24 April 2014 – The Philippine Embassy in Rome held back-to-back forums pertaining to investments and health at the Embassy Social Hall on March 27.
The first was an investment forum entitled “Support Our Booming Philippines, Support the Filipino Investor Movement”, with resource persons from Filinvest International. The forum discussed the favorable investment climate in the Philippines today, and how overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), especially those in Italy, can invest in their own country to further improve the economy.
This was followed by a “Health Awareness and Disease Prevention Forum”, which was sponsored by institutions such as the European Union’s Fondo Europeo per l’Integrazione di Cittadini di Paesi Terzi, Italy’s Ministry of Interior, the San Camillo Forlanini Hospital in Rome, including non-profit associations like the Intercultural Association GRIOT and the Filipino Nurses Association.
In his welcome remarks to formally start the forums, Philippine Ambassador to Italy Virgilio A. Reyes, Jr. said that while the Philippines is undergoing impressive growth, Filipinos have to work together to attain “inclusive growth,” a growth that will permeate the households of all Filipinos and will be felt and appreciated by all our kababayans.
Ambassador Reyes quoted Secretary of Foreign Affairs Albert F. del Rosario as follows:
“We call on Filipinos all over the world to join in our country’s march towards economic development and social progress. By investing in the Philippines and engaging in entrepreneurship, overseas Filipino workers can be more powerful drivers of growth. Our collective efforts will eventually transform overseas employment from a necessary means of survival to a real economic choice.”
The Ambassador further stressed the importance of being healthy so that OFWs can reap the fruits of their investments:
“At syempre, hindi natin mapapakinabangan ang ating mga ipon at pinaghirapan, kung hindi rin natin pangangalagaan ang ating kalusugan. Kaya pareho nating pag-uusapan ngayong hapon ang ‘Kayamanan at Kalusugan’, na parehong susi sa paghahanda sa ating kinabukasan,” said Ambassador Reyes. END