Innholdsfortegnelse for TGFM Issue 23 - March 2022 i The Global Filipino Magazine

As the world’s greatest show bids goodbye on March 31, 2022, Filipino director and producer for Expo 2020 Dubai Patrick Fronda couldn’t help but be emotional about it. A lone Filipino producer on the broadcast team, he said he is sad that his journey at Expo 2020 Dubai has already end. He produced most of the National Day celebrations of country pavilions at the event, including the viral footage during the Philippine National Day in February, video segments for Rico Blanco, Alex and Toni Gonzaga, Bamboo, among others. He has even interviewed various visiting diplomats. His tasks needed a quick turnaround to produce content distributed to local and international media agencies. “I am really proud I made it to the last day, given that I am the only Filipino in…

In 2018, Joane Faye Lozanta Bistayan decided to move to Dubai to seek better work opportunities, believing that the place would help her achieve all her dreams for herself and her family members in the Philippines. She also hoped that it would be a gateway for her to migrate to Canada or Australia. Armed with her Master’s degree in Business Administration she has taken at the University of Perpetual Help System and her college degree she has finished at Southville International School and Colleges, Joane said that getting out of her comfort zone wasn’t easy. Homesickness is her enemy that she fights every day. Her first year abroad was the most difficult phase as she needed to adjust drastically in order for her to cope with the culture. There were…

The Expo 2020 Dubai has become more spectacular with stunning photos shared on its social media channels. One of the prides from the Philippines, Christopher Dan Edralin, who started working as a service crew for a fast-food chain, is behind some of the magnificent stills of the world’s biggest event. Working in Dubai for 28 years now, being a photographer is the best work he has worked on as he collects ‘precious memories’ and shares what he sees behind the lenses with the world. Christopher told The Global Filipino Magazine that at first, photography was just a hobby to him. Still, in 2010, his sister encouraged him to enroll in a school to take basic photography and use his talent until he met a group of photographers that taught him…

The Shokudo restaurant, a favorite hub for Japanese and Korean food lovers in Dubai, has been reopened under new management. Starting today, March 22, 2022, the restaurant, which is exactly located in Shop No. 7, Centurion Star Tower Building, Porta Saeed, Deira, it’s now in the possession of Filipino Institute founders Mr. Gabriel John and Mrs. Camille Joy Rimando. The all-you-can-eat scheme has been their staple since it opened in 2018. For only AED69, diners can enjoy a wide range of selection of unlimited Japanese and Korean food–ranging from rolls of sushis, their five-star rated takoyaki, stir-fry noodles, Kani furai, mixed seafood, Korean beef stew, kimchi, to tempura, among others. An additional AED10 is required if a customer opts to experience Korean barbeque, where they can grill different types of…

Well-known Filipino PR professional in the UAE Art ‘Popoy’ Los Banos has been promoted to Senior Manager for Corporate Communications of the Tristar Group effective April 1st. This comes after the recent announcement of the company that it acquired a majority stake in HG Storage International Limited in a deal valued at USD 215 million which has extended Tristar’s global presence to 29 countries. Los Banos is the only Filipino in the senior management team of the Dubai-based Tristar Group which is a fully integrated Energy Logistics business serving the downstream oil and gas industry. Tristar has over 2,000 employees representing more than 30 nationalities. He joined the company on April 29, 2012 as Corporate Communications Manager when Tristar was operating in 12 countries only. Tristar is a recipient of…

A journey isn’t always comfortable. There are instances that it will break your heart. But it changes one. Directly hired from the Philippines, Hazel Basilio initially worked for a Dubai-based call centre agency. Barely having enough money, she was only carrying a small amount of $100 given by her father as he was unsure what life she would live abroad. Her mother gave her three packs of cupcakes so she would have something to eat during the long trip from the Philippines. She had nothing to eat for the next three days but the cupcake her mother asked her to take. She would eat it three times a day so her stomach would be filled. At nights, she would sleep in a shared room, on a double deck bed with…

Many employees change careers for different reasons. Their career goals or values may have changed or they may have discovered new interests, or simply to make more money. For Richard John Miranda, it was different. While finishing his Hotel and Restaurant Management (HRM) course, he was already working at a famous coffee shop in Manila. He said customer service is something he always wanted to do and meeting new people. When he graduated in 2010, he was working in an American restaurant in Eastwood Libis when his mother, who was working in Dubai, asked if he would be interested in working overseas. Instantly, Richard said yes, promising that he would only work overseas for two years. His intention was to penetrate the hospitality industry when he arrived in Dubai, so…

For more than 19 years now, Domerisa Bernardo Galope has been an overseas Filipino worker (OFW), providing her family the ‘greener pasture’ she promised when she left the Philippines. She was only seven when her parents got separated. At 10, she was already the breadwinner of the family. To make ends meet for her family and support her studies, she sold newspapers, empty bottles, water at a port in their province of Zamboanga. When she was in college, she was a scholar and a working student at the same time to sustain her academic needs. Many struggles have been suffered. There was even a time when her stepmother would badmouth her and say she would be pregnant and wouldn’t be able to finish college. As the big sister, she promised…

Of the 30,000 volunteers at the Expo 2020 Dubai, a Filipino based in Dubai has been chosen as a receiver of two major awards given by guests and co-volunteers. Jess Manglicmot clinched a total of two awards: the Golden Hearts Award and the Hero Award. He was nominated and voted for Golden Hearts Award by Expo 2020 Dubai guests. Meanwhile, his co-Expo 2020 Dubai volunteers nominated and voted him as a Hero Award recipient. “Definitely, one of the greatest experiences of my life,” he wrote on Facebook. Jess currently works with a Christian church in the emirate and manages its program for kids. He also trains and leads almost 200 volunteers every week to run the church’s kids’ programs smoothly. “I would like to dedicate these awards to my kababayans!…

If there’s one phrase that the majority of overseas Filipino workers believe in, it would be ‘Never give up.’ Working overseas has already changed many lives of Filipinos. It helped them achieve their dreams, helped their families back home, and started a new life. For Rovelyn Cauan Dabo, she opted to work overseas to help and fulfill her role as the sister of her four siblings and above all provide for her child’s needs. Coming from a broken and poverty-stricken family wasn’t easy. Her dad was a carpenter who struggled to give them their needs, which was one of the reasons why no one from them went to college. With all the adversities, they all persevered. They planted corn and washed other people’s laundry in a river in exchange for…

UAE-based educational institution Filipino Institute is now offering diploma courses to its students in Qatar, allowing them to be more competitive in today’s dynamic job market. The Filipino Institute, which is committed to its promise to provide Filipinos in the region with the best and most affordable education, will provide students with real-life practical skills and proficiency through diploma courses. It will enable the students to earn a decent salary after successfully completing the course. Currently, it offers eight diploma courses, specifically in Nursing, Accounting, Human Resource Administration, Business Administration, Information Technology, Hotel and Restaurant Management, Marketing, and Digital Marketing. With plans to offer in its Filipino Institute campuses in UAE and Bahrain, Filipino Institute requires students to have at least a professional diploma degree before they get to avail…