The Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) operation in Eastern Province will train selected Filipino community leaders in various support programs of the Philippine government. They will later on be assigned to provide assistance to Filipino workers with labor and related problems, according to Philippine Labor Attaché Adam A. Musa. Musa presented this proposal last Friday during the first dialogue he held with community leaders representing various Filipino organizations in Eastern Province. “We are going to train selected community leaders who are endorsed by their respective organizations to assist the POLO team in Eastern Province, which is short of personnel, in providing assistance to distressed workers, particularly those with labor problem,” Musa said. He said the selected community leaders should know Arabic, could be a long-time resident in the Kingdom, and have knowledge of the laws and culture of the country. “We are aiming to start with 10 selected community leaders; we are going to circulate to the community the guidelines and criteria in the selection,” Musa said. “Elevating labor problems to the court is a tedious and long process, which is why we are suggesting reconciliation as the best answer in settling labor dispute between the workers and their employers,” Musa stressed. He said the POLO operation in Eastern Province will widen its operation in regions outside the greater Dammam area. “A team of POLO foot-patrol will be regularly visiting far-flung areas because we know there are many Filipino workers who need to be reached out; we want the support and cooperation of the community to accomplish this reach-out program.” Musa also urged community organizations, particularly those who are accredited community partners of the Philippine Embassy, to be transparent in their spending and disbursement of funds. He said the Philippine Institute of Certified Public Accountant (PICPA) in Eastern Province will be tasked to audit all community organizations that have projects linked with the POLO and the Philippine Embassy. It was agreed during the meeting that a continuing dialogue between the POLO team and the Filipino community leaders in Eastern Province be held every three months. __
