New BWI Regional Representative for Asia/Pacific

BWI World Board has officially appointed Apolinar Tolentino as the Regional Representative for Asia Pacific Region after being Officer-in-Charge for six months. Dong, as he fondly called, started his trade union career as an organiser immediately after graduating from University during last few years of Marcos dictatorship. He became the Programme Coordinator of the Fatima Parish Labour Desk, a Church-based Labour Organising Progrmme in Valenzuela City, Philippines from 1989-1991 before joining the Labour Desk of the Institute of Social Order of the Ateneo de Manila University from 1991-1996. Later he also worked with fisherfolk cooperatives and and sugarcane workers' organisations in Southern Tagalog before re-joining the Philippine trade union movement again in 1999 as Project Education Officer of the then IFBWW Philippine Project Office. In 2004 he moved to BWI Regional Office as Regional Education Officer until his appointment as Regional Representative.

"I thank the members of the World Board for giving me the chance to serve this post as we strive to implement our new Congress Strategic Action Plans; and I look forward to working more closely with other GUF Regional Organisations to advance areas of common interest such as organising more young workers and women members, migrant workers and those employed by MNCs", declared Dong after the World Board meeting held in Geneva Switzerland on 16 June 2010.