Heroes of pandemic.

This was how President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. called overseas Filipino workers in Europe when he met them in Brussels, Belgium as he thanked them for their dedication.

“The Filipino community organizations here in Europe continue to maintain deep and growing friendships with people of different nations. Filipinos in this part of the world will continue to be highly regarded because of your jolly and high-spirited manner, your hard work, your dedication,” the President said in a speech during his meeting with the Filipino community on Monday night, Dec 12 (1 a.m., Dec. 13 Philippine time).

The President commended them of their contribution in that part of the world, particularly during the pandemic.

"The world is slowly recovering from Covid. Pandemic has made a deep and indelible impact in our societies, our economies, our health, and our everyday lives. Just as our Kababayan in the Philippines experienced health and economic hardship, overseas Filipinos had it worse by being away from their families, with travel restrictions keeping away further from their loved ones," he said.

"Despite the challenges I mentioned, overseas Filipinos are still among the heroes of the pandemic. Many of you are frontline medical workers, or caregivers that look after the sick, the old, and the vulnerable," he added.

“Kinahahangaan kayo ng mga local, lahat ng mga katrabaho ninyo, lahat ng mga nakilala ninyo, sinasabi lahat ang galing talaga ng Pilipino (Locals, your colleagues, and people you meet are admiring you and saying that Filipinos are very good),” the President pointed out.

Marcos also vowed to bolster the country’s economic institutions and create more jobs so Filipinos would not need to leave their families back home to seek better opportunities abroad.

He said that through the government’s eight-point socioeconomic agenda, more quality jobs are expected to be created by investing heavily in human capital development, infrastructure, and the digital economy.

“Kaya’t sana naman dumating ang panahon, at ito ang ating pangarap na wala nang kailangan umalis ng Pilipinas dahil walang mahanap na trabaho sa Pilipinas. Aabutin din natin 'yan (I am really hoping that someday, and this is our dream, no Filipinos would need to leave because they cannot find a job in the Philippines),” he said.

The chief executive is on a three-day trip to Brussels for his participation at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations-European Union (ASEAN-EU) commemorative summit. He will have an audience with King Philippe of Belgium where the two leaders are expected to talk about expanding cooperation between Manila and Brussels.

“In this visit, I will have a Royal Audience with King Philippe, and I will be happy to share with him that the Philippines and Belgium have just commemorated 76 years of bilateral relationships this year. Our relations remain strong and vibrant,” Marcos said.

He is also set to hold 10 bilateral meetings with leaders from Belgium, Estonia, the Czech Republic, Spain, Denmark, Germany, Poland, Finland, the Netherlands and the European Union.

Apart from Belgium, Filipinos who attended the Filipino community event came all the way from Luxembourg, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Poland, the Netherlands and Switzerland.