Sarah Lou Ysmael Arriola

Prior to joining IOM, Sarah was the Undersecretary (Vice-Minister) for Migrant Workers’ Affairs of the Department of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of the Philippines. 

She managed the protection of the rights and promotion of the welfare of over 10 million overseas Filipinos through 94 diplomatic posts. Her work included the repatriation of hundreds of thousands of distressed nationals who were caught in wars, civil or political unrests, natural disasters, victims of abuse or maltreatment, and those who were stranded due to economic hardships and most recently, due to the pandemic.  Sarah was also the Philippines’ Chief Negotiator for the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM) and executed the Philippine kafala reform and fair and ethical recruitment campaigns in the Middle East. She has a Juris Doctor degree from the School of Law of the Ateneo de Manila University, Philippines and an LLM in International Human Rights Law from the University of Essex, United Kingdom. In 2019, she was awarded the Gawad Mabini Grand Cross (Dakilang Kamanong), a presidential award conferred on Filipinos who have rendered distinguished foreign service, or helped promote the interests and prestige of the Philippines abroad