AL-KHOBAR – With the Nitaqat system scheduled to begin in September, Filipino community and professional organizations in the Eastern Province are planning to hold a series of business and livelihood seminars to prepare their members for their eventual return to the Philippines. Many Filipinos are anticipating that they will be affected by the new nationalization program of the Saudi government.
The Philippine Society of Safety Practitioners-Middle East (PSSP-ME), a leading professional group, is scheduling business venture seminars during the Ramadan period, according to Engineer Greg Crisosto, president of the society.
He said members of the society will focus on discussing during the seminars various topics, ranging from agro-business, franchising, and training on safety courses for overseas Filipino workers.
“Nitaqat may not affect some of us, but it is always a good policy to prepare ourselves to return home,” Crisosto said.
The Batangue?o ng Saudi Arabia (BANSA) a regional organization of Filipinos from the province of Batangas in Southern Luzon, Philippines, concluded their reintegration program this week. “We are concentrating on businesses that are available in our region, or on ventures that have advantages, like tourism, on account of our natural resources,” said Engineer Simeon P. Perez, president of Bansa.
During the Bansa seminar, the business ventures presented to the members included franchising, cooperatives, corporate enterprises, and eco-tourism as fallback businesses for retiring OFWs.
The OFW Congress in the Eastern Province has also recently completed its reintegration seminars, presenting several enterprise ventures, such as animal and poultry raising, computer and IT businesses, cooperatives and franchising.
“With or without Nitaqat, we OFWs have to prepare ourselves to return home. We should learn as much as we can about possible enterprises and business ventures in preparation for our final exit,” Crisosto said.
The Philippine government has also taken bold steps to support the reintegration of OFWs. President Benigno S. Aquino III has recently made available two billion pesos to be used as loans to OFWs who plan to set up business ventures upon their return to the Philippines.
Those qualified to take advantage of this loan package, called the billion OFW-Reintegration Program (OFW-RP), are OFWs who are members of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) and former OFWs who were members of OWWA.
The Philippine government banks, Land Bank of the Philippines and the Development Bank of the Philippines, are supporting the two billion pesos loan facility.