Sara hails opening of DFA's authentication center in Davao

AUTHENTICATION SERVICE. Mayor Sara Duterte led the ribbon cutting ceremony together with DFA officials (L-R) Eric Valenzuela, Acting Director, Authentication Division, Maria Theresa Lazaro, Executive Director, Atty. Brigildo DJ Dulay, OIC, Office of the Undersecretary for Civilian Security and Consular Concerns, Nick Santos, SM Regional Operations Manager, Uriel Noman Garibay, DFA Mindanao Assistant Secretary and Duke Villanueva, Director, Consular Office Coordinating Division.PHOTO: PRIX BANZON

Mindanaoans need not go to Manila to get their documents authenticated with the opening Friday of the first Authentication Services Center of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) located at SM City Ecoland. 

Mayor Sara Duterte hailed the opening of the first Authentication Services Center of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Friday here, making services accessible not only for Dabawenyos but also Mindanaoans.

She said this would be more beneficial to the Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs), OFW aspirants and their families coming from Mindanao.

The new center, she said, is a promising breakthrough as the country continues to benefit from the increased remittances from OFWs given the Duterte administration's thrust to speed up the processing of various government-issued documents.

Lawyer Brigido DJ Dulay, officer-in-charge of the Office of the Undersecretary for Civilian Security and Consular Concerns, said the opening of the center in Davao City will do away with inconvenience and expense of authenticating documents in Metro Manila.

He said President Rodrigo Duterte on April 3 signed The Philippine Instrument of Accession to the Apostille Convention, effectively reducing the authentication process cycle by half.

"Filipinos who wish to have their documents authenticated no longer need to go to the Embassy or Consulate of the country where they intend to present or use such document," he said.

The authentication of Philippine-issued documents alone will be accepted in 113 Apostille Convention member-countries around the world like the United States, Japan, and Australia, he said.

He said the Apostille replaces the Authentication Certificate, and this is what DFA Authentication-Davao would affix to Philippine-issued documents to be presented and used abroad.

"The roll-out of authentication services here, and the implementation of the Apostille Convention in the Philippines are a testament of the Duterte administration's commitment to bring efficient, effective and responsive frontline services to the public," he said.

Dulay added that streamlining the authentication of Philippine public documents, the Apostille Convention establishes conditions more conducive to foreign investment as well as raising the country's competitiveness.

Eric Valenzuela, acting director for Authentication Division of the DFA's Office of Consular Affairs, said DFA processes 770,000 documents for authentication here in the Philippines yearly while another 770,000 documents from overseas Filipinos abroad or about 1.4 million documents coming from here and abroad every year.

He said DFA expects the number to increase with the opening of services outside Luzon.

Authentication fee is P100 per document regardless of the number of pages, he said.

"Once the documents are authenticated at the center it can now be used to any country that will be presented unlike before where the authenticated documents must first pass through the embassy or consulate of that particular country before it can be used," Valenzuela said.

Valenzuela said most of those seeking authentication of documents are OFWs and most documents are unclaimed. "We hope that with the opening of centers in the regions there will no longer be unclaimed documents," he said.Prix Banzon

50-100T OFWs To Lose Jobs Due To World Financial Crisis-DOLE

(In Photo) DOLE XI RD Atty. Jalilo dela Torre

The Department of Labor and Employment XI yesterday confirmed that an estimated 50 to 100 thousand Overseas Filipino Workers are set to lose their jobs due to the world financial crisis.

"But this number is very negligible compared to the number of OFWs we have worldwide," DOLE XI regional director Atty. Jalilo dela Torre said during yesterday's UGNAYAN sa Royal Mandaya press conference.

On the other hand a total of 590 thousand are in danger of being displaced because of the financial crisis. Among them are OFWs who work in the United States under temporary working visas (129T), seafarers working in cruise ships (130T), factory workers in South Korea, Taiwan and Macau (268T) and household service workers in Singapore, Macau and HongKong (48T).

Dela Torre however said that in general there is no displacement of OFWs due to the financial crisis. He said the employment of two million OFWs in the Middle East and 500,000 OFWs in Europe is secure and stable.

He said there are lots of potential labor markets for OFWs like Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Guam.

Davao Internet Cafe's Up

photo shows NeBiTh Computer Systems at Central Park in Bangkal. For only P20 per hour you get to try the facilities of the first cafe in the city to feature high-end units design for hardcore gamers.

The number of Internet Cafes in Davao City has mushroomed to about 400 cafes making the Internet Cafe business not as feasible as it used to be. Of the total number, only 70 are accredited cafes and are guaranteed to be following the guidelines set by City Ordinance No. 0227-04 otherwise known as the Internet Cafe Ordinance.

The Internet Cafe Ordinance requires the procurement of a business permit before operating a cafe. It also prohibits students from playing in the cafes during class hours.

The proliferation of Internet Cafes even in subdivisions has made it difficult to monitor them, Internet Cafe Association of Davao president Yvonne Cabada said during a media forum held at SM City's cafe Rysus Tuesday.

Cabada said most of the small Internet Cafes are owned by Overseas Filipino Workers who invest in the business out of a personal need. An Internet business is more practical for OFWs as it also allows them to communicate with their families for free. However, most of them are faced with technical and operational problems.

Davao City's Economy Won't Suffer Even With Economic Crisis-Laviña

Davao City's economy would not suffer despite the global economic crisis being felt by the country today mainly for three reasons:

1.Davao City is an agriculture-based economy and therefore not as exposed to trading fluctuations
2.Davao City is more of an exporter than an importer so it is not highly vulnerable to the fluctuating currency rate
3.Davao City has reached critical mass with 1.4 million consumers

This was the contention of councilor Pete Laviña who chairs the City Council committee on Trade, Commerce and Industry. As evidence of this, he said, new banks have started construction in the city despite the crisis.

Despite this positive outlook the Davao City Council is preparing for the possible influx of Overseas Filipino Workers who might lose their employment abroad and decide to either reduce their remittances to their families in Davao City or return to the city for lack of better options. Councilor Danny Dayanghirang has thus passed a resolution to establish a linkage between the Davao City Cooperative Development Office and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration so that both offices can come up with a program that will benefit OFWs who would opt to return home.

2008 US Presidential Elections

The 2008 Presidential elections (and all US presidential elections for that matter) should be of interest to Filipinos. And why not when most overseas filipino workers are stationed in the US, thousands of Filipinos have migrated to the US already and there are millions more who want to migrate to the US given the chance.

When America sniffs, the Philippines coughs. That's how dependent we are to the the milk of land and honey. So see which of your US presidential candidates will most likely win the race and look at his policy on immigration and hiring of foreigners. Most probably, it will mean a lot to you or somebody in your family.