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PH Ambassador Calls on Sports and Youth Undersecretary
Wed, Mar 12th 2025
article thumbnailDOHA 12 March 2025 — Philippine Ambassador to the State of Qatar, His Excellency Mardomel Celo D. Melicor, paid a courtesy call on the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Sports and Youth, His...
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Meeting between Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for Migrants Workers’ Affairs Sarah Lou Y. Arriola (second from left) and Head of the International Labor Organization (ILO) Project Office in Qatar Houtan Homayounour (rightmost).   Also seen in the photo joining the Undersecretary are Consul General to Doha Roussel R. Reyes (third from left) and DFA Principal Assistant Rowell Garcia Casaclang (leftmost). (Photo courtesy of Doha PE, OUMWA)

QATAR 02 January 2020 — Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for Migrants Workers’ Affairs Sarah Lou Y. Arriola saw to it that she meets with her counterparts with the Ministry of Administrative Development, Labor and Social Affairs (MADLSA), the Ministry of Interior (MOI) and the International Labor Organization (ILO) Project Office at the sidelines of her visit to Doha, Qatar on 15-16 December 2019 chiefly to personally assess the situation of overseas Filipinos.

During her meetings with her counterparts, Undersecretary Arriola raised general and specific issues and concerns affecting Filipino migrants in Qatar vis-à-vis developments in the country, especially on the labor front.

On 15 December 2019, Undersecretary Arriola met with Deputy Minister Mohammmed Hasan Al Obaidly of MADLSA.  The two officials exchanged views on Qatar’s labor reforms, especially the recently announced complete abolition of the Kafala system. Undersecretary Arriola shared how important the reform was for the Philippines considering that the Philippines had actively campaigned against Kafala by vigorously rallying behind the adoption of the Global Compact for Migration, which was ultimately adopted by the United Nations in December 2018.

During said meeting, the two officials agreed to explore ways to combat Trafficking in Persons through a bilateral mechanism to be threshed out by parties through negotiation.

On 16 December 2019, Undersecretary Arriola met with Director General of Public Security of the MOI Major General Saan bin Jassim Al-Khulaifi and the Head of ILO Project Office in Qatar Houtan Homayounour.

In her meeting with General Al Khulaifi, Undersecretary Arriola requested MOI’s assistance in facilitating the repatriation of “travel-ready” wards who were only waiting for their exit permits from their respective sponsors, to which General Khuliafi instantly agreed.  Undersecretary Arriola also pleaded for Royal Clemency on behalf of the Filipino detainees currently serving sentence in Qatar.

Lastly, Undersecretary Arriola had a similar productive meeting with the Head ILO-Project Office in Qatar, Mr. Homayounour.  Mr. Houmayounpour agreed to support the Philippines in pushing for a mechanism with Qatar to stamp out trafficking and illegal recruitment activities, affecting Filipino migrants.

Undersecretary Arriola’s visit to Doha was her first leg in a two-week regional travel to various Foreign Service Posts in the Middle East and Africa. END

Meeting between Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for Migrants Workers’ Affairs Sarah Lou Y. Arriola (left) and Ministry of Administrative Development, Labor and Social Affairs Deputy Minister Mohammmed Hasan Al Obaidly (right). (Photo courtesy of Doha PE, OUMWA)

Meeting between Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for Migrants Workers’ Affairs Sarah Lou Y. Arriola (left) and Major General Jassim Al-Khulaifi, the Director General of Public Security of the Ministry of Interior (right). (Photo courtesy of Doha PE, OUMWA)

 

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

During the seminar on “Basic Exporting and Doing Business in the Philippines” at the Philippine Embassy Doha, Qatar. (Doha PE photo)

DOHA 02 March 2020 — Department of Trade and Industry Undersecretary for Trade Promotions Abdulgani M. Macatoman led an Outbound Business Matching Mission (OBMM) to Doha from 21 to 24 February 2020 to promote more Philippine food products in Qatar.

The delegation, which included Commercial Attaché Charmaine Yalong and representatives from the Philippine private sector, conducted a seminar on “Basic Exporting and Doing Business in the Philippines” on 21 February 2020 at the Philippine Embassy in Doha, Qatar. The next day, they organized an in-store promotion and food sampling at the Lulu hypermarket, on D-Road and visited displays of different Philippine products inside the store. On 23 February 2020, there was a business to business meeting, which included matching sessions between Philippine and Qatari private sectors.   

Undersecretary Macatoman also expressed his plans to bring and showcase the Philippine furniture products in Qatar to take advantage of opportunities presented by the FIFA World Cup in 2022 and for strengthened trade relations with Qatar. END

 

Department of Trade and Industry Undersecretary for Trade Promotions Abdulgani M. Macatoman (ninth from left) with Philippine Ambassador to Doha Alan L. Timbayan (seventh from right) during the business to business meeting at Radisson Blu Hotel. (Doha PE photo)

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

PHOTO: The Philippine Embassy in Doha starts on 16 December 2019 the Overseas Voting Registration (OVR) for the May 2022 Elections. The registration will last for two years and two weeks, ending on 30 September 2021.

The Embassy is optimistic that it will be able to register more Overseas Filipinos in the coming weeks and months with the support of the Filipino community.

Above: Two female registrants accomplish out the Commission on Elections’ (COMELEC) forms. They are the first two registrants for overseas voting. (Doha PE photo)

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

 

Philippine Ambassador to the State of Qatar Alan L. Timbayan delivers his remarks at the meeting. (Doha PE photo) 

DOHA 16 January 2020 — The Philippine Embassy in Doha held a general meeting on 10 January 2020 with the members of the Filipino community in the State of Qatar to discuss the current situation in the region and the efforts being made by the Embassy in monitoring these developments to ensure the safety and security of the Filipinos in the State of Qatar.

Philippine Ambassador to Qatar Alan L. Timbayan thanked the cooperation of the Filipino community and assured them of its preparedness to render necessary assistance to all Filipinos who will be affected in case the current tension in the region escalates. The President’s Special Envoy to the Middle East, Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Roy A. Cimatu, who arrived in Doha on 09 January 2020, also attended the meeting and announced that the Philippine government stands ready to ensure the safety and security of all Filipinos in Iraq, Iran, and other countries in the Middle East.

The Embassy briefed the community on the US-Iran conflict and the latest developments in the region. The Embassy also informed the community that contingency plans are in place for all Filipinos in the country in case of any eventualities.

The Embassy called on the Filipino community to be updated with proper information and to be prudent and vigilant at all times. END

Consul General to Doha Roussel R. Reyes briefs the audience on the developments in the region. (Doha PE photo)

The President Special Envoy to the Middle East, Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Roy A. Cimatu (in plaid inner polo) addresses questions of media representatives. (Doha PE photo)

Members of the Filipino community listen attentively to the briefing. (Doha PE photo)

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