RIYADH, 4 May — The Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) has announced that as a matter of policy, it cannot issue a new Overseas Employment Certificate (OEC) to replace a lost one. Thus the contract worker who lost his/her OEC would have to pay the full amount of the travel tax being levied on all departing passengers at the Philippine Tourism Authority (PTA) in Manila.
Nonetheless, a certification indicating the particulars of the lost OEC may be issued by the Labor Office to a homebound contract worker, who also has to execute an affidavit of loss stating the circumstances in which the OEC got lost which will be notarized by the Embassy’s Consular Section. The issued certification shall only be used for presentation to the immigration authorities by the returning contract worker.
With regards to the unused but expired OEC, which is valid for 90 days from the issuance date, the POLO may issue a new OEC provided that the original copy of the missing OEC is surrendered and a corresponding fee is paid by the holder to enable the POLO to report it to the POEA.
The Embassy also wishes to underscore thaat the POLO only implements the existing DOLE-POEA-OWWA guidelines/regulations and has no authority to alter, circumvent or infringe on those guidelines/regulations.
