DUBAI: A successful Filipina, who had gone through hard times herself in the city, has been sharing her blessings, offering subdivided rooms free of rent to  overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who have lost their jobs due to the pandemic.

“I know how it feels to be ‘empty.’ Alam ko ang pakiramdam ng walang work, walang source of income at puro palabas ang pera,” said 36-year-old Michico Lopez Ramos, who arrived in Dubai some 15 years ago and had lived through at least three visit visas.

She had to continuously renew her visa to be able to keep staying in the city and look for work.  A visit visa has a duration of up to three months and cost in the range of up to Dh2,000.

“‘Empty,’ as in ubos,” added Ramos. “Yung tipong wala na ring mahingian ng tulong kagaya nila ngayon (jobless OFWs). Kasi lahat naman affected ng pandemic. Walang source of income yung iba kasi natanggal sa work, nagbawasan ng sweldo and what’s even worse is that continuous ang monthly bills.”

Ramos, now a regional sales director for a marketing and media company, said rents are more burdensome, with partitioned rooms the size of a slot in a car parking lot going from Dh1,000 to Dh1,200 (P13,300 to P16,000) a month.

“Mas mabigat ang rent kaya naisip ko na mag-offer ng free rent para makatulong. Para kahit papano ay mapagaan ang bayarin nila, maiwasan mag-isip, maging positive sa buhay at muling makabangon,” said Ramos, who hails from Bulacan.

Ramos, who holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Information Technology from Far Eastern University (FEU), said she will let the occupants stay for free and start paying when they finally got a job. They will have to shoulder utilities and internet connection.

“Bibigyan ko sila ng time para makahanap ng work at pwede naman unti-unti ang bayad hanggang makaluwag sila,” said Ramos, who also holds an MBA in Project Management.

Ramos said she had been renting out the three partitioned rooms in the past. “Matagal ko na syang pinapa-upahan. Naging way lang po sya para makatulong ako sa iba kahit sa maliit na bagay,” she said.

Ramos posted her announcement on a Facebook page called, “Amicable Barter Community in Dubai,” a go-to platform for OFWs selling or bartering pre-loved and new items for goods and food.

“Return barter: Your beautiful SMILE only! To those who have lost their jobs and couldn’t pay for the rent, I have three partitions available. each can accommodate between two and three persons. Free stay. Just pay for the utilities and internet. You can move in right away! Keep fighting!” read her announcement, which was posted on Oct. 14 and immediately got almost 5,000 engagements. She also posted it on her FB account, which got over 60 shares.

Ramos said all three partitioned rooms, located in Al Rigga, Deira, Dubai, have been taken as of press time. “Naglilipat na sila. Yung iba, nakatira na,” she said.

Ramos said she plans to open more partitioned rooms in the near future. “Hoping po na ma-share ko din ang blessings ko sa iba. If maging ok lahat, yes po mag-oopen tayo para madami pang matulungan. Ipag-pray po natin yan,” she said.

Due to the high cost of rent, most OFWs, especially those who have just arrived in Dubai for the first time, usually take a bed space, which costs up to Dh700 (P9,300), in shared quarters, or live in partitioned rooms.

DUBAI: Overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) returning home will have to wait a while for their mandatory swab results because of failure by the allegedly corruption-ridden Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) to settle its over P1 billion outstanding balance with the Philippine Red Cross (PRC) to whom the tests were being charged.

This was learned from Hans Leo J. Cacdac, head of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), who, on the evening of Oct.18, announced on his Twitter account that government laboratories have instead been tapped to process the specimens which can be done “within normal processing times.”

Cacdac explained that OWWA has to resort to this “in light of discussions between PhilHealth and PRC about payment of PCR (Polymerase chain reaction) testing of returning OFWs.”

Cacdac said the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) and the National Task Force (NTF) on Covid-19 “have tapped government laboratories to help in the processing of PCR specimen of OFWs swabbed upon arrival at Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).”

“Such government laboratories undertake to process swabbed specimens within normal processing time. We humbly seek the patience and understanding of our dear OFWs, as we continue to care for them while they await PCR test results in their hotel quarantine facilities,” the OWWA chief said.

He urged OFWs coming home starting Oct. 15 to register at quarantinecertificate.com to check on the results of their PCR tests.

“PCR test results will be released through this system,” Cacdac said.

The PRC last week stopped the PCR tests, which were being charged to PhilHealth, as mandated under the Philippine Universal Health Care Law, over the failure of the government health insurance agency to settle outstanding balance of P930 million.

In a statement, PRC said it has to stop the swab tests for returning OFWs  because of the embattled PhilHealth’s “inability to settle its ever-increasing outstanding balance.”

“This is a difficult decision to a humanitarian organization such as the PRC to make but it has to be made. The PRC does not have unlimited resources to replenish the testing kits for its laboratories unless PhilHealth, its major creditor, settles its lawful obligations to PRC,” the PRC said in a statement dated Wednesday, October 14, but released to the media on Thursday.

The PRC further explained that it “needs the resources to procure test kits and reagents from China.”

“Each of these order require about $6 million per order,” the PRC said.

 PhilHealth has recently been under the microscope over alleged rampant corruption involving its top officials – including bloated budget proposals for information and communications technology projects, excessive travel allowances and ghost dialysis patients.

DUBAI: At least 11 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) returning to Dubai have been denied entry over failure to secure the required prior approval from appropriate agencies of the government of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), according to Consul General Paul Raymund Cortes, head of the Philippine mission in Dubai.

“There were 11. They have been flown back,” Cortes said, adding that the incident happened on Oct. 9, 2020.

The group was boarded on the next available flight, he said.

“Airline diligence dapat yan. The airline paid for their (OFWs’) return (flight). This was reason why we had to remind our kababayans,” Cortes said.

Following this, the Philippine Consulate General (PCG) issued an advisory telling OFWs returning to UAE through Dubai International Airport to secure approval from the concerned government agencies prior to departure from the Philippines to ensure re-entry.

Public Advisory 18-2020, issued Oct. 12, or three days after the indicent, stated that the approval can be obtained from Dubai’s General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs (GDRFA) for those holding a Dubai-issued residence visa; or the UAE’s Federal Authority for Identity and Citizenship (ICA) for those whose visas were issued in any of the UAE’s six other emirates.

“Without approval to return to Dubai, you will not be allowed entry…,” the advisory further stated, apparently issued as more OFWs start coming back to the city with flights and Dubai airport operations gradually normalizing following eased restrictions.

The approval can be applied for online by visiting GDRFA website at https://smart.gdrfad.gov.ae/Smart_OTCServivesPortal/ReturnPermitServiceForm.aspx, PCG said.

Those applying from ICA, it added, can visit http://uaeentry.ica.gov.ae

DUBAI: A 33-year-old single mother, jobless in Dubai for the past six months due to the pandemic, has decided to finally go home and be reunited with her kids for Christmas after all efforts failed to try her luck in this international city that never sleeps to prepare a bright future for her kids.

This will be the first time Maria Ritchelle Uringan Ferras of Abra, would be home for Christmas and be with her sons – Emman Anthony Turas, who’d be turning 13 on Oct 22; and Dave Mitchel, who’d be 10 in December.

She left them in June of 2014 to find work in Dubai..  

“I am happy dahil after six years makakapag-Pasko na ako sa Pilipinas kasama ang pamilya,” said Ferras, who worked at the Tineg Mayor’s Office in Abra before she went to Dubai on a visit visa, expenses of which were lent her by her sister that the she has managed to pay back.

Her plane ticket for home was paid for by an auntie in Canada, she said.

“Said na said na po ako, wala nang pambayad ng upa. May mahanap man na trabaho, sobrang baba ng offer na sahod. Di na kayang panustos ng dalawang anak na nag-aaral. Modular class na mga anak ko, kailangan na ng presence at guidance ko po,” Ferras said.

Ferras, once featured with other budding writers in ABS CBN’s “The Correspondents” in 2003, worked odd jobs in Dubai during the past months in the hope of brighter days ahead.

“Nagpo-post po ako ng mga flats, rooms, partitions na available. May commission ‘pag may naipasok na tao na mag-rent. Nagbe-bake po ako ng cassava cakes, nagluluto ng bilo-bilo at mga biko na ibinebenta sa mga kakilala or sa mga umo-order sa Facebook,” said Ferras, who holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Legal Management from University of the Cordilleras in Baguio City, when asked how she survived being jobless for half a year.

Balikbayan box

Like most overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in Dubai, Ferras religiously sends a balikbayan box at least every year, getting one as early as in March and filling it up every pay day in time for shipping around October or November for Christmas.

Despite the odds, Ferras managed to fill hers and take it with her on board  Philippine Airlines flight PR 659 when she left Dubai in the evening of October 8, 2020.

“Yung inipon ko na pang cargo dapat, yun nalang po ipampapa-salubong ko. May mga namigay din po – yung mga kaibigan at kakilala na maswerteng may trabaho. May namigay ng chocolates at mga de-lata. Nakakatuwa mga may mga masks pang naka-box.

“Nag-iipon po ako yearly kahit nung wala na akong regular job. Kapag may extra part time work, naghahanap ako ng sale events,” narrated Ferras.

Her flatmates also held a despidida send-off for her the night she left.

“Yung kasama ko sa bahay na nagwo-work sa salon, nilinisan niya ako ng kuko. Yun na lang daw po maibibigay niya kasi 50% lang daw po sahod nila. Nakakatuwa po, sa kabila ng lahat gumagawa parin ang mga kabayan ng paraan para makatulong in their own little ways,” Ferras said.

Visit visa

Ferras, who have also managed to fly home for her sons’ special occasions like school graduation in March, has not been spared the sad stories of OFWs falling victims to alleged unscrupulous employers abusing visit visas.

It was the Holy Month of Ramadan when she arrived in Dubai in 2014, a time when job hunting was very challenging as most company officials involved in the hiring process were out of town on their annual leave and offices are open on reduced hours.

She got her first job as personal assistant to the general manager at a real estate company in September of the same year where after finishing her contract in October 2016, she transferred to a business consultancy firm as receptionist/secretary. Unfortunately, the company folded up after six months.

This was where her travails began.

Ferras found another company just as her one-month, post-contract cancellation grace period with the previous company that has closed down had 20 days left to it.

“They promised me a (residency/employment) visa. Pero natapos ang grace period ko wala pa ring visa,” shared Ferras.

She exited UAE to obtain a visit visa for a three-month stay on her expense. “Naubos yung visit visa duration. May kaso pa daw kasi kaya di pa makapag-visa. Nag-exit po ulit ako. Ako po ulit nagbayad.

“Pumayag na lang po ako since mahirap maghanap ng malilipatan at expired na rin naman yung visit visa. Nang matapos na naman yung pangatlong tourist visa ko, since kinukulit ko po sila sa visa ko, sabi po ay wag na raw akong mag-exit at yung company na ang bahala.

“Ipapa-change status daw ako (to residency visa) at babayaran ang (overstay) fine ko (dahil hindi na nga nag-exit). Pero wala pa rin po. Ang dami kong struggles Nagbayad ako ng fine at syempre po ako na naman bumili ng visit visa ko. Sa sobrang sayang ng loob ko po, umalis na ako sa company,” Ferras narrated.

Cost of a visit visa, which can be legally obtained from travel agencies, goes in the range of Dh2,000 dirhams or P26,500. Cost for an employer to provide for a residency visa is in the range of Dh9,000, according to reports.

Plans

Ferras, who was enticed to go to Dubai because a cousin who works in the city has told her she can make good money, said she plans to go back to baking sweets or kakanin and sell online like she did when she was jobless.

“Susubukan ko ang online food business. Maghahanap ng work. Magtuturo sa mga anak ko. Kung babalik pa sa Dubai ay depende po. Kapag po hindi makaraos sa Pilipinas, babalik po baka next year kapag okay na ang economy at wala nang pandemic. Kailangan ko pong maghanap buhay para sa mga anak ko,” Ferras said.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – All overseas Filipinos are entitled to free Covid-19 swab test, hotel quarantine and transportation for home whether they are documented or not, Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) Chief Hans Leo J. Cacdac said.

Cacdac made this clarification due to apparent confusion among stranded OFWs in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) about whether they qualify for the Covid protocol when they get back home either on their own or through the government’s repatriation program.

“Returning OFWs po are free sa swab testing po upon arrival sa airports,” Cacdac said.

He added: “(A)ng tanong po ba ay kung libre ang swab testing, hotel quarantine at transportation to home regions ng mga umuuwing OFWs, whether documented or undocumented? Yes po.”

The question has often been raised in OFW Facebook discussion groups in the UAE, among them the “Stranded OFWs in Dubai with Ticket in Philippine Airlines,” which was formed around June this year and has, as of last count, some 1,300 members; and the “UAE Stranded OFWs via Emirates Airlines,” established around the same time which now has close to 1,000 members.

The Facebook accounts were opened by concerned OFWs to serve as a clearing house for fellow OFWs having issues with their plans to return home, like canceled flights and as well the swab tests, hotel quarantine and ride home.

Some had to rely on word from those who have made it home or through the Philippine embassy and consulate in the UAE. Despite this, however, the question keeps popping up.

Among such inquiries, for instance, involved a former documented OFW who is  on “Husband Visa,” meaning her stay is sponsored by her husband, and is now going home to the Philippines for good.

Another is from an OFW who said she “never had a chance to be a member of OWWA but has a (UAE) residence visa,” which means she was employed.

“Will quarantine and test still be provided for by OWWA?” the OFW asked, to which she got vague replies.

Not covered by the free Covid-19 protocol are those who arrived in the UAE on a visit visa and have not been able to secure employment, officials said.

Repatriation

Meantime, some 221 Filipinos, including children and at least two infants, were the latest batch to be flown home to Manila from Dubai, according to Consul General Paul Raymund Cortes, who said they were repatriated on Sept. 24 aboard Philippine Airlines flight PR 0659. It arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport at around 8:25am the following day.

Cortes said with the latest batch of OFs flown home, the Philippine Consulate General in Dubai has so far facilitated the repatriation of 2,233 Filipinos in Dubai and the Northern Emirates affected by the pandemic.

The Philippine Consulate General repatriated the first batch of distressed OFWs, numbering 370, in mid-June via Cebu Pacific flight 5J 19.

The most recent repatriation involved some 354 OFWs who left Dubai International Airport on the night of Aug. 5 via Philippine Airlines flight PR 659. Another batch of over 300 left on July 30 and still another on July 24 with 351 OFWs, according to Cortes.

There were approximately 750,000 documented OFWs in the UAE prior to the Covid-19 pandemic. Over 15,000 have been repatriated, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs. (DFA).

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – Come hell or high water, Filipinos in the UAE are not giving up on traditions, among them, sending gifts to loved ones back home for Christmas.

And so it goes that pandemic or not, Covid-19 or what not, the spirit of Christmas prevails among overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who, despite the immensely challenging times, have been managing to send gifts to their loved ones back home through balibayan boxes.

The “Ber” months have traditionally been peak season for door-to-door forwarders as OFWs start shipping boxes, which they have religiously started filling up around March with favorites, Noche Buena groceries and requested items that they bought mostly from sale events and discount stores.

Some did got the knack of it by surviving through “ayuda” free meals from Good Samaritans during the quarantine days, so they could save for their balikbayan boxes.

It takes at least two months for a balikbayan box to make it to the Philippines in time for the Christmas holidays – all things considered like port congestion, shipping time and delivery points, cargo forwarders said, adding that with this, the volume of cargo starts to peak around September.

Upswing

Allan Michael Bautista, head of the 15-member League of Freight Forwarders (LFF) in the UAE, said members have been reporting a gradual upswing in transactions. Last year, he said up to 7,000 boxes were being shipped every week to the Philippines during the Christmas peak season.  

“We’re happy to hear among members of the LFF that business continues to pick up during this period and we’re looking forward for this trend to continue in the months that will follow till Christmas,” Babauta said.

Murali “Mike” Ragavan, owner and managing director of Makati Express, a door-to-door cargo forwarder company operating in Dubai over the past 20 years, for his part said the trend in sending balikbayan boxes home for Christmas has been changing in the past three to four years.

“The mindset has changed,” he said, explaining that port congestion issues have caused many OFWs to instead send in January or July, which he described as the peak months.

The ‘Ber’ months “are still high,” he said, but not as high as eight to 10 years ago when the volume “shoots very high before Christmas.”

Pandemic’s impact

Bautista said “a few forwarders based in the UAE decided to temporarily stop their services during the first few months of the pandemic.”

Ragavan said this was mostly during the quarantine months of April and May this year.

“In June, it suddenly surged high because people started travelling back and it peaked in July,” he said.

Bautista said demand eventually picked up as policy was eased and commercial businesses re-opened. “Even in the midst of the pandemic and during lockdown, OFWs pushed for ways to send whatever their families needed back home,” he said.

With thousands of OFWs having headed home after losing jobs in the past months, Bautista said cargo forwarders managed to stay afloat. “Nakakatulong ang ating mga LFF members para maiuwi ng ating mga kababayan ang kanilang mga kagamitan sa Pilipinas,” he said.

‘New Normal’
 
Bautista said they were, in this period of the “New Normal,” expecting the trend of sending balikbayan boxes to continue “as many of our kababayans will not be able to come home for the holidays with their family.”

He however noted that cargo forwarders are “anticipating (a) much longer lead time… given restrictions that are still ongoing sa ilang siyudad at rehiyon sa ating bansa due to the pandemic.”

The LFF was formed in 2018 to address concerns about OFWs falling victim to fly-by-night operators.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – A Filipino ultra-athlete based in Al Ain and  known for his race-for-a-cause events for Palawan’s tribal communities among other beneficiaries has, this time, upped the ante.

He organized an endurance triathlon to donate helmets and a bicycle to a Metro Manila community initiative aiming to provide bicycles to working class commuters faced with the hardship of reporting for work during the quarantine days of the pandemic.

“Every year sa aking birthday, I have always done something special instead of buying gifts for myself.  Kadalasan, ginagawa namin ay pumupunta sa Philippine embassy (in Abu Dhabi) to provide meals to some kababayans or mag-celebrate kasama ang mga katutubo, and so on,” Romeo III Tumayao Puncia, Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) with the Abu Dhabi Police’s emergency and public safety department, told GMA News Online.

This year, Puncia, who has a string of awards from various international competitions, organized the triathlon event with Apex Endurance UAE, which he has co-founded. It involved a 34-km windy cycling run followed by a 34-km marathon and a 3.4-km swim – all on his 34^th birthday last Sept. 27, and after a graveyard shift at work, that is.

Thirty-four cycling helmets and a bicycle came out of that event held in Al Ain in the outskirts of Abu Dhabi near the border to Oman.

“We wanted to make it special like what we did in our previous projects. Gusto namin pinaghihirapan like doing certain long distances. Kasi, madali lang naman mag-donate, but doing it with physical body exertion ay mas fulfilling,” Puncia, founder of Katribo Charities Philippines, said.

Facebook

Puncia said he came across the Metro Manila-based bicycle initiative on Facebook, which has among one of its founders, someone whose close relative stays in Abu Dhabi and whom Puncia said he had been able to help recently. The founders – a couple – were also triathletes, he said.

“Na-moved ako sa story ng founder na si Roy Maceda. It just so happened na silang mag-asawa ay triathletes din and looking for donations to help our kababayans there by giving bicycles and other bike-related accessories,” said Puncia.

“Since ang ‘Race with a Purpose’ Campaign natin ay into that, I decided to choose them to be one the beneficiaries. We are looking forward to collaborate with then sa mga susunod na campaigns,” he added.

“Ang pinaka-interesting at nakaka-surprise dun ay anak pala sya ng taong nakilala at natulungan natin dati dito sa Abu Dhabi; and isa rin palang follower namin at na-inspire sa ating mga advocacies,” Puncia further said.

BeSeekLeta for EveryJuan

BeSeekLeta for EveryJuan was recently formed and has around 2,600 members as of last check. It aims to help provide bicycles to those affected by the quarantine. This, by way of donations of any form – be it old bikes, scrap parts that can be used to assemble a bike, accessories and the likes.

“Every day, we look for unused or almost-scrap bike parts that can be reused to build a functional commuting bicycle free for our underprivileged brothers and sisters,” the group’s admin said.

“As anticipated, our transportation issues will most likely be impaired until the end of the year and more people would be needing free bicycles for their day-to-day needs.”

Puncia said he ordered the bike and helmets for donation online for delivery as well.

Quarantine

During the UAE-wide quarantine in May, Puncia ran 19 kms in 19 days on a tread mill for a total distance of 361.34 kms; and, using a stationary bike, also did 19-km laps for a total of 370.29 kms to shore up relief goods as well as masks and PPEs for free distribution.

Among Puncia’s titles is that of being the first Filipino triathlete and UAE resident to conquer last year’s 517.5-km Ultraman Florida.

Apex Endurance is an Al Ain-based sports team training residents on triathlon. It currently has over 200 members.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — The Filipinos’ Bayanihan spirit for which they are best known for, next to their hospitality, once again took center stage over the weekend as the community came together to provide relief in the form of groceries and used clothes to 12 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and a two-year-old boy who were left with no place to stay after a fire razed their home in Satwa at daybreak on Thursday, Sept. 24.

Gina Fe Sanico, sales and marketing executive who was among fire victims, said they were not expecting the response to their social media distress call to be so quick. She said up to 20 organizations sent goods within 24 hours after the incident.

And so, there were so much help that the victims had to post on their Facebook page that they already have more than enough and actually have some more to give to the needy.

“Hindi po namin ine-expect,” said Sanico, the victims’ spokesperson.

“Nuong una kasi, naka-private lang ang setting ng post and then, on urging of our friends, ginawa naming public ang setting. Wala pang one day, kumalat agad. Nagkaruon ng 5,000 shares,” she added.

She said Consul General Paul Raymund Cortes also called her to check on them. “Si Congen mismo tumawag sa akin. Tinanong nya kung may mga passports na nasunog at kung ano ang kailangan namin,” Sanico said.

Interviewed, the consul general said the swift response from the community was “a manifestation of the close coordination between the consulate and the Filipino community.”

“I immediately called them up and asked them what their immediate needs were and I coordinated with the Filipino community leaders to extend quick humanitarian assistance to the Filipino victims of the fire,” Cortes told GMA News Online.

“In cases where Filipinos are victims to fires or any disaster such as this, we contact the people directly involved and liaise with the Filipino community so that we can provide maximum assistance as possible. This is a manifestation of the close coordination between the consulate, its officials, and the Filipino community leaders and volunteers in extending whatever help our nationals may require,” he added.

Sanico said they shared the groceries with those who have been jobless or were on a no-work-no-pay set-up due to the pandemic.

“Ang laking blessing,” she said. “Nawalan kami pero doble-doble ang bumalik at naging  blessing pa sa iba.”

Sanico said fire broke out at around 5am at their villa in Al Badaa, Satwa– which had four rooms with a common outdoor kitchen and a total of 20 occupants renting each room in groups; thirteen of them were Filipinos, including a two-year-old boy.

She said fire started from an electrical outlet to which a microwave was plugged in. The fire quickly spread, causing one of the gas tanks to explode, according to her.

Sanico thanked the Dubai Fire and Rescue Department for swiftly responding to her distress call. “Tumawag ako  ng 5:13am. Dumating sila bandang 5:24am,” she said.

Sanico, who hails from Balabagan, Lanao del Sur, said her balikbayan box, which was supposed to be shipped soon for her loved ones in the Philippines in time for Christmas, was also razed. “Sabi ko sa kanila (relatives in the Philippines), pass muna ako kasi nasunog yung padala ko,” she said.

Sanico said their next door neighbors woke them up as the fire was blazing, saving them from being trapped because their room was next to a dead end.

In their haste, she said, they ran without flipflops or slip-ons and with only the clothes on their back. “Ang iniisip lang naming ay isalba ang sarili naming kasi anytime pwedeng sumabog yung isa pang tangke ng gas na mas malaki,” Sanico said.

According to Sanico, the groups that immediately responded to the fire victims’ cry for help were Kalayaan 2020; Pinas Express Cargo; Kabayan Barter; Triskelion Dubai Chapter; AKRHO Dubai; CFC Dubai; Dubai Bikers; Stop & Help; Sunrise 315 Karama; Food Bank UAE; CIASI Group Dubai; Ortigas Restaurant; Holy Shirt; Pinoy Bayanihan Community; RNB Ladies Salon; Dubai Badminton Group; Emy Luxuryshop; representatives from the British and south African Community; Mosaic Church and World Revival International Church.

Sanico said a Lebanese national, Shirad Sahaladdin also donated gas tanks for cooking. The fire victims, as of this posting, were huddled in a temporary shelter.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirate – Hundreds of cancer patients is widely believed to have been saved or given relief by an overseas Filipino worker (OFW) here, who have made it a vow of sort to regularly donate her blood platelets over the past 16 years.

Vivian C. Bagalacsa, 49 and of Bgy. San Roque in Iriga City, Camarines Sur, said she has been doing this to spread positive vibes.

“It’s good karma,” says Bagalacsa, who arrived in Dubai 24 years ago. “It makes people more compassionate, keeping in mind that the stranger next to them, whom they may not be comfortable with, could have actually been doing something to their benefit or for the common good,” she added, speaking in Filipino.

Bagalacsa has been with the Dubai government’s public parks and recreations department as beach and swimming pool lifeguard for the past 21 years.

She may not have encountered a drowning incident to save lives in the 25 years she has been working as a licensed rescuer, including four years in the private sector, but Bagalacsa definitely has helped give new lives to cancer patients through the years as platelets donor.

Due to confidentiality requirements, Bagalacsa said she has “no idea kung sinu-sino po ang natutulungan at nadudugtungan natin ang buhay.”

“But I am sure it’s in the hundreds by now,” she said.

The platelets are stored in a hospital facility and given to those afflicted with cancer.

The process, she explained, takes about 45 minutes involving five cycles. “I don’t feel weak after it’s done. I always make sure I replenish myself with nutritious foods,” she said.

Before she started donating platelets, Bagalacsa used to give blood. She said doctors later on found she has a good platelets count and stable haemoglobin levels, making her fit for the procedure.

Mariamegz Vanli, herself a cancer patient, said Bagalacsa does not ask anything in return from the hospital for her platelets donation. “Yung iba may conditions like hospital benefits or bayad,” she said.

“Sabi ko sa kanya (Bagalacsa), ‘Hindi mo ba alam na may benefits?’ Sagot nya, ‘hindi na importante ‘yan,’” Vanli added.

Cancer patients need platelets because the medical condition and its treatment, like chemotherapy, can damage blood cells. Chemo treatment, specifically, can damage bone marrow, which produces blood cells. A damaged bone marrow can reduce blood cells.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (UAE) – Filipinos in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are ecstatic over the peace deal signed last week with Israel, especially noting a provision allowing direct flights that will now make it easier for them to travel to the Holy Land – which tops their bucket list.

This developed as Philippine Ambassador to Israel, Nathaniel “Neal” Imperial, in an email interview with Rappler from Dubai, expressed hope the historic event would finally lead the way for a lasting peace in the region and open the doors for Filipinos in UAE and Bahrain, which is also a signatory to the pact, to realize their life-long dreams of seeing the places mentioned in the Bible.

“The Philippine Embassy in Israel welcomes the normalization of ties between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, and between Israel and the Kingdom of Bahrain, respectively. The embassy hopes that the signing of the accords between Israel and the two Gulf states will lead to greater peace and security in the Middle East,” said Imperial, who assumed his post on Dec. 10, 2014.

He added: “It is also our hope that the establishment of diplomatic ties between Israel and the two Gulf states will pave the way for the almost 800,000 Filipinos in  UAE and Bahrain to visit the Holy Land for pilgrimage in the near future.”

Back in the day when the peace agreement, “Abraham Accord,” named after the father of Christianity, Islam, and Judaism, has yet to even be formulated, Filipinos wanting to go the Holy Land would need to fly to Jordan or Egypt and take a risky bus ride, approximately for six hours, through possible flashpoints and borders into Israel.

Walk where Jesus walked

Among those rejoicing was Dr. Rex Venard Bacarra, digital faculty consultant at McGraw Hill and professor of philosophy and the humanities at The American College of Dubai, who said it has always been in his bucket list to see Israel.

“Being able to walk on the paths where Jesus walked, or go to the places he stayed at, meditated, prayed, and wandered about is really emotionally affecting to me as a person of faith,” Bacarra said. “There is really something sacred, something divine to the idea of spiritually walking beside Jesus.”

“Pangarap ko makapunta sa Israel talaga at nasa bucket list ko ‘yan,” said Allan Castro, graphic designer. “Biruin mo, yung binabasa kong Bible, once nasa Israel ako para akong nag-time travel dahil malalakaran ko ang mga tinapakan ng Panginoong Hesus at ni Haring David.”

“The stories we read in the Bible and in religious story books will indeed be supported by actual facts as we visit those religious places in Israel,” for his part, said Joel Hualde, former president of the Filipino Nurses Association in the Emirates (FNAE) and current adviser of the group.

“Matagal na pong nasa bucket list namin na puntahan ang Israel.  We will definitely plan to visit Israel with our children as soon as the travel situation , so they’ll see the roots of the stories that they were told about the chosen people and of Jesus Christ,” said Lou Olvido Parroco, life coach.

The tour

Joanne Rico, head of marketing and sales at an Abu Dhabi-headquartered healthcare chain who had been to Israel in 2013, recalls her experience: “Super higpit nila. Bawal camera. My bus seatmate took photos secretly while we were waiting at the border. Nakita pa rin sya ng camera at pinababa sa bus, kinuha ang phone, pinabura. There were armed people at the border.”

Rico, who flew to Jordan and took a bus to Israel along with fellow Filipinos and other nationalities, added: “Sabi nga ng aming priest-turned-tour guide, it is not safe for us to cross borders. Because if suddenly one country wages war, we will not be able to cross at all. Hence, we can not go back to Amman, Jordan where our flight back to UAE is.”

These borders were in contested Palestinian areas and include the West Bank, which divides  Israel and Jordan; and the Gaza Strip bordering Israel and Egypt.

Rico said they wasted no time reliving Christ’s days.

“We swam in the Dead Sea; went to River Jordan where Jesus was baptized; went for a boat ride in and ate seafood from the Sea of Galilee, where Jesus cooked food for the apostles after resurrection; went to the Mount of Beatitudes where it is believed Jesus gave the Sermon on the Mount,” Rico said.

She said they also visited the site where Jesus was born; walked the steps he took while carrying the cross; visited the place where he was crucified, and the place where Mary, carrying Jesus in her womb, visited Elizabeth, which is also known as The Visitation – the rosary’s Second Joyful Mystery –  and as mentioned in the Gospel of Luke.

Rico said she spent AED5,000 for an eight-days-seven-nights tour, all inclusive.

This early, meanwhile, Dubai-based travel and tour agencies have been clearing their desks to roll out Israel package deals.

“Of course, sama na yan sa tour packages naming for additional income,” said Malou Prado, CEO of MPQ Travel & Tourism.

Sid Rivera, Al Qadi Tourism marketing manager, for his part said the peace agreement has a big potential for the travel industry. “Especially ngayon na limited lang ang mga services na ino-offer ng mga agencies kasi hindi pa pwede ang international tours and visa assistance for Japan and China among others.

“Also, nagbago ang requirements ng visa application dito sa UAE. Mas marami nang requirements. Dati passport and picture para sa mga nasa labas na papasok dito,” he added.

90-day visa free stay

Filipinos enjoy a 90-day visa-free stay in Israel, a policy apparently arising from a move by then Philippine President President Manuel L. Quezon, who welcomed up to  2,000 Jewish refugees fleeing Nazi Europe when the Second World War broke out, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

“This act of kindness from a nation on the other side of the world did not go unnoticed by Israel. Since 1969, Israel has granted visa-free travel to Filipinos in recognition of the Asian nation’s diplomacy,” Go Israel, an official government tourism site, stated.

Consequently, bilateral relations between the Philippines and Israel was born in 1958 through the Treaty of Friendship.

History of the peace accord

The Abraham Accord was officially signed at the White House in Washington D.C. on Sept. 15 by US President Trump, who presided over the ceremony, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel and the foreign ministers of Bahrain and the UAE present.

The agreement is hoped to help finally bring an end to the Arab-Israeli conflict, which takes its roots from the 1947 United Nations Resolution 181 dividing Palestine into Jewish and Arab states and which resulted to the birth of Israel in 1948.

Prior to the partitioning, Palestine, an Arab country, was part of the Ottoman Empire, which conceded the territory to the British by virtue of a mandate by the League of Nations at the end of the First World War in 1918. That mandate was terminated in May 1948 as per UN Resolution 181.