Pinoy volunteers clean up Batha in Saudi capital

MANILA, Philippines — Some 1,500 Filipino workers in Saudi Arabia participated in a campaign to clean up an area in Riyadh frequented by members of the community. Online news site Arab News (www.arabnews.com) reported the “Keep Batha Clean" drive saw over 1,500 OFWs from Riyadh and Jeddah showing up for the four-hour event. “This campaign is unique for the Filipino community. It’s their first as far as Batha is concerned. In fact, Batha is one of the areas most frequented by Filipinos on weekends. For this reason alone, it’s proper that Filipinos undertake this campaign," said Philippine Ambassador Antonio Villamor. Villamor and Labor Attaché Rustico de la Fuente led the volunteers in cleaning up the area. The area stretches from Manila Plaza to Pinoy Supermarket and between the Sony Building and Ghuraibi Street. “Cleaning up Batha is also one way of showing our gratitude to the Kingdom for the privilege we enjoy of working and staying here," Villamor said. Filipino volunteers scoured various areas littered with debris, which they scooped up with their cleaning equipment. Sponsors of the campaign included Western Union, the Philippine Embassy, POLO-OWWA in Riyadh, Cooperative Office for Call and Guidance and Pinoy Supermarket. “I hope such campaigns will continue and gain adherents, not only from Filipinos but other nationals as well, because it coincides with the policy of the Kingdom to keep the environment clean," Villamor said. Omar Mohammad Al-Malki, owner of Pinoy Supermarket, said he loved the campaign. “I want Batha to be like Makati, Metro Manila’s financial district. I have been there a number of times and we have an office there which buys the goods that we sell in Pinoy Supermarket," he said. - GMANews.TV