Philippine Labor Attaché David Des T. Dicang has asked community leaders of the some 320,000 Filipinos in Eastern Province to support and partner with the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) in helping their distressed compatriots. He made the appeal during the induction of the officers and board of commissioners of the All-Filipino Community and Sports Commission (AFCSCOM) for the year 2008-2009. AFCSCOM is composed professional, sports, support-oriented, advocacy-founded, and regional organizations in the region. “The POLO operation in Eastern Province, admittedly, is short-handed. We cannot handle all the support programs we are tasked to do, hence we need the help of the community, the AFCSCOM, is aiding our distressed workers and those who are in need of our services,” Dicang said. He was the guest speaker and induction official of the incoming AFCSCOM officials. He said AFCSCOM and other groups, like the OFW Congress, have been supporting the ‘Embassy on Wheel' program of the Philippine Embassy, a regular service that provides passport renewal and other consular services. He said the forthcoming overseas absentee-voting registration and the 2010 election will again need the help and support of the Filipino organizations. “The POLO operation in Eastern Province is already over-stretched, for example, in aiding Filipino workers with labor problem, in attending labor hearings and making representations with the various concerned government offices. Hence, the support of community organizations is needed,” Dicang said. He outlined several plans in which, he said, community organizations could effectively partner with the Philippine Embassy and POLO. Philippine Ambassador Antonio Villamor, who recently arrived from Manila after consultation, said he was able secure more assurance of support from the Department of Foreign Affairs, including additional funding, to further strengthen the operation of the Philippine mission in Saudi Arabia. Reggie I. Montana, overall chairman of the incoming AFCSCOM officers and board of commissioners, reiterated the continuing support of the organization to the Philippine Embassy and POLO operations in Eastern Province. AFCSCOM was founded in 1996 out of the need of the members of the Filipino community in Eastern Province to expand and widen their outreach programs from sports affairs, through the then Palarong Pilipino, to other community activities. The named AFCSCOM was jointly conceived and coined by then Welfare Officer Hassan Jumdain, Education Attaché Professor Kazim, and Joe Avance?a, who issued thereafter a press release announcing the formation of the organization. The first chairman, who was appointed, was Zosimo Bool, who was then the chairman of the Palarong Pilipino. Bool was succeeded by Mariano Legayada, then Saudi Arabia Hiligaynon Inc. (SAHI) president, who was duly elected by the community. During its infancy, AFCSCOM was supported by the Philippine Trade Center (Philtracen), an extension of the Philippine Embassy in Riyadh. Philtracen openly operated providing support programs to distressed Filipino workers and their families until it was closed when Welfare Officer Jumdain left the Kingdom in 1998 for reassignment. The incoming officers and commissioners of AFCSCOM who will serve the Filipino community in Eastern Province for the year 2008-2009 are Reggie I. Montana, Overall Chairman; Max Bringula, Deputy Chairman (Community Affairs); Lourdes D. Silverio, Deputy Chairman (Sports Affairs); Orlando Flores, Secretary; Gamaliel Gonzales, Assistant Secretary; Mary Jane P. Tupas, Treasurer; Danilo O. Rioflorido, Assistant Treasurer; Abelardo B. Regalado, Auditor; Gregory Sugano, Assistant Auditor; Medard U. Obida, PRO; and Arman Montero, Assistant PRO. The elected commissioners of various community activities and districts were Ludovico Estruche Jr., Arnaldo Montero, Enrique Piquing, Rudy Saljob, Grace Caputolan, Lamberto Pablo, Rodel Dayto, Menandro Jimenez, Gregory Sugano, Gabalmel Ignacio, Arman Montero, Floserfino Famarin, Salvador Alpuerto, Antonio Briones, Anselmo delos Santos, and Maripaz Sales. __
