The Philippine Embassy in Brunei held its first Consular Outreach on Wheels (COW) and Post-Arrival Orientation Seminar (PAOS) in Tutong at The Lanes Hotel on 04 September 2022. It gave overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in the district an opportunity to avail of regular consular services such as passport applications and notarial services, and other frontline services provided by attached government agencies during the OFW’s time off from work. For the first time, the Philippine Embassy‘s Health Corner 4 All program also turned mobile, and provided OFWs basic health monitoring services onsite.

“We have long been planning to expand our frontline services to the public. This is the first consular outreach in Tutong,” said Ambassador Marian Jocelyn R. Tirol-Ignacio in her opening remarks.

The Post-Arrival Orientation Seminar (PAOS) was organized by the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) together with Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), Social Security System (SSS), and the Consular and ATN Sections of the Philippine Embassy. The PAOS informed newly-deployed OFWs of the services provided by the Embassy. This second PAOS held in 2022 and the first in Tutong, was attended by more than 30 participants.

Ambassador Tirol-Ignacio also held a dialogue with members of the Filipino community led by the Filipino Association - Tutong District where Ambassador Tirol-Ignacio commended them for the exceptional performance and qualities they have demonstrated in their work.

During the COW, registered nurses from the Philippine Nurses Association - Brunei Chapter (PNA-Brunei) also volunteered to provide health check services to OFWs through the Health Corner 4 All program.   Launched in March 2022, the Health Corner 4 All program is a collaboration by the Philippine Embassy in Brunei and the PNA-Brunei Chapter. The program aims to empower Filipinos to care for their health by providing them free use of basic medical equipment, such as blood pressure monitor, oximeter, height chart, and weighing scale, while they avail of consular and other frontline services.

The COW with PAOS is the second conducted by the Embassy this year, with the first one being held in Kuala Belait District in July 2022. Two more consular outreach programs are scheduled in Kuala Belait in October 2022 and Tutong in December 2022.

Tutong District is the third most populous district in Brunei with an estimated population of 47,601. OFWs living in Tutong work in Brunei’s agriculture and aquaculture sectors.Tutong is the agricultural district of Brunei and home to its largest natural lake.END

Post’s Labor Attaché, Ms. Joan Lourdes D. Lavilla, briefs participants on the services offered by the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) in Brunei during the PAOS.