
•Employer’s Passport w/ Residence Visa (2 copies)
•Dhs40 for Processing Fee
* You can download these forms from the POLO-OWWA website. We didn’t have an Employment Contract for Ate Cel, but the Employment Agreement that we got from DNRD was sufficient.

For skilled workers who entered the UAE holding Visit Visas and later obtained employment (like hubby), these are the documents needed to verify their contracts:
•Letter from the worker requesting to verify the contract, addressed to: Hon. Amilbahar B. Amilasan, The Labour Attache, POLO/OWWA, Philippine Consulate, Dubai, UAE (1 original and 1 copy)
•Employment contract from MOL, FZE or DNR, stating a basic monthly salary of at least Dhs1,200 (1 original and 1 copy)
•Worker’s Passport w/ Residence Visa (2 copies)
•Worker’s Labour Card or Company ID (2 copies)
•Employer’s Company Trade Licence (2 copies)
•Dhs40 for Processing Fee

Since hubby’s documents were incomplete, only Ate Cel’s contract was verified. There was only one man at the counter so we had to wait a few minutes until it was our turn. After he checked and stamped all our documents, he retained the set of copies and returned the original set of papers with the receipt attached to us. Then we were instructed to go out, enter the left door again, and go up the stairs to the Assistant Labor Attache’s office where she would stamp and sign the original documents. Unfortunately, she was late so we had to wait a little longer. It was a good thing though that there were just around 5 of us who needed her signature, so when she arrived just before 10am, this was done pretty quickly.

So, that’s how our morning went. The entire processing of everything must have taken just 30 minutes, but it took much, much longer because we had to wait, and wait, and wait. Haaaay! But at least we accomplished most of what we had to do. All that’s left is hubby’s contract verification and our OECs (which, hopefully we’ll be able to accomplish before we leave for our vacation).