COTABATO CITY – Villagers in two Mindanao regions have seen brighter prospects in their desire to work abroad and earn ample income for their poor families affected by natural and man-made calamities, following the establishment here of a Regional Consular Office (RCO).

“Things have brightened as the opportunity is brought closer to us, and we are very grateful for it,” a teary eyed Zainab, a 32-year-old widow, told the Manila Bulletin in Moro dialect, referring to the opening of the RCO at the City Hall building here.

The RCO here led by Regional Director Dalidig Tanandato serves the coastal towns of Lanao del Sur and entire Maguindanao, both of the Muslim Mindanao region, and the provinces of Sultan Kudarat, North Cotabato and South Cotabato under Region 12.

When asked about her teary eyes, Zainab said, “These are tears of joy that fell after I got my passport in so short a time” at the RCO manned initially by a skeletal force.

Zainab said that after her husband died four years ago and their four kids stopped schooling due to poverty, she has been desirous to work abroad but the difficulty and cost of acquiring a passport from distant Davao and Cagayan de Oro cities made her hesitant.
“Finally, I got my key to work abroad. I have a prospect employer in Dubai…And my children now have better chances of resuming studies,” the Moro widow averred.

Zainab was one of some 500 passport seekers who lined up and submitted required documents to the RCO late last week and got their passports the next working day.

Like her, other new passport holders described Tanandato and his skeletal workforce as “very courteous and accommodating.”

“We hope all government workers are like them,” said Esperanza, who happened to be another widow desiring to work abroad since 2008.