ANSAN, 11 October 2015 – Hundreds of Filipinos living and working in Korea, some as far as Busan and Daegu, braved the rain and the cold at the Ansan Wa~ Stadium on Sunday, 11 October 2015 to celebrate this year's Migrant Workers' Day, which was distinguished by the attendance of leading labor officials led by Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz.

Filipino residents were not deterred by the sudden drop in weekend temperatures to attend the daylong events, called Bayanihan sa Korea 2015, starting with a Catholic mass and ending with live performances by celebrities flown in from Manila, which were organized by the Philippine Embassy, Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO).

The events, which were also attended by DOLE Undersecretary Nicon Fameronag, POEA Administrator Hans Leo Cacdac, OWWA Administrator Rebecca Calzado, among others, provided on-site services such as overseas voters registration, labor counseling, medical checkups, a mini-housing fair, as well as financial, remittance, cargo, and telecom promotions.

The Catholic mass, officiated by the Philippine-born Papal Nuncio to Korea Archbishop Oswaldo Padilla, kicked off the day's events in 16 C rain at 10am. It was followed by the official program featuring congratulatory speeches by government officials, led by Baldoz, Cavite-born Korean National Assembly Rep. Jasmine Lee and Ansan Mayor Je Jong-geel.

In her remarks, Secretary Baldoz, a popular member of the Cabinet of President Benigno S. Aquino III, highlighted the strong performance of the Philippine economy in recent years before an audience that included Philippine Ambassador to Korea Raul S. Hernandez and Human Resources Development (HRD) Service of Korea President Park Young-Bum.

We are no longer the Sick Man of Asia. Now, the Philippines, according to the World Bank, is The Rising Tiger of Asia, Secretary Baldoz said, crediting the good governance measures of the Aquino administration for the sustained uptick, characterized by a 6.2 percent GDP growth rate from 2010 to 2014.

The head of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), who headed the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) in the previous administration, also reported on her Department's accomplishments, such as the Joint Manual of Operations in Providing Assistance to Migrant Workers and Other Filipinos Overseas.

In closing, Secretary Baldoz reminded the Filipinos in Korea to always observe the laws of your host country. We want your host government to know that Filipinos are a peace-loving and law-abiding people. In fact, we want all of you to be ambassadors for our country and help raise the bar of the Filipino identity abroad.

Ambassador Hernandez encouraged Filipinos in Korea to continue to aspire to develop a global Filipino community here in Korea – highly productive and well-respected, and significantly contribute to this country which we all consider our second home while maintaining strong social, economic, and cultural ties with our beloved Philippines.

He also lauded the OFWs in Korea for their performance and their enormous contribution to the growth of the country.

From the remittances you send home, which facilitates growth in our economy, to the skills and contacts you bring with you when you go home, and even the greater cultural links which you promote, your personal sacrifices underpin much of the Philippines' recent successes, he said.

Bayanihan sa Korea 2015 was made possible through the work of the Ansan Filipino Community (AFC), led by its chaplain Fr. Felixberto Jun Perez, Jr., and with the invaluable support of the Ansan City government, HRD Korea, and Pag-Ibig Fund, as well as Western Union, who invited variety show host Vhong Navarro and popular impersonator Ate Reg.

Bayanihan is a Filipino term taken from the word bayan, referring to a nation, country, town or community, and as a concept refers to a spirit of communal unity or effort to achieve a particular objective. Once the objective is reached, part of the tradition involves the holding of a small fiesta to express gratitude to the volunteers.

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