Republic of the Philippines

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT

Intramuros, Manila
Certificate No.: AJA15-0048

MEMORANDUM CIRCULAR

TO : All Heads of POLOs

SUBJECT : Operational Guidelines on the Implementation of DOLE-AKAP for

OFWs

DATE : 10 April 2020

This Circular is issued pursuant to Department Order No. 212, Series of 2020 or
Prescribing Guidelines on the Provision of Financial Assistance for Displaced Landbased and
Seabased Filipino Workers due to the Corona Virus Disease (COVID-2019) “DOLE-AKAP for
OFWs”. The following Operational Guidelines for POLOs shall guide its implementors in the
efficient review / assessment of the DOLE-AKAP application, and payment of financial
assistance to qualified OFW:

1. Rationale. The DOLE-AKAP or the Abot Kamay ang Pagtulong for OFWs is a
one-time financial assistance of the Department to be given to displaced OFWs,
both seabased and landbased, on the account of COVID-19. The financial
assistance in the amount of USD200.00 or its local equivalent in the host country
shall be given to qualified OFWs who are still at the jobsite or Php10,000.00 for
qualified OFWs who are in the Philippines as Balik-Manggagawa or repatriated in
the Philippines due to COVID-19.

2. Coverage and Eligibility. The following OFWs are qualified to avail the DOLE-
AKAP, to wit:

a. Regular / documented OFW; or qualified undocumented OFW; or Balik-

Manggagawa.

Regular / Documented OFW

§ who possesses a valid passport and appropriate visa or permit to stay and
work in the host country; and
§ whose contract of employment has been verified by POLO and/or processed
by the POEA.
 Qualified Undocumented OFW

§ who were originally regular or documented workers but for some reason or
cause not attributable to the worker.
§ who are not registered with the POEA or whose contracts were verified by
POLO or processed by POEA, but have regular status of stay in the host
country or have pending action to regularize the same

Note: “not processed” could mean, verification of document application

denied or in some cases stamped with “noted and made record”.

§ who are not registered with the POEA or whose contracts were not
processed by POEA or the POLO but are active OWWA members at the
time of availment.

Balik-Manggagawa

§ For the purpose of the DO No. 212, Series of 2020, Balik-Manggagawa are
those who are in the Philippines as Balik-Manggagawa and who are unable
to return to host country in view of host country lockdown due to COVID-
19.

b. Have experienced job displacement due to COVID-19 starting 01 March

2020. Displaced (or displacement) refers to one who has experienced permanent
or temporary loss of work on account of COVID-19, such that:

§ worker remains unemployed at the time of availment of financial assistance

under DOLE-AKAP;
§ worker is under a “no work, no pay” arrangement; and
§ worker is not receiving or is not qualified to receive any form of financial
assistance from his or her employer or is not qualified under any social
welfare program of the host country covering general unemployment and or
other social welfare program of the host country providing special
assistance on account of the pandemic.
§ Worker is unable to work and receive salary due to COVID-19 infection or
was subjected to 14-day quarantine upon arrival to host country

OFWs who suffered from the reduction of working hours, received employment
/ unemployment insurance from the host country, and those OFWs who already
received financial assistance from OWWA due to COVID-19 are not covered
under the DOLE-AKAP.

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 c. Working in any of the following countries / territories that are heavily
affected by COVID-19 and / or working in countries with Philippine
Overseas Labor Office (POLO) presence:

Middle East and Africa Asia and the Pacific

1. Bahrain 1. Australia
2. Israel 2. Brunei
3. Jordan 3. Hong Kong
4. Kuwait 4. Japan
5. Lebanon 5. Korea
6. Libya 6. Macau
7. Oman 7. Singapore
8. Qatar 8. Taiwan
9. Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of 9. Malaysia
10. United Arab Emirates 10. New Zealand

Europe and Americas

1. Canada
2. Cyprus
3. Italy
4. Germany
5. Greece
6. Spain
7. Switzerland
8. United Kingdom of Great Britain
9. United States of America

In the case of POLO Korea and POLOs in Europe and Americas, they are
authorized to extend the DOLE-AKAP to their concurrent jurisdictions as
defined Administrative Order Nos. 119, 272, and 272-A, Series of 2019 for the
designation of concurrent jurisdictions.

d. Must be still at the jobsite overseas, or in the Philippines as Balik-

Manggagawa but fails to return to host country on account of COVID-19,
or already repatriated in the Philippines on account of COVID-19.

Only OFWs who are at the jobsite overseas will be processed by POLOs.
OWWA, on the other hand, will process the DOLE-AKAP application of
OFWs already repatriated in the Philippines (regardless of their country of
employment provided that they met the criteria set forth by the Department),
and Balik-Manggagawa.

3. Documentary Requirements for Onsite OFWs. The following documents shall

be submitted to concerned POLO:

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 a. DOLE-AKAP Application Form. POLOs are allowed to come up with your
own DOLE-AKAP application form template and are encouraged to utilize
technology for easy access by OFW-applicants.

b. Copy of Passport or Travel Document.

c. Proof of documented status and overseas employment. POLOs have the

discretion to request and accept documents from the applicants to prove their
employment in the host country.
d. Proof of loss of employment on account of COVID19. POLOs have the
discretion to request and accept documents from the applicants to prove that
they have lost their jobs due to COVID-19. Self-undertaking or endorsement
from legitimate workers’ association can be accepted.

For those OFWs who became undocumented through no fault of their own due to
hjs / her involvement in an immigration / police / civil case, POLOs shall request
proof on his / her involvement in a case.

4. Identification of Qualified OFWs. To identify the qualified / eligible

beneficiaries, POLOs shall do any of the following, as applicable and as they deem
fit in their country/ies of jurisdiction without sacrificing the safety of the POLO
officers and staff and OFWs, and in compliance with host country laws, restrictions
and COVID-19 measures:

§ Directly coordinate with the principal / company / agency who are housing
OFWs in their accommodation, houses or barracks. Those OFWs who are not
in the accommodation of the principal / company / agency will be advised to
call POLOs for profiling;
§ Develop an online OFW Job Displacement Monitor System, if applicable and
in compliance with the Privacy Law of the host country, to be uploaded in the
applicable POLOs’ social media accounts / website; and
§ Coordinate with the Filipino Communities or identify other means to gather
information relative to the affected regular/documented OFWs; and
§ Other means of reaching out to displaced OFWs.

5. Application Procedure.

§ Receive applications with documentary requirements online (e.g. Google

Form). POLOs shall create a separate e-mail address dedicated to receiving /
corresponding applications;
§ Evaluate applications within five (5) working days from receipt thereof;
§ Notify the OFW-applicant on the status of his / her application whether
approved or denied within 5 working days following the evaluation;
§ Record all availment in the online database for monitoring purposes and to
avoid multiple availments.

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 6. Denial of Application. POLOs are authorized to deny / disapprove the application
on the following grounds:

a. Ineligiblity of the applicant;

b. Misrepresentation of facts in the application1; and
c. Submission of falsified or tampered document

7. Allocation of Funds to POLOs. The allocation of funds per POLO is based on the
projected number of OFWs to be displaced in the host country vis-à-vis with the
approved budget by DBM amounting to Php1.5 billion.

POLOs shall be provided with cash advances by DOLE-FMS in three (3) tranches,
as follows:

First Tranche : 50%

Second Tranche : 25%
Third tranche : 25%
Total : 100%

The cash advance covers the a) USD200.00 or its equivalent to local currency of the
host country; and b) cost of emittance to the qualified OFW. The second and third
tranches of allocation shall only be transferred to POLOs if the first tranche will be
fully utilized.

The remaining unutilized allocation of the concerned POLO will be apportioned to

POLOs in need.

8. Disbursement of Funds. If the application is approved, the concerned POLO shall

distribute / disburse the financial assistance to the qualified OFWs or their
dependents in the Philippines either through bank transfer / money remittance /
direct payout or other mode of payment as applicable / allowed in the current
conditions of the host country.

9. Reporting Obligation. POLOs shall submit to the undersigned through ILAB daily
report on the number of applicants / processed / approved; number / amount of
released financial assistance / availments, among others based on the reporting
template provided by ILAB.

POLOs shall endorse to Overseas Operations Coordination Service (OOCS) copy

furnished ILAB, the list of repatriated displaced OFWs but only those that are
repatriated by or in coordination with POLO.

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Fraudulent misrepresentation or false statement that will have a negative effect in the evaluation of the application,
which was made knowingly, or without belief in its truth, or recklessly whether it is true of false.

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 10. Liquidation. POLOs shall require to submit to FMS liquidation report on the cash
advance received immediately. Given the quarantine/lockdown situation in most
countries and the online application system being utilized under this program,
submission of the scanned copies of the documentary requirements for liquidation
shall be allowed by FMS.

For compliance.

SILVESTRE H. BELLO III

Secretary