Reaching out to Italy and the world

One thing businessman Philippe J. Lhuillier has learned in his eight-and-a-half years as Philippine ambassador to Italy, is that overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) are not at all flattered by being called “bayani” (heroes).

“Enough with all these accolades, what they want is something practical. ‘Do more for us,’ that’s what they’re saying. Give us training while we can still learn. Help us be more productive. Lower government-imposed fees so we can send more money to our families in the homeland,” says Lhuillier.

Having worked closely with the Filipino community in Italy, he empathizes with their plight, speaks for them, and has made it his personal goal to be of service to even one among them, every single day.

“I always ask myself, how could I help? What else can I do? If I could help even one Filipino every day, I know there is purpose for all my work,” Lhuillier muses.

And help more than one, he has. In 2006, Lhuillier paved the way for the Italian government to recognize Philippine-issued driver’s licenses as equivalent to those issued in Italy. This has allowed holders of Philippine driver’s licenses to drive in Italy, and even qualified Philippine professional drivers to drive for hire in that country.

Thus, when President Arroyo attended the Philippine Independence Day celebration in Rome this year, two of four tourist buses hired to ferry the presidential party were driven by Pinoys.

Also on Lhuillier’s recommendation, President Arroyo approved last June the lowering of Philippine Embassy fees in Italy and applied the reduction to other Philippine embassies as well. Filipinos will soon be paying 20 percent less for passports, affidavits, and other certifications needed from their embassy.

Among other things the ambassador is working on is how to bring courses offered by the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda) to Italy.

“Tesda has very good courses but they offer it only in the Philippines. Our OFWs do not come home until they are old and ready to retire. At that age, will they still want to be trained for new skills? Will they still have the aptitude for it? There must be some way to do an outreach program where we can send experts abroad to teach our OFWs now, while they are still young and willing to learn new skills,” says Lhuillier.

Since June, the Philippine embassy – together with Microsoft, the Overseas Workers’ Welfare Administration and a Rome-based non-government organization – has been offering basic computer courses, taught by volunteer Filipinos. Twice a week, OFWs come for five to six hours of lessons and do not get a certificate of completion if they are absent for more than 20 percent of the time. Originally offered to one representative per Filipino association, the courses have since graduated over 80 Filipinos. “There’s a huge demand (for the computer courses), they really want to upgrade their skills. You’ll see husbands and wives taking lessons together on their days off.”

To highlight the ties between Italy and the Philippines, Lhuillier is writing a book expected to see print in the first quarter of 2008. In it, he intends to document the great friendship between Filipinos and Italians, and how they found the good country by recognizing their similar natures, affinities, and great loves.

For businessmen eyeing the Italian market, Lhuillier recommends establishing a Philippine showroom, or even an ASEAN showroom so that Europeans can see what they can buy from the Philippines and its neighbors.

“It doesn’t even have to be in Italy. It could be anywhere in Europe. But we need to showcase what products we have. We must get rid of that trade fair mentality that I can describe as ‘hit and run.’ I’ve seen Filipino companies going to trade fairs and they will sell up to the very last product on display – because they’re thinking short-term. They want to recoup what they spent going to that particular trade fair. They want a quick return, they don’t think of tomorrow. They don’t establish long-term relationships. Why can’t they say, ‘No, this is not for sale. It’s my last piece. But you can order more, for a minimum quantity of such and such, I will deliver on such date’,” explains Lhuillier.

In addition to changing the ‘hit and run’ culture of entrepreneurs who venture in trade fairs, he recommends a focus on quality and design.

“Let’s face it, Philippine products are not cheap. Let’s not try to compete against China. Rather, let us focus on that niche of sophisticated customers who can appreciate Philippine quality. That’s a better way of tapping the global market, not just the Italian market, but the world.”