The Global Filipino Magazine TGFM Issue 14 - June 2021

Before working as the Office Manager of MENA Consultancy, an innovative business solutions in UAE, Elaine Kristine Madugay was just a timid and shy lady. Comparing how she was when she first started, she said he never would have thought that she would come this far--playing a huge part in a huge corporation. She recalled arriving in UAE in 2013. She thought that she must have carried a lot of courage in her pocket then being it was her first time to travel alone and abroad. “But thinking about it now, I may have just been so thrilled and had high hopes for what the future holds,” she said. After graduating in 2012, she was contemplating whether to pursue a career in the Philippines or abroad. Since her mother has…

Hailing from the town of Camiling, Tarlac, Romeo Duque Jr. studied Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering at the prestigious University of Santo Tomas. A licensed engineer in the Philippines and one of the top-notchers in the 2004 Civil Engineer Licensure Exam, he arrived in Dubai some 15 years ago to work as a draftsman in one of the biggest facade manufacturing companies in the world. The core business of the company is the facade or building envelope. Today, he is the Chief Engineer of the same company catering to projects, not only here in the Middle East, but also in the USA, Europe, Russia, Asia, and Australia. “I consider myself fortunate to work here in the Middle East which some consider as the ‘architect’s playground’, this is evident in…

Grace Banghal-Callister describes herself as a ‘go-getter’ who is very passionate about her dreams. Regardless of how the hurdles may appear to be before she started, she sets out to achieve them. Owner and director of iQuBETS, a training and professional certification company based in the Philippines, with a presence in Cambodia, Brunei, Laos, Nepal, and Timor Leste, Callister is also a course director for the HR and Training certifications of the American Certification Institute, USA and Global Ambassador and Vice President for Fame Times International Excellence Awards (FTIEA). Her professional life started at Coca-Cola Bottlers Phils Inc. in the city of San Fernando, Pampanga when she was fresh out of university in 1999. She started as a secretary for the Plant Operations Manager and eventually became the Technical Assistant…

Chad Elegado, for the last five years, has been working as the video editor of Mohamed Beiraghdary, popularly known as Mo Vlogs on social media, after failing to secure a job in Singapore. Elegado, who is also the social media manager of the social media influencer, said that his current job is far from what he had planned although video editing was already his hobby before. He couldn’t believe until now that his regular activity that was done for enjoyment before would be his bread and butter today. Unlike many overseas Filipino workers, Elegado’s reason why he opted to work abroad is to ‘learn more’ after failing at business. While he was taking a Bachelor of Science in Entrepreneurial Management, he started attending seminars concluded in top universities in the…

A 10-year-old Filipino based in Abu Dhabi is all set to conquer the sixteenth season of the esteemed Americas Got Talent. Known as ‘a small boy with a big voice’, Peter Anthony Rosalita’s first performance and appearance went on air last June 1, during the premiere episode of the American talent show on NBC Channel in the United States of America. Born and living in the capital of the UAE, at an early age, his family noticed that he preferred watching cartoon videos that usually have musical scenes and sing along with them even though he could not utter the words clearly. His journey in singing started when he was just six with a thought on his mind that he likes to get a medal. The boy recalled asking his…

Ester Mercado has been working as a household service worker (HSW) for 20 years now in the same employer in Malaysia. She grew up in a less fortunate family, her parents died when she was only one year old. Merca, along with her three siblings, had no choice but to live with their grandmother, who died due to cancer when they were about to finish secondary school. “It was a very sad moment in our lives,” she recalled. At that time, she and her sister were just 15 and 16. To survive, they sold vegetables. Determined to finish her studies, she secured a scholarship from the Gregg Business College in Manila. However, the time and money she needed did not suffice. With no parental guidance, she married at a very…