02 January 2014 - The Philippine Embassy in Manama, Bahrain held a Leaders’ Forum on December 20, 2013 to discuss the programs, projects, and services of the Philippine Embassy and attached agencies, including the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO), Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), Pag-IBIG, and the Social Security Services (SSS). The Forum was attended by 50 Filipino community leaders from various Filipino professional, socio-civic, and religious organizations in Bahrain, and personnel of the Embassy and attached services.

During the Forum, Embassy officials discussed the Embassy’s Citizens’ Charter for frontline services, status of operations in the consular, Assistance to Nationals (ATN), labor and welfare sections, as well as the legal, institutional,  and policy frameworks within which the Embassy’s various sections operate. The membership benefits, programs, and services of Pag-IBIG and SSS, were also discussed. Embassy officials likewise discussed the Embassy mandate, functions, duties and responsibilities, along the three pillars of foreign policy, in order to provide an overview on the Embassy’s activities in the host country. A question and answer (Q & A) portion followed after each presentation.

The Leaders Forum seeks to establish a venue for discussion of the programs and services of the PHL government, including those of the Embassy and attached agencies, developments in Bahrain and in the region that might affect the Philippines and/or the Filipino community in Bahrain, OFW-related issues and concerns, and other matters of significance to the Philippines and the Filipino people. It is envisioned to serve as a feedback mechanism through which the needs, interests, and challenges confronting the Filipinos in Bahrain are articulated, discussed and addressed, through dialogue and consultations between and among Embassy personnel and Filipino community leaders. Intended as a series of continuing sessions/forums held on a quarterly/ need basis, the Forum aims at establishing a pool of leaders authorized to conduct IEC campaigns on Embassy programs and services, and other OFW-related issues and concerns. END