FEME Connect

Our very own Cristina Calaguian

The People Powering Dubai’s Spirit of Community Home to nearly 200 nationalities, the UAE thrives on equality and cross-cultural connections. Hailing from Dubai but also the four corners of the world, meet the residents helping nurture the spirit of community in these unprecedented times

READ | The Tristar Half Marathon 2026 event set on January 18, 2026 at Expo City Dubai has already 1,300 registrants with over 350 running in the 21k course.

Organizers disclosed that they will be able to accommodate 200 more registrants for the 10k and 21k courses where the Top 3 finishers in both male and female categories will receive cash prizes.

The event will have a special attraction for families joining with kids with entertainments and fun activities, as well as an awareness campaign about road safety and traffic.

The event T-shirt will be made from recycled plastics and participants will be able to learn about how the plastic water bottles used for the race get recycled into new products, including the event T-shirts they will be wearing.

The event organizers also mentioned that all finishers will have a certificate, medal, souvenir photo and refreshment.

“This is the third year in succession that we are organizing this signature event for Tristar. We are very happy with the response received and I am sure it will be a great day for everyone to enjoy and have fun. As we always say Aim High Tristar," said Tristar Group Chief Administrative Officer Balaji Nagabhushan.

Via | The Filipino Correspondent Network TFCN Global Desk

Doha OFW Triumphs In DMW Likha Global Business Plan Competition MANILA, Philippines—Marisol Amihan, an Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW) based in Doha, Qatar, has been named the Grand Winner of the Department of Migrant Workers’ (DMW) Likha Global Business Plan Competition 2025.

Tech Tiwala: Missed Call, Hacked Phone? The WhatsApp Warning and What Pinoys Should Do (Now) Attackers hunt for tiny software cracks. If your WhatsApp or phone is outdated, a simple missed call or message might poke that crack and run spyware. The good news: once you patch (update), that crack usually closes. Security is tiwala built one update at a time.

READ | OFW in Dubai appointed as Presidential Communications Office Assistant Secretary

DUBAI, UAE | A Dubai-based Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW) and public relations expert, Arthur Lawrence ‘Art’ Los Baños has been appointed as Assistant Secretary at the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) and will be reporting to PCO Acting Secretary Dave Gomez in Malacañang from early December.

Known in Dubai’s community as “Tito Art," Los Baños has been an OFW for the past two decades and used to be a Filipino community leader in the United Arab Emirates, where he became the chairman of the Philippine Independence Day executive committee in Dubai in 2008 and was one of the founders of the Filipino Social Club.

Currently, he is the Head of Corporate Communications of a global energy logistics company in Dubai for the past 13 years, where his work has brought him to South Korea, England, Sri Lanka, Kenya, South Sudan, and across the GCC.

“I am doing very well professionally here but I am willing to sacrifice material wealth over the opportunity to serve the Philippines as a government official. I would like to be based in the UAE so it would be ‘time-zone practical’ for me to reach out to the more than three million Filipinos spread across Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA). I would like to communicate with my kababayans in EMEA who could help promote the Philippines as an investment destination,” stated Los Baños, who has also been listed as one of the 100 Most Influential Filipinos in the Gulf by Illustrado Magazine for three years, and in the Legacy 300 Edition in 2020.

Los Baños was also included in the Philippines’ Top 30 Leaders on LinkedIn in 2022. Aside from being a successful professional, he was chosen in the inaugural list for “sharing his time and talent with the Filipino Community in the UAE and globally, and even with Africans and Mozambicans in Mozambique as the Mission Country Coordinator of Couples for Christ".

“My role is to uphold the mission of PCO which is to provide accurate, timely and compelling information on the initiatives, policies, priority programs, and projects of the Marcos Administration to overseas Filipinos and relevant global stakeholders,” added Los Baños.

As a public service to the Filipino community, he also co-hosted the radio talk show Filipino Excellence in the Middle East (FEME) with Rachel Salinel on Dubai Eye 103.8 FM, an English talk station in the UAE, where they invited individuals from various professional and socio-economic classes to share their respective struggles, triumphs and principles.

Before relocating to Dubai with his family in 2001, Los Baños used to be the Corporate Affairs and Communications Manager of United Laboratories. He has a Political Science degree from the University of Santo Tomas and has taken the Leadership and Social Entrepreneurship Program of the Ateneo School of Government in the UAE.

Via | Milanie Sanchez Regalado, The Filipino Correspondent Network TFCN Dubai, UAE

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