CFO reopens Mindanao extension office Monday

Emigrants from Mindanao will have easier access to the frontline predeparture services of the Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) with the reopening of its extension office here on May 22.

The CFO-Davao Office is now located at Unit 309, 3rd floor, Pink Walters Building, Quimpo Boulevard, Ecoland area in this city and will be available for clients Mondays-Thursdays from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.

In a press briefing Friday, CFO Undersecretary Valery Joy Brion said their digital processing efforts will also be intensified along with the office’s new opening,

“When you register, there will be two options, full online and face-to-face. All offices offered the two options,” she said.

Established on June 16, 1980 through Batas Pambansa 79, the CFO is an agency under the Office of the President tasked to promote and uphold Filipino immigrants’ interests, rights, and welfare and strengthen their ties with their home country.

Services offered in the reopening of the CFO satellite office here include a predeparture orientation seminar (PDOS) for those permanently migrating to the United States of America (USA), Canada, and New Zealand which according to Brion are the top destinations. Counseling services will be provided for those who are marrying foreign spouses, exchange programs, and an Au Pair program for students who want to be immersed in the USA or Europe.

“It is the mandate of the state to protect our citizens. In migration, issues such as vulnerability to trafficking are our concern, so we assure that when we deploy them, they are safe, and they won’t be vulnerable to being trafficked,” Brion said.

She added that the counseling will also involve orientation about the cultural changes they might encounter when they migrate.