In keeping with Positively Filipino’s goal of celebrating the 13-million-strong (and counting) Filipino diaspora, we are launching a new series titled Overseas Filipino Achievers. The series recognizes outstanding Filipinos making their mark in various countries around the world. It builds on our popular and long-running feature, “FilAms Among the Remarkable and Famous.”

But we need your help. If you know Filipinos outside the Philippines and the United States who are doing exceptional work in their adopted countries, please send their names, supporting documents or links, and photos to pfpublisher@yahoo.com.

SAUDI ARABIA

Shendie Buenaflor, Human Relations

Shendie Buenaflor *(Source: Global Filipino Magazine)*

Buenaflor is the Human Capital Specialist for Apparel Group with a workforce of 26,000 employees. She handles cases involving workplace disputes, employment concerns, and other legal issues that can leave a migrant worker sleepless. Before taking on this job, Buenaflor worked in the Philippines in sales earning low “provincial wages” and at 18 years old, she left for an overseas job. As she made her way up the corporate ladder, the Gulf market shifted and she found herself at the bottom rung again.

Facing harsh treatment, isolation and a false legal case that nearly imprisoned her, she taught herself Saudi law, defended herself, and won. Now she uses the new knowledge to help other expatriates across the Gulf to find work and resolve employment problems. “The most satisfying part of my work is seeing someone go from uncertainty to stability, knowing that I played a role in giving them hope, dignity and a chance for a better future,” she said. She hopes to return to the Philippines and become a public servant.

Ruel Atun, Teacher

Since 2013, Atun worked as a Training and Development specialist at Gas Arabian Services in Saudi Arabia. Twelve years ago, Atun arrived in Saudi Arabia with a teaching background and a desire to better support his family. Even before he left, Atun had already earned degrees -- Doctor of Philosophy in School Transformation from St. Paul University Manila, a Master of Business Administration, and a Master of Arts in Curriculum Design Development and Supervision, and he is also a Licensed Professional Teacher.

In 2018, he passed the Special Professional Licensure Examination for Teachers in the Middle East, and a year later founded Teacher A Review Center, an online platform that offers review programs for both the Middle East and the Philippines, producing thousands of licensed teachers. In 2022, Atun was recognized as The Outstanding OFW. “I find deep fulfillment serving as an Educational Advisor and Consultant,” he says, “facilitating programs specifically designed for OFWs — ensuring my fellow kababayans can advance their education and professional standing while working abroad.”

SINGAPORE

Aldo Lee Vie Taurean Fernandez, Consultant

Aldo Lee Vie Taurean Fernandez *(Source: LinkedIn)*

Fernandez is a Filipino educator, entrepreneur, and international business development leader based in Singapore. He serves as Business Development Director of Trent Global College and leads initiatives in international education, student mobility, employment placement, institutional internationalization, and humanitarian support across Asia.

Born and raised in impoverished beginnings in the Philippines, he graduated from the University of Santo Tomas with a degree in Arts and Legal Management. He was hired at the United Nations University of Peace program in Costa Rica, and then moved to Doha, Qatar where he built his networks as a professional in the region in the areas of HR management, administration, payroll, engineering and safety document control. Finally, he moved to Singapore where he provides the education and training sector for individuals and consultancy for people seeking to study or immigrate abroad.

AJ Eserjose, Entrepreneur

AJ Eserjose *(Source: Bank Info Security)*

Eserjose if the co-owner and co-founder of Lechon Republic Singapore and Charcoal & Crisp Lechon Sydney. Through his entrepreneurial vision, he continues to bring authentic Filipino flavors to international audiences while proudly showcasing the richness of Philippine cuisine and culture abroad.

From humble beginnings to building Filipino food brands across Singapore and Australia, Eserjose’s journey reflects the courage, perseverance, and determination shared by many Overseas Filipinos. His work goes beyond serving great food. It creates connections, preserves cultural identity, and gives Filipinos abroad a taste of home while introducing Filipino cuisine to a wider global audience.

SWEDEN

Dr. William Son Galanza, Nurse Researcher

Dr. William Son Galanza *(Source: Lund University)*

A postdoctoral researcher, educator, and clinician, Dr. Galanza’s interdisciplinary work focuses on improving the lives of older adults while advancing nursing science through international collaboration. Beginning his career as a young nurse in the Philippines, he was uncertain of what the future would hold but was motivated by a genuine desire to make a difference. Along the way, nursing opened opportunities in research, education, clinical leadership, and international collaboration while allowing him to remain grounded in the values of compassion, humility, and respect for human dignity.

“Nursing is not confined to the four corners of a care facility,” he explains. “It can lead to opportunities in research, innovation, technology, and leadership that ultimately improve patient care and people’s lives.” His research on digital health and artificial intelligence also highlights an important message for future nurses: compassion and innovation must go hand in hand. The future of nursing, he believes, requires both scientific curiosity and human empathy.

QATAR

Dr. Abdulkarim Agga, Nurse Educator

Dr. Abdulkarim Agga *(Source: Global Filipino Magazine)*

Dr. Agga is a Filipino nurse educator and an emerging researcher in the Middle East. As a Moro and a Tausug who grew up in the southernmost part of the Philippines, his story is one of resilience and possibility. He says that “one’s beginnings do not determine one’s future. Instead, courage, perseverance and a commitment to service create pathways to impact.” Registered as a nurse in the Philippines, Qatar and the United States, he has dedicated his career to advancing nursing education, caring science, leadership and professional development.

CANADA

John Dela Cruz, Nurse and Social Media Creator

Dela Cruz, or Nurse John as he is known, is not only a nurse but also a social media star. He is listed among the Forbes Top Creators 2026 after turning relatable stories about life in healthcare into a multimillion-dollar entertainment career. He ranked 28th on the list, with Forbes estimating his earnings at $7.2 million. He has 19.2 million followers. Forbes described him as a nurse-turned-comedian who “has turned hospital burnout into a multimillion-dollar stand-up career.”

The content creator built a massive online following through comedy videos inspired by the realities of nursing, from exhausting shifts and demanding patients to the shared experiences of healthcare workers. His skits, often featuring exaggerated characters and situations familiar to nurses, helped him expand beyond social media and into live entertainment. Nurse John has since transformed his online popularity into a successful stand-up career. According to Forbes, he sold more than 250,000 tickets for his Short-Staffed Tour in 2024, including sold-out runs in Australia and New Zealand. His international momentum continued in 2026, when he sold out 22 shows across Europe.

DUBAI

Gweys Soriano, Watch Empire

Soriano, now 11 years into her life abroad and based in Dubai, has built not one business but three: Watch Girl Dubai, an independent luxury watch sourcing and consulting venture; Decades Middle East, a personal styling and shopping consultancy; and KOBY — short for Keep On Being You — a fragrance brand she co-founded around the idea of authenticity. None of it was mapped out in advance. All of it, she insists, was preparation she didn’t know she was getting.

Soriano started as a journalism student hoping to build a career in Philippine media. She then moved to customer service, then into beauty and wellness until she and her husband decided to go to Dubai. Her path to watches came by way of fashion and she earned certification from the Foundation de la Haute Horlogerie. At Watch Girl Dubai, she helps clients acquire timepieces through a trusted network of collectors and industry professionals. At Decades, she conducts styling sessions, personal shopping experiences, and workshops for private groups and corporate clients.

AUSTRALIA

Violeta Lopez, Nursing Professor

Dr. Lopez completed her education in Australia obtaining a Master Degree in Management, a Master Degree in Professional Education and Training, and a PhD in Nursing. She has been a tenured Professor since 2000 and has worked in the Middle East, Hong Kong, Singapore, China and the Philippines. Her past notable positions have been as Head of the School of Nursing at the Australian Catholic University and as an International Dean of the College of Nursing in Hubei University of Medicine, China. Her landmark achievements include securing research grants and publishing 350 journal articles, chapters and books.

She is a respected peer reviewer and serves on the editorial boards of numerous medical and nursing journals and Associate Editor of three nursing journals. She has been inducted into the Sigma Theta Tau International Researcher Hall of Fame and as a Transcultural Nursing Scholar. She is the President Emeritus of the Filipino Nursing Diaspora Network. Professor Lopez has nurtured 30 international PhD students and her esteemed research reputation has led her to serve as external examiner for 60 PhD students from 12 countries. She has been a regular grant reviewer for Health and Medical Research Fund from The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. She is repetitively honored by Stanford and Elsevier in the top 2% World Scientist.

ITALY

Mercy Malabanan, Household Head

Malabanan’s videos online have a following of 157,000 on Facebook and 11,000 on Instagram as followers can related to her OFW experience. She manages her employer’s private palazzo in Milan. She prepares meals, lays out clothes and shoes, and maintains the four floors and eight bedrooms, along with Amore, her husband. When her employer travels, Ate Mercy (as she is fondly called) travels with her to her bases in Paris, Switzerland, and Geneva. In each residence, there is a dedicated staff, but it’s Ate Mercy who holds the thread in Milan. She prepares Italian dishes–she had formal culinary training and language classes too..

For four years, Malabanan did not post on Facebook as she didn’t want her children, then age 12 and 7 when she left Batangas, to “see only the surface of Europe’s beauty and gloss over the sacrifice underneath it.” She wanted them to understand that this life was work and that it was for them. The children, now graduates of Mapua University, want their parents to come home. In Batangas, one son is cultivating a farm, while the other dreams of opening an Italian restaurant.

The Magazine

Overseas Filipino Achievers, Part 8