OFWs can use App to connect to gov’t, orgs.

OFWs can use App to connect to gov’t, orgs.

CompassPH

By Ysh Cabana
The Philippine Reporter

Virtual assistants are becoming more common these days. With access right at the tip of your fingers, turning to your mobile device for help is convenient.

Digitized help might be the missing piece for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who want updates with relevant news and announcements, or seek help, whether for access to employment information or to send distress alerts–a “home to every migrant worker wherever he or she may be.”

CompassPH is an app that just does that.

Launched in November 2017, the app features include a one-stop shop where remittances, loan applications, sending online prepaid load, etc. It has a platform to stay in touch with migrant workers pre- and post- deployment through programs from the Department of Labor and Employment and all attached Philippine government agencies.

In times of urgent need, the app has an emergency response button. On the top right portion of its interface is a red SOS button that triggers instant notification if you an OFW finds herself in a life threatening situation. It aims to deploy immediate assistance from the embassy in the host country and from community organizations, such as Migrante International, US-based National Alliance for Filipino Concerns, Filipino Domestic Workers Association in UK, or Mission For Migrant Workers in Hong Kong, from where the app was initiated.

Its community feature allows migrant workers to pose questions, raise concerns, share ideas and opinions with various organizations.

Mariela, who works in a Hong Kong household, said that the service provider was helpful for her.

“My experience with my first employer in Hong Kong was a devastating one. It made me feel like I was nothing. Not even a lowly beast can accept such treatment, with those foul and demeaning words my employer spewed at me. It was never what I expected to happen in Hong Kong. That is why I just wanted to leave my employer’s flat, leave Hong Kong, and accept my friend’s offer to work in Cyprus. Then, I didn’t want to claim what was due according to the provisions in our contract,” she said.

Through the app, she got connected with the Mission for Migrant Workers, as well as the Bethune House, which, in turn, helped her file her case. Eventually, her application to change her employment was granted.
CompassPH can be downloaded on both iOS and Android devices.