The Commission on Filipinos Overseas participated and served as resource speakers in the 1st International Conference of the Institute of Electronics Engineers of the Philippines (IECEP) held on 25 March 2023 in Edelweiss Park Function Room in Singapore. This is the first leg of the IECEP International Conferences organized through the Foreign Chapters Committee and the Special Programs Committee, together with IECEP Singapore Chapter and special partners, the CFO, Remora Networks Solutions Inc., and Avida/Ayalaland.
IECEP National President, Engr. Lyle Anthony Jowill G. Villas welcomed the guests and participants and commended the leadership of Engr. Kris Andrew Trinidad, IECEP National Secretary-General and Chair of the Special Programs Committee, for spearheading the event.
With the theme “InvesTECH 2023: Developing Business Mindset for Engineers”, the conference focused on developing the business mindset for engineers. The CFO officials were invited to talk about migrant entrepreneurship and financial instruments.
Afterward, Usec. Brion addressed the audience and commended the conference organizers for providing a platform to stimulate overseas Filipinos’ (OFs) business mindset. She hopes that CFO can help the participants maximize their resources that would catalyze the diaspora’s contribution to accelerating the Philippines’ economic activity.
Ms. Salvador then discussed migrant entrepreneurship and how some OFs became hometown entrepreneurs. She started by introducing the CFO and its programs and services for migrants. She then presented success stories of six former OFs who reintegrated into the Philippines and established businesses in their local communities. Five OFs are workers in the Middle East and Thailand, while one is a former immigrant in the United States. From pastry making to putting up an agri-farm, Ms. Salvador was able to showcase the potential of OFs as business owners and entrepreneurs.
“Through entrepreneurship, overseas Filipinos have the option to return to the Philippines, with working and living overseas just as an option in mind rather than a necessity. By delving into entrepreneurship, they also offer new market opportunities and employment generation in their chosen industry and locality,” said Ms. Salvador.
She also included in the presentation the three beneficiaries of CFO’s Overseas Filipinos Remittance for Development (OF-RED) in Ilocos Norte. In partnership with United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Western Union, and the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), this past project led to the creation of a collective remittance fund channeled to migrant-owned businesses through small loans that helped sustain and grow their enterprises.
Before ending her presentation, Ms. Salvador showed the government agencies with existing business loan programs that OFs can avail of.
After lunch, Usec. Brion discussed the financial investments available for OFs as innovative ways of engaging with the Philippines and contributing to nation-building. Before going to the meat of her presentation, Usec. Brion tackled OF statistics regarding their spending priorities, savings, and investments.
The financial instruments introduced by Usec. Brion were government securities like retail treasury bonds and treasury bills, stocks, REITs, UITF, mutual funds, VUL insurance, PAGIBIG MP2, and cooperatives. Usec. Brion also explained the
advantages of each financial instrument and encouraged the audience to explore investing in them to grow their money with less effort but high rewards.
CFO programs like BaLinkBayan and Peso Sense were also highlighted as information resources, together with the Bureau of Treasury’s FiLi Webpage, for those OFs interested in studying more on financial instruments, investments, and government offerings.
Usec. Brion added, “As we rebuild our economy, your investment in our home country is an investment in building dreams and creating a sustainable future for yourselves and your families, your communities, and the Philippines.”
The IECEP National Chapter then presented plaques of appreciation to CFO for becoming a partner of the organization for the conference and to each CFO official who was present at the event.
IECEP is a non-stock, non-profit organization founded in 1950 by pioneers in the domestic electronics and telecommunications sector. IECEP currently has 10 accredited foreign associations in Singapore, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Eastern Region (KSA), Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Western Region, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Central Region, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, and Japan. A Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) on the BaLinkBayan Project was signed between IECEP and CFO on 03 June 2020 in Davao City as part of the Commission’s efforts to expand the project’s reach through securing partnerships with various Filipino entities abroad.
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