20 January 2016 – Philippine Ambassador to Qatar Wilfredo C. Santos met with the Filipino community during the General Assembly of the United Filipino Organizations in Qatar (UFOQ) last January 15 at the Social Hall of the Philippine Embassy. During the meeting, Ambassador Santos stressed the importance of emergency preparedness and updated the community on the Embassy’s contingency planning efforts.

The UFOQ is the umbrella organization that gathers all the various Filipino community groups in Qatar.

“Although there is no imminent danger for now in Qatar and the rest of the region, it is better to be prepared in the event that such a scenario suddenly occurs,” Ambassador Santos said.

The Ambassador also showed the community a sample of a ‘grab bag’ that should contain all emergency essentials in the event of a crisis. Philippine embassy officers and staff were given a month to comply with at least one grab bag for each family, and the Ambassador expressed the hope that the Filipino community will do the same.

Security Officer and Attaché John Danilo G. Jiao gave an overview of the Embassy’s updated contingency plan, while Labor Attaché Leopoldo B. De Jesus reported on his special mission from DOLE to coordinate assistance for OFWs who might be affected by the simmering political developments in the region. END