When Ron Precilla started out here in the UAE 15 years ago, his story was the same as all other OFWs, struggling to find work but remaining optimistic in a country filled with opportunities. Fast forward to today, he is the Manager for Security Architecture at Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank and has won the 2017 TFT I.T. Professional of the Year.
Precilla said that receiving the award ‘changed his life’ as he got the most coveted award for Filipino IT professionals in the region. “By having received this prestigious award, I have a social responsibility to continue what I have started. I have to scale up my qualifications, social responsibility and live by example to my fellow professionals,” said Precilla.
Showcasing Pinoy excellence
Ever since Precilla received the award, it pushed him to be more innovative and more driven, which led him to a much-deserved promotion. “The award serves as an inspiration on my professional career as I’ve got promoted as Vice-President on my previous employment on the biggest bank here in UAE. It drives me to strive more towards excellence by accepting a challenge to manage, deliver and implement a new IT Security initiative on my new post on the leading Islamic Bank here in UAE,” he shares.
Serving the Filipino Community
Since then, his continuous desire to serve the Filipino community surge further, as not only did he get elected as the Vice Chairman for the Bayanihan Council, he was also the Chairman behind Abu Dhabi’s grandest and biggest Philippine Independence Day celebrations.
Precilla together with the Bayanihan team and members organizations in cooperation with the Philippine Embassy managed to provide an extensive celebratory month-long chain of events for the Filipino community. “I reached out to different organizations to seek their assistance in our aim to provide an avenue to showcase the spirit of Bayanihan and serve the community unconditionally,” said Precilla.
Message for fellow Filipinos
While most Filipinos might only see Precilla’s triumphs, he too had his share of struggles early on. Precilla advises Filipinos to continuously hone their skills and knowledge and to maximize their time to learn. “We should explore all our resources and capabilities to maximize our full potential. New learnings will be our advantage not only today but in the future as well. We should be mindful that life here in UAE is temporary. The only competition we have is ourselves, I also started as visit visa here 15 years ago and with great perseverance and hardwork, I humbly achieve what I had today. Yes, failures and disappointment will always come but it should not stop us reaching our ambitions,” said Precilla.
The Filipino Times Awards 2018 will be held on 7 September in JW Marriott Marquis Dubai in association with du as the platinum sponsor. The TFT Awards, which is now on its 4th edition, is proud to have RAKBANK as the gold sponsor and Al Tayer Motors-Ford as the car partner. Category sponsors of The Filipino Times Awards are Nikon, Pancake House International and Bawiq, while the support sponsors are NMC Mabuhay Clinic, Hot Palayok Restaurant & Grill, CMG Cargo, MPQ Tourism and Dofreeze-Eurocake.
