Manila airport procedures leaves travelers confused

RIYADH: ABDUL HANNAN TAGO
ARAB NEWS STAFF
One of the worst experiences that await Filipinos traveling abroad either for work or on vacation with their family is at Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).
Some 2,500 to 3,000 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) leave the country daily to work abroad and are all passing through NAIA. A travel blog named it “Worst Airport in the World” in 2011.
This prompted the Department of Labor and Employment (Dole) to implement a system this month aimed at facilitating easier deployment of OFWs. It included a plan to upgrade other Filipino international airports.
OFWs are required to possess a POEA Overseas Employment Certificate (OEC) for which they have to settle all financial requirements that take a long procedure.
At the airport during rush hours this certificate needs to be validated. This procedure becomes even more cumbersome when OFWs are traveling with dependent family members because they are not exempt from the travel tax that the government imposes on all Filipinos traveling abroad.
This payment could be reduced if the OFW can show his original marriage contract and his children’s birth certificate. But an officer at the Philippine Tourism Authority (PTA) at the airport told Arab News that the Philippine Embassy has to issue the birth report for Filipinos born abroad and the PTA will not recognize the original birth certificate.
According to PTA’s guidelines available online the legitimate spouse of an overseas contract worker (OCW) has to show the following document: Passport, POEA Overseas Employment Certificate (OEC) and their marriage contract. Legitimate unmarried children of the OCW below 21 years old need to show their passport, OEC and birth certificate.