2020 Bayanihan to Heal As One Act Accomplishment Report

Office of the President of the Philippines Commission on Filipinos Overseas

PART 1

BAYANIHAN TO HEAL AS ONE ACT (adopted from https://www.covid19.gov.ph/bayanihan-accomplishments-tracker/)

Coverage period: 16 March 2020 – December 31, 2020

Budget Allocation CFO Secretary Acosta directed CFO to Reprogram, reallocate, and enhance the agency’s austerity measures. realign savings on other items of Generated savings amounting to appropriations in the FY 2020 P10,213,000.00. The said amount was GAA withdrawn by the DBM from the CFO’s allotment as per Special Allotment Release Order (SARO) Nos. 9234046, 9234050, & 9233910 as CFO’s contributions for measures to address the COVID-19 pandemic.

Information Series of Media Interviews Promote public awareness and understanding concerning the The CFO continuously strengthens its COVID-19 situation presence thru online media.

Recently, CFO embarked on a series of online media interviews through Secretary Francisco P. Acosta and Undersecretary Astravel Pimentel-Naik for the following series of media interviews:

1. 27 June 2020 – (The Fourth State) Talaluvzradio 947FM - Canada-based Radio Station) 2. 24 June 2020 - Mindanao Daily News Radyo Natin 106.3 FM CDO 3. 22 June 2020 - PTV News Mindanao/Davao 4. 20 June 2020 –(Online Radio Interview with Nanay Anita) Pnoy FM Radio Tokyo 5. 18 June 2020 – (Balita Na, Serbisyo Pa) DWIZ 882 6. 18 June 2020 – (Coffee Break with Henry Uri and Missy Hista) DZRH

7. 17 June 2020 –Oras na Pilipinas, 702 DZAS – FEBC Radio 8. 16 June 2020 – Teka, Alas 4;30 na DWIZ 882 9. 13 June 2020 – Kabayani Tallks of the Filipino Channel (TFC) 10. 13 June 2020 – (The Fourth State) Talaluvzradio 947FM - Canada-based Radio Station 11. June 15, 2020 -Radio Breakfast Extreme DJ Doods Guam 6:30 am (Philippine time) 12. June 18,2020 - Multicultural Family Music Broadcasting -South Korea interview by Ms. Genie Kim 13. 05 August 2020 – Buhay-buhay sa Amerika (online radio show) 14. 12 September 2020 – Pulso Asintado with Levi Tatad 15. 10 October 2020 – Buhay-buhay sa Amerika (online radio show) 16. 12 December 2020 – Kabayani Talks – “Usapang Pasko at Bayanihan ng mga OFW ngayong Pandemya”

CFO’s partnership with various overseas and Philippine-based media outlets provides an opportunity for CFO to discuss its programs and services including its pandemic response to affected overseas Filipinos.

The CFO created a Viber Community specifically for the Filipino Diaspora to strengthen its engagement and continue extending its services to Filipinos all over the world.

To follow the group, just search CFO Online Overseas Filipino Community on Viber.

The Commission also continuously employs communication strategies to promote public awareness via regular creation of social media posts in its various social media accounts.

To date, CFO’s social media accounts record a daily average of more than 450,000 reach. This has a total of 46.8 million individuals reached (individuals) over the past 3 months.

Overseas Filipino Welfare The CFO is providing assistance to returning Provide necessary assistance to overseas Filipinos (non-OFWs) who were affected OF repatriated as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.

There are overseas Filipinos who returned to the country during this pandemic who are not Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs).

The CFO caters to other categories of overseas Filipinos, including permanent migrants and cultural exchange participants.

As of November 15, the CFO has assisted a total of 593 overseas Filipinos (non-OFWs). On top of the 10.213M, the CFO also disbursed a total of 10,035,950.04 for the accommodations and meal allowance of repatriated J1 and Au Pairs when they were stranded in Manila.

Specifically, the CFO provided food and accommodation assistance to 463 repatriated Exchange Visitor Program participants (J-1 visa) from the United States for the entire duration of the Enhanced and General Community Quarantine periods.

The rest of the assistance were spent on sixteen 123 stranded au pairs in Cebu and Manila and provided accommodation and case management to 2 marriage migrants and their respective families; and 5 permanent residents.

CFO also coordinated with the Philippine Coast Guard, Bureau of Quarantine and the San Lazaro Hospital for the conduct of the Reverse Transcription-Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) Test for said clients. The PCG dispatched teams to the different hotels who swabbed and collected specimens from the clients. The results of the test are also requirements for Local Government Units to accept clients in their specific hometowns.

Moreover, since the mandatory RT-PCR testing upon arrival of incoming passengers and facility-based quarantine was imposed in

3 the first week of May, clients also had to spend time at the port of entry (Manila or Cebu City). As they are not OFWs, they were unable to access assistance by other migrant-serving agencies, such as the Overseas Workers’ Welfare Administration. Since this is unplanned for most, they have sought the assistance of the CFO for their immediate and urgent needs.

Ongoing implementation of online registration system called OF-CORS (Overseas Filipinos- CFO Online Registration System) in lieu of PDOS. There were 5,848 Overseas Filipinos that availed the services of OFCORS since its launching on March 25.

Prior to the implementation of quarantine measures, CFO registered 16,359 overseas Filipinos broken down as follows:

 11,774 permanent migrants  3,511 spouses/partners of foreign nationals  748 Exchange Visitor Program participants  326 Au Pairs

Services and Facilities for Elderly Clients, Persons with Disabilities (PWDs), Pregnant Women, and Nursing Mothers

To complement national legislations that provide special assistance and privileges for the elderly, PWDs, pregnant women and nursing mothers, CFO also has services and facilities that offer a more accommodating and comfortable process during their pre-departure registration, such as the following:

Emigrants who are 60 years old and above are only required to register with CFO and are exempted from attending the mandatory Pre- departure Orientation Seminar.

Their registration can be done personally or through an authorized representative at the CFO main office or at its satellite offices in Clark, Pampanga and in Cebu. Senior citizens have also the option to register at the CFO

4 desk at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport during their departure bound for their respective home countries. A separate and a priority lane in the CFO registration area is being provided to senior citizens, PWDs, and pregnant women. Priority is also rendered to elders who are partners of or married to foreign nationals during their attendance to the mandatory Guidance and Counseling Program (GCP), specifically to the one-on-one interview portion of the GCP with the Guidance Counselors.

An access ramp is available to permit wheelchair or other mobility aid users, as well as parents using child trolleys for infants, to conveniently access the registration area at the ground floor of the main office.

A nursery room is also established within the vicinity of the main office for mothers who need to bring their children for and during registration. This also provides privacy as a breastfeeding room for mothers who need to nurse their infant children.

A defibrillator, two wheelchairs, a stretcher, and a medical first aid kit are readily available for potential accidents or emergency purposes.

Overseas Filipino Centenarians

As one of the implementing agencies of the Centenarian Act of 2016, which aims to pay tribute to all Filipinos reaching 100 years old whether living in the Philippines or abroad, the CFO also serves as the secretariat for applications overseas by reviewing endorsements from the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Philippine Veterans Affairs Office, and by preparing a complete folio of all qualified applicants for endorsement to and evaluation and approval of the Department of Social Welfare and Development.

Migrant Statistics on Senior Citizens and Other Classifications

As part of its initiatives to provide efficient services and citizen-centric programs to its

5 clients and to adequately formulate policies for the welfare of overseas Filipinos in general, the CFO also maintains a registry of sex- disaggregated data based on classifications such as places of origin, countries of destination, occupation or profession, civil status and educational attainment, among others.

The Exchange Visitor Program Committee of the Philippines adopted a resolution Providing for a Moratorium on the Participation of Filipino Nationals in the Exchange Visitor Program of The United States of America during an emergency meeting of the EVP Committee to address concerns of EVP (J-1) participants stemming from issues arising from the Covid- 19 crisis. The Resolution was consequently published in the Official Gazette on May 25, 2020.

Two resolutions have been adopted and published by the EVP Committee, exempting participants in US government-funded programs, university- and college-based participants, and teachers with perfected contracts before the effectivity of the moratorium.

Online meetings of the Exchange Visitor Program Committee of the Philippines are also regularly being convened in view of the concerns arising from the implementation of the program.

The CFO initially waived the registration fee of P400.00 per client when the National Capital Region was placed under the Enhanced Community Quarantine.

Following the imposition of the General Community Quarantine in NCR on June 1, the CFO launched an online payment system that accommodates payment of registration and courier fees for CFO clients who register via the Overseas Filipino-CFO Online Registration System (OF-CORS).

Continuous implementation of 24/7 response mechanism where clients can either call, text, email or interact via social media

Continuous supervision on the welfare of the marriage migrants and Filipinos in distress.

As such, an Online/Tele-counseling for the Spouses or Fiancé(e)s/Partners of Foreign Nationals was set-up. 4,300 were counseled through this service.

Continuous Operations of CFO’s 1343 Actionline and Assistance to Nationals Program for Filipinos in Distress

CFO responded already to 252 cases since March 16. The nature of cases include request to ascertain the condition of COVID19 patients overseas, illegal recruitment, domestic violence, Online Sexual Exploitation of Children (OSEC), cybersex crime, and request for financial assistance of stranded OFs. Apart from the Philippines, the country of origin of the cases were Japan, KSA, UK, USA, Spain, Denmark, Malaysia, HK, Thailand, Qatar, Oman, and Kuwait.

Pro-active media activities and engagements are also in place through regular and timely advisories that are posted in the CFO website and social media accounts.

Ease of Doing Business Developed and launched an online registration Fast track and simplify agency system called OF-CORS (Overseas Filipinos- and LGU procedures CFO Online Registration System) in lieu of requirements during the State of PDOS. Calamity

The CFO launched the CFO Electronic Payment and Collection System (CFO- EPCS) on June 16, 2020 to allow its clients pay their registrations fees in all Bayad Centers nationwide through a tripartite partnership with Bayad Center and MultiSys firms.

Prior to the implementation of the “pre-pay” system, the CFO rolled-out a system that

allows the registrants of the CFO to pay the registration fee with any Landbank branch nationwide through deposit or funds transfer. An online system was also developed that allows the delivery of CFO registration documents to its clients.

9,579 CFO clients already availed the service.

Work Force As a result of timely and proactive measures undertaken by the CFO Top Management as early as January 2020, no employees or clients were infected by COVID-19. Sanitation and disinfection measures were undertaken on a regular basis.

Authorize alternative working Continuous implementation of a Work-From- arrangements in the Executive Home arrangement since 16 March 2020 branch

Grant hazard pay to government Provided hazard pay to skeletal workforce of employees and COS/JO workers the Commission regardless of employment who physically report for work status. As of December 31, a total of P 609,831.88 hazard pay, vitamins and accommodation expenses for CFO personnel who were infected with COVID-19 was spent.

Annex A

Office of the President of the Philippines Commission on Filipinos Overseas

PART 2

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Coverage period: 16 March 2020 – 31 December 2020

RESPONDING TO THE CHALLENGES OF THE PANDEMIC

The CFO effectively responded to the threats posed by the COVID-19 pandemic by undertaking several initiatives to ensure the continued delivery of its services to the public.

In support of President Rodrigo Roa Duterte’s efforts to contain the pandemic and the Bayanihan Act, CFO Secretary Francisco P. Acosta directed CFO to enhance its austerity measures. An amount of P10,213,000.00 savings generated by the Commission was already appropriated back to the National Government as CFO’s contributions for measures to address the COVID-19 pandemic. This is consistent with the law’s provision authorizing the President to reprogram, reallocate, and realign savings on other items of appropriations in the FY 2020 GAA.

The CFO is providing assistance to returning overseas Filipinos who were repatriated as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.

There are overseas Filipinos who returned to the country during this pandemic who are not Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs). The CFO caters to other categories of overseas Filipinos, including permanent migrants and cultural exchange participants.

To date, the CFO has assisted a total of 593 overseas Filipinos (non-OFWs) and were provided food and accommodation assistance worth 10,035,950.04 million when they were stranded in Manila.

The rest of the assistance were spent on 123 stranded au pairs in Cebu and Manila and provided accommodation and case management to 2 marriage migrants and their respective families; 5 permanent residents.

Moreover, since the mandatory RT-PCR testing upon arrival of incoming passengers and facility-based quarantine was imposed in the first week of May, clients also had to spend time at the port of entry (Manila or Cebu City). As they are not OFWs, they were unable to access assistance by other migrant-serving agencies, such as the Overseas Workers’ Welfare Administration. Since this is unplanned for most, they have sought the assistance of the CFO for their immediate and urgent needs.

Launching of CFO Electronic Payment and Collection System (CFO-EPCS) The CFO launched the CFO Electronic Payment and Collection System (CFO- EPCS) on June 16, 2020 to allow its clients pay their registrations fees in all Bayad Centers nationwide through a tripartite partnership with Bayad Center and MultiSys firms.

This pre-payment system now allows for credit and debit card payments. This system also responds to some national statutes, particularly the Electronic

Commerce Act of 2000 (Republic Act No. 8792), and Republic Act 11032, also known as Ease of Doing Business and Efficient Government Service Delivery Act of 2018. The CEPCS, which aims to ease the existing manual payment system of CFO offers the following various payment options for a faster, secured, and efficient collection of registration fees: 1. Over-the-Counter (OTC) at Bayad Center Outlets and Franchisees; 2. Online Banking; 3. Bayad Center Digital & eWallet Channels & Mobile App; 4. ePayment Gateways; and 5. Debit and Credit Card Channels Prior to the implementation of the “pre-pay” system, the CFO rolled-out a system that allows the registrants of the CFO to pay the registration fee with any Landbank branch nationwide through deposit or funds transfer. An online system was also developed that allows the delivery of CFO registration documents to its clients. 9,579 CFO clients already availed the service.

Creation of a new CFO Viber Community The CFO created a Viber Community specifically for the Filipino Diaspora to strengthen its engagement and continue extending its services to Filipinos all over the world. This is an additional platform created by CFO for its clients to receive relevant information on the agency’s various programs and services. It will also serve as an additional avenue for overseas Filipinos to receive latest news and government updates affecting them.

The CFO initiated this online community as its way of connecting with the members of Filipino communities abroad for them to be able to share their migration story of success and challenges to inspire others.

To follow the group, just search CFO Online Overseas Filipino Community on Viber. Aside from sharing helpful information and important statements on COVID-19, the CFO is also using the Viber community to amplify the government’s response and efforts to contain the Covid-19 pandemic and debunk fake information being circulated online.

Ongoing Implementation of CFO Online Registration System

As a timely response to the on-going implementation of the Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) in the country brought about by the Corona Virus Disease (COVID-19), the CFO immediately developed and launched on March 25, 2020 the Overseas Filipino-CFO Online Registration System (OF-CORS). This is an innovative project of the Commission in lieu of the mandatory physical registration of Filipino Emigrants, Spouses and Partners of Foreign Nationals, Au Pairs, and

J1 Visa Holders in any of the CFO offices in Manila Main Office, satellite offices in Cebu City, Davao City, Clark City, and extension desk at Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).

As of December 31, 5,848 overseas Filipinos registered with CFO through the OFCORS. CFO shifted to online pre-departure services in the meantime that physical operations are temporarily suspended. CFO clients may now register online in the comforts of their home. Under the current online registration system, physical attendance to Pre-Departure Orientation Seminar, guidance and counseling, and country familiarization seminar, is waived. After completing and submitting online the necessary travel requirements, a temporary CFO Certificate will be issued, which they need to print as a proof of their successful registration with the CFO. The Certificate will be inspected by the Bureau of Immigration (BI) at NAIA or any other international airport on the day of their departure from the Philippines. CFO clients with no CFO Sticker or Certificate will be offloaded or denied exit by the BI. The CFO Certificate is initially valid until April 15, 2020 and has been extended until December 2020. Copies of the Certificate are attached as Annex A.1.

Equally important, aside from the deployment of an online system, was the waiver of registration fee of P400.00 in solidarity with its clients until May 31. These are contributions of the CFO in the government’s ease of doing business initiatives as well as the Anti-Red Tape Authority’s call to simplify and fast track procedures and requirements during the State of Calamity.

Assistance to J-1 Participants

The CFO registered more than 700 Filipinos who left the country as Exchange Visitor Program (EVP)1 participants in the 1st quarter of 2020. Filipinos who participated in the EVP must return to the Philippines after the duration of their respective programs. However, in view of the Covid-19 pandemic, some US institutions, particularly those in the hospitality industry, are unable to continue supporting the EVP participants due to the closure of businesses, cutting short exchange programs. Because of this, participants were forced to return to their home countries immediately. Upon arrival in Manila, some find themselves stranded in Manila upon their arrival due to the cancellation of domestic flights during the ECQ since their ultimate destinations are provinces in the Visayas and Mindanao. Due to the emergency nature of their return, the CFO is currently providing temporary accommodation during their stay while the ECQ is in place. An emergency online meeting of the Exchange Visitor Program Committee of the Philippines was also convened in view of the concerns arising from the implementation of the program. Continuous supervision on the welfare of the marriage migrants and Filipinos in distress, and pro-active media activities and engagements are also in place.

1The EVP is a program of the United States that allows foreign nationals to participate in educational and cultural exchanges to increase mutual understanding between the people of the US and the people of other countries. EVP participants are given a non-immigrant J1 visa. The program is being overseen by the EVP Committee of the Philippines, which is chaired by the Department of Foreign Affairs, and of which CFO is a member and the Secretariat.

As of December 31, the CFO provided food and accommodation assistance to 463 repatriated Exchange Visitor Program (J-1 visa) from the United States for the entire duration of the Enhanced Community Quarantine period. Since the ECQ has been imposed, other EVP participants have also been provided online assistance through guidance via e-mails and chats in official social media accounts. A total of 5,910 inquiries and requests for assistance have been addressed, and referred to appropriate authorities. These include requests for accommodation in Metro Manila, refunds, repatriation, airfare, check points concerns, quarantine protocols, visa extensions, and financial assistance, among others. The CFO has also coordinated with the following agencies for necessary support to EVP participants:

1) Department of Foreign Affairs 2) Department of Health 3) Commission on Higher Education 4) Commission on Audit 5) Bureau of Quarantine 6) Selected local government units 7) Philippine Coast Guard 8) Office of Transport Services 9) Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases 10) One Stop Shop

Assistance to returning migrants stranded and displaced due to the quarantine measures in the Philippines and locked down overseas. As an agency tasked to promote migrant welfare and interest, CFO registers and provides pre-departure orientation to emigrants, including the marriage migrants, Filipinos overseas who have become naturalized citizens of other countries or dual citizens, and cultural exchange participants. During the ECQ, CFO has been providing accommodation and meals for reported migrants who are stranded and displaced. To date, the agency assisted 121 stranded au pairs in Cebu and Manila; provided accommodation and case management to 2 marriage migrants and their respective families; and 5 permanent residents. CFO is continuously monitoring the status of stranded au pairs from Denmark, Sweden and the Netherlands. The au pairs requested to be provided with accommodation, meals and transportation assistance upon arrival to the Philippines during the ECQ.

Continued support for Overseas Filipinos

The CFO continues to monitor the plight of its clients overseas and has activated the following:

 Established a 24/7 CFO response mechanism where clients can either call, text, email or interact via social media  Set-up an Online/Tele-counseling for the Spouses or Fiancé(e)s/Partners of Foreign Nationals  Owing to the reported rise in online cases of sexual exploitation via the internet, CFO established a 24/7 response mechanism where clients can either call, text, email or interact via social media

Regular Public Communication

In order to keep its clients abreast with updates on its services as well as the government’s response, the CFO actively employed communication strategies to promote public awareness thru regular posts in its various social media accounts as well as its website.

As of December 31, a daily average of more than 1.8 million reach with more than 649 million reach (individuals) from all the social media accounts of CFO has been recorded.

Since the imposition of ECQ and GCQ, other EVP participants have also been provided online assistance through guidance via e-mails and chats in official social media accounts. Inquiries and requests for assistance have been addressed, and referred to appropriate authorities. These include requests for accommodation in Metro Manila, refunds, repatriation, airfare, checkpoint concerns, quarantine protocols, visa extensions, and financial assistance, among others. The CFO Facebook Page serves as one of the direct channels in receiving and responding to the concerns and requests for assistance from the public that include pre-departure concerns, reports on illegal recruitment, and financial assistance, among others.

The following table shows the summary of the analytics of all the Social Media Accounts of the CFO:

2020 CFO SOCIAL MEDIA ANALYTICS (January 1, 2020 - December 31, 2020)

TOTAL TOTAL TOTAL TOTAL PAGE PAGE REACH ENGAGEMENTS PAGE LIKES FOLLOWERS

CFO PESO 3,711,580 3,769,681 620,296,843 70,752,129 SENSE CFO 52,588 53,720 10,638,971 383,510

PAFIOO 7,781 8,085 8,915,860 565,281

MAM AWARDS 817 846 855,711 36,463

BALINKBAYAN 31,092 31,053 3,632,397 115,279

1343 9,478 9,618 3,272,185 89,442 ACTIONLINE YOULEAD 742 788 471,308 8,209

LINKAPIL 3,246 3,268 492,524 11,288

PSO 8,180 8,190 193,389 7,174

EVP 1,856 1,899 323,738 7,479

TOTAL 3,827,360 3,887,148 649,092,926 71,976,254

Ugnayan Series

The Ugnayan is a series of gathering/meetings with Filipino community/organization leaders in various regions of the world to discuss means of cooperation for diaspora engagement. It serves as a platform for the engagement of OFs to familiarize them about the programs and services of CFO. It also intends to empower OFs by promoting CFO’s financial freedom campaign, establishment of support network, and intensifying their participation in the government’s campaign against human trafficking.

With this project, networking among the Filipino community organizations can also be instrumental in encouraging diaspora philanthropic activities in support of Philippine development. It also complements efforts to encourage OFs to exercise their right of suffrage while overseas and avail of financial literacy trainings.

Through the Ugnayan Series, CFO engaged with several Filipino community organizations and leaders in countries with large concentrations of overseas Filipinos particularly the United States. It was an opportunity for CFO to reach out to

14 overseas Filipinos (organizations, media, civil society, etc.) to discuss various ways of diaspora engagement for the home country’s development.

This program was aligned with the CFO’s mandate and commitment to strengthen relations with the Filipino community overseas; and to effectively and efficiently deliver gender-responsive policies, programs and services for the well-being and empowerment of the community of Filipinos overseas, the CFO developed the Ugnayan Series. The development of this program also stemmed from the policy pronouncement of President Rodrigo Duterte on bringing government services closer to overseas Filipinos. While the original Ugnayan is a series of face-to-face meetings with Filipino community and leaders, this year, the Commission conducted it online, through webinar style. This is in view of the COVID-19 pandemic, where online service has become the “new normal”. CFO conducted its first Online Ugnayan sa Japan via Zoom and Facebook Live on August 22, 2020. On October 23, the second Online Ugnayan was conducted where online consultation/meeting with the Filipino community and leaders in Los Angeles, United States of America (October 22 Los Angeles Time) was held. Last Sunday, November 8, the third virtual Ugnayan was conducted for overseas Filipinos in South Korea. On November 22, the last leg of the Online Ugnayan Series was conducted for overseas Filipinos in Hawaii. The Ugnayan theme revolved around the effects of the pandemic to OFs in Japan, USA, and South Korea, and how the Philippine government could assist them. It was participated by Filcom leaders, Presidential awardees, and more than thousands of Zoom and FB participants from Japan, USA, South Korea, Philippines and other countries.

Looking After its Own

As a result of timely and proactive measures undertaken by the CFO Top Management as early as January 2020, no employees or clients were infected by COVID-19. Sanitation and disinfection measures were undertaken on a regular basis in all of its offices nationwide. Other measures undertaken included the purchase of automatic sanitizers, liquid soaps, basic PPE for employees and fabrication of sanitation tents and footbaths. The office also provided hazard pay to skeletal workforce of the Commission regardless of employment status.

CFO was also able to seamlessly transition to a Work-From-Home arrangement since 16 March 2020. This was due to the fact that as early as January 2020, it had in place a plan for a four-day workweek.

As part of continuous Learning and Development (L&D) program for CFO personnel during the ECQ, CFO employees were also required to answer 11 of the available CFO PESO SENSE Online Modules which can be accessed at www.pesosense.com. The CFO PESO SENSE Online Modules will help CFO

15 personnel improve their financial standing, specifically by acquiring the following learning objectives:

 Formulate their plans and goals that will help them to become financially independent.  Develop and implement their personal initiatives that will make financial independence achievable.  Improve their financial literacy by providing information and skills that the employees need to acquire in order to become financially independent.

A total of 22 training hours was credited in the employees’ L&D training credits after they finished the 11 available modules. As of December 31, 96% or 108 of the 112 personnel were provided with required relevant training hours.

CFO OFFICIAL FACEBOOK PAGE RESPONSIVENESS REPORT AND ANALYTICS Prior to lockdown, the usual average response rate of the CFO FB page in responding to clients’ message is around 65% and response time is within 2-3 days, by the first week of Enhanced Community Quarantine, the response rate massively improved to 12 hours and 46 minutes or less than 12 hours. The latest analytics showed that the CFO FB page response rate reached 90%, or it takes 3 hours and 19 minutes.

It was noted that the Daily Page Engage Users showing the number of people who engaged with CFO FB page including those who created related stories from March 16 – December 31 has reached 292,230 or a daily average of 1,008.

With reference to the daily total reach number of people who had any content or seen content from CFO FB page from March 16 to December 2020, it reached 18,794,175 or a daily average reach of 64,808. This includes posts, check-ins, ads, social information from people who interacted with CFO page from.

From March 16 to December 31, CFO FB received 14,662 Page likes.

PESO SENSE FACEBOOK

The CFO PESO Sense Social Media page is a leading Financial Literacy Facebook page in the Philippines. Ranked as Top 1 among the government-owned and controlled Facebook Pages in the Philippines based on the number of followers, the CFO PESO Sense Facebook Page aims to educate the Filipino Facebook users about the importance of financial literacy in their lives through various posts, inspirational stories, videos, and games.

From January to December of this year, the CFO PESO SENSE Facebook page has garnered the following social media insights:

a) 620.2 million reach b) 70.7 million post engagements c) 173k new Facebook likers

Started in 12 February 2014, the CFO PESO SENSE Facebook page now has more than 3.6 Million followers as of today. 73% of its total followers are women and the biggest age group is 25-34 followed by 18-24 years old.

Aside from the Philippines, followers do come from other countries such as:

 United Arab Emirates  Saudi Arabia  United States of America  Hong Kong  Taiwan  Qatar  Japan  Kuwait  Singapore  Canada  Australia  Malaysia  Italy  South Korea  United Kingdom  Bahrain  India  Israel  Oman  Macau

Some of the contents and materials being shared on the CFO PESO SENSE FACEBOOK are the following:

 CFO PESO Sense videos and website  CFO PESO Sense tips  PAYONG KAPESO AND IPON CHALLENGE SUCCESS STORIES  Financial literacy news, articles, inspirational stories, and quotations; and  Tips on saving, money management, investments, and starting small businesses.

IMPLEMENTATION OF CYBERSECURITY MEASURES

The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in CFO employees working from home. The CFO also implemented the online registration for its clients. Working from home and

17 the full implementation of the OFCORS have specific cybersecurity risks. When compromised, unauthorized access to the agency information can have a devastating effect on CFO operations.

To protect its online systems and database, the CFO implemented precautionary measures to protect its systems and data for any cybercrime attacks and possible hardware failure. Among the actions it took include:

1. Regular data center preventive maintenance every two weeks as scheduled. 2. Activation of the automatic software and operating system updates of CFO laptops used for work from home. 3. Daily generation of Internet Firewall/Security Reports for security monitoring and activation of network security devices in all CFO Offices. 4. Daily update of CFO antivirus patches. 5. Use of Virtual Private Network (VPN) Tunnel for employee remote access to CFO systems. 6. Real-Time Automatic Blocking of unauthorized IPs that attempts to gain access to the CFO websites. 7. Regular back-up of CFO databases and data file storages as scheduled (every two weeks) 8. Regular coordination with DICT Government Website Hosting System and DICT Cyber Security Bureau for regular CFO website protection. 9. Monthly back-up of CFO main website and other agency websites.

DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION OF CFO INTERIM WORKPLACE SAFETY GUIDELINES IN MANAGING THE THREAT POSED BY THE COVID 19 PANDEMIC

The CFO was able to develop a workplace guideline to set the procedures and standards that the CFO should observe in containing the threat posed by the COVID-19 virus in all of its offices. Specifically, the guidelines also aim to address how to continue with the day-to-day delivery of the CFO’s services even if a significant number of employees cannot physically report to the offices; and implement safety procedures to assist the national government to minimize and/or eradicate the further spread of the virus.

The major component of the safety guidelines are the following:

1. CFO will only operate with a revolving/rotational skeletal workforce on a four- day work week schedule to address mission-critical functions. 2. Protection measures of employees who are vulnerable to the COVID 19 virus. 3. Temporary suspension of orientation sessions. 4. Implementation of basic infection prevention measures. 5. Routine disinfection and sanitation of the workplaces 6. Guidelines to implement if an employee or client becomes under suspicion to have the virus; if an employee or staff with suspected infection of covid-19 has recently been in the office; and when individuals in the workplace have contact with a confirmed case of COVID-19. 7. Guidelines for employees returning from COVID affected countries 8. Safety household guidelines for CFO employees

9. Consistent information drive 10. Increase inventory of resources and supplies to prevent COVID-19 11. Funding support for COVID-19 prevention.

DEVELOPMENT OF SOCIAL MEDIA GUIDELINES

More essential than ever before at this time is the important role played by social media. Aware of its value and importance as well as perils it may pose, the CFO CFO’s Communications and Media Committee developed the CFO Social Media Policy with the objective of promoting, reflecting, and protecting the CFO mandate by projecting a positive and unified image in social media. The Committee serves as the policy-making body of the CFO for information dissemination activities through social media In particular, it aims to reinforce the identity of the CFO and standardize the content shared on the platform. It also defines the roles of the Committee and TWG members, along with the protocol on social media outputs. The policy relates to CFO’s own official accounts and its projects since the social media accounts of the CFO and its projects are crucial tools to project the CFO’s values and advocacies to a greater audience.

To reinforce CFO’s identity and establish brand recall on social media, posts in all active pages and accounts is standardized. It also has an official tagline that will be used across all its media platforms.

The CFO also has an annual CFO official hashtag that is used for all social media postings, along with hashtags of the unabbreviated name of CFO, the official tagline, the project promoted, and the specific program being implemented. Every social media page of each CFO project has “CFO” in its username for better recall among the public. In addition, the description of each social media page mentions that it is a project, program, or initiative of the CFO. The logo and the initials and complete name of the CFO are also included in all published materials of every project, activity, program, and publicity in any form, including social media posting.

Annex A.1

Samples of CFO OFCORS Certificate

Table A

Office of the President of the Philippines Commission on Filipinos Overseas

PART 3

SUMMARY OF ACCOMPLISHMENTS Pursuant to Republic Act (RA) No. 11469 or the “Bayanihan to Heal as One Act” Coverage period: 16 March 2020 – 31 December 2020

Applicable Program/ Number Number of Budget Budget power/authority2 Activity of target Target allocation utilized* beneficia beneficiaries * ries* served* Section 4.ee A No target (a)Au Pair visa N/A (OF-CORS holders Undertake such online 87 other measures as registration may be system) (b) Filipino reasonable and spouses and necessary to partners of enable the foreign President to carry nationals, out the declared former national policy to Filipinos and the Bill of Rights dual citizens and other 1,480 constitutional guarantees (c) Filipino emigrants, Immigrant workers 3,990

(d) JI Visa Holders: 291

Total: 5,848 Overseas Filipinos

Section 4.ee B No target Assisted 463 N/A Disbursed a (EVP) J1 visa total of Undertake such Holders Funding PhP10,035,9 other measures as being used 50.04 may be are reasonable and administrat necessary to ive fees enable to enable paid by

2 Please cite the specific emergency measure provided under Section 4 of A No. 11469 or the power/authority delegated through Memorandum dated 28 March 2020 * Only if applicable

21 the President to EVP carry out the participant declared national s held in policy to the Bill of trust by Rights and other CFO and constitutional regular guarantees funds. Section 4.ee C N/A N/A N/A Assisted 123 Regular Undertake such (Accomm stranded au funds other measures as odation pairs. being used may be and meal reasonable and for Au Assisted 2 necessary to Pair visa stranded enable to enable holders, marriage the President to dual migrant and carry out the citizen family declared national and policy to the Bill of marriage Assisted 5 Rights and other migrant) stranded constitutional permanent guarantees residents

Monitoring the arrival of stranded au pair from Denmark (For MIED’s inputs) au pairs who requested assistance upon arrival to the Philippines Section 4.ee D N/A N/A N/A N/A

Undertake such other measures as may be reasonable and necessary to enable to enable the President to carry out the declared national policy to the Bill of Rights and other constitutional guarantees Section 4.ee E N/A N/A N/A N/A

Undertake such other measures as may be reasonable and necessary to enable the President to carry out the declared national policy to the Bill of Rights and other constitutional guarantees Sections 4.a and F N/A N/A N/A N/A 4.ee

Section 4.a: Following World Health Organization guidelines and best practices, adopt and implement measures to prevent or suppress further transmission and spread of COVID- 19 through effective education, detection, protection and treatment 4.ee: Undertake such other measures as may be reasonable and necessary to enable the President to carry out the declared national policy to the Bill of Rights and other constitutional guarantee

DETAILS OF COLUMN 1: Description of Target Beneficiaries

A. Implementation of Overseas Filipino-CFO Online Registration System (OF-CORS) The Overseas Filipino-CFO Online Registration System (OF-CORS) is an innovative project of the Commission in lieu of the mandatory physical registration of Filipino Emigrants, Spouses and Partners of Foreign Nationals, Au Pairs, and J1 Visa Holders in any of the CFO offices in Manila Main Office, satellite offices in Cebu City, Davao City, Clark City, and extension desk at Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA). OF-CORS is an online pre-departure platform for CFO clientele in the meantime that physical operations are temporarily suspended. CFO clients may now register online in the comforts of their home. Under the current online registration system, physical attendance to Pre-Departure Orientation Seminar, guidance and counseling, and country familiarization seminar, is waived. After completing and submitting online the necessary travel requirements, a temporary CFO Certificate will be issued, which they need to print as a proof of their successful registration with the CFO. The Certificate will be inspected by the Bureau of Immigration (BI) at NAIA or any other international airport on the day of their departure from the Philippines.

B. Assistance to Stranded Exchange Visitor Program (EVP) Participants

The EVP is a program of the United States that allows foreign nationals to participate in educational and cultural exchanges to increase mutual understanding between the people of the US and the people of other countries. EVP participants are given a non-immigrant J1 visa. The program is being overseen by the EVP Committee3 of the Philippines, which is chaired by the Department of Foreign Affairs, and of which CFO is a member and the Secretariat. In the 1st quarter of 2020, the CFO registered more than 700 Filipinos who left the country as EVP participants. Filipinos who participated in the EVP must return to the Philippines after the duration of their respective programs.

However, in view of the Covid-19 pandemic, some US institutions, particularly those in the hospitality industry, are unable to continue supporting the EVP participants due to the closure of businesses, cutting short exchange programs. Because of this, participants were forced to return to their home countries immediately. Upon arrival in Manila, some find themselves stranded in Manila upon their arrival due to the cancellation of domestic flights during the Enhanced Community Quarantine since their ultimate destinations are provinces in the Visayas and Mindanao. Due to the

3 Committee membership includes DFA, CFO, DOLE, PRC, DOH, TESDA, Office of the President, CHED, DOST, DepEd, and NEDA

24 emergency nature of their homecoming, the CFO has provided temporary housing and shelter during their stay while the ECQ is in place.

C. Resolution Providing for a Moratorium on the Participation of Filipino Nationals in the Exchange Visitor Program of The United States of America

In view of the concerns arising from the implementation of the program, the CFO arranged for an online inter-agency meeting of the EVP Committee. The main agenda was the proposal to have a moratorium on the participation of Filipinos to the exchange program while putting in place safety nets and other support mechanisms for this specific clientele.

To date, the Exchange Visitor Program Committee of the Philippines adopted a resolution Providing for a Moratorium on the Participation of Filipino Nationals in the Exchange Visitor Program of The United States of America during an emergency meeting of the EVP Committee to address concerns of EVP (J-1) participants stemming from issues arising from the Covid-19 crisis. The Resolution was consequently published in the Official Gazette on May 25, 2020.

Two resolutions have been adopted and published by the EVP Committee, exempting participants in US government-funded programs, university- and college- based participants, and teachers with perfected contracts before the effectivity of the moratorium.

D. Online/Tele-counseling for the Spouses or Fiancé(e)s/Partners of Foreign Nationals

The on-going implementation of the ECQ due to COVID-19 pandemic does not however deter the Commission in its continuous mandate to look after the welfare of Filipino marriage migrants. CFO continuously implements the Guidance and Counseling Program through online or virtual tele-counseling. The Guidance and Counseling Program (GCP) is mandatory for Filipinos leaving the country as spouses or fiancé(e)s of foreign nationals. The program not only provides information about the country of destination, but also allows the counselees to have a one-on-one session with the guidance counselors of CFO for a more in-depth exchange.

Through this virtual system of counseling, the CFO counselors are able to address counselees’ questions on a more personal level, hopefully leading them towards empowerment, in dealing with the realities of intermarriage. There were 162 counselees that undertook the Guidance and Counseling Program of the Commission via tele-counselling, which is a requisite for the issuance of their temporary certificate as a result of the OFCORS. The counselees who availed the system were bound for the USA, UK, Canada, Australia, Japan, EU countries, Kingdom of Bahrain and South Korea.

E. Continuous Operations of CFO’s 1343 Actionline and Assistance to Nationals Program for Filipinos in Distress

CFO’s Assistance to Nationals (ATN) program is designed to respond to pressing requests for assistance made by overseas Filipinos in distress, whether locally or overseas. The clients usually connect with the CFO through a referral system or by learning about the program through the community education program and media engagements. One of the channels of the requesters in conveying their concerns to CFO is through the 1343 Actionline Against Human Trafficking. It is a 24/7 hotline facility that responds to emergency or crisis calls from anyone, including the victims of human trafficking and their families. The Actionline operates in partnership with Dynamic Outsource Solutions 1, Inc. (DOS-1). It serves as the initial call taker and identifies the nature of calls, which are eventually forwarded to the case officers of CFO for proper and immediate resolution of the reported concerns. From March 16 to December 31, CFO has attended to 219 cases. The nature of the cases include stranded Filipino migrants due to the ongoing quarantine measures in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Bicol Region, and in Metro Manila, cases of cybersex. Among other cases responded to were violation on mail order spouse law, domestic violence, human trafficking, and illegal recruitment, request to ascertain the condition of COVID19 patients overseas, Online Sexual Exploitation of Children, cybersex crime, and request for financial assistance of stranded OFs.

F. Timely and Real-time Postings in all CFO Official Social Media Accounts and Websites

Crisis communication during these uncertain times should also be abated to lessen the already anxious public. CFO therefore takes advantage of the social media to afford the public, especially its clientele with rightful and regular updates concerning government initiatives and actions in combating the COVID-19 pandemic and its accompanying issues to the country.

Mindful of the importance of awareness of its clientele to the overall effects of the crisis, CFO develops unique social media posts and shares it to all its social media accounts that have significant number of followers locally and Filipinos overseas. The administrators of the CFO social media accounts respond promptly to the questions and clarifications of clientele which are related to the operations of the Commission. Timely development and sharing of Official CFO Press Releases form part also among the crucial media activities of the Commission with an aim to directly engage the public with a tone of clear, composed, and assuring manner. To date, a daily average of more than 450,000 reach with more than 22.5 million reach (individuals) during the last 50 days from all the social media accounts of CFO has been recorded.

CFO WEBSITE HITS

CFO Website Unique Visits FY2020

185,650 178,750 169,302

145,529

1ST QUARTER 2ND QUARTER 3RD QUARTER 4TH QUARTER

The CFO website saw a surge in unique visits and hits with an almost 10% increase based on monitoring from February until April 2020. The CFO website is continuously updated on a regular basis with relevant information to continuously serve its clients and the public during this ongoing pandemic.

G. Special Meeting on Online Sexual Exploitation of Children (OSEC) and Cyber Crimes

CFO as the head the Advocacy and Communications Committee (ADVOCOM) participated in a special meeting with various members of the Inter-Agency CouncilAgainst Trafficking (IACAT). The online meeting which was held on April 15, 2020 was scheduled to discuss Online Sexual Exploitation of Children (OSEC) and Cybercrimes reported cases since the start of the ECQ. The meeting via Webex was attended by representatives from Department of Justice (DOJ), National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), Facebook Philippines, Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), DOJ Office of Cybercrime (DOJ-OOC), DOJ National Prosecutor Service (DOJ-NPS),DOJ Inter-agency Council Against Child Pornography (DOJ-IACACP), International Justice Mission (IJM), PNP Women Children Police Center (PNP-WCPC), UNICEF and CFO.

The IACAT members observed that some agencies reported to have an increase number of cases received on OSEC and cybercrimes. While there as some did not see any significant increase on OSEC and cybercrime cases during the ECQ, it may be due to the fact that these cases have not been reported yet to the proper authorities. Also, law enforcement actions especially in the local levels may have also been restricted or affected by the ECQ. CFO has referred 17 cases to different IACAT member agencies for investigation and continue to receive more cyber

27 related crimes received thru the 1343 Actionline, Itanong Mo Kay Ato and its Assistance-to-National (ATN) program.

The IACAT and ADVOCOM, thus agreed that it is imperative to raise awareness on this issue in order to encourage reporting using all social media platforms. The inter- agency also stressed the need to enhance the referral and reporting mechanisms specific on OSEC and cybercrime cases. IACAT and ADVOCOM will also be actively collaborating with Facebook Philippines to campaign on child safety in the context of COVID, and in encouraging to report illegal adoption and OSEC pages proliferating on FB to be taken down. Daily online publication of Information, Education and Communication materials was undertaken by the CFO through its various social media platforms was in order to intensify the campaign against the reported increase of OSEC cases.