RIYADH, 22 November 2004 — The Philippine Embassy has paid tribute to Rafael T. David, an engineer whose activities as a community leader in Yanbu have inspired many Overseas Filipino Workers in going out of their way to help distressed compatriots.
Ka Raffy, as David is better known, retired from the Power and Water Utility Co. for Jubail and Yanbu just recently after 22 years of service, with his last position as maintenance engineering and planning superintendent.
“For his professional successes, outstanding personal dedication to help needy OFWs and contributions to the development of the Filipino community in Yanbu ... Mr. David embodies the ideal world-class Filipino worker,” the embassy said in a press statement released on Saturday.
“As a leader, he has energized the Filipino community in Yanbu and synergized with a network of other like-minded Filipino community leaders in the Kingdom as well as Philippine government officials in bringing about positive results to requests for assistance from OFWs and their families,” it added.
Ambassador Bahnarim A. Guinomla has earlier sent a Certificate of Recognition for Ka Raffy just before his departure to the Philippines on Nov. 11. He recalled that Ka Raffy’s services to the community date back to the days when he was still a junior officer in the Embassy, then located in Jeddah.
Guinomla also saw Ka Raffy’s active work as a leader of the Filipino Community in Yanbu, or Filcoyan, when he (Guinomla) was consul general in Jeddah from 1994 to 1998.
Embassy officials and community members who knew Ka Raffy say what made him stand out was his ability to get positive results on many cases of distressed OFWs without having to offend embassy personnel or employers.
Because of this, some Filipinos working outside of Yanbu or of the Kingdom have also sought help from him.
It was also noted that even after reaping many awards such as the presidential award for outstanding OFWs, the Bagong Bayani award, the Gawad Geny Lopez award, to name a few, Ka Raffy refused to slow down in helping the distressed.
In an interview with Pinoy Xtra — the Tagalog Sunday supplement of Arab News — before his departure, Ka Raffy was asked what inspired him into performing all these feats, which entailed a lot of work and required a lot of patience.
His answer was simple.
“It’s better that I am the one helping others than the one seeking help,” he said in Tagalog.
Ambassador Guinomla observed, however, that Ka Raffy really had “a genuine heart for his countrymen and his native land.”
“Stepping into the shoes of Mr. David is a big challenge to his successors,” Guinomla said.
Nevertheless, he said that Ka Raffy’s loss “will in no way diminish the determination of the Philippine Mission in the Kingdom in working with the community leaders in assisting those OFWs who are in need of help wherever they may be.”
“I am confident that the community in Yanbu will rally behind their new leader as a form of tribute to Mr. David and his legacy,” Guinomla added.
