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OWWA hosts sports league, outreach drive for Pinoys in Czechia
PRAGUE, Czech Republic – Nearly 2,000 Filipinos living or working in various Czech cities gathered in Prague last weekend for a cultural festival and a major multi-sport event co-organized by the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA).
The first-ever OWWA Cup featured 16 basketball teams and eight volleyball squads formed by Filipino community groups or colleagues across the Czech Republic.
This year’s Filipinska Barrio Fiesta also featured a major outreach drive that brought government services directly to a rapidly expanding migrant population.
The services included contract verification by the Migrant Workers Office (MWO), OWWA e-card issuance and membership application or reactivation, and overseas voting registration conducted by the Philippine Embassy.
OWWA Deputy Administrator Rosalia Susana Bahia-Catapang noted an overwhelming response among Filipinos, with nearly 300 OWWA e-cards issued on Saturday, and another 100 processed during the sports tournament on the following day.
Bahia-Catapang noted that the OWWA team streamlined e-card issuance and renewals, which, on average, took only about 5 minutes to complete.
New destination
The event reflected the growth of the Filipino presence in the region, which Philippine Ambassador to the Czech Republic Eduardo Martin Meñez described as “the new destination” for migrant Filipino workers.
He highlighted that the community has more than doubled in a very short time — growing from roughly 6,000 residents in 2023 to over 16,500 today.
The three-day celebration, which drew an estimated 3,000 attendees, served as a critical platform for unity, Meñez told GMA News.
“It is important that we build the Filipino community here because the demand for our workers is high,” he said, adding that these gatherings help consolidate a community scattered across various Czech cities.
For Jan Irvil David, the leader of the Filipinska Barrio Fiesta organizing committee, the event’s core mission was also about integration.
“The goal was to share our culture not just with our fellow kababayan but also with our adoptive country,” David said.
“Being a Filipino, we share ourselves for the good of everyone. Lahat kami, napuyat sa pagpa-plan, pero naibigay namin ang lahat lahat mula kahapon (We might have lost sleep, but we’ve delivered a lot since the event started).”
Beyond the game
The inclusion of sports such as basketball, volleyball, and billiards was a strategic choice, with the embassy’s Labor Attaché, Atty. Llewelyn Perez explaining that such activities were vital for mental and emotional well-being.
"Ito ang oportunidad para magkabuklod-buklod ang mga Pilipino. Para na rin matulungan sila sa challenges habang nasa ibang bansa — malayo sa pamilya, may ibang kultura, may ibang environment. Ang ganitong aktibidad, nakikita mo yung mga kapwa mo Pilipino, nagagawa mo yung sports na mahal at gusto mong gawin.”
(This is an opportunity to connect Filipinos and to help them with the challenges of living abroad, like being far from their families and living in a different culture and environment. These kinds of activities allow Filipinos to meet others and do sports they love and want to do.)
Atty. Perez noted that Filipino workers’ passion for sports has even caught the attention of Czech employers. Some Czech firms, she said, have already begun building basketball courts on their premises after realizing that sports are a primary source of happiness and productivity for their Filipino staff.
Beyond recreation, Deputy Administrator Bahia-Catapang observed that the outreach provided a window into the long-term aspirations of Filipino migrants, including inquiries about scholarship programs for their children back home.
“We are not surprised,” she remarked, “because for Filipinos, providing a good education for their children is the surest way to guarantee a better future”.
Human capital and dignity of work
Bahia-Catapang told GMA News that OWWA is also looking toward the human capital of the workers themselves.
She discussed new upskilling and equivalency programs in collaboration with the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) and the Commission on Higher Education (CHED).
These programs allow workers, such as those acting as chefs or bakers without formal degrees, to earn certifications in as little as six months to a year.
Bahia-Catapang said OWWA also offers courses in artificial intelligence and other technologies in demand in developed nations.
“Ang aming objective ay makatulong kami na mabigyan ng tamang kaalaman at skills ang ating mga kababayan para magkaroon sila ng mas magandang trabaho in the future. Ang objective din namin, lahat ng gustong umalis ay mga skilled workers — at hindi yung mga low-skilled dahil vulnerable sila sa lahat ng abuses at tumanggap nang mababang sweldo.”
(Our objective is to give Filipino workers the appropriate knowledge and right skills to help them find better opportunities in the future. The ultimate goal is for departing workers to be highly skilled professionals and not only remain low-skilled because that leaves them vulnerable to abuses and receiving meager salaries.)
For Atty. Perez, the surge in recruitment is a testament to the Filipino reputation as skilled, dependable, and loyal. Yet, she and other Philippine officials hope that community building events also focus on the dignity of work to ensure that the “vicious cycle” of migration is replaced by a path of genuine professional growth and empowerment.
“Ang paalala lang namin sa kanila, mataas ‘yung pagtingin ng mga dayuhang employer sa atin. Panatilihin natin ang kanilang magandang pagtingin sa pamamagitan ng pagtrabaho nang maayos. Ipakita po natin na tayo ay worthy ng kanilang high regard — at maaayos po tayong mga tao,” Atty. Perez said.
(We remind Filipino workers that foreign employers highly regard us. We should strive to keep this by working well, by showing that we are indeed worthy of their high regard, and that we are a nation of good people.) — BAP, GMA News
