For overseas Filipinos, coming home after their stint abroad and starting the next chapter of their lives might be as uncertain and daunting as when they first left home. To support returning Filipinos and help them reintegrate in their communities, PLDT Global Corporation (PLDT Global) and the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) have signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) to further strengthen their partnership with reintegration programs and services.
“Our expanded partnership represents our unwavering commitment to the empowerment of overseas Filipinos. Together with DMW, we are looking forward to providing more reliable services that will address the challenges faced by migrant Filipino workers from the moment they leave the country, up until they return, and reintegrate into the community,” said Albert V. Villa-Real, President and CEO at PLDT Global, the international arm of PLDT, the country’s largest integrated network and digital services company.
Under this agreement, PLDT Global will provide sustainable livelihood and skills development opportunities to support the reintegration program of the DMW, with the support of the PLDT-Smart Foundation (PSF), Smart Communications, Inc. (Smart), alongside the rest of the MVP Group of Companies, and other partners.
“Reintegration is as important as recruitment, departure, and integration at the host country because it maximizes the gains of the OFW’s overseas migration journey, especially now that we have the President’s whole-of-nation approach to provide OFWs with innovative projects so they can continue their role as partners in national development,” said DMW Officer-in-Charge Undersecretary Hans Leo J. Cacdac.
Under the MOA, the DMW and PLDT Global will work together to implement a reintegration program for OFWs that could enhance their skills, knowledge, and competence, and facilitate their safe and productive reintegration into their communities.
Empowering digitally-savvy modern-day heroes
PLDT Global’s OFW Family Livelihood Program will train returning OFWs or their beneficiaries to own and manage a brick-and-mortar version of TINBO (Tindahan ni Bossing) that will showcase products and services from PLDT, Smart, and other companies under the MVP Group. The program also provides the Smart Retailer Package, which includes a smartphone kit and marketing materials to help them boost and manage their sales. The DMW will also provide financial education, literacy, and entrepreneurial training to educate and help them grow their business.
PLDT Global and the DMW first signed a partnership in 2023, when the late DMW Secretary Susan Ople stressed the need to train and transform OFWs into digitally skilled workers. Since then, PLDT Global has carried out initiatives to improve the digital literacy of OFWs.
Aside from providing free Wi-Fi at the DMW’s Head Office in Mandaluyong City, the telco also hosted social media etiquette training for Filipinos who are about to work abroad. Together with PSF, PLDT Global has also awarded training certifications to repatriated OFWs from Qatar and Sudan.
The expanded partnership also enables PLDT Global to support OFWs under the government-to-government program, supported by partners like telco agency JDM Korea. JDM Korea and PLDT Global announced their partnership earlier this year to help protect South Korea-bound OFWs from falling prey to scams such as voice phishing or vishing, by providing them with free local SIM cards with one-month subscription plans before leaving the Philippines.
The SIM card also provides them with access to apps and other networks in South Korea. These SIMs will also be whitelisted for TINBO.ph registration once activated overseas, enabling them to immediately register on the TINBO platform, get their Smart Virtual Number, and enjoy the perks and products on TINBO.
Powered by PLDT Global, TINBO is the one-stop online marketplace that enables Filipinos living overseas to buy load, pay bills, send food vouchers, e-gifts, healthcare PINs from mWell, and even gaming PINs for their families in the Philippines. Through TINBO, they can also acquire a Smart virtual number (SVN), enabling them to receive important OTPs from their e-wallets and e-banks in the Philippines like Maya. TINBO also provides overseas Filipinos access to a convenient and secured online bills payment platform for their Philippine utilities, and other digital services while outside the Philippines.
PLDT Global’s partnership with the DMW to help ensure the well-being of OFWs and their families is a fundamental part of the much broader PLDT commitment to serve and lift the quality of life of Filipinos everywhere.
