ALKHOBAR, 10 April 2003 — Labor Attaché Jalilo dela Torre has finally said goodbye to the Filipino community in the Eastern Region after a brief but productive stint. He is to assume his new post in Tel Aviv, Israel.

Dela Torre served as head of the POLO-OWWA Eastern Region Operations based here for only nine months from July last year. He was due to transfer to Israel on March 15 but since the Iraq war began his transfer was delayed.

Though most of the diplomats assigned in the Eastern Region were known to have done their best, dela Torre’s initiatives were considered unique and outstanding.

Dela Torre first launched the Barya Mo, Buhay Ko, a fund raising project for distressed Filipino workers in Riyadh. He replicated the same fund drive in the Eastern Region.

The introduction of the Megabyte 2 made dela Torre popular within the community group. A series of computer related seminars and trainings were held throughout the region, starting in Al-Hasa, then Dammam, Alkhobar, Dhahran, and Jubail. High school students also benefited.

Dela Torre also had pushed for savings and investment seminars which were conducted in cooperation with the OFW Investors Society.

Dela Torre was also instrumental in the formation of the OFW Information and Communication Technology Convenor Group, a Kingdom-wide association of Filipino IT professionals and enthusiasts.

Labatt Jolly, as he was fondly called by the community here, also introduced the POLO On Wheels, a reachout program to deliver labor, welfare, and consular services to remote places of the region.

The team already served the Filipino community in Hafar Al Baten, 500 kilometers away from Alkhobar.

During his term, he initiated the monthly discussion forum called Kapihan sa Park Hotel. It community members a chance to personally interact with guest speakers ranging from the Philippine ambassador, the deputy manager of the Office of Civil Defense, the physician assigned to Riyadh, the president of the OFW Investors Society, and officers of the OFW International Holdings.

During the preparation on contingency plans with the current Middle East crisis, dela Torre initiated the program on WelfareNet, a network of welfare and communications facilities which effectively obliterates the barriers of time and distance between the Philippine Embassy/POLO and its clientele.

It also includes the WelfareNet SMS Hotline, a text messaging facility for OFWs in the Kingdom; the www.welfarenet.org, the Project’s official website; the OFW Tracking System (OTS); and Case Management and Information System (CMIS), a database of all labor, welfare and police cases handled by the POLOs in the Kingdom and by the Assistance to Nationals Section.

Supervising Welfare Officer Sotero Tornea Jr. now heads the POLO-OWWA Alkhobar in place of dela Torre.