12 November 2012 – Ambassador Carlos C. Salinas met the Filipino Community in Ibiza on 10 and 11 November 2012 on the occasion of the Community´s OFW Family Fun Day. Ibiza is a resort city of Spain and is about an hour and 10 minutes by plane from Madrid. There are around 1,500 Filipinos living in the city and most of the OFWs are working in the service and tourism sectors.
In his address to the Community, Ambassador Salinas emphasized the need to stay employed, the need to have a positive attitude towards their work, and that OFWs should be grateful for their employment given the economic crisis affecting Spain.
The OFW Family Fun Day was part of the weekend program organized by the Federación de la Comunidad Filipina en Ibiza, Asociación Unión Filipina Ibiza y Formentera, and the Philippine Overseas Labor Office in Madrid, other activities included the introduction of a Livelihood Programs for OFWs (short courses on Hairstyling/Haircutting, and Commercial Dressmaking/Tailoring) which will run from 10 November to 15 December 2012.
A “dinner-for-a-cause” fund raising activity on 11 November 2012 culminated the weekend program in Ibiza. The money raised from the dinner will be donated to the Diocese of Nueva Vizcaya to support the seminarians of the said diocese.