PHL Embassy honors 1st Pinoys in Iran

Philippine officials in Iran are honoring this month the earliest Filipino workers who arrived in Iran in the early 1970s. In a first of sorts, the Philippine Embassy in Iran held a reunion at the embassy premises on April 15 for the pioneers, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA). “During the special occasion, the Philippine government also recognized their significant role and contributions in the economic development of the Philippines and the enhancement of Philippine-Iran relations," the DFA said. Present at the reunion at Tehran were 44 Filipinos from various parts of Iran such as Tabriz, Esfahan, Semnan, Ilam, and Shiraz. The Filipinos, with their Iranian spouses, were warmly welcomed by embassy officials led by Charge d’ Affaires Mariano Dumia and his wife Gloria. Loyalty and dedication Dumia recognized the early Filipino expatriates for their “loyalty, dedication and exemplary performance" in their respective professions. He said those qualities sowed the seeds of Filipino-Iranian friendship and the good image of Filipinos and the Philippines. “Through your good works, you have not only gained for yourself and our beloved country the trust and respect of the Iranian people and government but also through the years, you have helped our government in its tasks of national economic development," Dumia said. The favorable pioneering entry of Filipino workers into the Iranian workforce in the 1960s and early 1970s has spawned the arrival of more Filipinos into the country in the mid- and late 1970s, according to Dumia. The 44 Filipino honorees, who were bestowed certificates of recognition by the embassy, are now senior citizens and have retired from their jobs. “They are doctors, nurses, midwives, engineers, mechanics, technicians and household workers who arrived in Iran in the early 1970s and decided to remain in the country after the Islamic Revolution in 1979," the DFA said. These Filipinos had worked in government hospitals and various offices, airline companies, airports, telecommunications, United Nations agencies, private construction companies and private homes," it added. First Filipinos in Iran Responding to the welcome remarks of Dumia on behalf of the honorees, Delfin Gabucan — an aircraft engineer who arrived in Iran in September 1973 and later married to an Iranian — said the honorees are very happy and deeply overwhelmed for being recognized and honored by the Philippine government as long-time Filipino workers in Iran. Gabucan added this is the first time that overseas Filipino workers in Iran are given one such recognition. He related that the early Filipinos in Iran dominated the important departments in the aircraft and airline industries. Another “old-timer" in Iran, Pablo Benedictos Jr., arrived in that country as a United Nations volunteer agriculturist in January 1972. He said he traveled to all parts of the country and taught scientific farming to villagers. Benedictos added that upon his arrival in 1972, he met many Filipinos who arrived in Iran ten years earlier, meaning that Filipino workers first came to Iran in the early 1960s. However, it was Marieta Retubado who stayed the longest in Iran, arriving in Tehran as a household service worker in November 1970. She said she enjoyed her employment through the years without any serious problem. “Like her colleagues, Ms. Retubado said that this reunion is ‘historic’ and that the formal recognition of OFWs in Iran by the Philippine government is very memorable for her and her family," the DFA said. PHL-Iran relations After receiving their certificates, the honorees enjoyed a lunch of Filipino foods and delicacies. Dumia stressed that continuous Filipino-Iranian marriages and the influx of Iranian students to the Philippines have molded a solid cornerstone of Philippines-Iran relations. In the early 1970s, there was no embassy in Iran, and Filipinos had to renew their passports or secure consular services at the embassy in Pakistan, which had consular jurisdiction over Iran. On August 16, 1974, the Philippine Embassy in Iran was opened by Charge d’ Affaires Juan Ona. There were more than 15,000 Filipinos in Iran during that year. “This shows that Iran was the first country destination of most OFWs in the Middle East," the DFA said. Eventually, many Filipinos found lifetime partners and raised good families in Iran, with one of the earliest recorded Filipino-Iranian marriages was that of a Labor Attaché with an Iranian in the mid-70s. “Now, there are more than 800 recorded Filipino-Iranian families, undoubtedly the largest number in the Middle East region," the DFA said. There are currently 1,006 registered Filipinos in Iran who are mostly permanent residents with their family members as well as 50 documented OFWs, it added. — JE, GMA News