More than 200 representatives of Philippine organizations in northern Taiwan gathered in Taipei on Friday to celebrate Philippine Independence Day at a banquet.
Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) Vice Chairman Gilberto Lauengco said that the leaders of the Philippine community in Taiwan “are the fulcrum and center point for all migrant workers,” because they help us “to better know and understand the plight of our fellow Filipinos in Taiwan and to know their needs and aspirations so that we the government may be able to help them.”
Ministry of Labor statistics show there were 153,742 Filipino migrant workers in Taiwan as of the end of April.
They remitted US$152.99 million to the Philippines from January to March, up US$20.65 million from the same period a year earlier, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas data showed.
For all of last year, they remitted US$583.84 million back to their home country, the data showed.
The people at the banquet are one of the main reasons behind the success of MECOnnect, a program that allows the office to reach out to Filipinos in dormitories, towns and villages in northern Taiwan, Lauengco said.
Launched in May last year, the program seeks closer ties and instant communication with Filipino migrant workers by providing a hotline to connect to the office.
The program also allows office staff to visit their residences and workplaces.
The Independence Day celebrations are to continue today with a Friendship Fun Run in New Taipei City.
The Philippines gained independence on June 12, 1898, after more than 300 years of Spanish colonial rule.
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