Greek-Filipino association launches in Heraklion with cultural festival
The Greek-Filipino Association of Greece, founded in August 2026, marked its establishment with a public festival in Heraklion that brought together members of the Greek and Filipino communities. The event, held on a Sunday morning at the Heraklion Cultural Conference Center, featured traditional Filipino and Greek dishes, a cooking competition and a prize draw.
The association held its founding elections the previous Sunday, according to its president, Leonil Silvosa Venial. She said the gathering was the group’s first public presentation to the local community. The program included a cooking contest featuring traditional Filipino dishes such as pancit, a sushi-making seminar, and Greek stuffed vegetables known as gemista. Organizers also ran a raffle, with the top prize a round-trip ticket to the Philippines.
Labor and housing concerns
The association said one of its priorities is addressing workplace problems reported by Filipino workers, including contract disputes, unpaid overtime and difficult housing conditions. Members also pointed to obstacles that make it harder for workers to remain in Greece once the tourist season ends.
Many Filipino residents in Crete work in the hospitality sector, particularly in hotel kitchens and food-service departments, as well as in agriculture and greenhouses, according to the association. Silvosa Venial said Filipinos have been coming to Crete for work since 2023, drawn largely by wages that are often higher than those available in public-sector jobs in the Philippines, which she said range from about 500 to 1,000 euros a month. She has lived in Greece for nearly 25 years and said she has since obtained Greek citizenship.
Marianthi Chronaki, secretary of the association, said deceptive practices by some employers are among the most serious problems reported to the group. She said some employers bring workers from the Philippines under signed contracts but then fail to hire them, cancel agreements, alter working terms, or require unpaid overtime. “These are issues that often stay hidden, swept under the rug, and that is exactly what we want to prevent through the association,” she said.
Nikos Kasapakis, the association’s public relations adviser, said housing conditions for some workers are particularly difficult and that the end of the tourist season leaves many without notice or support. He said Greek law requires employers to provide housing and food for workers they recruit, but some workers are told to leave a property the day after a hotel closes for the season, without time to find alternative accommodation or employment. He said the issue affects migrant workers more broadly, not only Filipino nationals, and said he would continue working toward addressing it.
A festival of two cuisines
Chronaki said the festival combined dishes from both culinary traditions so that visitors could sample a range of foods and compare the two cuisines. She said Filipino cooking relies heavily on vegetables and meat, which she described as a shared element with Cretan cuisine. Her favorite Greek dish is pastitsio, while from Filipino cuisine she singled out palabok, a noodle dish with shrimp and eggs.
Chronaki, whose father is from Crete and mother is from the Philippines, said she was born and raised in Greece and completed her education there. She said involvement in the association has helped her connect more with her Filipino heritage, which she had less exposure to growing up.
Silvosa Venial said her first Greek dish was gemista, which she said she liked immediately, along with salads made with feta cheese. She said that when she first arrived in Greece, it was difficult to find the sauces and ingredients needed for Filipino cooking, which was part of her motivation for opening an express market that stocks products from the Philippines and other countries.
Mara Panagiotaki, deputy president of DEPANAL, attended the event and said the festival reflected the presence of communities that live, work and take part in life in Heraklion. The gathering was organized as part of the association’s founding celebrations following its recent establishment and elections.
