Innholdsfortegnelse for TGFM Issue 16 - August 2021 i The Global Filipino Magazine

A native of Calbayog City, Samar, Dr. Arturo “Arthur” C. Basbas is the fourth child out of six siblings of a mediocre family. Through the CKSP-ISKO scholarship program of the City Arts & Culture Office in Calbayog City, he was able to complete his degree, Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education. To further broaden his knowledge and skills, he pursued advanced studies so he could move ahead in the field, so he finished his Master of Arts in Education major in Educational Management, and after 14 years of hard work, he was deeply thankful to have upgraded himself with a Doctor of Philosophy degree that befits his passion for a better future. “Though the road to my Ph.D. was steep and perilously winding, but the challenge was profound as it…

Before coming to Dubai, Jamila Kristine Al Shayeb was a subject matter expert (SME) call centre agent back in the Philippines for about four years. And just like almost every else out there, he ventured abroad to provide a better livelihood to her families and loved ones, given that there are better opportunities and salary rates overseas compared to the Philippines. Al Shayeb came to Dubai in 2016 and started her career as a team member in a known coffee shop and restaurant in Dubai International Airport Terminal 1 that has originated in the United Kingdom. During her first year, she was recognized as one of the employees of the month and was promoted as a hot food chef in her second year working in the coffee shop. Two years…

Two-year-old Neo Castiel Araula Bawag has been doing incredible things that kids his age could not. As young as he is, he can perform basic mathematical problems, including addition, subtraction, multiplication, and a bit of subtraction. He can also read words and sometimes read his storybooks alone and the instructions in his activity books. At 18 months, he can already identify international flags. He knows all the eight planets, including the dwarf planets. Both of his parents are working for the e-commerce firm Namshi. His father, Johneil, is a senior panner; while his mother, Diana, is a merchandize planning manner. Both of them were engineering graduates. “During pregnancy, I listened to classical music, including Mozart and Beethoven, every day especially at night before and while I was sleeping. I’ve read…

Maria Margarita Gomez, dearly called ‘Marge’, believes that failure is another stepping stone to greatness. Making a lot of mistakes--stumbled and fell down--she knew that growth takes time as even the brightest diamonds are formed under intense pressure. In 2008, Marge began her journey in UAE in the fashion industry. She arrived in the host country when the place was still a diamond in the rough. Her brother invited her and entered the country on a tourist visa for two months. She never thought of working outside the country as she was comfortably working as a public school teacher with a degree in Commerce Marketing and Master’s Degree in Supervision and Administration and manning a boutique in Davao at the same time. She walked away from what she had in…

Filipino Institute, under its license Success Wisdom Professional and Management Development Training LLC, has now been a recognized ATHE Centre, a global awarding organization regulated by Ofqual and other UK and international regulators. According to Mr. Gabriel John Rimando, after a rigorous process of accreditation for the past couple of months, finally, Filipino Institute is now recognized by the England-based organization, which has been offering a wide portfolio of vocationally oriented and internationally recognized qualifications–such as business and management, law, computing and healthcare, among others. The recognition signifies that Filipino Institute is now accredited to offer certificates and diploma programs from level 3 to 7. Below is the level of qualifications as stated by the UK’s National Qualification Framework (NQF): Level 3 – a qualification equivalent to A level. Level 4 –…

Through the years, Filipino Institute has been helping thousands of Filipinos in the Middle East to advance in their fields by offering certification courses and professional diploma programs. France Sanchez Ramos, a ‘proud’ Filipino Institute Sharjah branch graduate, said that he was able to use what he has learned from the educational institution when he decided to work as a healthcare assistant for a hospital in England. Ramos, whose on a wife’s dependent’s visa, said that one of the factors he is now working in the United Kingdom is his wife nurse. For the past two and a half years, he has been working as a healthcare assistant. Before embarking on a journey in England, Ramos was a production supervisor in SAIF Zone. “Filipino Institute taught me the basic skills that…

The K-12 team has recently introduced the Employee Dependents Scholarship Grant (RDSG) or privilege exclusively for Filipino Institute full-time and adjunct trainers. Under the K-12 program, dependents of full-time employees, including spouses or children, are entitled to a 100 percent tuition scholarship as part of the employee benefits agreement. In an announcement made by Lideline Lariosa, Filipino Institute’s director of academic services, the privilege does not include the miscellaneous and admission. “However, corresponding fees shall be collected if the employee is terminated or has resigned from their designated position. The corresponding payments will be calculated from the date of resignation/termination up to the last day of the school year based on the school calendar,” Lariosa added. Meanwhile, dependents of adjunct trainers and employees are entitled to a 50 percent tuition…

Filipino Institute has recently inked a partnership with the Philippines’ Emilio Aguinaldo College (EAC) Manila to offer three programs to the growing number of Filipinos in the Middle East at an affordable rate. The partnership signifies that Filipino Institute is now accredited to offer EAC’s Teacher Certification Program, Masters Degree Programs, and Doctorate Degree Programs. Teacher Certification Program is offered to those who want to be a licensed professional teachers and be qualified for licensure examination for teachers (LET) in just one semester. Students must complete 18 units of course of work and must be a Bachelor of Arts or Science degree holder from a higher education institution that is recognized by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED). In the Master’s Degree Program, students must complete 18 units of the…

Dan Lester Dabon, 32, is the youngest and only Filipino included in the Top 100 Healthcare Leaders by the International Forum on Advancements in Healthcare (IFAH) during the ceremonies recently held at the MGM Grand Hotel, Las Vegas, USA. Dabon is the chief executive officer and founder of DLD Healthcare Consulting Service, a healthcare consultancy firm in Abu Dhabi that he opened two years ago. “I feel so honored because I had the opportunity to represent my advocacy on a global platform while carrying the badge of being a dignified millennial Filipino. Looking back, I still couldn’t believe it took me a decade to work on something I didn’t even dream of becoming one,” he told GMA News Online. He started out as a hospital nurse assistant in Abu Dhabi…

Irene Datulayte Bustamante has been living in the UAE for nearly 10 years now. Her very first work here was handling Ajman perfumes for three years. And then worked in Coty distribution under the Chalhoub Group and proceeded to be a beauty advisor, handling high-quality brands for make-up inside a pharmacy and lifestyle centrepoint. Like many Filipinos overseas, the main reasons why she opted abroad are to help her family, relatives, and to reach her dreams. “As an independent woman, I want to see myself, where I will reach a few years from now, and what I can do without depending on anyone,” Bustamante, who is also a model, said. Dubai, for her, is a guarded and safe environment. She said that residents are respectful, disciplined regardless of their nationality.…

Born and raised in Pagbilao, Quezon with six siblings, Jelmar Aragon Orig is described as a bubbly person who is usually seen with a happy crowd. He is also an art lover, international professional make-up artist, beauty director, choreographer, and an emerging vlogger in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Currently, Orig, who has been living overseas for the last 13 years, is assigned to Al Bilad Catalyst Company in Jubail Industrial City as an executive secretary. In his free time, he is also a professional hair and make-up artist and beauty director for Studio Twelve Magazine and Cool Philippines Magazine, doing fun and fashion and photoshoots. The Filipino make-up artist is also an active member and officer of the Filipino Community organization in the Eastern Region of the Kingdom, extending…

For the last 11 years, Andy Anoche Cauyan has been working in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in the corporate world. He promised himself that he’d only work overseas for five years just to get international exposure. However, understanding that life is unpredictable, Cauyan stayed in the same country and continues reaching his dreams and follows his passion. Cauyan, popularly known and dearly called ‘Masterhostman Andy’, is currently working as an executive secretary to the operations manager of Arabian Pipeline Services Inc. in Jubail City. The 43-year-old Filipino is involved in administrative support for C level executive management and has vast experience in multi-cultural and dynamic oil and petroleum, industrial, and maintenance industries. He recalled arriving in the host country in 2010 and worked as a simple office assistant for…

Twin brothers Aaron and Ahquiben Cadenas are among the Filipino fashion rising stars in the UAE. They chose this career path to showcase their talents and creations that speak a true work of art for women who want to live their fairytale dreams. Working in Dubai, according to the siblings, has opened doors for them to excel in the fashion industry. “Behind the silhouettes, couture dresses with unexpected unique surprises and lavish masterpieces of exceptional quality designs that come in flattering hourglass heavenly shape enhanced to perfection, those ideas were all made by love. We believe that everything is perfect if it’s made with love,” Aaron said. The fashion designers sat with The Global Filipino Magazine to speak about their colorful and exciting overseas journey. At the age of 15,…

Right after taking a Bachelor of Science in Biology and graduating from Central Philippines University, Donna Mae Josephine Magno Carillo has already intended to work in Iloilo City. She worked in an immigration consultancy firm for nearly four years. Coming from a ‘not so perfect family,’ Carillo’s parents were never married. She has several siblings from both sides, however, she is still thankful to have them as her family members in spite of negative comments that come from other people saying that she is a ‘fruit of wrong and mistaken love.’ After hearing successful overseas stories, she started to move out of her comfort zone. She left the Philippines in 2013 to work in Qatar as his brothers helped her to find a job in his company. In Qatar, she…

After taking an online free course at the Filipino Institute, Erik John Villanueva, a UAE-based overseas Filipino worker, said that the training institute proves that if one is focused and motivated, he or she can achieve anything. Since it was his first time to take a Filipino Institute service, it was quite refreshing for him to attend an online training course once again. Villanueva arrived in the country in 2013 and his experience working in the oil and gas business, mostly in terminal operations and commercial services, gave him the determination to expand his expertise in other areas, specifically in logistics. This was the reason why he took the Logistics and Supply Chain Management course. He hopes that after taking his certificate, which was attested by Dubai’s Knowledge of Human…

UAE-based training centre and internationally-accredited centre Filipino Institute is now offering Alternative Learning System (ALS) program to elementary and secondary dropouts, and young and adult in-school but overage. The program is a parallel learning system in the Philippines that provides a practical option to the existing formal instruction. It fits with those who didn’t have or cannot access formal education in schools. According to Mr. Gabriel John Rimando, many Filipinos did not have a chance to attend and finish basic education from grades 1 to 6 in elementary and year 1 to 4 in high school as some of them are dropouts while others did not have schools in their communities, thus he, along with his team, brings the program in the country. The major goal of an alternative school…

Ma. Luisa Barruga came in the UAE in 2010. Being the eldest in the family, she felt like it was her responsibility to help her mother with their financial needs. At that time, she recalled her father was sick and needed medical assistance. With a goal to find a way to give her family a better life, she applied for any job in Abu Dhabi, “These were struggling times since money was limited, not many familiar faces and worries of my father’s health condition,” she said, adding that luckily she landed a job in a health club in Al Bateen as a receptionist and a waitress at the same time. After obtaining all the legal documents for her residence visa, unfortunate news shook her world--her father died. She said that…

A digital and traditional artist from the Philippines, Gilbert Belleza has been living and working in the UAE for 16 years now. The Dubai-based overseas Filipino has a lot of things under his belt, including being a cinematographer, photographer, graphic designer, film director, videographer, editor, and creative designer for print, web, and 3D graphics. He has been utilizing Adobe line of products and Autodesk 3D Max and Maya for his artworks since he graduated from college in Subic Bay, the Philippines as a multimedia artist and graphic designer. Belleza initially worked as a graphic designer in a printing shop. At that time, he was only dealing with designing artwork since photography and videography were still not that popular. He remembered transferring from one company to another every year since the…

Karenza Ydonna J. Puertollano, since she was a child, has always dreamt of travelling the world. Today, she is pursuing her passion to reach more Filipinos and investors across the globe as the regional manager of real estate projects of Ayala Land International Sales, Inc. In the company, she is in charge of promoting and marketing their projects and their subsidiaries in assigned territories like Australia, the Middle East, Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, and the USA. Aside from being a passionate property seller, she also mentors a group of international property specialists who have arrived in Dubai in April this year to promote and showcase land investment portfolios to their fellow Filipinos. Prior to working as a salesperson, Puertollano used to work as a customer service representative for an electronic…

A Saudi Arabia-based overseas Filipino worker (OFW) thanked Filipino Institute for offering free online courses and helping him upgrade his knowledge in his field of work. Devoh Lazarte, 47, has been working in the Kingdom’s construction industry for over two decades. He has recently decided to take two free online courses offered by the UAE-based training institute: Project Management Fundamentals and Purchasing Procurement Basics. “[The program of the Filipino Institute] is really beneficial. It is a brilliant idea for individuals who want to improve their knowledge but don’t have the time to attend a class and meet in person. In my situation, I have been doing online training to upgrade my knowledge before discovering the Filipino Institute,” Lazarte, a procurement engineer for instrumentation and control, said. Upon seeing the courses on…

Another Filipino Institute student has recently passed the rigorous Certified Professional Coder (CPC) of the American Academy of Professional Coders (AAPC). Yasmine Ayessa Eco, a hotel receptionist and a former Filipino Institute student, is now a CPC-A after taking the exams for professional coders and getting an 84 percent total score on the examination that consisted of 150 multiple-choice questions and that took five hours and 40 minutes. The exam for medical coders is the gold standard of coding certifications. “When I discovered the medical coding course, I was not sure and I was so hesitant to enrol because I doubted my capability, my availability, my finances, will I be disciplined to study? Commit and finish? Then I discovered Filipino Institute through social media--all those hesitations turned into perseverance cause…

With the recent partnership of the Filipino Institute with the Emilio Aguinaldo College, Filipinos in the Middle East, especially those who want to be licensed teachers, may now expand their career options through their newest Teacher Certificate Program (TCP). The program provides a sound theoretical foundation and experiential learning in professional education which are required by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and Professional Regulations Commission (PRC). It’s designed for non-education professionals and industry practitioners who wish to pursue a teaching career and become Licensed Professional Teachers through the Licensure Examinations for Teachers (LET). Students need to complete 18 units of course of work and must be a Bachelor of Arts or Science degree holder from a higher education that is recognized by CHED. Citing the RA 783 of The…