To the Board of Directors, officers, and members of Philippine HR Practitioners-Qatar,

To our friends from the Philippine Professional Organization Qatar (PPOQ),

Colleagues, guests,

Good afternoon. Isang mapagpalayang hapon po sa ating lahat.

I am thrilled to be joining you today on the occasion of your organization’s first general assembly. This day certainly marks a significant milestone to your group – the first step in your proverbial journey of a thousand miles, so to speak. Along this line, I wish for nothing more than the success of many more general assemblies for your organization in the years to come.

Allow me to begin by saying that integral to the success of any enterprise, or of any professional under the employ of an enterprise, is a dynamic and supportive human resources department. In more ways than one, HR practitioners oversee the entire gamut of experiences by any given employee within a professional unit. From job application to contract signing to continuing professional development, well until the end of one’s service, HR practitioners are always on deck to manage, assist, and provide guidance.

Within the brief amount of time that I have been here in Qatar as your Ambassador, I have seen the dynamism and energy of the vast community of Filipino professionals working across various industries. And I imagine that such dynamism and energy could have only been due in large part to the effective discharge of functions of their respective employers’ human resources offices.

Indeed, the ability to sniff talent, create an enabling environment for professional growth, ensure workforce retention, and manage entitlements under the law are not only indicative of the breadth and depth of experience of HR practitioners, but also of their competence, resolve, and management know-how.

Truly, Qatar owes part of its growth to the Filipino HR practitioners who have lent, and continue to lend, their expertise, knowledge, and foresight to ensure that Qatari enterprises hire only the best people in their respective fields.

In our continuing quest for nation-building, we in the Philippine Government also aspire to have the best people in our country. This is why increasing the income-earning ability of Filipinos by enhancing their employability, widening their access to employment opportunities in the Philippines, and improving labor market governance form part of the mid-term national development agenda for the years 2023 to 2028.

Among the measures that the Philippine Government is undertaking to accomplish this objective is by developing and promoting a policy of lifelong learning, strengthening collaboration with industry boards and associations, anticipating skills needs in priority sectors, mainstreaming gender and green competencies, and harmonizing skills development programs in the Government.

Our long-term vision is for all Filipinos to enjoy a strongly rooted, comfortable, and secure life by the year 2040.

Within this framework, I enjoin you to take as much valuable professional experience as you can here in Qatar. The hope is that sooner rather than later, our agenda of an empowered citizenry able and ready to take on the challenges of a dynamic and complex workplace will be a shared undertaking between and among all of us back home in the Philippines – the country of our birth and collective aspirations.

And on that note, I speak on behalf of all the officers and personnel of the Philippine Embassy in Doha in congratulating the Philippine HR Practitioners-Qatar on the convening of your first general assembly. I wish you the best of luck in all your future endeavors.

Good afternoon. Mabuhay po tayong lahat!