Dubai's fourth OFW service caravan offers more than 50 government services

Services and turnout

The November 7 gathering at the Millennium Plaza Downtown Hotel gave Filipinos access to more than 50 services, from legal and medical assistance to civil registration, financial services, professional credentials and worker welfare support. Services continue November 8 at Al Hudaiba School in Al Twar 2 and the Philippine Consulate General in Dubai.

The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) organized the Bagong Bayani ng Mundo: OFW Serbisyo Caravan with the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) and the consulate. DMW Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac told Gulf News that 26 caravans worldwide had served around 70,000 overseas Filipino workers, or OFWs. "This is the fourth leg in Dubai and we are about to reach 20,000 at the end of today," he said.

Demand exceeded the initial registration estimate of 4,000 to 5,000 attendees, according to The Filipino Times. Agencies and volunteers started work early, at 6:55 a.m., and some participants had traveled from Qatar. The outlet reported roughly 60,000 services across the four Dubai editions, a count that includes people using more than one agency's services.

Alongside the consulate and OWWA, participating agencies were the DMW's Migrant Workers Office (MWO) in Dubai, Department of Social Welfare and Development, Professional Regulation Commission, Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA), Land Bank of the Philippines, OFW Hospital, Social Security System (SSS), Pag-IBIG Fund and Philippine Trade and Investment Center in Dubai.

Staffing included 128 personnel drawn from 16 teams and partner offices. Another 50 volunteers from the Filipino Social Club (Filsoc) handled registration, helped manage lines and guided participants through services. The initiative follows President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s directive to improve government support and access to public services for Filipinos overseas.

Medical support and requests for national ID appointments

For Diane Martinez, a Sharjah-based secretary who has lived in the UAE for four years, the visit concerned both an OWWA membership card and financial assistance she had applied for to cover medical needs. Martinez has breast cancer and myasthenia gravis, a condition that causes muscle weakness. "This assistance is a big help for me because my medications are really expensive," she said.

Martinez also wanted to raise awareness of the conditions. She thanked Philippine agencies for helping the community finance medication and expressed gratitude for the UAE government's support.

National ID registration drew Rowena Dela Cruz, a private driver who lives in Abu Dhabi and has worked in the UAE for more than 18 years. She welcomed being able to handle several government transactions without separate trips to diplomatic offices, but wanted the PSA to make more registration slots available.

Mary Grace Cabana, a healthcare assistant based in Dubai after more than eight years in the UAE, applied for an OWWA e-card and sought confirmation of her SSS membership. She said her busy schedule made the caravan useful. Like Dela Cruz, she wanted more national ID appointments, as well as more service caravans in the UAE.

Agreement targets employer accreditation delays

The DMW signed an agreement with its UAE IT partner, DataFlow Group, concerning DEAP, which Gulf News identified as the Digital Employment Assistance Platform. Cacdac said the agreement would remove potential accreditation delays for UAE companies seeking to recruit Filipino workers. "It will be faster for an employer to accredit themselves here in the UAE if they wish to hire Filipino workers," he said.

DataFlow Group calls DEAP the Digital Employer Accreditation Platform. According to the company, the MWO-Dubai pilot was scheduled to begin business operations on November 16, 2026, fully digitizing accreditation for foreign employers, principals and private recruitment agencies. The previous process required at least two visits to MWO-Dubai for document verification and approval of accreditation and job orders.

The portal handles eight accreditation purposes: Agency Hire / Job Order, Multiple Accreditation, Transfer of Accreditation, Additional Job Order, Direct Hire (Skilled), Direct Hire (Domestic), ReHire (Skilled) and ReHire (Domestic).

DataFlow's November 7 announcement also reported that the Overseas Employment Certificate Verification System (OECVS) had verified more than 100,000 employment contracts across various locations since July 2025. That system was first implemented by MWO-Dubai.

GMA News Online estimated in January 2026 that Dubai hosted around 500,000 OFWs. In the same report, Labor Attaché John Rio Bautista said workers paid AED 40 for contract verification under the former manual process, while OECVS charged a convenience fee of AED 21.50.

Cacdac said the caravan also allowed agencies to introduce improvements to their services. He pointed to OWWA's e-card, which continues to gain services and benefits, including discounts, and linked the initiative to Marcos' call for a "red carpet and not a red tape" approach.

A route for complaints about government delays

ARTA joined the Dubai caravan for the first time, offering help with stalled government transactions and gathering feedback on public services. Lea Grace Salcedo, its undersecretary and deputy director general for operations, told Gulf News that some Filipinos were still waiting for documents despite agencies having set processing deadlines.

The eight-year-old authority works to keep applications, permits, licenses and documents moving within their prescribed timelines. Its electronic complaints management system is available through the Philippine government's eGov app, allowing users to send inquiries and complaints beyond the caravan.

The app includes Tala, an AI-powered virtual assistant that understands 17 local Philippine languages, along with English and Filipino. Salcedo encouraged OFWs to keep using the digital services after returning to their countries of employment. She said the system covers government agencies within the executive branch.

Organizers seek further Dubai editions

Philippine Consul General Ambrosio Brian Enciso III thanked Filipinos who attended during their weekend and encouraged them to seek advice, ask questions and raise concerns with the agencies. He said the event was intended to reassure workers pursuing their goals abroad that government help remained available.

Bautista, the MWO Dubai labor attaché, thanked the agencies, partners and volunteers and expressed hope that further caravans would meet OFWs' growing needs.

Filsoc President Ericson Reyes also thanked the Government of Dubai and the Community Development Authority for the license allowing the club to operate legally. He hoped for a fifth Dubai caravan in the first quarter of 2027 and another offering during Philippine Independence Day. Reyes proposed a return to Dubai World Trade Centre to accommodate more workers.