SMART Pinoy conquers Qatar

Smart Pinoy wows the OFW Community in Qatar with a high-powered Filipino Concert. More than 10,000 OFWs flocked to Qatar Sports Club, Doha Qatar last February 9 to take part in star-studded program presented by SMART PINOY.

Concert with Stars

Many shows have been mounted for them before, but for the first time, and only from Smart, OFWs in Qatar not only enjoyed watching their favorite Filipino celebrities, they actually shared an afternoon of interactive fun and performed with them! Funnyman Arnel Ignacio hosted the show, the multi-talented Vhong Navarro danced, sang and cracked jokes to the delight of the men and women. Meanwhile, Smart Pinoy endorser, the alluring Ruffa Mae Quinto, heated things up further with her heartfelt singing and dancing.

The climax of the five-hour extravaganza was the performance of Asia 's songbird, Ms. Regine Velasquez, who brought the house down with back-to-back renditions of her most memorable classics. OFWs belted out the lyrics with gusto and danced along as REgine capped off her mini-concert with a dance remix of 70s and 80s hits.

OFWs in Qatar were also given a chance to showcase their singing talents during the Smart Pinoy Videoke Idol Singing contest. Out of 30 contestants who auditioned, ten emerged as finalists. Amidst the applause and merriment, one stood as the best. Alvin Lua Amante from the Diplomatic Club DOHA went home with Wow! Magic Sing System, a brand new cellphone and cash prize. More fun and surprises followed as Smart Pinoy give away cash prizes, cellphones and home appliances in the games and raffle draw.

Various ways to keep the intimacy alive, courtesy of SMART Pinoy

During the concert, the crowd was reminded that Smart Call and Text cards are now available through agents and distributions all over Qatar . These cards will allow Qatar-based OFWs and their families to stay connected with each other, as SMART Pinoy offers a wide range of products and services addressing their various needs. SMART IDD offers voice calls to Qatar from the Philippines , while SMART International Roaming allows OFWs to use their SMART GSM phones even when abroad. SMART International Text allows subscribers to send and received international SMA message while SMART Padala, the world's first international cash remittance service through text, offers a fast, secure and affordable way of sending cash back home.

Full-force support for Pinoy Heroes

Together with Smart's Senior Manager for International Services, Ms. Jane Basas, PLDTGlobal General Manager for the Middle East , Mr. Enrique Yu, officers from the Philippine Embassy and various Filipino organizations graced the affair. The crowd appreciated the presence of Philippine Ambassador to Qatar , H.E. Isaias F. Begonia; vice Consul, Jabbar M. Adiong; OWWA Labour Attache, Atty Felicitas Q. Bay and Mr. Alex Acota, Principal of Philippine Science School of Doha. Various Filipino organization, headed by Mr. Noel Tanafranca also attended the concert.

Smart is the Philippines' leading wireless service provider, catering to millions of OFWS worldwide. As the wireless services subsidiary of the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT), the country's leading telecommunications provider, Smart offers a wide array of products, services and livelihood programs for the OFWs.

This is just the second of a series of roadshows to be held in the Middle East by SMART Pinoy, after the first one held in Bahrain last December 7, 2006. Watch out for the upcoming series of events at Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Oman, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait .