PH Consulate in Jeddah Hosts Public Forum on OFW Reintegration Programs
Consul General to Jeddah Edgar B. Badajos (center), consulate officials and the resource speakers and officials from the attached agencies. (Jeddah PCG photo)
JEDDAH 27 September 2019 — The Philippine Consulate General in Jeddah held a Public Forum on OFW Reintegration Programs on 13 September 2019.
“Preparedness is key to successfully reintegrating into the mainstream Philippine society after years of living overseas as an Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW),” said Consul General Edgar B. Badajos in his opening remarks. The Consulate emphasized the Philippine government’s efforts to prepare returning OFWs for life back home as the economic conditions in Saudi Arabia and other overseas destinations for foreign migrant workers are no longer as lucrative as before.
In his remarks, Consul General Badajos urged the participants to take stock of not just their available resources, but also their skillsets as they prepare for their journey back to the Philippines. He said it is not enough that one has capital or a business idea. “More important than these considerations is possession of the right mindset and skillset to ensure that one’s chosen career or business after life as an OFW will succeed,” he added. He urged the participants to carefully study the various reintegration programs of the government to see what best suits their post-OFW life.
The public forum covered a wide range of topics including the various Philippine reintegration programs being administered by the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) and other government agencies, savings and investment opportunities available under Pag-IBIG and SSS, exciting business opportunities, technical as well as financial assistance offered by the Philippine Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and its various Negosyo Centers located nationwide, and the cost of borrowing money. END
Top photo: Members of the Filipino community in Jeddah listen intently to the speakers.
Bottom photo: Consul General Badajos addresses one of the questions during the open forum with Labor Attaché Nasser B. Munder (leftmost). The resource speakers who are seated and ready to take questions were (third from the left going to the right): POLO-Jeddah Administrative Staff Laureen C. Musa, SSS representative Michael D. Ingal, Pag-IBIG representative Jamal D. Baguan, DTI representative Bugshan A. Tendegaranao, and POLO-Jeddah Welfare Officer James Mendiola. (Jeddah PCG photo)
For more information, visit https://www.jeddahpcg.dfa.gov.ph or https://www.facebook.com/PHLinJeddah/.