OFW Congress

the protection of Filipino migrant workers and in the promotion of their welfare. Towards this end, the organization shall plan, initiate, advocate, and spearhead the drafting, lobbying, passage of motions, measures, resolutions and position papers on vital issues affecting the rights, welfare and economic well being of the OFW’s. Genuine unification of OFWs in Riyadh had always been elusive, despite efforts for unification of community leaders and the Philippine embassy officials for years. It was only in 1998, aptly perhaps as it was also the Centennial Year of Philippine Independence, when unification became an apparent reality through a plan to create the OFW Congress. The OFW Congress would be “a gathering of, and forum for, Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) in Riyadh to discuss key issues, concerns and problems affecting them and their families back home in the Philippines. Its process shall be democratic, through open and honest election of the Congress leadership with grassroots mandate; and among its specific objectives are (a) to serve as the unifying entity, and (b) to develop the social, economic and political conditions of OFWs through opportunities to be provided by the Congress. On November 27 and December 4, 1998, elections were held 1998 at the OWWA Center to select the 21 Executive Council members from among 78 duly-registered candidates. The Committee on Elections, consisting of the Philippine Embassy staff, supervised the election that was perceived by the community to have been free and honest. On December 11, 1998, the inaugural session of the Congress was then held at the Philippine embassy grounds in Riyadh. As the first-ever deliberative assembly of OFWs in Saudi Arabia, and possibly elsewhere, the Congress served as the highlighting event of the Filipino community’s celebration of December as the OFW Month. On January 14, 1999, at the Philippine Embassy, the Executive Council selected its officers and assigned portfolios to the Council members.

8,000 OFWs gathered at OWWA Center to express their right of suffrage

It was a defining community experience when some 8,000 OFWs gathered to express their right of suffrage. (Many other compatriots were unable to vote because the OWWA Center could not accommodate the great number of people who gathered then.) Who would have imagined that we could hold such an exercise free of the goons, gold and guns so pervasive at home? Domingo, who was chairman of the COMELEC, likened it to a blooming in full of a flower in the middle of the desert, born under the most trying of conditions. It was unprecedented, an achievement that prides us all to say that we can hold such clean, free and honest election. It yielded us a rich harvest of goodwill and allowed us to look forward as a community united in our efforts to promote our common good. The structure of the OFW Congress definitely allows participation of organizations and individuals community-wide. In fact, the OFW Congress, through its General Assembly, is the forum for which organizations can discuss and resolve issues of common concern. So far, the General Assembly has convened twice through its Central Committee, and passed a number of resolutions. Organizations, leaders and members alike, are welcome to participate in both the Central Committee and the General Assembly, for the common good, the rights and welfare of fellow OFWs. No matter if we are all volunteers to the tasks, our greater vision is to seek a better place under the sun for OFWs and their families in a progressive Philippines.