20 March 2015 – Philippine Ambassador to Qatar Crescente R. Relacion made a farewell call on the Qatari Minister of Municipality and Urban Planning Sheikh Abdul Rahman bin Khalifa Al-Thani on March 15, where the Minister conveyed his support for Filipino engineers and architects whose accreditation in Qatar remain uncertain due to differences between the Philippines’ and Qatar’s education system.

Ambassador Relacion expressed his hope to the Minister in the swift resolution of the issue regarding the accreditation of Filipino engineers and architects in Qatar, so as not to disrupt the professional careers of the overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) that contribute to the massive ongoing infrastructure developments in the country.

The Ambassador said that he is looking forward to the visit of Qatar’s Urban Planning and Development Authority (UPDA) along with members of the Equivalency Committee of the Supreme Education Council (SEC) to the Philippines in April. They are to meet with the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) to see for themselves the Philippine system of regulation and licensure of engineers and architects. 

Ambassador Relacion briefly explained the procedure for Filipino engineers and architects to acquire their professional license in the Philippines to Minister Al-Thani, who was impressed with the stringent licensure procedure. The Qatari Minister expressed his support for the professional and technical qualifications of Filipino engineers and architects, regardless of differences in education system. He further assured Ambassador Relacion of his commitment to resolve this issue, including the re-accreditation of Philippine universities and colleges that were delisted.

Ambassador Relacion also took this opportunity to express his thanks for the assistance of the Ministry of Municipality and Urban Planning in facilitating the approval of the construction of the new building of the Philippine School Doha. END