RUDY DIANALAN FOR SENATOR, Philippines 2010

OFWs rally behind leader running for Philippine Senate
Ronaldo Z. Concha | Arab News

JEDDAH: Filipino groups in Jeddah have rallied behind a community leader who is running for senator in the May 2010 Philippine national elections.
Nazruddin “Rudy” Dianalan, a systems engineer at Saudi Arabian Airlines and one of the most prominent Filipino community leaders in the Kingdom, filed his candidacy late last month on a platform of better welfare and protection of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and their families.
“In my long involvement in community activities, I have seen the need by OFWs, especially those in distress, for a voice in the Philippine Congress,” said Dianalan, who comes from a family of public servants in the southern Philippine city of Marawi.
“OFWs need a voice coming from a real OFW and I believe that once they become aware of our plan, they will support us,” he said.
Dianalan, who has held various key positions in the umbrella organization Kasapi Congress, has been active in advocating the protection of OFWs from recruitment to when they are in work, the welfare of their families at home, and helping them prepare for reintegration when they return home for good.
Once elected, he said, one of his priorities is to focus on monitoring the performance of Philippine foreign missions, especially in assisting and protecting OFWs. “We want all those assigned to our diplomatic posts to be on their toes at all times and to be truly responsive to the needs of our citizens in distress,” said Dianalan, who is also a leader of Maisa, an organization largely helping Filipino Muslims coming to the Kingdom for Umrah.
Dianalan, who is running as an independent, said he may not have a political support team to bank on but he believes that the overseas Filipino community is enough to help him win one of the 12 Senate seats at stake. The Philippine Senate has 24 seats, of which 12 are elected every three years for a six-year term.
The number of Filipinos overseas is estimated at more than 9 million, including about 6.5 million contract workers. The rest are migrants.
Support from different Filipino organizations poured in when Dianalan announced his candidacy during a recent gathering at the La Parilla Restaurant in Jeddah.
Peddie Hollanda, a former president of the Western Region chapter of the Alpha Phi Omega (APO) alumni association, one of the biggest Filipino organizations worldwide, said it was about time that the Senate gets an OFW representative.
Rizaldy Javing of the Circulo Ilonggo in Saudi Arabia (CISA) pledged his support and will campaign for Dianalan in the Kingdom as well as his province in Iloilo.
Javing said he will launch a fundraising drive to help Dianalan’s national campaign, while computer expert Frank Resma created an official website.
Rams Gunao, chair of the WPBL and adviser of the United Maguindanao Expatriates Association, urged OFWs to support Dianalan. Overseas Filipino Workers Cooperative Council (OFWCC) Chairman Rudy Castro said this would be a good chance for Filipinos to elect someone who is an OFW and who can stand and fight for their causes.
He recalled how Dianalan demonstrated his qualities in a recent meeting with Philippine legislators who visited the Middle East including Jeddah last month. “He knows how to effectively articulate our aspirations,” Castro said.
Members of the Internet-based NGO for overseas and homeland Filipinos, Worldwide Filipino Alliance, where Dianalan is a trustee and vice president for Middle East and Africa, declared their support and volunteered to assist him when the campaign period starts.
Other groups such as the Global Filipino Nation, Order of the Knights of Rizal-Jeddah Chapter, Kasapi Congress, and Maisa Inc. also declared their support for his candidacy. Dianalan will be using the Manila office of the Partido Pandaigdigang Pilipino (Global Filipino Party), of which he is co-chairman, when campaigning starts in February.
For more information visit www.ofwsenator.monggos.com