DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — They probably got their cue from Colombian Nobel prize winning author Gabriel García Márquez’ “Love in the Time of Cholera.” Or maybe because coronavirus is in the air. Then again, it could just be plain, old-fashioned love.

One hundred and eighty-three Filipino couples, all contract workers, have tied the knot at the Philippine Consulate General (PCG) since the mission resumed consular services, which included solemnizing marriages, on April 26 this year, following a 24-hour disinfection program by the UAE government at the height of the coronavirus pandemic on March 25.

The numbers are expected to continue increasing in the coming months, officials said.

Consul General Paul Raymund Cortes, who also officiates the weddings, said the number proves love knows no barrier.

“The pandemic had strengthened couples’ resolve to spend their lives through crisis and through good times,” he said. “These 183 couples have decided to live their dreams together… with the pandemic, hoping for a silver lining (and) a brighter future where they could lead their new families to,” he added.

Social Welfare Attaché Judith Bacwaden, who provides the required pre-wedding counselling as per the Philippines’ New Family Code, said that indeed, love conquers all.

“Covid is not a hindrance,” she said.  “I try to use webinar kung marami sila.”

In compliance with the “Guidelines and Protocol for Reopening of Establishments” issued by the Dubai Government on April 23, PCG conducts the solemnizations two couples at a time on Thursdays, where during the pre-covid days, it would be an average of 25 also on the same day, or a total of about 1,200 a year.

Long distance relationships

At least five couples in every weekly group wedding have gone through long distance relationships where one went ahead to Dubai, saved money and sponsored his or her soulmate’s visa to follow next.

Among those who got married during these days of the pandemic were Jamille Domingo and Louise Marasigan, both of Quezon City and who also went through an LDR – at least for a little over a year.

“He went to Dubai in April 2018, I followed him and moved here in July 2019,” Domingo said.

Domingo said that so far, all they want to do is “try to survive this crisis and get out of it alive and well.”

“We’re still religiously saving up for our plans like buying a lot. But we also know that those plans will get delayed, and we’re trying to come to terms with it. What’s important is to stay alive and safe from all this,” she said.

Domingo, a media practitioner, shared that she got engaged in February. “Right there and then, we decided to have our civil wedding within 2020, so that it would be easier for us to prepare for our Church wedding in 2021,” she said.

The couple had planned to have their civil wedding in May. “But then because of the restrictions and temporary suspension of consular activities, we weren’t able to process it on time. Even our church wedding was delayed. Now, we have halted all plans indefinitely, although we are targeting to hold it sometime in 2022,” she said.

Domingo said they had their share of learnings from the pandemic: “We realized that we don’t have all the time in the world, and that we need to do what we want to do while we still can.”

“We didn’t become obsessed with grand weddings anymore unlike how we were during a few months back. We just wanted to be husband and wife and we got scared that if we waited a little longer, we may never get the chance,” she said.

Among basic requirements is a Certificate of No Marriage (CENOMAR) from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).    Following the solemnization, the couples are given an official marriage certificate issued by PSA in four months.

Group weddings were also held at the Philippine Embassy in Abu Dhabi.

A Jordanian national, who could have easily been living a much more comfortable life in the hospitality sector with his college and master’s degrees in tourism, has abandoned that career to instead work for distressed overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).

For this, the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs has conferred upon him the Assistance to National (ATN) Award through its embassy in Jordan – a first in the history of the commendation, which began 18 years ago in 2002.

“(It’s) my passion… that brings me directly to people needing assistance in various ways,” Issa Mohammad Mofleh Ahmad, the embassy’s official translator assigned to its ATN section since 2012, told Manila-based independent news portal, Rappler.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin conferred Ahmad with the award during the 122^nd founding anniversary of the department.

Ahmad’s job tasks him to provide valuable coordination with the Jordanian authorities, foreign recruitment agencies and overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) on issues requiring practical and legal advice, case management, and final resolution of complaints.

Ahmad’s educational background involves the hospitality industry, holding a bachelor’s and master’s degree in tourism and with which he could have been living in convenience and luxury.

But his dedication took the better part of him, having been instrumental, the embassy said, in the successful repatriation to the Philippines of over 1,100 OFWs from 2019 to early 2020 under Jordan’s 2019 Amnesty Law.

He also provides assistance in the monitoring of over 100 legal cases involving Filipino nationals filed before local courts.

“The Philippine embassy in Amman has a very good reputation,” said Ahmad. “And also the number of Filipino nationals is large, which posed a challenge for me to apply to work for the embassy,” he added.

There are approximately 39,000 OFWs in Jordan of which some 95% are household service workers (HSWs), according to Consul General Ferdinand Flores. Most common ATN cases were labor-related, he said.

Hard work

Ahmad said his job entails a lot of hard work. “But when you see the smile and tears of the people you help, you will forget how hard your work is and you will only remember how great is your job,” he said.

Ahmad said ATN is “one the best work that you could do, helping many people, defending their rights.”

He recalled that after his first interview at the embassy, “I did a comprehensive study about the Filipino nationals in Jordan, the most prominent issues they are exposed to, and what kind of assistance they need.

“On the same day, I prepared a comprehensive action plan and database containing all the information, maps, phone numbers and addresses of ministries, directorates, security centers, hospitals, and others. And I sent it to the embassy the next day,” Ahmad said.

‘Pusong Pinoy’

Luciana Obejas, a leader in the local Filipino community, said Ahmad is a “well-meaning and sincere” person. “He has a heart for Filipinos in Jordan. We know he also works beyond his duties and we are very happy to have him in the embassy,” Obejas said.

“As a community leader in Amman, I am very happy to have known and worked with Ambassador Akmad Atlah Sakkam and his ATN team including Mr. Issa (Ahmad). We are also very proud of his work and share his honor of being the first Jordanian to receive the ATN Award of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA),” Obejas said.

A resident of the Irbid Governorate, Ahmad completed a Bachelor’s Degree in Tourism Guidance from the Hashemite University in 2008, and a Master’s Degree in Tourism Administration from Yarmouk University in 2012, the embassy said.

He was the lone foreigner to receive the ATN Award this year and the first Jordanian to receive it since the beginning of such recognition 18 years ago.

In consideration of the travel restrictions due to the pandemic, the awarding ceremony was broadcast, for the first time, via YouTube media platform by the DFA in Manila and viewed by all Philippine foreign service posts around the world. The Philippine embassy in Jordan will hold a private ceremony in Amman to confer the medal and plaque to Ahmad.

In giving him the award, the embassy said Ahmad is recognized for his “exemplary performance, selfless service, and unwavering commitment in providing responsive and efficient assistance to Filipino nationals.”

Assistance to Nationals is among the “Three Pillars of the Philippine Foreign Policy,” aside from the Preservation of Territorial Integrity and Enhancement of National Security, and the Promotion of Investments and Economic Diplomacy.

“The award is testament to the brotherly cooperation and cordial relations between the Republic of the Philippines and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan on matters of mutual interest, primarily, the protection of migrant workers’ rights and welfare, and provision of consular service,” the embassy said.

MAIN PHOTO: Issa Mohammad Mofleh Ahmad taking a selfie with a batch of OFWs bound for repatriation. (Photo courtesy of Philippine Embassy in Jordan)

DUBAI:  While most companies have been terminating people because of the coronavirus pandemic, an Emirati businessman, who runs a general services company, of which over 620 are overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), has chosen to keep his employees and has even regularly been providing food at the accommodation provided for them.

“Like other companies, we have also been seriously affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. We are one of few companies in the UAE that up to now has not terminated employees because we believe in them and that we will pass through this challenging time,” said Maricel Violanda, human resource manager, speaking on behalf of the company’s CEO, Jassim Alnajjar.

Violanda, who is also an OFW, said weekly food provision started in April at the height of the quarantine. Personal hygiene care is also being given by the company to the employees every month.

“A monthly cash food allowance for workers living outside the company accommodation has been provided as well,” Violanda said.

She said the company’s total food spending has reached AED 200,000 which covered 6,000 bags of rice, 3,000kg of fish and 3,500kg of assorted meat and chicken among others.

“We have also scheduled regular visits at our staff accommodation to hold meetings, hear individual queries and provide counseling,” Violanda said. 

The company has also taken temporary measures like salary reduction and no-work-no-pay arrangements until operations return to normal.  

The company has total of 780 employees of which 80%  percent of the workforce are Filipinos and the rest is a mix of other nationalities, according to Violanda.

Just recently, UAE Food Bank, a charitable organization, recognized the company as one of its recipient and held a food distribution drive at the staff accommodation in Al Nahda, north of Dubai.

The activity was also graced by Consul General Paul Raymund Cortes and spouse, Dr. Yasmin Balajadia-Cortes with participation by officers of Kalayaan 2020, which organized this year’s Philippine Independence Day celebrations.

“The Perfect Help” is the company’s name. It provides professional services such as cleaning, building maintenance, pest control, housekeeping as well as first aid training courses.

MAIN PHOTO CAPTION: “The Perfect Help” CEO, Mr. Jassim Alnajjar. (Photo courtesy of Maricel Violanda, company human resource manager)

Colombian Nobel prize winning author Gabriel García Márquez might have popularized that now-clichéd phrase, “love in the time of Coronarovirus” through his novel of a similar title, albeit referring to cholera.

But such definitely is not the case for 36-year old Charito Batan (not her real name) of Zamboanga City whose husband, she said, has taken off with another woman.

“Sumakabilang-bahay na ang asawa ko,” said Batan, a grocery store cashier in Dubai’s neighboring city of Sharjah, who has been without a regular job since last year. The pandemic has made it even more difficult for her to get a stable employment.

She was referring to “R.J.” who she said is currently living with her “other woman” in Taguig, Metro Manila. “Ok lang siya kapag nandun ako sa Pilipinas. Pero kapag wala ako andun sya sa babae nya,” Batan said.

The couple has no children.    

Batan, who has been surviving through money sent her by relatives back home as as well as dole-out groceries from Good Samaritans in the UAE, said she was at a quandary about going home.

“Nakakahiya nga na sila pa ang nagpapadala sa akin ngayon,” Batan said referring to her kin. “Sabi naman nila ok lang kasi nung may trabaho naman ako ay pinapadalhan ko sila. Naawa rin sila sa akin,” Batan said.

She said she had wanted to go home “pero patay din dun sa amin.”

“Wala din akong magiging trabaho at mahirap makabalik,” Batan said.

Having just renewed her visit visa status from money sent by her auntie who  also works in the Middle East,  Batan said she plans to apply for a school job. She has been in and out of part time jobs recently.

The United Arab Emirates appears winning its war against the coronavirus pandemic with no COVID-related deaths reported in the past four consecutive days since August 1, according to the Ministry of Health and Prevention (MOHAP).

According to the official MOHAP report, the number of new COVID cases has also declined from 254 on Aug. 1, Saturday to 239 the next day and 164 on Aug. 3, Monday.

Some 189 new COVID cases were reported today, Tuesday Aug. 4.

Total number of COVID cases as of today is 61,352 while the number of recoveries is 55,090. Fatalities have remained at 351 since August 1.

The number of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who have been flown home from across the world by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has reached 115,793.

Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for Migrant Workers’ Affairs Sarah Lou Y. Arriola reported during a recent Congressional Hearing conducted by the Committee on Public Accounts, said the DFA expected to bring home around 50,000 overseas Filipinos for July.

As the month drew to a close, the DFA achieved its target number of repatriates and brought the total number of repatriated Filipinos to 115,793 since the first COVID-related repatriation flight arrived from Wuhan in February 2020.

Of the 50,887 overseas Filipinos brought home in July, 35,656 were from the Middle East – with the greatest number of repatriates arriving from the UAE (14,948) and Saudi Arabia (11,249), DFA said. A total of 6,925 OFWs came from Asia, 4,943 from the Americas, 3,343 from Europe and 20 from Africa, it added.

The DFA also organized 13 chartered flights in July which brought home 4,147 fellow Filipinos from Japan, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Malaysia and Vietnam. These chartered flights were shouldered by the DFA through its Assistance-to-Nationals Fund.

“More than any other time in Philippine history, we have embarked on a repatriation program of unprecedented scale to bring home our overseas Filipinos affected by the pandemic. Our duty is far from over as we sustain our efforts to fly home another hundred thousand fellow Filipinos who wish to be repatriated,” said Arriola.

The DFA eyes to repatriate an estimated 100,000 nationals abroad within the next two months, the department said in a media advisory.

The foreign affairs department last month breached the 100,000-mark in the number of overseas Filipinos brought home from all over the world.

“Repatriating more than 100k overseas Filipinos is a first in the history of DFA,” said Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for Migrant Workers’ Affairs Sarah Lou Y. Arriola.

“It may look easy but in reality it was difficult. But through the sustained efforts of our dedicated personnel who labored 24/7 since February and the full cooperation of all our Foreign Service Posts, we pulled this feat off,” added the Undersecretary.

Of the 102,519 overseas Filipinos (OFs) repatriated since February, 42.8 percent (43,893 OFs) are sea-based and 57.2 percent (58,626 OFs) are land-based. The most recent repatriates arrived from the Netherlands, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and the USA.

DUBAI: A 31-year-old overseas Filipina worker (OFW) in Sharjah, whose husband has returned to his home country before she gave birth to their child last year, is now picking up the pieces, planning to go back to the Philippines and raise her baby.

“Natatakot na akong magmahal na muli,” N. M. of Pikit, Cotabato said.

She shared that she met her husband, “Ali” on Facebook some three years ago.  “Naging mag-dyowa kami. Dalawang taon din kaming nagsama,” she recalls.

She said her husband was asked by his family to return home and has not since been able to come back. “Pina-uwi sya ng pamilya nya. Sabi nya babalik sya pero hindi na sya nakabalik. Kung minsan nagme-message sya sa akin. Dahil daw sa COVID-19 hindi sya makakuha ng visa at wala ring trabaho sa bansa nila,” N.M says.

Left to raise their child by herself, N.M. said she took jobs, mostly as domestic help or hotel cleaner. “Kinakaya ko lang. Kahit malayo pinupuntahan ko. Basta mabuhay ko ang anak ko. Hanggang ngayon, hindi ako naghahanap ng ibang lalaki,” N.M said.

Her daughter, Aleha, was born on April 1, 2019. “Ali” left in March of the same year, N.M said.  “Kahit isang dirham hindi sya nakapagpadala sa amin,” she said.

Having been jobless for the past four months due to the pandemic, mother and daughter have been surviving on dole-outs from civic groups and Good Samaritan OFWs.

 “Since March, wala na akong trabaho kahit part time. May mga tumutulong sa amin na namimigay ng kaunting tulong. Yung mga kaibigan ko, binibilhan ng kaunting diapers at gatas ang baby ko,” N.M. said.

She said she has sought help from the Philippine Consulate General in Dubai. “Uuwi na kami ng anak ko,” she said, adding that she plans to personally go to the consulate “kapag may pamasahe na ako.”

N.M. lives in Sharjah, a neighboring emirate of Dubai’s – a roundtrip transportation can cause about Dh75 dirhams.

N.M. was not able to finish school. “Grade I lang ang inabot ko, pero nakarating ng abroad,” she said, laughing. She said she is fluent in Arabic, having studied the language before. She had also worked as domestic helper in Saudi Arabia in 2009. She arrived in Dubai 2013, went home and returned in 2017, around which time she met “Ali.”

DUBAI: In what was widely seen in the local Filipino community as “unprecedented,” over 27,000 Filipinos have returned home to the Philippines in a span of the past two months due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, which reached the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in late January this year.

Over 8,000 more repatriation requests were being reviewed at the consulate in Dubai, a city of 400,000 documented overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).

“Quite a number of emails, messages, inbox and WhatsApp requests,” said Consul General Paul Raymund Cortes.  “But we have to go through each and every message so that we’d know whether there were multiple submissions,” he added.

Philippine Embassy

The Philippine embassy said it has so far been able to assist 25,000 Filipinos, having secured approvals from Philippine aviation authorities for 76 flights since June. The consulate said it has repatriated more than 1,500.

“An estimated 25,000 Filipinos have been able to return to the Philippines using these flights. With these flight approvals, many of those who booked tickets in May, but whose flights were cancelled, were able to push through in June and July with their commercial flights,” the embassy said in an official statement.

“Currently,” it added, “the embassy is seeking clearances for August flights, most likely at the same level since there are still restrictions imposed on arrivals in Philippine airports due to COVID-19.”

Dubai

In Dubai, 351 Filipinos, who, according to Cortes, were mostly visit visa holders, were repatriated in the evening of July 24, 2020 on board a Philippine Airlines (PAL) flight PR 659.  Another 354 left on July 30 on the same flight.

“We have repatriated over 1,500 since the pandemic began,” Cortes said. “The rest,” he added, “bought tickets on their own.”

Cortes said some 3,000 more OFWs were in line for the next batches of repatriation through flights arranged by the consulate.

The consulate repatriated the first batch of OFWs, numbering 370, in mid-June on board a Cebu Pacific flight 5J 19.

Still, thousands more have bought their own tickets, but flights were unfortunately cancelled due to quarantine issues back home.

Visit visa

Among them is Jhoy Dumol Cabanalan Sales of Iloilo in central Philippines who arrived in Dubai on March 5 with a visit visa, a few weeks before all arrival and departure flights in the UAE were suspended.

Sales, who had worked at a salon in Dubai from 2009 to 2013 and was back in the city to once again try her luck but apparently in vain, said her visit visa expired on June 5.

She had booked for a July 1 PAL flight but it was cancelled and rescheduled for August 4.

“Wala naman po akong mapasukan dahil may pandemic nga kaya uuwi na lang po muna ako kasi nahirapan na din po ako dito. Sana matuloy yung flight,” Sales said.

‘Unprecedented’

Meantime, Jason Roi Bucton, chair of the Kalayaan 2020 organizing committee, which put together this year’s celebration of the 122^nd Philippine Independence Day in Dubai, said a mass repatriation of this scale was something not seen before in the Filipino community.

“Unprecedented talaga,” said Bucton, an architect who has been in Dubai since 2006.

“Grabe ang pandemic na ito. It has affected everyone from all walks of life. The good thing about us Filipinos is that, we help each other in times of needs. It is innate to us (Filipinos) to help out stranded kabayans due to flight cancellations, travel restrictions or visa procedures.

“The massive call for repatriation had been answered by the Philippine government, giving importance most especially to OFWs going home during this pandemic with all-expense-paid airfare and including covid testing, hotel accommodations, food and transportation until they reach their door steps.” he added.

The UAE suffered economic issues when the 2008-09 global slump caused by the US property bubble burst hit the country, during which there also were employment terminations and repatriations of expats.

But old timers say it was nothing compared to the current situation, where food is rationed by volunteers and Good Samaritans to the jobless, and stranded expats swamp airlines with calls asking for updates about their cancelled flights.

There are an estimated 750,000 documented OFWs in the UAE of which, according to Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III, some 400,000 are in Dubai.

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said it has repatriated over 100,000 Filipinos in the past six months due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with Undersecretary for Migrant Workers’ Affairs Sarah Lou Arriola noting that this figure “is a first in the history” of the department.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates: Marcus Cato Penaflor, 60-year-old overseas Filipino worker (OFW) who moved to Dubai a few years back to try it out in the city, did not know what was in store for him.

Not knowing that the UAE’s law sets retirement for expats at 60, his luck ran out, forcing to him to resort to peddling in the streets to survive.

“Tsinelas ko durog na sa paglalakad. Na-aawa na rin ako sa sarili ko, pero kailangang lumaban,” said Marcus Cato Penaflor, who grew up in Bambang, Sta. Cruz, Manila and has five children, the eldest of whom already has a family of his own.

He has seen better days in Saudi Arabia as an industrial electrician for almost 19 years with company-provided car and accommodation.

In these hot desert summer days, daily temperature averages at 45 Celsius.

“Nakakaramdam na ako ng pagod at hirap sa buhay dahil sa aking edad,” said Penaflor, who stays in Al Jafiliya, a residential community in Dubai.

Life was good, he said, when he was still gainfully employed in Saudi Arabia. “Lahat ng suporta sa pamilya ko, naibibigay ko,” he said.

Penaflor’s age proved to be an issue because UAE law for expats sets retirement age at 60;  they could still work till 65 provided employers obtain approval from the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MOHRE).

“Lagi naman akong nakakapasa sa trabaho, kaya lang kapag nalaman na ang edad ko, sasabihin tatawagan na lang. Kaya tinanggap ko na, na mahihirap akong makahanap,” Penaflor said.

Penaflor resorted to part time jobs. “Kahit ano kinuha ko. Naging cleaner din ako. Lahat ng trabaho pinasok ko. Namulot pa ako ng mga plastic na bote upan maibenta pangkain,” he said.

Around 2018, Penaflor finally got a job with an employment visa where he worked as a cook at a company canteen. A year later, however, his visa would be cancelled and he has since not able to get a new one.

Fellow OFWs have been supportive, chipping in for his food and rent. But as he wants to make money on his own, he decided to walk the streets, selling meat with help from friends who put together a little something for seed capital. “Sa isang kilo, may Dh3 dirhams lang ako,” Penaflor said.

He knows it’s illegal but he has no choice.

 “Alam ko pong bawal. Pero dito po ako kumukuha ng suporta para sa pagkain ko at pambayad ng renta. Mabuti na lang sinasagot ng mga ibang kasamahan ko dito yung upa at yung landlady ko naawa din,” Penaflor said.

The Philippine Consulate General got word of his plight and worked on his repatriation. Penaflor is scheduled to be repatriated on July 30 through a Philippine Airlines flight.

He said he plans to ask help from the government for a start-up business when he gets home. “Plano kong magtayo ng babuyan o magtinda ng bigas.  Sa edad kong ito, hindi ko na kayang magtrabaho ng mabigat,” he said.

At the time of this interview, Penaflor, who has a few days left in Dubai, was still walking the streets to make a living. “Para maka-ipon kahit papaano at may maipadala pag-uwi,” he said.

A picture speaks a thousand words, as the cliché goes.

These days, nowhere else could this prove to be true but in Dubai where thousands have lost their jobs due to the pandemic and are now starting over with, yes, a curriculum vitae having a snappy headshot courtesy of an award-winning Filipino photographer, who tells Daily Bread News he is doing it to “return my blessings to the community.”

Chris Calumberan, known in the city’s photography circles for having been around since 2003, thought he’d pay it forward and recently launched his “100 Headshots Initiative,” which has already attracted several interested jobseekers looking to spruce up their CVs.

“I was blessed to have a very good client during the height of the pandemic in Dubai. I am just returning my blessings to the community,” said Calumberan, whose string of award includes being listed among the “Ilustrado Top 300” Filipino achievers in the UAE, organized by a publishing company based in Dubai; and a bronze medal at a Tokyo photography competition.

“I coach my subjects. I study them and work with them to bring out the best in them. With that, I’m certain they will get the job,” said the 40-year-old Calumberan runs his own photography business, is in to art photography and who’s from Mandaluyong City in Metro Manila.

Calumberan is an experienced model booker, location scout and production manager for print and TVCs and an ambassador for some of the leading photography brands.

He also represents Filipino photographers in major workshops and keynote speeches in Dubai.

According to the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) in Dubai, there are approximately 53,160 overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) in the city who were in a no-work-no-pay situation; while the number of those terminated was at 26,580.