...the Canadian pledge

Canadian premier pledges more investments in PH

By Michael Lim Ubac
Philippine Daily Inquirer

Saturday, November 10th, 2012

Visiting Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper gestures during a joint news conference with Philippine President Benigno Aquino III, unseen, Saturday, Nov. 10, 2012 at Malacanang Palace grounds in Manila, Philippines. It was the first visit by a Canadian head of state in 15 years which was aimed at strengthening relations between the two countries. Canada is home to hundreds of thousands of Filipino immigrants. AP

MANILA, Philippines – Visiting Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Saturday he saw the Philippines as “an emerging Asian tiger,” echoing the bullish outlook on the country painted by political and business leaders in various parts of the world.

From the current US$1.5 billion total trade between Canada and the Philippines, Harper pledged increased investments in the country when he met with President Benigno Aquino III in Malacañang before noon Saturday.

Speaking at a news conference, Harper did not cite specific amounts, but described the Philippines as an “important economic partner.”

Both he and Mr. Aquino witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding on “Government-to-Government Transactions in Defense and Military-related Equipment, Materials and System and/or Services.”

“This will help us in our efforts to build our defense and security capabilities,” said Mr. Aquino, welcoming Canada’s help in the modernization of Philippine armed forces.

Both leaders also pledged their nations’ commitment to defense and trade cooperation, and people-to-people exchanges between Manila and Ottawa during a tete-a-tete in the Palace.

...the UN Heritage Site Management awardee

Vigan City bags UN award for heritage site management

By Kim Arveen Patria

Yahoo! Southeast Asia Newsroom

Fri, Nov 9, 2012

Vigan's Calle Crisologo is named after Mena Crisologo, a revolutionary, lawmaker, governor, and poet.

Keeping history alive is apparently more fun in the Philippines, with Vigan City bagging a United Nations award for world heritage site management.

The UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has recently given the city in Ilocos Sur its first-ever "Best practice in World Heritage Site Management" award as the international body ended the 40th World Heritage Convention in Japan Thursday.

Vigan City bested 27 other cities from 23 countries considered for the recognition, which UNESCO said is aimed at highlighting challenges to world heritage conservation, lessons learned, priorities and opportunities.

"Vigan's successful and sustainable management has been achieved with relatively limited resources, which should make it adaptable to sites in all countries..." UNESCO said.

"[T]he local community is well integrated into many aspects of the sustainable conservation and management of the property; and a multi-faceted approach to the protection of the site has been developed," it added.

This year’s convention theme "World Heritage and Sustainable Development: the Role of Local Communities" highlighted the need to marry conservation programs with local community growth.

Vigan City, famous for conserving early architecture and other features, was named a world heritage site in December 1999.
"Vigan is an exceptionally intact and well-preserved example of a European trading town in East and South-East Asia," UNESCO said in its website.

"The architecture is truly reflective of its roots in both materials and design, in its fusion of Asian building design and construction with European colonial architecture and planning," it added.

The case of Vigan City and other sites discussed in this year's World Heritage Convention, UNESCO said, may "enrich current debates about the implementation" of conservation projects the international body is set to name the 1000th world heritage site.

...the IAAPA Head

Pinoy to head biggest amusement association

 

By Rio Rose Ribaya

Yahoo! Southeast Asia Newsroom

10 November 2012

Enchanted Kingdom owner Mario Mamon acknowledges promotional tie-up with Ocean Park Hong Kong during the launch of Ocean Park's Christmas Sensation: Santa Festival at Marriott Hotel Manila in Pasay City on …more November 8. (NPPA Images/Angela Galia) 

A Filipino businessman has been selected to head the largest amusement industry trade association in the world.

Enchanted Kingdom (EK) owner Mario Mamon is the first Asian ever chosen to head the US-based International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA).

"He will be assuming as vice chairman first this week in America, which will last until November next year," EK vice president Cynthia Mamon said.

"His term as chairman will start in November next year and will last until 2014," she added.

Based in Virginia, IAAPA represents over 4,000 member organizations from all kinds of amusement centers including theme parks, museums, even mini-golf courses in 93 countries.

...the PH diplomat to WTO board

PHL envoy appointed to WTO management board

 

 

 

November 10, 2012

GMA News

 

 

A Philippine diplomat has been appointed to the Management Board of the Advisory Center on World Trade Organization Law (ACWL), the Department of Foreign Affairs said Friday.

 

 

The DFA said Philippine permanent representative to the WTO Esteban Conejos Jr. will have a two-year term and may be reappointed for another two years.

"Conejos succeeded Ambassador Bozkurt Aran of Turkey. His term will be for two years, and he will be eligible for reappointment for a further two years," the DFA said.

ACWL aims to provide developing countries and Least Developed Countries (LDCs) with the legal capability necessary to enable them to take full advantage of the opportunities offered by the WTO.

Conejos was unanimously nominated by the ACWL's Category B member countries to be their representative to the board, the DFA said.

These countries include Colombia, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Mauritius, Oman, Pakistan, Philippines, Thailand, Turkey, Uruguay, Venezuela and Vietnam.

The Philippines has been a member of ACWL since its establishment in 2001.

It has benefited from services such as legal assistance in dispute settlement cases, legal opinions, training courses, and a secondment program for government trade lawyers.

During the past 10 years, ACWL had been involved in 21 percent of all new WTO dispute settlement proceedings.

WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy earlier said the ACWL helps make sure the legal benefits of the WTO are shared among all members.

Lamy added the ACWL contributes to the effectiveness of the WTO's dispute settlement procedures, and to the realization of the WTO's development objectives.

Management board

The Management Board makes decisions to ensure the efficient and effective operation of the ACWL and reports to the General Assembly.

It has six persons serving in their personal capacities who have been selected on the basis of their professional qualifications in the field of WTO law or international trade relations and development.

Three Board members are nominated by the developing country members, two by the developed country members and one by the LDCs. The Executive Director serves ex officio on the Board.

The DFA said Conejos attended his first Management Board meeting on Nov. 7, and was welcomed by other board members, including ACWL Executive Director Niall Meagher.

At the meeting, they discussed the operational and financial standing of ACWL, as well as the accession of Cuba.

G-33 meet

On behalf of Indonesia, the Philippines through Conejos chaired the G-33 Heads of Delegation meeting on November 7 – a tradition being observed every time the coordinator of the group is not available.

The G-33, previously known as the Alliance for Special Products and Special Safeguard Mechanism, is a coalition of 46 developing countries pressing for S&DT flexibility for developing countries in the agriculture Doha Round of talks for ensuring food security, livelihood security and rural development.

Its key members include Barbados, China, Dominican Republic, India, Indonesia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Kenya, Korea, the Philippines, Turkey and Zimbabwe.

The G-33 discussed the Indian proposal entitled "Some Elements... for Early Agreement to Address Food Security Issues," which India and the Philippines are seeking for G-33 sponsorship.

The proposal under "Green Box" of the WTO Agreement of Agriculture aims to exempt developing countries from factoring in government support payments for public stock-holding for food security purposes.

It particularly focuses on the procurement from "low-income or resource poor producers" and provision of subsidized food prices for urban and rural poor in their AMS ("trade-distorting subsidy") monetary limits.

The proposal is part of the considered "80 percent agreed and stabilized areas" in the 2008 Chair's agriculture modalities text which India and the Philippines hope to be harvested early during the 9th WTO Ministerial Conference in Bali in December 2012, in advance of the full conclusion of the Doha Round.

The proposal may be submitted to the COA-SS Chair John Adank and circulated to all WTO members before the agriculture talks resume on 16 November 2012 in Geneva. — LBG, GMA News

...the Mr. Manhunt International 2012

Filipino wins Manhunt International 2012

 

ABS-CBNnews.com

11/10/2012

 

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines’ representative to the 16th Manhunt International male beauty pageant was crowned winner at the finals night held Friday night in Bangkok, Thailand.

 

 

Winner June Macasaet (center) poses with his trophy along with the runners-up at the 16th Manhunt International pageant held Friday night in Bangkok, Thailand. Photo courtesy of the official Facebook page of Manhunt International 2012

June Macasaet, 29, bested 52 other international contestants, with Sweden's Peter Bo Jonsson placing 1st runner-up; Macau's Martin Wang, 2nd runner-up; Puerto Rico's Jimmy Perez, 3rd runner-up; and Singapore's Jason Chee, 4th runner-up.

The Filipino commercial and ramp model was also given the New Urban Male Award at the pageant night held at the Scala Theater, Siam Square in Bangkok.

Macasaet is the first Filipino to win the international male beauty pageant.

Said to be the first male model contest in Singapore when it started in 1987, Manhunt became international in 1993, when contestants from 25 countries joined the competition.

...the Filipino spirit

‘Bayanihan’ Spirit Shines In Storm-Ravaged East Coast

 

 

By ELLSON QUISMORIO

Manila Bulletin

November 4, 2012

 

 

There’s Bayanihan on stage, and then there’s “bayanihan” on the streets.

The Philippines’ world-famous national folk dance company, the Bayanihan, performed last Thursday at the Jazz at the Lincoln Center in New York City as tales of mutual cooperation among Filipinos in the US East Coast cropped up in the aftermath of superstorm Sandy’s wrath.

Performing before a large audience, the Bayanihan took center stage on the same night the lights reopened in Broadway in a sign that New York was slowly picking itself up from the storm that brought it to its knees just a few days ago.

“What makes the performance particularly memorable is that it took place while Filipinos in various parts of the East Coast were performing their own acts of bayanihan to help each other rise on their feet,” Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose Cuisia Jr.

The envoy cited stories received by the Philippine Embassy in Washington D.C. and the Philippine Consulate General in New York of how Filipinos have opened the doors to their homes to assist their kababayans (compatriots) in getting over the effects of one of the worst storms in American history.

“True to its name, the bayanihan is a shining example of the can do spirit of the Filipino and that hope endures,” said Cuisia. “In its own special way, the Bayanihan was able to dance its way into the hearts of both Filipinos and Americans who came to see the performance.”

“It was spectacular,” said former Ambassador to Manila Frank Wisner who raved about the beautiful, creative, and energetic repertoire of the Bayanihan that included six dance suites showcasing the diversity of Philippine culture and traditions.

According to Consul General Mario De Leon, almost 2,000 Filipinos in the Country Village section of Jersey City, New Jersey are helping one another emerge from the storm-wrought devastation.

“The few Filipinos who have generators let kababayans who have no electricity charge their mobile devices,” he said. “Filipino store and restaurant owners also kept their establishments open despite fears of possible looting.”

In Staten Island, where two Filipino families lost their homes to storm surges, fellow Filipinos opened their doors to them and took them in. The same is true in New Jersey and Long Island where Filipinos whose houses were damaged by floodwaters, falling trees or violent winds found shelter in the homes of friends and relatives.

In Suffolk Country in Long Island, a Filipina said kababayans can come to her home where they can have hot meals, take their showers and do their laundry. In Manhattan, a family of Filipino doctors and nurses has been volunteering their services in local hospitals.

The Consulate General in New York itself had launched Operation Kapitbahay (Neighbor) that allowed Filipinos access to the Philippine Center on Fifth Avenue where they could charge their mobile devices and connect to the Internet.

Filipino organizations have also risen to the occasion. The Oriental Mindoro Association headed by Juliet Payabyab is gathering clothes and water for affected Filipinos in Staten Island, which is among the worst-hit in New York. The Handang Tumulong Foundation Inc. is also mobilizing assistance for relief efforts.

Even the militant Bagong Alyansang Makabayan has offered to a helping hand with its Operation Kaligtasan (Safety). Bayan leader Gary Labao visited the Philippine Consulate and volunteered to search for Filipinos who may have been in evacuation centers in hard-hit New York and New Jersey.

The Association of Filipino Teachers in America led by its Vice President Ronnie Mataquel are volunteering at a shelter in the Bronx that caters to displaced residents of City Island while members of the Filipino-American Amateur Athletic League in Connecticut are helping out at the Red Cross facility in Greenwich.

In Long Island, community leader Ramon Villongco is leading efforts to look into the situation of Filipinos in Long Beach, Mastic Beach, Babylon, Hempstead, Bayshore, Brentwood, Hicksville, Glen Cove and other areas that were badly struck by Sandy.

The East Coast-based Filforce airsoft group was the first to provide the Embassy with the first reports of the impact of Sandy on the Filipino Community as some of its members in Atlantic City, Jersey City and Long Island absorbed the brunt of the storm in terms of flood-damage to their homes and vehicles.

In Washington, the Filipino Migrant Heritage Commission also responded to the call of the Philippine Embassy for Filipino organizations to look into the situation of their members in the affected areas. FMHC leader Grace Valera said their group was in touch with members in Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersey before, during and after Sandy’s onslaught to make sure that all of them are all right.

...the Fil-Am power

Fil-Ams Top Amerasian Voters in US

By ROY C. MABASA

Manila Bulletin

November 4, 2012

 

 

 

MANILA, Philippines --- Among Asian American citizens, there will be more Filipino Americans who will troop to the polls in the Nov. 6 United States presidential elections, a report by the National Asian American Survey (NAAS) said.

According to the NAAS, which conducted a tracking survey from July 31 to September 19, 52 percent of Filipino Americans are likely to vote in 2012--considered one of the highest among Asian Americans.

The results of the survey -- which was included in the NAAS report titled “Public Opinion of a Growing Electorate: Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in 2012” -- also showed that a high proportion of Filipino Americans are political independents, reaching as high as 47 percent in 2012.

The report explained that a substantial percent of the Filipino American non-partisans are driven not only by those who positively affirm their identification as independents, but also “non-identifiers” -- those who “don’t know” how they identify, or do not yet think in terms of US political parties.

But among Asian Americans who do identify with the political parties, Filipino Americans are now emerging as the constituency that offers more support to Republicans than Democrats.

This is a significant shift from prior surveys, the NAAS report noted.

In the 2008 presidential race, Filipino American voters favored Democratic bet Barack Obama over Republican John McCain (50 percent vs. 46 percent).

Four years later, the pattern is reversed: Filipino Americans now give Republican Mitt Romney the highest level of support among Asian Americans with 38 percent, a six-point advantage over the incumbent President (32 percent).

“In a significant shift from prior surveys, Filipino Americans who identify as Republicans now outnumber those who identify as Democrats,” the report pointed out. “Indeed a larger portion of Filipinos now identify with the Republican Party than any Asian American group.”

Previously, the staunchest Republicans were Vietnamese Americans.

Despite this, the survey still found that the performance rating of Obama was high among Filipino Americans with 45 percent approving the way he is handling his job.

Filipino Americans also have a more favorable impression of Obama than Romney (46 percent vs. 37 percent). However, it was noted in the study that Romney’s favorability ratings among Filipino Americans were the highest ratings among Asian Americans.

Likewise, 33 percent of Filipino Americans have a more favorable impression of the Democrats who are running for Congress than the Republicans (30 percent).

Furthermore, a substantial proportion of Filipino American respondents still have yet to decide who to vote for the presidency. Perhaps, the study suggested, this percentage of the Filipino American population is more amenable to campaign appeals and mobilization efforts.

The survey also considered voter preferences of Asian Americans in the so-called battleground states: Ohio, Virginia, Florida, New Hampshire, Iowa, Colorado, Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Missouri, Nevada, and North Carolina.

Based on the polls, 15 percent of Filipino Americans in the US live in these battleground states.

However, they constitute a smaller share of the likely voter population than their national averages -- 19 percent vs. 25 percent.

The study noted that voting is just one of many different ways that citizens express themselves politically and become politically engaged.

For Asian Americans who are non-citizens, these non-voting modes of participation are especially important, the study stressed.

The survey made clear that a majority of Filipino Americans (59 percent) discuss politics with family and friends.

In other non-electoral activities--working for an election campaign, contributing money to a certain candidate, contacting elected representatives of government officials, attending a protest or demonstration rally, and engaging in politics online--the levels are somewhat low.

The study further showed that Filipino Americans generally follow political affairs in the Philippines.

But this attention is not a deterrent to their political involvement in the US.

Indeed, it was noted that that those involved in their home country were slightly more likely to be involved in the US elections than those who were not.

The report is based on data collected from telephone interviews of adults in the US, registered and unregistered voters.

The NAAS survey conducted its first nationally representative survey of the political views of Asian Americans in 2008.

This year, they conducted a tracking survey with the addition of even more Asian ethnic groups than the first.

The survey also noted that one of the key factors in voter turnout is mobilization--being recruited to register to vote and being asked to participate on Election Day.

Overall, only 26 percent of the Filipino respondents reported being contacted by anyone about registering or turning out to vote.

In this respect, Filipino American community leaders have already made a strong commitment to be actively engaged in the US political process by registering hundreds of eligible voters and getting them out to vote in the November 6 elections.

For them, it is now all about building political power as an ethnic community.

“And that means translating our numbers in a way that truly count,” said Bert Dayao, Capital Region chairman of the National Federation of Filipino American Associations (NaFFAA). “And that means translating our numbers in a way that they truly count.”

Political mobilization and empowerment were among the themes that formed the FilAm Vote Coalition of Hampton Roads (FAVCOHR)--a non-partisan voter mobilization project, tapping into the estimated 40,000-strong Fil-Am community in Chesapeake, Hampton, Newport News, Norfolk, Suffolk, Portsmouth and Virginia Beach.

Filipinos in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area grew by 33 percent in 10 years, according to the 2010 Census – a rate of growth that has caught the attention of state and local elected officials and policy makers.

Latest data issued by the US Census Bureau showed that US residents of Filipino descent were the second largest subgroup in the single-race Asian category of the US population with 3.4 million in 2010, a 44.5 percent increase in the first decade of the 21st century.

According to the bureau, among the Asian race, the Filipino population in the US (which numbered around 2.4 million in 2000) was second only to the Chinese numbering around 4 million in 2010 and slightly higher than Indians with 3.2 million.

These three groups accounted for 60 percent of Asians which is considered as the fastest-growing segment by race of the US population within the period 2000-2010.

According to the bureau, almost half of the total Filipino population in the US (49 percent) resides in the West Coast, 16.3 percent lives in the South, 9.7 percent in the Northeast and 8.4 in the Midwest, while the rest are scattered throughout the other states of the US.

Filipinos have the highest proportion of Asians who lived in California (43 percent).

The state with the second-largest proportions of Filipinos is Hawaii (10 percent), followed by Illinois (4.1 percent), Texas and Washington (both with 4 percent).

...the PH to the world

IMF chief coming to see how PH can help

By Michelle V. Remo
Philippine Daily Inquirer

Sunday, November 4th, 2012

International Monetary Fund (IMF) chief Christine Lagarde reacts during a news conference at the IMF and World Bank’s annual general assembly in Tokyo, Thursday, October 11, 2012. AP/Itsuo Inouye

MANILA, Philippines—International Monetary Fund (IMF) head Christine Lagarde will visit the country this month to discuss the role of emerging economies in helping resolve global economic woes.

The IMF made the announcement as it scheduled meetings between its top official and the Philippines’ key government officials. The IMF managing director will also meet the Philippine media in a press conference.

Lagarde is also expected to reiterate IMF support for the reforms being pushed by the Philippine government to accelerate the domestic economy’s growth.

These reforms include higher taxes on cigarettes and alcohol, the lifting of unnecessary tax incentives for businesses, and administrative measures to shore up tax collection.

The IMF likewise supports calls to amend the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) charter with the aim of further improving its ability to manage liquidity within the economy and to supervise the country’s banks.

In particular, the BSP wants to be able to trade its own bonds and have its examiners exempted from the Deposit Secrecy Law to better determine irregularities in bank transactions, among other things.

Unlike some countries visited by IMF officials, the Philippines is not expected to seek financial assistance from Legarde. The country, which has $82 billion in foreign exchange reserves, is now a creditor to the IMF.

In June, the BSP said the country was lending $1 billion to the IMF, which would use the money to help crisis-stricken economies in the euro zone.

Lagarde’s visit to Manila follows her trips to other Asian countries. She went to China and India in March, and Indonesia, Japan and Thailand in July.

Lagarde is the first woman managing director of the IMF. She began her five-year term as head of the IMF in July last year following the resignation of Dominique Strauss-Kahn.

Prior to her stint as IMF managing director, Lagarde held various positions in the French government.

She was the first woman finance minister for a G8 economy.

In 2009, the Financial Times named her best finance minister in the euro zone. In 2011, she was ranked by Forbes magazine as the 8th most powerful woman in the world.

...the UN photoshoot winner

Pinoy govt employee wins $3,000 in intl photo contest

 

November 2, 2012

GMA News

 

 

The lone Filipino finalist in the "global artistic competition" launched for the United Nations' (UN) International Year of Cooperatives (IYC) has clinched one of the top prizes in the contest, its organizer announced on Thursday (Manila time).

 

 

The International Cooperative Alliance (ICA) said on its website that Billy Rey Tamio, a 24-year-old government employee and freelance photographer from Tanza, Cavite, topped the photography category of the "Coop'Art - Express Yourself" contest, which "aimed to raise young people's awareness about the cooperative movement worldwide" through music, video, and photography.

Billy Rey Tamio’s winning photo. Photo posted with permission of ICA

 

The contest was part of the ICA's celebration of the IYC, set in 2012 by the UN General Assembly through a resolution passed in December 2009 that recognizes the role of cooperatives --- or "business enterprises owned and controlled by its members" --- in socio-economic development.

 

 

Tamio's entry, which shows a group of siblings in a red all-metal sidecar driven by a boy on a bicycle, won him USD3,000 and a trip to Manchester, United Kingdom this month.

 

 

In an e-mail to GMA News Online after he was named one of the finalists, Tamio said the kids in the photo, which he took at the back of the subdivision he resides in, showed him the concept of collective perseverance towards a common goal.

 

 

"Para sa akin, ipinakita 'yung pagko-cooperate ng bawat isa para masuportahan ang isang miyembro nito. Hindi man sapat ang kanilang pangangailangan, napagtutulungan nila na matupad ang pangarap nilang magkaroon ng edukasyon," he wrote.

 

 

Aside from Tamio, other winners include Francisca Javiera Badilla Castillo of Chile (video category) and Roberto Morban Ramirez of the Dominican Republic (music category).

 

 

According to Jose Antonio Chavez Villanueva, youth representative on the ICA board, "Coop'Art" received some 170 proposals from the Asia Pacific, Africa, Americas, and Europe. - R.A. Dioquino, VVP, GMA News