Another Filipino Musical events is line up to happen here in Dubai United Arab Emirates and this events titled “Filipino Music Festival”. This musical events will commence at the Zabeel Park Gate 1 and 3 on March 12, 2009.

The performing artist from the Philippines are Charice Pempengco, Kyla along with the band group of Parokya ni Edgar and River Maya.

Performing also on the event are homegrown Filipino talents in the Uae.

It’ an event that will bring the house down.

Gates will be opened at 4 pm , show starts at 9 PM.

For more information, call 24 hour ticket hotline : 0556887478/0509096681

Tickets are sold in all Golden Fork Outlets ,Cellucom, Cm Supermarket, Al Maya Supermarket Satwa , Box-office me .com and Spinneys.

February 16, 2009 at the Philippine Consulate Office Dubai  a press conference regarding  the Visit Visa run issues from Buraimi of  Oman and Kish, Island of Iran and  the integration of displaced “OFW” Overseas Filipino Workers.

The Head is Filipino Group Slammed by Manila Officials
story by Mariecar Jara- Puyod of  Gulf Today
A Philippine grassroots group which has been critical of any Philippine president and administration, has itself gotten the thrashing when two visiting officials from Manila, one of who was supposed to be its ally, dared it to prove its allegations of the misappropriation of the Php4 billion (Dhs308 million) fund meant for the 10 million overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) worldwide.
The lashing against Migrante by Philippine-based Labour Attache Jeffrey Cortazar and newly-designated Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (Owwa) boardmember- women sector representative Bai Omera Dianalan Lucman, happened on Monday at the exit press conference of two Department of Labour and Employment (DoLE) teams, deployed to Oman and the UAE so that Manila could better address the plight of Filipinos on visa runs and the displaced workers (retrenched or given termination notices) in relation to the global crisis. They (Migrante) have been saying that (allegations of misappropriation) for decades despite (the implementation) of innovative programmes for documented as well as undocumented OFWs,” said Cortazar. every two years who must benefit from the Owwa fund.

“Nothing can be dispensed off just like that without the approval of the board which is a (12-man) composite team (of top-level government officials and sectoral representatives),” said Lucman.
“Owwa funds are covered by very strict auditing. All Migrante has to do is check on the books of the Commission on Audit,” said Cortazar, adding that it will be good if the group, affiliated with international organisations, “do some pencil pushing.”
“I hope they do research and I hope they will be satisfied with their findings,” he also said, claiming that while the Philippine media is accessible to anything that is news, why has Migrante been vigilant only in maligning anyone who sits in government but has not informed it of the doubling of the Owwa funds from Php5 billion (Dhs4 million) to Php10 billion (Dhs8 million) in less than a year.
“I know Migrante is fully aware (of this),” Cortazar said.
Before the press conference, Lucman, along with other Philippine government officials already repeated what has been the problem with regards the fund: that there are OFWs and their families who had been neglectful of repaying whatever loans granted them either for livelihood, education and health purposes.
It was on Sunday when Migrante-Middle East Chapter released a press statement, urging all OFWs to support the on-line signature campaign so that the Php4 billion fund would not be misappropriated in the guise of the reintegration programme (back-to-the-mainstream Philippine society) option given to displaced OFWs.
Cortazar who transited between Oman and the UAE for the past 20 days as head of the Oman (Buraimi) Help Desk Team, had informed The Gulf Today about the release of the Php1 billion (Dhs77 million) for the displaced workers from Oct. 15, 2008.
He also mentioned last week about the three-phase reintegration programme, initially introduced to the first batch of the 4,000 displaced OFWs in Taiwan in December last year.
This is only for the displaced OFWs from Oct. 15 last year,” said Cortazar who is the DoLE-National Reintegration Centre Office head.
“What we want is that OFWs develop that long-range planning,” he said, explaining that those who choose to avail of this package, will first of all go through free training sessions on whatever skills or business ventures they want to engage in.
“So far, there are success stories of the displaced earning between Php2,000 and Php3,000 (Dhs154 and Dhs231) a day from jewelry making and meat processing they were trained to do. They were telling me they better stay home and be with their families than go abroad,” he said.

The second phase includes the release of a non-collateral loan of Php50,000 (Dhs3,846) with a five percent interest per annum for business expansion. Once very successful, the displaced workers could avail of the Php500,000 (Dhs38,461) loan for more expansion.

This story appeared in Gulf Today (Print copy) Page 3 of February 17, 2009 issue. Continued

Sa kabila ng mga pasakit at paghihirap ng ating mga kababayan sa ibang bansa na ating napapanood at nababasa sa mga balita mayroon din naman na mga tao ng pumupuri at nagpapahalaga sa kadakilaan ng mga Filipino. Naalala ko lagi  yung aking nabasang balita sa isang online news paper from the middle east ito ang Arab News mula sa Saudi Arabia. Nilalaman nito kung gaano kahalaga ang isang mangagawang Filipino sa kahit anong larangnan.  Ang balitang ito ay hindi po haka-haka lang bagkus ito ay isang tunay na pahayag….

Imagine a world without Filipino by: Abdullah Al-Maghlooth | Al-Watan, almaghlooth@alwatan.com.sa from Arab News the leading English Language Daily

Muhammad Al-Maghrabi became handicapped and shut down his flower and gifts shop business in Jeddah after his Filipino workers insisted on leaving and returning home. He says: “When they left, I felt as if I had lost my arms. I was so sad that I lost my appetite.”

Al-Maghrabi then flew to Manila to look for two other Filipino workers to replace the ones who had left. Previously, he had tried workers of different nationalities but they did not impress him. “There is no comparison between Filipinos and others,” he says. Whenever I see Filipinos working in the Kingdom, I wonder what our life would be without them.

Saudi Arabia has the largest number of Filipino workers — 1,019,577 — outside the Philippines. In 2006 alone, the Kingdom recruited more than 223,000 workers from the Philippines and their numbers are still increasing. Filipinos not only play an important and effective role in the Kingdom, they also perform different jobs in countries across the world, including working as sailors. They are known for their professionalism and the quality of their work.

Nobody here can think of a life without Filipinos, who make up around 20 percent of the world’s seafarers. There are 1.2 million Filipino sailors.

So if Filipinos decided one day to stop working or go on strike for any reason, who would transport oil, food and heavy equipment across the world? We can only imagine the disaster that would happen.

What makes Filipinos unique is their ability to speak very good English and the technical training they receive in the early stages of their education. There are several specialized training institutes in the Philippines, including those specializing in engineering and road maintenance. This training background makes them highly competent in these vital areas.

When speaking about the Philippines, we should not forget Filipino nurses. They are some 23 percent of the world’s total number of nurses. The Philippines is home to over 190 accredited nursing colleges and institutes, from which some 9,000 nurses graduate each year. Many of them work abroad in countries such as the US, the UK, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Singapore.

Cathy Ann, a 35-year-old Filipino nurse who has been working in the Kingdom for the last five years and before that in Singapore, said she does not feel homesick abroad because “I am surrounded by my compatriots everywhere.” Ann thinks that early training allows Filipinos to excel in nursing and other vocations. She started learning this profession at the age of four as her aunt, a nurse, used to take her to hospital and ask her to watch the work. “She used to kiss me whenever I learned a new thing. At the age of 11, I could do a lot. I began doing things like measuring my grandfather’s blood pressure and giving my mother her insulin injections,” she said.

This type of early education system is lacking in the Kingdom. Many of our children reach the university stage without learning anything except boredom.

The Philippines, which you can barely see on the map, is a very effective country thanks to its people. It has the ability to influence the entire world economy.

We should pay respect to Filipino workers, not only by employing them but also by learning from their valuable experiences.

We should learn and educate our children on how to operate and maintain ships and oil tankers, as well as planning and nursing and how to achieve perfection in our work. This is a must so that we do not become like Muhammad Al-Maghrabi who lost his interest and appetite when Filipino workers left his flower shop.

We have to remember that we are very much dependent on the Filipinos around us. We could die a slow death if they chose to leave us.

So mga kababyan be proud to be a FIlipino… Taas Noo Filipino!!!