President Gloria M. Arroyo went to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates to meet with Filipinos working and residing there, besides attending a labor conference after the cancellation of the ASEAN Summit in Thailand due to political conflict.
The President welcomed reports that 200,000 new jobs are available for Filipino overseas workers in the Middle East this year.
During her visit to Dubai, Mrs. Arroyo thanked employers and manpower agencies in the Gulf region for the new jobs announcement.
“Thank you for your manifesto of support that will provide more than 200,000 new jobs aside from those already in the roster of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA). Maraming salamat sa inyo,” said Mrs. Arroyo.
The new jobs include 107,000 openings in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia alone for professionals, administrative and clerical personnel as well as sales and service workers for hotels and restaurants.
“The Filipino workers are still the most sought after workers here in the Middle East. Kaya sa kalahatan, ang trabaho sa ibayong dagat ay matatag pa rin,” said Mrs. Arroyo.
Employers speak highly of their Filipino employees whom they described as trustworthy and hardworking.
“I can tell that there are a lot of workers all over the world, but workers in the Philippines, we have perfect people to do their job, and they are following instruction and we never had any problem, and we’re very, very happy,” said Ivad Nabulsi, Business Development Manager.
The UAE is the second top destination of Filipino workers in the Middle East next to Saudi Arabia.
With reports from Dindo Amparo, ABS-CBN Middle East News Bureau Chief
