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KASAN MIGRANT WORKERS’ CENTER IN SOUTH KOREA MARKS ITS 13^TH YEAR

07 October 2014 – Philippine Ambassador to South Korea Raul S. Hernandez took to the court again in a Filipino community basketball tournament organized by the Kasan Migrant Workers Center (KMWC) in commemoration of the 13^th anniversary of its foundation on September 21.

Following the mass held at the Good Multi-cultural Family Support Center in Songu-ri, Ambassador Hernandez joined KMWC head Sr. Lucia Olalia, SJBP, a recipient of the 2010 Banaag Presidential Award for Overseas Filipinos, and Filipino migrants at a mini-concert  entitled “The Return of the Champions” at the Daejin University Gymnasium.

The mini-concert featured winners of singing competitions held in Kasan in the four previous years starting from 2010, whose participation signified their gratitude for all the assistance they received through the Center for the past 13 years.

The daylong celebrations ended with a basketball exhibition match organized by the Center, where Ambassador Hernandez starred as guest player in the local team D’Voyz against a selection from eight participating teams of this year’s basketball tournament.

The annual basketball tournament is held in summer with the objective of deepening the sense of belongingness, unity and friendship among the members of the Filipino community in Kasan.

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PALIGA NG BAYAN 2014 DRAWS FILIPINOS FROM ALL OVER FUJIAN, CHINA

09 October 2014 - The Filipinos in China (FINCH), the Filipino community organization based in Quanzhou City, successfully held a sportsfest on September 21 at the SM indoor sports facility in Jinjiang City, Fujian. Some 160 Filipinos from Quanzhou, Shishi, Jinjiang, Fuzhou and Xiamen cities attended the event.

In his remarks, Philippine Consul General Julius Caesar A. Flores expressed appreciation to FINCH for organizing the event and for bringing together Filipinos from all over Fujian, thereby forging unity, friendship and camaraderie among the participants and their friends. Consul General Flores posed three challenges to FINCH and the Filipino Association in Xiamen (FAX): As a short-term goal, for the two organizations to continue and sustain the good work by helping to unite and galvanize Filipinos in Fujian Province; in the medium term, for FAX and FINCH to join and support the Philippine Consulate General’s activities, and to organize collaborative activities as part of the double celebration of the 20^th anniversary of the establishment of the Philippine Consulate General in Xiamen and the 40^th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Philippines and China in 2015; and in the long term, for FAX and FINCH to consider uniting and integrating as one organization of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in Fujian because “by being united more can be achieved.”

The Green Team was the overall champion with 21 points and victories in men’s basketball and badminton singles, tug-of-war, rope race and sack race. Coming a close second with 19 points was the Blue Team which won in badminton mixed doubles, women’s basketball women’s badminton singles, women’s volleyball and eggplant race.

The Philippine Consulate General in Xiamen, headed by Consul General Flores, extended its full support to the event with some of its personnel joining the tournament.