ALKHOBAR, 12 August 2007 — Filipino organizations in the Eastern Region will be tapped to play a bigger role in community affairs under a new program launched by the Philippine Overseas Labor Office, Eastern Region Operations.
Labor Attaché David Des Dicang, head of the POLO-ERO, introduced the program over the weekend during a meeting attended by community representatives, with a view to restoring the unity built over the years by the region’s diverse groups.
Ambassador Antonio P. Villamor had earlier urged Dicang to make it his priority to repair the POLO-ERO’s ties with the community, which was at a low ebb during the previous administration.
Part of the new program is to orient community leaders or representatives with the POLO-ERO’s mission, functions and policies. Awareness seminars have been scheduled on four major areas, which include livelihood and reintegration, sports, cultural, and labor concerns.
Dicang believed that misunderstandings between the community and embassy officials could be minimized if OFWs were made fully aware of government programs to serve the estimated one million Filipinos in the Kingdom.
“If we know each other well and understand each other’s tasks, then the work will be easy for everybody, and there will be no misunderstandings,” he said.
For a start, the meeting last Friday dealt with how to develop and conduct reintegration seminars to all community members so that they could avail themselves of potential business opportunities when they return home.
Three more seminars will be conducted within this month: sports on Aug. 16, culture and arts on Aug. 23, and labor awareness on Aug. 24.
Dicang said it is important to make community leaders become knowledgeable particularly on the laws and regulations of the host country, including the proper procedures on how to help those in distress, so that they could also explain these to their members.
“With every community leader participating, the awareness campaign will have a multiplier effect. It’s basically opening our office to everyone,” he said.
During a gathering last week with the embassy officials, community leaders pointed out that there was no continuity in the thrusts and approach taken by labor attachés assigned to the region.
In response, Dicang said that’s where government needs the community’s help. He said the tour of duty of consular and labor officers is short and they cannot possibly do everything in a short span of time. “We in government cannot do it alone, we need all of you,” he said.
Friendship Games
Dicang hopes to revive the Friendship Games, which was organized by the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) to unite the OFWs in the Middle East.
Then Labor Secretary Patricia Santo Tomas halted the games in 2002 after finding that some welfare officers were stealing money allocated for the event.
One welfare officer assigned in a neighboring Gulf country was subsequently fired after failing to account for a big amount of OWWA fund.
Dicang said he recognized that community organizations may have their own projects that compete with, rather than complement each other. But with proper coordination, clashes could be avoided, he said.
“We want to bring the community together on having a calendar of activities of all groups on welfare, reintegration, sports and culture,” he said.
Welfare Officer Rolando Coquia heads the facilitators of the four seminars. He is assisted by the POLO-ERO staff Willie Concepcion, Robert Cudal, Najeer Oquendo, Rosario Avanceña and Gelyn Alpuerto.
