ABU DHABI // Constancio Vingno Jr, the new Philippines ambassador to the UAE, has his work cut out for the next three years.
During that time the 62-year-old has to deal with labour and welfare issues, working out employment, trade and tourism agreements, and trying to instil a savings culture among Filipinos.
“My job is overwhelming,” said Mr Vingno, who took up his post on October 29. “But I’m ready.
“As [Manny] Pacquiao once said, ‘let’s get it on!’.”
His mandate falls under the three pillars of Philippine policy – protecting the rights and welfare of overseas Filipino workers, promoting national security an enhancing economic diplomacy.
He said the most common legal problems Filipinos faced were to do with indebtedness, intoxication and use of illegal drugs, immorality, illegal recruitment and improper and fake documents.
One of his first tasks will be to witness a hearing at an Al Ain court on November 26, where a Filipina maid is appealing against a death sentence for killing her employer.
“At the moment, my focus is to enhance the delivery of our services,” he said. “We have to have a strong organisation before we can do a lot of things. This position is very challenging.”
There are 34 embassy officials and staff members, including himself. He has requested five or six more to work on the assistance-to-nationals section and bilateral economic cooperation, trade and consular agreements.
The large Filipino expatriate population in the UAE posed “a challenge, especially in logistics”, he said.
According to figures from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, there are 575,000 Filipinos living and working in the UAE. However, the 2012 Commission of Filipinos Overseas put the figure at 900,000. “We really don’t know the real number,” Mr Vingno said. “That’s why it is important for Filipinos to register with the embassy.”
He said his priorities included forging a labour cooperation agreement with the UAE, boosting trade and investments and promoting tourism.
“What we lack is an umbrella agreement where the UAE and the Philippines can sit together on a regular basis,” he said. “It’s a forum where alternatively the UAE can host the talks here and next year, in Manila.”
On the labour front, Manila plans to send a delegation here to look into the lifting of the suspension of the hiring of domestic workers to the UAE.
Mr Vingno is sure a solution can be found.
“I’ve always been an optimistic person,” Mr Vingno said. “There are no obstacles you cannot overcome.”
The Philippine overseas labour offices in Abu Dhabi and Dubai stopped verifying contracts for domestic workers last year after a new standard contract produced by the Ministry of Interior took effect on June 1. Recruitment agencies in the UAE have been instructed to rely on the standard contract, removing the need to have domestic workers' contracts ratified by embassies of their countries of origin.
Raising the status of Filipino professionals in the UAE is also an issue Mr Vingno will work on.
“We can achieve this by encouraging Filipinos to increase their financial literacy,” he said.
His predecessor, Grace Princesa, started a financial literacy programme in 2011.
Mr Vingno’s diplomatic career began in 1977. His postings include Japan, Germany, Romania, Austria and Greece. He was ambassador to South Africa from December 2011 to May 2014 and before moving to the UAE, served as assistant secretary at the department of foreign affairs’ legislative liaison unit in Manila.
rruiz@thenational.ae
