Villar SIPAG stages 9th OFW and Family Summit
RETIRED Seaman Elmer B. Fernandez won the House and Lot from Lessandra by Camella in the 9th OFW and Family Summit, sponsored by the Villar Family through is foundation- the Villar SIPAG. Fernandez thanked Sen. Cynthia Villar and former Senate President Manny Villar for holding the annual summit to help OFWs make wise investments of their hardearned money.
Fernandez and his family members were joined by Sen. Cynthia Villar, Las Pinas Rep. Camille Villar and Vista Landholding President and CEO Paolo Villar during the turnover rites
More than 7,000 OFWs and their beneficiaries attended the summit held at the World Trade Center in Pasay City aptly theme “Kabuhayan sa Sariling Bayan.”
For the past years, the summit has evolved into a one-stop shop for OFWs where government and non-government organizations as well as business owners and franchise holders have set up booths and attended to the needs and queries of the attendees from starting a business to availing of government assistance and services.
Resource persons were invited to discuss topics on financial literacy, business start ups/ trends. OFWs-turned-successfulentrepreneurs also provided guidance on how to seize opportunities and become entrepreneurs.
On the topic of financial literacy, the speakers were Burn Gutierrez, chairman of Angat Pilipinas Coalition fro Financial Literacy; Eric Atanacio, president of Terra Verde Ecofarm, Inc.; and Rienzie Biolena, president and chief financial planner of Wealth Arki Consultancy, Inc.
For business landscape start ups, the speakers were Emma Tolentino, farmer owner of Eco Natural Integrated Farm and Learning Site; Ace Vergel dela Cruz, acquisition executive of Grab PH; and Capt. Danny Ricohermoso, executive vice president of the Integrated Seafarers of the Philippines, Inc.
OFWs-Turned-SuccessfulEntrepreneurs Gene Gutierrez (CEO and Founder, Big Ben’s Gourmet and Big Ben’s Kitchen), Bianca Tolentino (Founder, Cofficina Cafe + Co-work), and Princess San Diego (CEO and Founder, What’s Your Flan) were also featured in the panel discussion.
The dialogue with government agencies was attended by Atty. Sarah Lou Arriola, undersecretary Department of Foreign Affairs- Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs (DFA- OUMWA); Vivian Tornea, deputy administrator of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA); Aristodes Ruaro, deputy administrator of the Philippine Overseas Employment Agency (POEA); and Atty. Emmeline Aglipay-Villar, undersecretary of the Department of Justice- InterAgency Council Against Trafficking (DOJ-IACAT).
Aside from house and lot, hundreds of raffle prizes were given away including motorcycles, home appliances, grocery/ pangkabuhayan packages, led TV sets, and smart phones. Business Mirror and Pilipino Mirror were media partners.