Expat Media CEO Ma Felicidad De los Santos named Global Filipino Icon in Dubai

Expat Media CEO Ma Felicidad De los Santos (centre) receives the Global Filipino Icon award. EXPAT MEDIA

Expat Media CEO and owner Ma Felicidad Yabut De los was awarded the Global Filipino Icon award at a ceremony in Dubai on Friday (October 8). In her speech, De los Santos thanked her fellow media for their recognition of her achievements in the industry, and rallied colleagues to show a united front. “Camaraderie is an integral part of our collective success in this industry. We do not see our colleagues as competitors. Rather, they are our allies,” said De los Santos, a seasoned journalist and PR expert in the UAE and the Philippines. “As owner and CEO of my very own media company, Expat Media, I am grateful that a Filipino magazine such as The Global Filipino Magazine has honored a fellow media colleague into its hallmark of iconic Filipinos in the UAE. Thank you guys for the recognition,” she said. De los Santos is considered the first Filipino online editor of the magazines division of a UAE-based media. She was a recipient of the Photojournalism Award in 2012 and the Journalism Award in 2013 by the Dubai Festivals and Retail Establishment, under the patronage of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai. On Friday, she was given the first Global Filipino Icon award in Dubai. Ten other awardees were also recognised, namely Michelle David Menor, Dandin Vergara De Vera, Ericson Javillo, Angelo Santos, Jesse Garcia Estrada, Alberto Opena, Rhona Morada, Jenie Vi Batalla, Eirene Suchv and Lilae Schonberg. The awarding ceremony was attended by Philippine Ambassador to the UAE Hjayceelyn Quintana and Gabriel Rimando, owner and president of The Global Filipino Magazine (TGFM), which organized the award. Also present were TGFM Editor-in-Chief Ryan Namia, TGFM Marketing Manager Orly Gayeta, and Filipino community leaders.

In her acceptance speech, De los Santos thanked her Expat Media team "for their unwavering support" and also paid tribute to Gulf News, one of the biggest names in UAE media, which she joined in 2006, a decade before launching Expat Media. “I remember editing online magazine features for Gulf News and thinking one day I will put up my very own media company that will be one of the very first 100 percent Filipino owned media companies in the UAE,” De los Santos said in her acceptance speech. She launched Expat Media in 2016, envisioning it to be a 360-degree media company with a news platform Expatmedia.net, as well as events management and PR management under Expat Media Solutions. She is also the CEO and owner of Ultimate Productions, the events and talent contracting arm of Expat Media Group. “It’s a dream come true. My own contribution to raising the Filipino flag here in the UAE,” De los Santos said. The Filipina said she shares her recognition as Global Filipino Icon “with every Filipino in this room and around the world. We are one in our mission to become global Filipino icons. Not just today, but always.” ICA/Expat Media