09 October 2013 – Philippine Ambassador to Lebanon Leah M. Basinang-Ruiz led the officers and staff of the Philippine Embassy in Beirut, Philippine Overseas Labor Office and Overseas Workers Welfare Administration in attending back-to-back Filipino community organization celebrations last October 06, in order to demonstrate the full support of the Philippine Team in Lebanon for their common endeavors towards the benefit of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in Lebanon.
During two separate events, two Filipino community organizations, namely, Isabelino Ako Organization Inc, Lebanon Chapter and the Sarba Parish Group, installed their respective new set of officers by reciting their oaths of office before Ambassador Basinang-Ruiz.
The Isabelino Ako Organization Inc. Lebanon Chapter has 260 members, including its eight newly-elected officers. As indicated by the name of the group, the members all hail from the province of Isabela, and commit themselves to promote their home province in their places of work. The organization is present Saudi Arabia, Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong, United Arab Emirates (Abu Dhabi), Kuwait, France and Malaysia. The Lebanon chapter also celebrated its second anniversary on that day.
The Sarba Parish Group is a church-based organization with 46 members. While its name was taken from the place where the group usually meets (a village in the Keserwan District of Mount Lebanon), its membership is open to all Filipinos working in the different parts of the country. It was founded in 2003 when a group of OFWs from the village initiated a weekly Catholic mass for migrant workers in the area, celebrated by the group’s spiritual adviser, Fr. Theo Vlugt SJ. The Sarba Group also assists Father Theo during his regular Sunday masses at the St. Elie Church in Antelias (a town in the Matn District of Mount Lebanon), which gather the third largest number of Filipino workers for community worship in Lebanon.
In her separate messages during the induction ceremonies, Ambassador Ruiz congratulated the officers and members of the two organizations and encouraged them to continue actively working towards the fulfillment of their mission and collaborating with the Embassy in promoting and protecting the rights and welfare of the Filipinos in Lebanon. END