Using power of media and entertainment in promoting Filipinos’ welfare abroad - Rhoel Raymundo Mendoza

Rhoel Raymundo Mendoza

Using power of media and entertainment in promoting Filipinos’ welfare abroad

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Rhoel Raymundo Mendoza’s purpose abroad is not only to work and provide his family a better future. While excelling as an advertising and graphic design professional in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, he used the power of media and entertainment in promoting the welfare and well-being of his fellow overseas Filipino workers in the host country.

Coming from a family that instilled in him good values like honesty, living within their means, respect, and familial love, Mendoza is the eldest among four siblings. When he was in second-year college, his father left to work in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. It was through his being a migrant worker that he was able to graduate from the reputed University of Santo Tomas with a Bachelor’s Degree in Fine Arts Major in Advertising.

He said that he didn’t have any plans to work abroad. However, when his father told him that their company’s advertising artist was resigning soon, he was asked to apply-and that made him excited. “Young and adventurous that I was, I grabbed the opportunity,” he recalled. He traveled to the deserted country at the age of 23. His first overseas employer was Arieb Enterprises which was owned by a royal family. He was its advertising artist who took care of all design requirements of the Advertising and Sales Promotion Department. His love for photography was also utilized as it brings him to different parts of Saudi Arabia. Mendoza would take photos of the company’s infrastructure, agriculture, construction, and other projects. back then and today’s number one as its in-house graphic designer. There, he handled all creative design requirements of the company, oversaw the production of the company’s annual report, newsletter, and product catalogs, among others. As its photographer, he covered all of its important corporate events including visits of heads of states and other foreign dignitaries, members of the diplomatic community, company executives, corporate events, and the like.

While exceeding what was expected of him in the company, he had a few activities outside of work that made his life more exciting and interesting. His talents in writing and singing were put to good use. Whenever there was an issue that he read about in the three English broadsheets in the kingdom, he would write the ‘Letters to the Editor’ section to give his opinion, especially if it was about the Philippines and the Filipinos. His replies to the broadsheets brought him to various countries, including the USA and Greece. In 1997, Mendoza had organized various activities, including the Philippine Centennial Cup Team Tennis and Bowling Tournaments, as well as the Proudly Filipinos and A Flag in Every OCW Home campaigns. These were the very first Filipino community activities in the kingdom.

Mendoza, in 1999, launched a signature drive urging thenPresident Joseph Estrada to declare the year 2000 as ‘The Year of OFWs’. Backed by Senator Loren Legarda Leviste by way of filing a senate resolution, the proposed declaration became a reality with Presidential Proclamation No. 243. To celebrate this success, he published a free publication aptly called OFW 2000 which he distributed to Filipinos in Saudi Arabia, including the USA, Canada, Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, Italy, and Greece, among others while he traveled.

After 15 years of working in the same corporation, Mendoza decided to left the kingdom in 2000 and moved to Toronto, Canada where he stayed for six months with his best friend who also used to work in Riyadh but has since migrated. Upon his return, he planned on setting up a small business but was derailed when he fell victim to a pyramiding scam. Devastated, he was back to almost zero. He went into designing and selling fashion accessories for a year, sold phone cards, then eventually got into talent scouting and handling and eventually into conceptualizing and organizing pageants and modeling competitions.

Even after ending his OFW journey, he remained an OFW by heart. One of the things he advocated then was the passage into law of the Absentee Voting Bill. In 2005, he published Global Pinoy, another free publication that was given out free at the Philippine international airports’ departure lounges, as well as government offices.

“I have the following advice for our kabayans: one, always keep in touch with family and friends in order to keep your sanity. Two, save save save and hold on to your hard-earned dollars. If you are investing it in something, think about it a hundred times. Third, if you are planning on returning to and applying for a job here in the Philippines, go home before you reach the age of 35. Because the older you get, the fewer chances you have of getting hired locally,” he said.