Personal kong naexperience noong byahe ko pabalik ng Saudi Arabia noong December 28, 2023. Medyo nakakapagod at malungkot dahil nga iiwan ko nanaman pamilya ko at hindi pa ako makakapag celebrate ng new year kasama nila. Byahe pa ako ng mahigit tatlong oras mula sa amin papuntang domestic airport at flight ko ng ala una ng hapon papuntang manila international airport. Pag lapag at pag lapag pa ng eroplano sa manila, diritsu na agad sa check-in counter although nakapag online check-in na ako peru kailangan ko pa mag drop ng bagahe.

I personally experienced it during my flight back to Saudi Arabia on December 28, 2023. It's a bit tiring and sad because I will be leaving my family behind and I won't be able to celebrate the new year with them. I still have a flight of more than three hours from us to the domestic airport and my flight at 1 o'clock in the afternoon to Manila international airport. When the plane landed in Manila, I went straight to the check-in counter even though I checked-in online but I still have to drop my luggage.

• Yo personalmente lo experimenté durante mi vuelo de regreso a Arabia Saudí el 28 de diciembre de 2023. Es un poco cansado y triste porque dejaré atrás a mi familia y no podré celebrar el año nuevo con ellos. Aún me quedan más de tres horas de vuelo hasta el aeropuerto nacional y mi vuelo a la una de la tarde al aeropuerto internacional de Manila. Cuando el avión aterrizó en Manila, fui directamente al mostrador de facturación, aunque había hecho el check-in por Internet pero aún tenía que dejar mi equipaje.*

Habang pumipila kami lima pa lamang kami noon, dumaan ang airport staff at sabi sa amin ayusin ang pila, sagot naman nong isang babae na kabayan “hindi naman kasi namin alam kung saan talaga ang insaktong pila wla naman kasing markings. Sumagot uli ang staff na medyo may attitude ang pagkasabi “nasa Business class kasi kayo nakapila!”. At dahil ako ang pinaka una sa linya at medyo uminit taenga ko sa sabi nya, nasagot ko sya “teka wala namang nakasulat dito na itong area na ito para lang sa nakaka afford ng business class at ang mga hindi nkaka afford sa kabila!” “at kung stress ka sa trabaho mong palakad lakad dito sa loob ng airport, mas stress kami sa layo ng pingagalingan namin” dagdag ko pa. Medyo mainit na ulo ko, stress pa sa byahe at parang ang liit ng tingin nila sa aming mga OFW. Payo ko sa mga airport staff, ayus-ayusin nyo mga ugali ninyo, hind naman siguro lahat peru sa aking experience lately kasi parang lahat ng madaanan kong staff parang nirerespeto lang nila yong mga naka business class.

While we were queuing, there were only five of us, the airport staff passed by and told us to fix the queue, a compatriot woman replied "because we don't know where the correct queue is because there are no markings. The staff replied again with a bit of an attitude saying "you are in Business class because you are standing in line!". And because I was the first one in line and I got a little heated when I heard what he said, I answered him "wait, there's nothing written here, this area is only for those who can afford business class and those who can't afford the other!" "and if you are stressed from your work walking here inside the airport, we are more stressed from the distance from where we come from" I added. I'm a bit hot-headed, I'm still stressed from the flight and they seem to think little of us OFWs. My advice to the airport staff, adjust your manners, maybe not all but in my experience lately because it seems like all the staff I pass by seem to only respect those in business class.

• Mientras hacíamos cola, sólo éramos cinco, pasó el personal del aeropuerto y nos dijo que arregláramos la cola, una compatriota le contestó "porque no sabemos dónde está la cola correcta porque no hay marcas". El personal volvió a contestar con un poco de actitud diciendo "¡usted está en clase Business porque está haciendo cola!". Y como yo era el primero de la cola y me acaloré un poco al oír lo que decía, le contesté "¡espera, aquí no hay nada escrito, esta zona es sólo para los que pueden permitirse la clase Business y los que no pueden permitirse la otra!". "y si usted está estresado por su trabajo caminando aquí dentro del aeropuerto, nosotros lo estamos más por la distancia desde donde venimos" añadí. Estoy un poco acalorado, todavía estoy estresado por el vuelo y parece que piensan poco de nosotros los OFW. Mi consejo para el personal del aeropuerto es que ajusten sus modales, quizá no todos, pero según mi experiencia últimamente parece que todo el personal con el que me cruzo sólo respeta a los que van en clase preferente.*

Balikan natin ang eTravel system nila. Pagpasok namin ng immigration area para sa passport scanning at biometrics, tanong ng gwardya, kung may eTravel na bad aw ako, at sabi ko meron na. Doon ko pa nalaman na kailangan pa pala namin gumawa uli ng panibagong entry nang nakita ko ang ibang mga OFW nag tumpokan at maingay sa may gilid. Mayroon silang inilagay na area na may apat or limang tablet na pweding gamitin para mag gawa ng eTravel pass. At noong time na yon isa lang ang gumagana na tablet, kaya halos lahat kami na nag expect na the same QR code lang ang gagamitin ay nakahanay doon habang gumagawa ng bagong registration. Ang medyo nakaka dismaya pa ay hindi kaya ng free internet sa loob ng airport na buksan ang web site ng eTravel system nila mabuti nalang at nakapag register ako ng data.

Let's go back to their eTravel system. When we entered the immigration area for passport scanning and biometrics, the guard asked if I had an eTravel, and I said I had. It was then that I found out that we had to make a new entry when I saw other OFWs gathered and making noise at the side. They have an area set up with four or five tablets that can be used to create an eTravel pass. And at that time there was only one working tablet, so almost all of us who expected to only use the same QR code lined up there while making a new registration. What is a bit disappointing is that the free internet inside the airport is not able to open the web site of their eTravel system, but I was able to register data.

• Volvamos a su sistema eTravel. Cuando entramos en la zona de inmigración para el escaneado del pasaporte y los datos biométricos, el guarda me preguntó si tenía un eTravel, y le dije que sí. Fue entonces cuando me enteré de que teníamos que hacer una nueva entrada al ver a otros OFW reunidos y haciendo ruido a un lado. Tienen una zona habilitada con cuatro o cinco tabletas que se pueden utilizar para crear un pase eTravel. Y en ese momento sólo había una tableta que funcionaba, así que casi todos los que esperábamos utilizar sólo el mismo código QR hicimos cola allí mientras hacíamos una nueva inscripción. Lo que resulta un poco decepcionante es que la conexión gratuita a Internet del aeropuerto no permite abrir el sitio web de su sistema eTravel, pero pude registrar los datos.*

Kasabay ko ang mag asawang mga senior citizen, naawa ako sa kanila dahil hindi nila alam ang email address nila, tumawag pa sila sa anak nila ngunit hindi sila sinasagot dahil nasa trabaho raw. Mayroong tatlong airport staff peru ni isa walang nag aassist siguro dahil mayroon na silang infographic na nakadikit sa wall para sa guide. Gayon paman dapat mag assign sila ng makapag guide sa mga nangangailangan.

I was with a couple of senior citizens, I felt sorry for them because they didn't know their email address, they even called their son but they didn't answer because they said they were at work. There are three airport staff in Peru, none of them assist, maybe because they already have an infographic stuck on the wall for the guide. However, they should assign someone who can guide those in need.

• Estuve con una pareja de personas mayores, me dio pena porque no sabían su dirección de correo electrónico, incluso llamaron a su hijo pero no contestaron porque dijeron que estaban en el trabajo. Hay tres empleados en el aeropuerto de Perú, ninguno atiende, tal vez porque ya tienen una infografía pegada en la pared para la guía. Sin embargo, deberían asignar a alguien que pueda guiar a quienes lo necesiten.*

Terminal Fee Refund/OEC

Tungkol naman sa terminal fee refund, medyo na dismaya din ako dahil hindi ko nakuha ang para sa akin. Dahil nga wala akong dalang mga ptint outs ng mga travel documents. Alam ko naman na ang OEC ang requirement sa pag claim ng refund, ang hindi ko lang maintindihan bakit kailangan pa nila ng printed na OEC. Kaya ayaw nila pumayag na maclaim ko ang halagang 550 Philippine peso. Sayang din yon, malaking halaga na para sa amin at pwedi ng pambili ng makakain sa airport habang naghihintay ng aming flight. Sana gawin na din nilang paperless ang pagclaim ng terminal fee refund at para bawas bitbitin sa mga OFW.

As for the terminal fee refund, I'm also a little disappointed because I didn't get what was meant for me. Because I don't have printouts of travel documents. I know that the OEC is the requirement to claim a refund, the only thing I don't understand is why they still need a printed OEC. So they don't want me to claim the amount of 550 Philippine pesos. That's a shame, it's a big cost for us and we can only buy food at the airport while waiting for our flight. I hope they will also make the claiming of terminal fee refund paperless so that OFWs can carry it less.

• En cuanto al reembolso de los gastos de terminal, también estoy un poco decepcionado porque no me dieron lo que me correspondía. Porque no tengo impresos los documentos de viaje. Sé que la OEC es el requisito para solicitar el reembolso, lo único que no entiendo es por qué siguen necesitando una OEC impresa. Así que no quieren que reclame la cantidad de 550 pesos filipinos. Es una pena, es un gran gasto para nosotros y sólo podemos comprar comida en el aeropuerto mientras esperamos nuestro vuelo. Espero que también hagan la solicitud de reembolso de los gastos de terminal sin papel para que los trabajadores filipinos en el extranjero puedan cargar con ellos menos.*

Sa usaping OEC naman, karamihan sa mga OFW na bumabalik sa bansa na kanilang pinagtatrabahoan lalo na yong mga hindi gaanong alam ang internet, ay kumukuha pa ng OEC nila sa POEA at gagasto pa ito ng more or less 1,000 Philippine pesos. Samantalang makukuha mo sya ng libre sa online or website ng POEAOnlineServices. Minsan papatusin ka pa ng mga mag aasikaso sayo sa POEA, pababayarin ka pa ng insurance na hindi naman kasali sa requirements. Subalit wala na rin naman tayong magagawa kung ganoon talaga ang kanilang mga kalakaran.

Regarding the OEC, most OFWs who return to the country where they are working, especially those who do not know much about the internet, still get their OEC from the POEA and it will cost more or less 1,000 Philippine pesos. Whereas you can get it for free online or on the POEAOnlineServices website. Sometimes those who will take care of you at POEA will even charge you, they will even charge you for insurance that is not part of the requirements. But there is nothing we can do if their behavior is like that.

• En cuanto a la OEC, la mayoría de los trabajadores filipinos en el extranjero que regresan al país en el que están trabajando, especialmente los que no saben mucho de Internet, siguen obteniendo su OEC de la POEA y les costará más o menos 1.000 pesos filipinos. En cambio, puedes obtenerlo gratuitamente en línea o en el sitio web POEAOnlineServices. A veces los que te atienden en POEA incluso te cobran, incluso te cobran por un seguro que no forma parte de los requisitos. Pero no hay nada que podamos hacer si su comportamiento es así.*

Gayon paman, ako man ay dismayado, ipagdasal ko pa din sila na sanay gabayan sila palagi ng panginoon at bigyan sila ng lakas para sa araw araw nilang pagtatrabaho. Maging masaya nalang tayo, matotong magpatawad at magmahal sa kapwa.

However, even though I am disappointed, I will pray for them that the Lord will always guide them and give them strength for their daily work. Let's just be happy, learn to forgive and love others.

• Sin embargo, aunque estoy decepcionada, rezaré por ellos para que el Señor los guíe siempre y les dé fuerzas para su trabajo diario. Seamos felices, aprendamos a perdonar y a amar a los demás.*

Happy New Year! | ¡Feliz Año Nuevo!