MANILA, Philippines — The Embassy of the Philippines in Madrid, Spain hosted the 5th Overseas Filipino (OF) Congress held at the Colegio La Salle Maravillas in Madrid recently.
More than 300 Filipinos registered for the event, with more than 200 more availing of the onsite facility for frontline services and programs offered by Pag-IBIG and SSS as well as consular and MWO/OWWA services.
Ambassador Philippe Lhuillier, in his welcome remarks, reminded the attendees that the idea of the Congress began more than 10 years ago as an effort to unite all overseas Filipinos as one community and as one amazing force of good. He added that he is rooting for all of them to succeed in their endeavors in Spain.
There were three panel discussions at the 5th OF Congress which explored various topics affecting overseas Filipinos.
The panel on “Political and Social Participation in a Global Context,” touched on leadership, the Filipino cultural identity, effective strategies in fostering constructive engagement with local government and host communities, and the best practices of Filipino organizations and associations in other countries.
The panel on “Financial Literacy and Entrepreneurship,” discussed the different government programs on financial management and investment from Pag-IBIG and SSS, the Kanegosyo Center of Cebuana Lhuillier, as well as online financial scams tackled by Metrobank.
The panel on “Digital Literacy and Upskilling” discussed the basic and advanced skills required to complete digital transformation, the advent of artificial intelligence, the issue of misinformation and how to counter it and the challenge of upgrading workforce technology literacy.
The distinguished speakers of the congress were experts in their respective fields, namely Col. Joseph Jeremias Dator, Defense and Armed Forces Attaché; Commercial Counselor Althea Karen Antonio, head of the Philippine Trade and Investment Center in Madrid; Labor Attache Angela Librado-Trinidad, head of Migrant Workers Office-Madrid; Lydia Cabagnot, European regional head of SSS; Walter Lim, VP Europe Region head of Metrobank; Olivia Zerrudo, VP of Pag-IBIG NCR, Yosu Andoni de Erquiaga, EU business development lead of Cebuana Lhuillier, Carlo Velasco, CEO of Videogaga; Mischa Balazo, partner engineering program manager, Google; and Samantha Tan, Partner, Viajar Hoy.
Post also provided Certificates of Recognition to Filipinos and Filipino organizations that extended help to their community or assisted the embassy in community and cultural programs. Among the awardees were the Emergency Response Team, which assisted in the relief efforts in Valencia; Carlos Alfonso Bernardo and Danielle Arcegono of Bright Corner Academy who is a partner of the Sentro Rizal-Madrid’s Malikhaing Bata program; Dr. Sharon Dumo, who provides the Embassy’s regular free medical clinic to Filipinos; and the Madrid Spain Conquerors Eagles Club, which maintains the Jose Rizal Monument in Avenida de Filipinas in Madrid.
Jollibee sponsored the lunch for the congress, donating 400 packs of Jolly spaghetti, Chickenjoy and Yumburgers while other local companies and shops donated various gift certificates for the event´s raffle draw.
The 5th Overseas Filipino Congress is a biennial gathering of Filipino community leaders in Spain and Andorra organized by Post in collaboration with the Migrant Workers Office in Madrid.
This year's theme for the Congress is “Tagapagtaguyod ng Pagbabago at Tagumpay sa Bagong Pilipinas” (Advocates of Change and Success in the New Philippines), highlighting the role of overseas Filipinos as agents of change in the host country and as global Ambassadors of the Philippines abroad.
The purpose of the OF Congress is to create a platform for overseas Filipinos to congregate, network and interact with one another as well as enable them to learn from various resource persons on diverse issues and subject matter affecting their interest and welfare.
The event was very successful and received very positive feedback from the participants coming from various parts of Spain such as Malaga, Tenerife, Las Palmas, Marbella, Sotogrande, Canary Islands, Cadiz and Madrid.
Editor’s Note: This press release is sponsored by Philippine Embassy in Spain. It is published by the Advertising Content Team that is independent from our Editorial Newsroom.