Philippines Ambassador Crescente R Relacion addressing the Financial Literacy Seminar at the Philippine Embassy yesterday. Kammutty VP
BY RAYNALD C RIVERA
DOHA: A Philippine non-governmental organisation (NGO) is set to open investment opportunities in agribusiness for Filipinos in Qatar to encourage long-term investment of their hard-earned savings.
An estimated 70 percent of all overseas Filipinos cannot go back home after decades of working abroad because of lack of savings, experts say.
“Atikha, in collaboration with Pinoy Wise Movement, will introduce to overseas Filipinos in Doha sometime in the third quarter of next year opportunities to invest in agribusiness in the Philippines,” said Ambassador Crescente R Relacion as he opened a financial literacy seminar yesterday at the Philippine embassy.
The three-day seminar is being conducted by Atikha, in collaboration with the Philippine mission, for heads and members of Filipino organisations who will train Filipino organisations and individuals here in financial literacy.
“Athika is an NGO that provides economic and social services to overseas Filipinos and their families in the Philippines. It also aims to help address the social cost of migration and the development potential of migration,” said Ambassador Relacion.
Launched three years ago, Pinoy Wise (Worldwide Initiative for Savings Investment and Entrepreneurship) Movement is an information, value formation and education campaign to encourage overseas Filipinos and their families to save and invest their hard earned money wisely.
The ambassador stressed the embassy’s support for the seminar as “this is a complementary programme to the Philippine government’s reintegration programme providing overseas Filipinos alternative livelihood opportunities and financial security when they decide to stay in the Philippines for good.”
He urged participants not only to echo what they would learn from the seminar to members of their organisations but train more trainers to reach out to more Filipinos in Qatar.
Lack of savings and investment has been a critical issue for overseas Filipinos, preventing them from reintegrate into their communities in the Philippines even after many years of working abroad.
According to Aileen Constantino-Penas of Atikha, about 70 percent of overseas Filipinos could not go back to the Philippines after decades of working abroad because of lack of savings.
Apart from lack of savings, other barriers to overseas Filipinos’ reintegration she mentioned included failure in business investments, family issues that drain resources, lack of psychological preparation and bond with the family, and lack of economic opportunities.
Having been advising Filipinos on savings and investment, Antonio Gimena, Jr of Pinoy Wise International-UAE observed many overseas Filipinos save on a short-term basis.
“The issue is not whether they save or not because they save but the purpose of saving is short-term. They spend the money they save when they go for vacation, and before they know it they have already reached their retirement stage,” said Gimena, adding they advise them to prepare for long-term investment and have the right financial strategy.
Following the Pinoy Wise Movement launch in Italy in 2010, it was introduced in Abu Dhabi in 2011 and so far around 37 financial literacy seminars have been conducted for over 1,500 participants in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ras Al Khaimah, Umalquin and Fujairah.
Filipinos in Doha are also set to benefit from these seminars in the future, said Gimena.
The three-day seminar does not only touch on the economic aspect but also on how to deal with the social cost of migration. An investment and entrepreneurial training will follow within the next three months.
The Peninsula
