Traveling outside the country as an Overseas
Filipino worker (OFW)?
The Philippine Overseas Employment
Administration or POEA will require you to take a pre-departure orientation
seminar (PDOS).
PDOS serves as a ‘primer’ for Filipinos
set to work in a foreign country.
“PDOS gives critical information
regarding overseas employment so the OFWs know what to expect in their foreign
destination.
Filipinos migrating to other countries are also required to undergo the two-hour seminar. Tourists, on the other hand, need not to undergo the orientation seminar.
The seminar teaches OFWS basic things
such as:
- boarding a plane,
- how men and women should conduct themselves, and
- the religious policies of specific countries.
Aside from dos and don’ts, PDOS teaches
the workers about the possible consequences of their actions or inactions.
Even experienced OFWs have to attend
the seminar because the PDOS is a "constantly evolving program."
The seminar is different for each
country-destination.
The goal of PDOS was to set the
mindframe of the OFWs “from being dependent on somebody for help" to being
enabled workers who can "proactively access information before they need
it.
Through PDOS, overseas workers would be
able to make “informed decisions.”
Aside from PDOS, OFWs may opt to study
or research about their destination country.
There is no shortage of information as
far as foreign destinations are concerned. There are nongovernmental
organizations which provide information to OFWs. There are also the government
websites of their foreign destination.
For more information about PDOS, you
may visit http://www.owwa.gov.ph.
