20 October 2004 – The Department of Foreign Affairs today announced that Philippine schools in the Middle East have agreed to form the Association of Philippine Schools in the Middle East (APSME) during a meeting of officials in Bahrain recently.

In a letter-circular to Philippine Diplomatic Posts in the region, Executive Director Jose Z. Molano, Jr., of the Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) of the DFA, said that school officials formed the Association “to develop programs and undertake activities that will strengthen networking and uplift the quality of education” among its members.

Executive Director Molano said APSME was born during the Science and Math Camp 2004 sponsored by the Philippine School in Bahrain on 29-30 September 2004.  The first project of the Association, according to Mr. Molano, is a basketball tournament on 13 to 15 November in Bahrain to build unity and strengthen camaraderie among the Filipinos.

There are well over a million Filipinos living and working in the Middle East, giving rise to a number of Filipino schools in the region.  The greatest concentration of Filipinos is found in Saudi Arabia with almost a million OFWs and their families.

For details, interested parties may contact Dr. Geronimo R. Salem, Jr., Principal of the Philippine School in Bahrain, at tel. no. +973 17645-451 or e-mail address at gerriesalem2003@yahoo.com.  END.