...the favorite countries among travelers

Philippines 8th favorite country among travelers

Christina Mendez/Catherine Talavera
Philippine Star
26 October 2019

MANILA, Philippines — Foreign visitors’ interest in the Philippines remains strong after the country was voted by readers of travel magazine Conde Nast Traveler as one of the favorite destinations in the world to visit.

Based on results of Conde Nast Traveler’s Top 20 Countries in the World: Readers Choice Awards 2019, the Philippines ranked eighth with a score of 90.63.

The magazine cited island hopping, surfing and shopping as some of the activities tourists can do in the country.

It also cited Palawan, particularly Coron, El Nido and Linapacan, as among the top destinations.

The Philippines joined the other favorite countries to visit that included Indonesia, Thailand, Portugal and Sri Lanka.

“Gaining yet another prestigious recognition as the 8th Favorite Country in the World speaks well of the concerted effort of the Philippine tourism industry stakeholders in nurturing the many natural wonders the country is blessed with,” Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat said.

Department of Tourism New York attaché Francisco Lardizabal received the award in behalf of the Philippines during ceremonies at the One World Trade Center in New York.

“All these accolades that the country and our other island destinations continue to receive bode well for the country’s sustainable tourism development program as continuity is the very essence of sustainability,” Puyat said.

Malacañang lauded yesterday the DOT for efforts to promote the Philippines after the country placed 8th in the Readers’ Choice Awards 2019 of Conde Nast Traveler.

“The world has spoken: it is truly more fun in the Philippines,” presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo said.

The Palace official is grateful to the readers of Conde Nast Traveler for making the Philippines eighth in their list of favorite countries in the world.

“We commend the Department of Tourism, their industry partners and other stakeholders for their splendid job. In its most recent report, the DOT counted a total of 5,554,950 visitors between January and August 2019,” Panelo said.

On top of this, Panelo noted that the Philippines registered a 14.08 percent year-on-year increase in the country’s international inbound traffic.

The recognition comes on the heels of two major awards the Philippines won at the recent 2019 World Travel Awards held at Phu Quoc island in Vietnam.

Readers of Conde Nast Traveler also voted three Philippine islands as the best islands in Asia, with Boracay grabbing the number one spot, despite the six-month closure of the island last year due to clean up and rehabilitation efforts.

“This itty-bitty island (just under four square miles) in the Western Philippines is as close to a tropical idyll as you’ll find in Southeast Asia, with gentle coastlines and made-for-Instagram sunsets,” according to Conde Nast Traveler.

“Fold in a thriving nightlife scene, and you have one of the top tourist spots in the region,” it added.
The magazine acknowledged the island’s closure and ongoing rehabilitation, noting that it has “become too touristed” in the past.

At present, the Philippine government is implementing a carrying capacity for Boracay, with only 19,215 tourists allowed to be on the island at any one time, and 6,405 tourists allowed to enter the island per day.

“The aptly named White Beach is Boracay’s main draw, with powdery white sand and shallow azure water ideal for swimming and snorkeling,” Conde Nast said.

Following Boracay is Cebu and the Visayas islands landing in second spot.

“Located in the center of the Philippines, Cebu draws nearly two million travelers annually for its pristine beaches and diving off the island’s northern coast. Spanish and Roman Catholic influences permeate Cebu City; Basilica Minore del Santo Niño houses a small statue of Christ that was presented by Ferdinand Magellan,” Conde Naste said.

The magazine highlighted Cebu’s Kawasan Falls near Cebu’s southwest coast, noting its popularity among locals and tourists.

...the Banana Ketchup Inventor

She Invented Banana Ketchup & Saved Thousands of Lives. Why Have we Never heard of Her?

Amelia Rampe
Food52
26 October 2019

I’ve seen the look on my friends’ faces when the words banana ketchup are uttered. Confusion, maybe even disgust. How can two things with such different flavor profiles exist in one product? Despite its seeming incongruity, banana ketchup is a pantry staple that rings nostalgic to many Filipinos all over the world.

Magdalo V. Francisco, Sr. is credited with mass-producing banana ketchup in 1942, thus making it a fixture in the Filipino household. To this day it’s used as a condiment that accompanies many popular dishes such as tortang talong (an eggplant omelet), fried chicken, Filipino spaghetti (pasta with banana ketchup and sliced hot dogs), as well as a sauce for hamburgers.

You can even find some refined versions of banana ketchup in modern Filipino cuisine. At Toyo Eatery in Manila, Jordy Navarra makes a “Banana Catsup” using fermented bananas, banana peel vinegar, banana blossom, tomatoes, and spices. True to tradition, he also serves his alongside tortang talong.

But to truly understand the roots of banana ketchup, it’s important to understand the person behind the innovation, as well as the environment in which it was produced.

Her name? Maria Orosa.

As Chef Navarra says, “Growing up in Manila, we always knew the name of Maria Orosa as a pretty famous and busy street. After getting into food and learning about the history of banana catsup, we stumbled upon her story.”

A food chemist and innovator, Maria saw that the Philippines was heavily reliant on imports like tomatoes. At the same time, she understood and envisioned the vast potential of a great many products endemic to the island nation that, when used properly, could make the country more self-sufficient. She was passionate about a self-sustaining Philippines and made it her life’s work to study native food, and the use of fermentation and various preserving techniques to educate and uplift people in need. She would eventually become a war heroine through her food innovations. Most notably: banana ketchup.

One day, she created a banana sauce with mashed bananas, vinegars, and spices. The brownish-yellow color was not very appetizing, so a little red dye was added, turning it to what is today known as banana ketchup.

But her story is far vaster than her most popular invention.

Maria moved to the United States at the age of 23 (some accounts say she was a stowaway). She was a government-sponsored scholar at the University of Washington in Seattle. There, she earned a bachelors and a masters degree in pharmaceutical chemistry, as well as one in food chemistry. During her education, Maria would spend her summer breaks working in the Alaskan canneries.

In the end, she earned a position as an assistant chemist for the state of Washington, but instead chose to return to the Philippines in 1922. Upon her return, she taught home economics at Centro Escolar University and would later transfer to the Bureau of Science organizing the food preservation division.

A humanitarian at heart, Orosa had a vision of empowering the Filipino family. She launched Health, Heart, Head and Hand (4-H) Clubs. This organization brought herself and other educators into rural areas and barrios to teach women how to raise poultry and preserve food, as well as how to prepare and plan meals. By 1924, the organization had over 22,000 members. Part of her initiative was to introduce one of her inventions, the palayok oven—a clay oven intended for people who did not have access to electrical appliances.

She used her background in food chemistry to run experiments in fermenting, dehydrating, and preserving native plants and animals. The innovations that emerged are said to still be used in laboratories today. The ultimate goal? Make the Philippines more self-sufficient and sustaining.

Local fruits like tamarind, santol, and calamansi provided her with foundations to make wine, jams, and jellies. Cassava and green banana flour would replace the need for wheat. Coconuts would yield vinegars; she was the first to preserve macapuno, a jelly-like product of coconut that is used in Southeast Asia to this day. She was also the first to freeze mangos, enabling distributors to send the famous Filipino fruit throughout the world.

The Bureau of Science recognized her efforts and promoted Maria to head of the Home Economics Division and the Division of Food Preservation. Her work with the bureau would send her all over the world to research canning and preserving technologies.

She was passionate about a self-sustaining Philippines and made it her life’s work to study native food, and the use of fermentation and various preserving techniques to educate and uplift people in need.

Some of Maria’s most known contributions to the food world came during World War II. She was beloved within Filipino households for her banana ketchup, but she would become a war hero for her food inventions: Soyalac and Darak. Soyalac is a protein-rich, highly nutritious powdered soybean product. Darak is a rice by-product that is high in B vitamins, thiamine, and vitamins A, D, and E (intended to fight the vitamin B deficiency disease, beriberi).

During World War II, Orosa was a captain in Marking’s Guerrillas, a group of Filipinx soldiers who would fight alongside the United States against the Japanese during the war. Legend says that she devised a system for smuggling Soyalac and Darak in bamboo into Japanese-run concentration camps. These internment camps, which housed mostly Guerrillero and American prisoners of war, were known for poor sanitation and lack of food. Many would perish as a result of malnutrition. Freedom fighters disguised as carpenters would deliver Maria’s “magic food,” saving countless POWs and civilians.

Despite pleas from her family and colleagues to leave Manila during the war, she stayed until she was killed by shrapnel from fratricide in 1945.

Maria Orosa was a scientist, an activist, a humanitarian, and a war hero who loved her country and dedicated her life to uplifting the Philippines through food innovation. Many of her recipes and experiments were compiled by her niece, Helen Orosa del Rosario, in a posthumous book called Maria Orosa: Her life and Work. The book contains over 700 recipes, some of them unedited since Maria wrote them.

Banana ketchup, while probably the most beloved of Maria’s creations, is just a small part of her great and many contributions to food history. Her creations were intended to bring forth self-sufficiency and empowerment for her nation—and yet, in this day and age, it’s hard not to see that Maria symbolizes so much more.

As Chef Navarra says, “It’s amazing that she basically is the Filipina food hero. Ingenuity in a time of need which I think captures the Filipino spirit.”

...the Hunger status

Hunger in Pinoy families lowest in 15 years — SWS 

Janvic Mateo

Philippine Star

25 October 2019

MANILA, Philippines — The number of Filipino families who said they have experienced hunger at least once in the past three months dropped to its lowest in the past 15 years, according to the third quarter survey conducted by Social Weather Stations (SWS).

The survey, conducted from Sept. 27 to 30 with the results released Wednesday, showed 9.1 percent of the 1,800 adult respondents said their families have experienced involuntary hunger due to lack of food to eat.

This translates to an estimated 2.3 million families, the lowest since the 7.4 percent hunger rate obtained in a similar survey conducted in March 2004.

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The SWS said the drop in hunger rate was due to decreasing number of families who experienced moderate hunger, or those who experienced involuntary hunger only once or a few times in the last three months.

Moderate hunger fell from 8.7 percent in June to 7.4 percent in September, also the lowest in 15 years.

Meanwhile, the number of people who said their families experienced severe hunger – or those who experienced it often or always – in the past three months have slightly increased from 1.3 percent to 1.7 percent.

Based on the survey, the hunger rate fell among those who classify their families as poor, from 16.2 percent in June to 14 percent in September.

Meanwhile, the number of families who do not consider themselves as poor but have experienced hunger increased from 4.9 percent to 5.6 percent.

By geographic location, the number of families who experienced hunger in Metro Manila and the rest of Luzon went down, from 15.7 percent to 8.3 percent and from 9.3 percent to 8.1 percent, respectively.

Meanwhile, it went up in Mindanao, from nine percent in June to 11.9 percent in September. It remained unchanged among respondents from the Visayas at 8.7 percent.

The country’s hunger rate has spiked to over 20 percent several times during the term of former presidents Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and Benigno Aquino III.

It reached the record-high 23.8 percent in 2012, before going down towards the end of the previous administration.

The hunger rate has stayed relatively low during the present administration, with its highest at 15.9 percent in December 2017.

The latest survey has 1,800 respondents and an error margin of +/- 2.3 percent for national percentages.

...the Next Best Destination for Food Tourists

The Philippines is the next Best Destination for Food Tourists

Emily Brown
UNILAD
25 October 2019

There are plenty of cuisines out there that dominate the restaurant and takeaway scene, but one that doesn’t get nearly enough attention is Filipino food.

Believe me when I say, the delightful dishes on offer have enough flavour to match the 7,641 islands it comes from.

Though it’s possible to get a taste of foreign cuisines from restaurants and takeaways at home, there’s nothing like trying them in their country of origin. 



You might think it’s a good idea to experiment with more than 15 ingredients to create halo-halo yourself – but combining sweet red beans, sweet white beans, coconut gel, macapuno, jackfruit and ube ice cream to create the signature Filipino summer dessert might be a bit of a stretch without some expert help.

If that doesn’t tickle your fancy, how about Filipino adobo, a chicken dish that varies greatly from the much more widely well-known Spanish and Latin American version. Removing chili, paprika, oregano and tomatoes, you may think you’re taking away all the flavour but replace those things with Southeast Asian ingredients like soy sauce, black peppercorns and bay leaves, this dish is still certainly packed full of flavour.

Award-winning chefs JP Anglo and Jordan Andino discuss the country’s rich, diverse cuisine and dining culture in Eats. More Fun In the Philippines campaign video, where they were joined by top YouTuber and comedian Mikey Bustos.

Filipino-American chef Jordan described the Filipino dining experience as offering more soul than most countries. He explained when you eat the food you taste ‘love, family and tradition’, adding ‘not a lot of cultures are able to do that’.

Chef JP spoke more specifically about the sumptuous flavours of the cuisine, recommending the pork dish lechon as well as grilled chicken known as inasal, saying:

Our lechon is very strong. We’re one of the countries that do the roasting technique really well. Our grilled chicken, the inasal, is also very strong and it can go against the other grilled chickens in the world.

I look up to the street vendors like the guy who’s been making batchoy (noodle soup) for two decades in a market in Iloilo. I think we should celebrate them more and give them a venue.

These guys are the real deal and as chefs we get our inspiration from them.

But Filipino cuisine is so much more than just diverse flavours; it’s fun to eat. Dining in the Philippines is an event where you can experiment and try new things, like eating with your bare hands – a way for people to truly savour the food they’re eating.

For Filipinos, eating is an experience to be enjoyed and shared with everyone, with comforting meals shared while bonding with friends, at a big gathering or at simple get-togethers.

Having experienced Filipino food for himself, YouTuber Mikey acknowledged appreciating the dishes involves understanding ‘Filipino food is designed for Filipino life’.

The comedian added:

If you really want to learn about a country, you have to eat and experience that whole thing.

Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat pointed out more and more people are travelling not just to see the sights, but to discover new cuisines.

She commented:

We believe that one of the best ways to explore the Philippines and experience the country’s culture is through our plentiful and diverse food offerings.

Food, especially to us Filipinos, is a universal language. We always say kain na (let’s eat) as our way to say “hello” and “welcome”. I think that it is the best testament to our uniquely Filipino hospitality. Our food and our love for it, make us some of the most endearing hosts in the world.

Though Filipino food promises to offer an explosion of flavour, arguably one of the best parts about eating in The Philippines is the fact you can enjoy five meals a day thanks to the inclusion of merienda; dishes smaller than a traditional meal but still just as delicious.

Next time you’re sifting through where and what to eat, why not give the unique flavours of the Philippines a try? You won’t regret it.

...the World Smart Cities Awards finalist

Makati finalist in World Smart Cities Awards



Jan Arcilla 
Manila Times
25 October 2019

MAKATI City is the lone Philippine city that has been selected as a finalist for the World Smart Cities Awards, according to Mayor Mar-len Abigail Binay.

The award will be presented during the Smart City Expo World Congress to be held in Barcelona, Spain from November 19 to 21.

“Makati City is proud to have the opportunity to represent our country at a global event that features the best practices of smart cities around the world to promote the sustainable development of cities,” Binay said.

The city was selected as a finalist in the Innovative Idea category.

We have gladly accepted the invitation, and we look forward to having a meaningful exchange of ideas and experiences with fellow advocates of sustainability and inclusivity from other parts of the globe. We are also eager to explore avenues for international collaboration, particularly with cities, academic institutions and corporate leaders that share the vision of thriving, future-proof cities worldwide,” the mayor said.

Makati has been invited to present its project entry titled, “Use of technology to improve city disaster preparedness and communication to and from city citizens” during the awarding ceremony on November 20 at the Fira de Barcelona Gran Via, one of the largest fair venues in Europe.

The annual SmartCity Expo World Congress, which started in 2011, is the meeting point for companies, public sector, startups, academia and citizens working together for the sustainable development of cities.

With the theme, “Cities Made of Dreams,” this year’s congress will focus on five tracks — Digital Transformation, Urban Environment, Mobility, Governance and Finance, and Inclusive and Sharing Cities.

Last month, Binay presented the city’s disaster management plans and strategies at the International Urban Resilience Forum held in Seoul, South Korea.

...the PH economic optimism

Optimism amid dark global economic clouds highest in PH, says think tank


Daxim L. Lucas
INQUIRER.NET
24 October 2019

Global uncertainty may be on the rise but Philippine companies have kept an optimistic outlook on the domestic economy, according to a recent business survey by accounting and consulting firm Grant Thornton International.

In the Asia-Pacific region, emerging markets including the Philippines are holding up well, Grant Thornton’s International Business Report said.

The report was based on a quarterly global survey of nearly 5,000 mid-market companies in over 30 countries interviewed in May and June this year.

Data on the first half of 2019 showed that optimism, revenue expectations, and profitability forecasts were down in economies around the globe compared with second-half 2018 data, “with most of the main measures of growth at levels not seen since 2016,” the report said.

Yet pockets of resilience were seen across mid-sized companies, such as in export expectations, which are expected to fare well globally amid the threat of a US-China trade war.

The outlook continued to vary between emerging and developed economies in the Asia-Pacific, reflecting varying levels of exposure to the trade war. Optimism was generally down in the region, falling 8 percentage points since the second half of 2019 and more than 50 percent lower than the first half of 2018.

Less developed economies like the Philippines, however, had rosier prospects. Philippine businesses were more upbeat than anywhere else in the region, with 84 percent of those polled being optimistic about the domestic economy.

Expectations for revenue and profit growth in the ASEAN mid-market, too, rose and were now among the highest globally.

“It’s important to heed the signs of volatility and uncertainty in global financial markets, but it’s also worth highlighting that local business leaders choose not to be paralyzed or get sidetracked by the grim possibilities,” P&A Grant Thornton chair and CEO Maria Victoria Espano said.

She also cited bigger capital spending, especially by the government, and the steady flow of remittances from overseas Filipino workers that continued to boost overall economic growth and optimism.

In September, a slowdown in the global economy and domestic investment prompted the Asian Development Bank to offer a slightly lower economic growth forecast for the Philippines.

In an update of its flagship annual economic publication, the ADB changed its forecast for the country’s gross domestic product growth to 6 percent in 2019 and 6.2 percent in 2020, against earlier forecast of 6.4 percent for both years. The International Monetary Fund has a slightly lower projection of 5.7 percent GDP in 2019, 6.2 percent in 2020, and 6.5 percent by 2024. The World Bank’s updated projection for 2019 is at 5.8 percent GDP growth.

Investor sentiment in the country was generally positive paired with a pickup in business confidence, as reflected in the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ third-quarter consumer expectations survey./TSB

...the PH report in UN's Sustainable Development Goals

The Philippines reports substantial progress in achieving UN mandated SDG's

By Roy Mabasa
Manila Bulletin
24 October 2019

On the occasion of the United Nations Day, the Philippines on Thursday expressed its support and a renewed commitment to the call of UN Secretary-General António Guterres to find solutions and accelerate efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

In its second Voluntary National Review (VNR) of the SDG which is 10 years away from the deadline, the Philippines has shown progress in achieving the global goals based on the report of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA).

Adopted by all UN member-states in 2015, the SDG is a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity by 2030.

“The country has achieved a near-universal primary enrolment rate of 94.2 percent in 2017 under Quality Education or SDG 4, and improved access to education for vulnerable groups. There were also significant increases in completion rates for primary and secondary education by more than 8 and 10 percent in the past two years,” according to a joint statement issued by the Department of Foreign Affairs and the UN.

On decent work and economic growth or SDG 8, the Philippines noted a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate of over 6 percent and the lowest national unemployment rate in almost 15 years.

It noted that the Green Jobs Act further promoted decent jobs that are environment-friendly, protect the ecosystem and biodiversity, and help reduce waste generation and pollution.

While the Philippines rank third in the world as “most vulnerable to hazards,” data, however, showed a decrease in persons directly affected by disasters from 2015 to 2018.

It also cited the roles of the private sector in bringing inclusive business models and value chains, while the disadvantaged groups availed of livelihood support programs to lift communities out of poverty.

On gender issue, the Philippines has expanded maternity leave benefits and extended its conditional cash transfer to poor families in order to promote social protection and to narrow the gap between male and female labor force,

Significantly, private companies now hire more persons with disability, and poor communities were also empowered through a community-driven development approach.

On peace, justice, and strong institutions, cumulative initiatives including those by the international community resulted to the Bangsamoro Organic Law to address the conflict in Mindanao. The National ID System, the government’s digital identification platform, is under implementation to facilitate access of the marginalized to government assistance, among others.

In the statement, both the DFA and the UN recognized the whole-of-government and a whole-of-society approach as “crucial” to sustain the progress that has been made to address remaining challenges, realize aspirations, and ensure that no one is left behind.

Yearly, the DFA and the UN office in the Philippines co-hosts the UN Day celebration in pursuit of common goals.

As one of the founding members, the Philippines was among the first signatories of the UN Charter in June 1945 along with 49 other countries. October 24 has been celebrated globally as UN Day since 1948.