GOVPH

Filipino Artist’s Paintings, Sculptures Featured in Katara Cultural Village

Filpino artist Frederick Epistola (third from left) donates his clay sculpture titled “Saranggola” to Katara General Manager Dr. Khalid Bin Ibrahim Al-Sulaiti (third from right) as Philippine Ambassador to Qatar Alan L. Timbayan (fourth from right) and members of the Diplomatic Corps look on. (Doha PE photo)

DOHA 12 September 2019 — The Philippine Embassy in Doha organized a week-long solo art exhibit of Filipino artist Frederick Epistola at the Katara Cultural Village Foundation on 25 August 2019.

The exhibit’s opening was graced by Katara General Manager Dr. Khalid Bin Ibrahim Al-Sulaiti, and was attended by some 50 visitors from the diplomatic corps, the media, Katara and the Filipino community.

Dubbed as “Hugis at Kulay” (Shapes and Hues), the art exhibit features Mr. Espistola’s 30 beautifully made pieces of collage paintings and clay sculptures, each telling a story that has cultural, social, and historic relevance to the Philippines.

The artist’s collage paintings, which are famous for the creative blend of colors and textures, and the clay sculptures, which are noted for the artistic manipulation of shapes and forms, depict and mirror the vibrancy and richness of the Philippine culture.

In his opening remarks, Philippine Ambassador to Qatar Alan L. Timbayan described Mr. Epistola’s creation as something that helps “immortalize the Philippines’ traditions, historic events, and way of life, which have all found expressions in visual arts.”

The Filipino artist donated two of his artworks to Katara as “cultural mementos” to symbolize the strong cultural ties and people-to-people linkages between the Philippines and Qatar. He said that “notwithstanding differences in language and culture, art is a universal language that can unite people.”  He also donated a painting titled “Jose P. Rizal” for the Embassy’s Sentro Rizal.

At the sidelines of the exhibit, the artist also conducted a painting workshop at Katara’s Arts Center on 26 August 2019, which was attended by 12 children aged nine to 15.

Hugis at Kulay went on display until 30 August 2019, and was a collaboration of the Embassy, Sentro Rizal under the National Commission for Culture and the Arts, and the Katara Cultural Village Foundation. END

Ambassador Timbayan (second from right) receives Mr. Epistola’s (second from left) collage painting entitled “Jose P. Rizal”, which he donated for the Embassy’s Sentro Rizal. (Doha PE photo)

Painting workshop participants proudly show their finished products as they pose for a photo with Mr. Epistola (second row, in blue polo). (Doha PE photo)

For more information, visit https://www.dohape.dfa.gov.ph or https://www.facebook.com/PHinQatar/.

PH Regulatory Commission Conducts Special Licensure Examination in Qatar

Examinees accomplish their Special Philippine Licensure Examination applications to Philippine Regulatory Commission visiting representatives for documentary assessment. (POLO-Qatar photo)

DOHA 11 September 2019 — A total of 690 Filipino professionals took part in the Special Philippine Licensure Examination (SPLE) administered by the Philippine Regulatory Commission (PRC) in Qatar on 12 – 14 August 2019.

The SPLE covered 21 PRC-accredited professions, which was held simultaneously within the premises of the Philippine International School-Qatar (PISQ).  The top five professions that participated in this year’s special exams include engineering, nursing, registered master electrician, architecture, and teaching.

Unlicensed Filipino professionals in Qatar look forward to the holding of the annual PRC activity that afford them the comfort of taking their respective licensure exams in in their country of work, without the need to returning to the Philippines for the exams.

The conduct of the SPLE was made possible through the joint efforts of the the PRC, the Philippine Embassy in Doha, the Philippine Overseas Labor Office, and the Philippine Professional Organization in Qatar (PPO-Q).

The SPLE in the Middle East is conducted every year in pursuant to Presidential Executive Order No. 835 dated 06 October 2009, which directs the PRC and other concerned government agencies, through the Department of Labor and Employment and in coordination with the Philippine Embassies in the region, to conduct SPLEs in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, United Arab Emirates and other Middle East countries for the benefit of qualified but unlicensed overseas Filipino workers. END

Ambassador to Qatar Alan L. Timbayan (fifth from left) is flanked by officials and representatives from Philippine Overseas Labor Office, the Philippine Regulatory Commission and Philippine Professional Organization in Qatar as they pose for a photo (Photo credit: Doha PE)

For more information, visit https://www.dohape.dfa.gov.ph or https://www.facebook.com/PHinQatar/.

PH Embassy in Doha Celebrates ASEAN Day with ASEAN Embassies

Philippine Ambassador to Qatar Alan L. Timbayan (second  from right) joins other ASEAN Heads of Missions accredited in Qatar for a symbolic “ASEAN handshake”photo

DOHA 29 August 2019 — The Philippine Embassy in Doha joins other ASEAN Embassies in celebrating the 52nd founding anniversary of ASEAN at the Vietnamese Embassy on 8 August 2019. 

Vietnamese Ambassador to Qatar Nguyen Dinh Thao currently chairs the ASEAN Committee in Doha (ACD), an organization made up Ambassadors of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Viet Nam.

Philippine Ambassador to Qatar Alan L. Timbayan headed the Philippine participation to the event.

In his opening remarks, Ambassador Thao recalled how the ASEAN was founded on 8 August 1967 and its evolution from its humble beginnings to what it is today, an “ASEAN Community” of some 660 million people.

Ambassador Thao also described the strengthening relations between ASEAN and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), and recognized Qatar’s “important role in connecting these two regions through its engagement in fostering synergies between ASEAN and the GCC.”

Also joining the event were ACD Working Group members, and other officials from the ASEAN Embassies. END

For more information, visit https://www.dohape.dfa.gov.ph or https://www.facebook.com/PHinQatar/.