...the expanding PH ties

Duterte seeks deeper ties with latin America, Africa, Central Asia


GMA NEWS
04 October 2019

President Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday said he would seek deeper ties with countries in Latin America, Africa, and Central Asia in the last three years of his term.

Russia's President Vladimir Putin shakes hands with Philippine counterpart Rodrigo Duterte during their meeting in Sochi, Russia on October 3, 2019. Sputnik/Mikhail Klimentyev/Kremlin via Reuters

Duterte made the pledge in a speech at the forum of the Valdai Discussion Club in Sochi, Russia.

“In the remaining three years of my term, we will likewise expand the horizon of Philippine diplomacy by deepening our engagement in Latin America, Africa and Central Asia,” Duterte said.

“We will strengthen our economic ties with these regions, opening new markets and with it the free exchange of ideas, technology, and innovation.”

Duterte added: “For I want the Filipino people to broaden their worldwide view, to be enriched by the cultures and intellectual traditions of the old civilizations of the Americas, Africa, Central Asia, and the Middle East.”

Duterte has yet to embark on an official or state visit to a country in Latin America, Africa, and Central Asia. The President, however, went to Peru, a Latin American nation, to attend the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit in 2016.

This year’s APEC Summit will be held in Chile, a neighboring country of Peru, in November.

The President also said that it was “high time that the Philippines look at the Middle East with fresh eyes going beyond oil and overseas Filipino workers.”

“As one of the fastest growing economies in the world, the Philippines will assume our twin responsibility of sustaining the growth of our people, while helping other developing countries in their own [journey] to progress,” he said.

He mentioned that for years, the foreign policy of the Philippines was tailored to that of the United States.

Duterte added that while he was not against the US or the Western world, he opted to embark on an independent foreign policy by reaching out to all nations that extend their hand of friendship to the Philippines with mutual respect and without preconditions.

“The principles of respect for state sovereignty, non-intervention, and peaceful resolution of disputes must be upheld at all times, otherwise the order unravels,” he said.

Duterte is set to leave Malacañang in June 2022. His foreign policy has so far been marked with increased engagements with Russia and China, two nations with economic and military rivalries with the Philippines’ treaty ally, the US.

He had also made historic visits to Israel and Jordan.

US President Donald Trump has a standing invitation for Duterte to visit Washington but the Filipino leader said in July last year that his packed schedule and dislike for long flights were the ones preventing him from accepting the invite. — MDM, GMA News

...the Filipino culture in Lisbon

Filipino culture showcased in Lisbon


Business Mirror
25 September 2019

LISBON—The Philippine Embassy led the monthlong celebration of the 121st anniversary of the Proclamation of Philippine Independence in June at the Terras Sem Sombra, Artes â Solta Festival in Ferreira do Alentejo.

In collaboration with organizers, the embassy and municipality officials, the Philippine Day activity provided an inclusive experience on the richness and vibrancy of Filipino culture through food, music, traditional games and handicrafts. The embassy also took the opportunity to promote various tourist destinations in the Philippines by giving away anahaw-woven fans from Quezon province, dried mangoes from Cebu and 3D holographic destination luggage tags from the Department of Tourism. 

Filipina entrepreneur and Chef Jaymaylyn Galiza Day prepares Filipino-style fried lumpia. Guests also got to sample spicy sisig.

The morning program started in the Ferreira do Alentejo Municipal Garden with a Filipino fiesta setting with kiosk of street food, exhibited and operated by Jaymalyn Galiza Day, a Lisbon-based chef who owns Diplomata catering service. Filipina entrepreneurs and co-owners of GustoKO, Paula Figueras and Queenie Guzman, also showcased a selection of handicraft products.

Figueras and Guzman are recognized as the embassy’s “cultural entrepreneurs” for not only creating economic value to Philippine products, but for also pursuing Filipino culture and heritage.

The afternoon event gave participants an ultimate Filipino eating experience with Filipino favorites, such as pork adobo with rice served in coconut rice bowls, as well as local snacks from Alentejo like ferreirense (cake), chouriço (sausage), as well as traditional cheese and olives.

Visitors enjoy Filipino pork adobo served in coconut rice bowls.

Visitors got to play Filipino traditional games such as sungka, dama and patintero, while Filipino children also enjoyed participating in the traditional Alentejo games like paper kite making, rope jumping, walking with stilts and face painting.

Pundaquit Virtuosi, a 28-member youth string ensemble from San Antonio, Zambales, ended their 2019 European tour with an evening concert before a crowd of 500. It played a diverse repertoire of classical music masterpieces, popular original Pilipino music staples and contemporary standards. 

The show ended with the string ensemble and Portuguese all-male singing group Os Boinas (The Berets) performing the song “Amor Pelo Dois,” the winning Portuguese entry at the 2017 Eurovision singing contest.

Ambassador Celia Anna M. Feria expressed her appreciation to the Municipality of Ferreira do Alentejo and to festival organizers for allowing the embassy to showcase the best of Filipino culture. Members of the Filipino community in Lisbon also came to partake in the festival. 

The Terras Sem Sombra festival is held annually since 2013, bringing music, heritage and biodiversity together. This year’s edition also featured Madrid-based Filipina soprano Aniway “Manila” Adap, who performed a full-concert repertoire at the Igreja Matriz de Sao Vicente in Cuba Alentejo in May.

The Philippines also shared its best practices of biodiversity conservation in April for the “Resist the Invader: The Water Hyacinth and the Guadiana Basin” event in Elvas, Alentejo.

The Philippine Day Activity at Ferreira do Alentejo is a culmination of the Country’s participation in the 2019 Terra Sem Sombra Festival. DFA

...the good neighbor

Singapore keen on bigger investment to Philippines


Bianca Cuaresma
Business Mirror
25 September 2019

Singapore businesses looking for expansion opportunities in the region are highly considering the Philippine market as their choice investment destination, a recent survey showed.

The Singapore Business Federation’s (SBF) recent National Business Survey showed that the Philippines was among the top 10 markets of interest for Singaporean companies looking to expand their business.

“While many Singapore companies have established operations in the Philippines in industries such as manufacturing and infrastructure, there are untapped opportunities in areas such as information technology and digital solutions, which our companies with the capabilities will be able to take up,” SBF Chairman Teo Siong Seng said.

He added that the economic and social progress the Philippines has made, thus far, makes for an attractive and compelling case for Singapore investors.

“Asean remains a bright spot in a cloudy global economy and has abundant opportunities and potential for growth. Singapore and the Philippines have always enjoyed close economic ties,” the SBF chairman said.

In 2018, Singapore was the second-largest investor in the Philippines, and the Philippines’s largest export market among the member-states of the Asean.

Loh Chin Hua, chief executive officer of Keppel Corp. who is also co-chairman of the Philippines-Singapore Business Council, said the company is now exploring ways on how it can expand its investments in the Philippines, especially with the Duterte’s administration’s “Build, Build, Build” infrastructure modernization program now in full swing.

Keppel Corp. is one of Singapore’s largest conglomerates with involvement in the infrastructure sector.

He also noted that among the advantages of doing business in the Philippines is that investors can borrow in the local currency, thus reducing risks and enabling them to get reasonable returns.

“And that is quite a remarkable achievement because not many countries in this region can say that. And when you have to invest abroad but you have to borrow in their currencies, it always increases the risks,” Loh said. “For Keppel, we have operated two shipyards in the Philippines, and we are now looking to see how we can do more here.”

Earlier this month, a delegation of 21 Singapore business leaders from 14 companies joined the business mission organized by the SBF from September 9 to 11 2019. The delegation was led by SBF Chairman Teo Siong Seng.

...the neighbors

In Bid for Friendship Renewal, China Offers Philippines More Development Money

Ralph Jennings| Voice of America

06 September 2019

TAIPEI, TAIWAN - China has pledged to help fund a $169 billion infrastructure renewal drive in the Philippines, an apparent bid for friendship as Filipinos question whether officials in Beijing are trying to squelch their maritime sovereignty claims.

FILE - Construction workers stand on scaffolding around metal rods of a new pillar as they add more floors to a building project in suburban Paranaque city, south of Manila, Philippines, Jan. 26, 2017.

Over the past year, Chinese boats have surrounded a Philippine-held islet in a disputed tract of the South China Sea. A collision between vessels from the two countries sank a Philippine boat in June. Filipinos want China to honor a 2016 ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague against the legal basis for its sovereignty claims to the sea, but Chinese officials reject the verdict.

Too much distaste for China could pivot the Philippines closer to the United States, a staunch military supporter, and to Japan, a steady development aid donor. China is at odds with both Tokyo and Washington politically.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, who made peace with China in 2016 by setting aside the maritime dispute, met last week with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang. Li vowed to “step up cooperation” on the five-year Philippine infrastructure drive, Duterte’s website said.

“Perhaps it’s a way to reassure the government and at the same time also the public that it remains committed to the support in terms of the infrastructure projects in the Philippines,” said Maria Ela Atienza, a political science professor at the University of the Philippines Diliman.

“At the same time, maybe they thought it’s a way to placate the rising dissatisfaction of the public and even some sectors in government about the Chinese movements in the EEZ [maritime exclusive economic zone] of the Philippines,” she said.

Funding targets

During his meeting in Beijing with Duterte, Xi said it was “necessary” to pair the Philippine infrastructure drive with China’s own Belt and Road initiative, the Chinese official Xinhua News Agency reported.

FILE - China's President Xi Jinping, left, shakes hands with Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte during the opening ceremony of the 2019 Basketball World Cup in Beijing, China, Aug. 30, 2019

The Belt and Road initiative is a 6-year-old, $1 trillion campaign by Beijing to open trade routes around Eurasia by helping other countries build ports, roads and other infrastructure.

Xi called at the meeting for “major” cooperative projects in infrastructure construction, industrial parks, energy and telecommunications, Xinhua said.

“First and foremost, the Chinese are trying to send a message that it’s not just words, but actually we’re going to step up to the plate and pledge some money,” said Stephen Nagy, senior associate politics and international studies professor at International Christian University in Tokyo.

China stepped up trade and development support for much of Southeast Asia after losing in the International Court of Arbitration. In 2016 Xi pledged $24 billion in aid and loans for the Philippines.

About $4.7 billion of that pledge had reached the Philippines as of February, according to domestic media reports. Ordinary Filipinos have complained that China is giving too little so far.
Duterte kicked off his infrastructure renewal, a program called "Build, Build, Build," to help prepare the country for more industry. About one-in-five Filipinos live in poverty today, due largely to lack of jobs.

South China Sea

FILE - Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, left, and Chinese President Xi Jinping, right, meet at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing, China, Aug. 29, 2019

China and the Philippines dispute sovereignty over parts of the 3.5 million-square-kilometer body, valued for fisheries and fossil fuel reserves. Three other Southeast Asian countries and Taiwan claim all or parts of the same sea, but China calls about 90% of the waterway its own.

About a decade ago, China began taking a military and technological lead by reclaiming land to expand small islets and place military equipment on some of them.

Duterte’s predecessor filed a lawsuit in the International Court of Arbitration in 2013.
Xi said last week that China and the Philippines should set aside disputes, according to the Xinhua report.

Poor Sino-Philippine relations would raise the prominence of U.S. and Japanese help for the Southeast Asian country, analysts believe.

Duterte initially shunned the United States to build ties with China, but a survey by the Manila-based research organization Social Weather Stations released in July found that 51% of Filipinos feel “little trust” in China while 81% had “much trust” in the United States.

Washington irks China by passing Navy ships into the disputed sea as a statement it’s open for international use. Xi told Duterte China would “continue to firmly support the Philippines' efforts to safeguard national sovereignty and resist external interference,” Xinhua said.
China must boost aid to “change the security equation,” Nagy said.

Japan, which had given the Philippines a cumulative $24.4 billion in development support through 2017, also enjoys a favorable image among Filipinos. Japan is courting much of Southeast Asia through development aid to shore up its own influence in the region as China grows economically.

“Any funder who would like to help the Philippines is always welcome, however at the moment, just to give you an update, the biggest share of our ‘Build, Build, Build’ remains with Japan,” said Jonathan Ravelas, chief market strategist with BDO Unibank.

...the Bangsamoro charm

Philippines’ new region turns to Middle East for investment


Ellie Aben
Arab News
03 September 2019

MANILA: The interim chief minister of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), Murad Ibrahim, told Arab News on Monday that he was encouraging the international business community to consider investing in the newly established region

Rebels turned troopers finish the basic military training. (AN photo)

It is designed to provide enhanced self-governance to the Muslim-majority provinces

The BARMM is the new regional and political entity established under a peace agreement between the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the Philippines government early this year.

It is designed to provide enhanced self-governance to the Muslim-majority provinces. “It is very important for investors to come, in order to create job opportunities and also for the international community to see that something is happening on the ground,” Murad said.

In an interview conducted at his office in Cotabato City, Murad told Arab News that plans were afoot to hold an investors’ forum. “We are just finalizing our development plan.”

When questioned on how they would lure foreign businesses to invest in the region, Murad said that there is now relative peace in the region. “In fact, gradually many investors are now coming here to visit. So, I think it’s because of the situation, we now have relative peace in the area and they’ve also seen the conduct and turn out of the plebiscite (last January). There was overwhelming support from the people,” he said.

Murad also cited the decommissioning of an estimated 40,000 former Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces (BIAF) combatants, the military wing of the MILF, which he also chaired. The process will allow the smooth transition of BIAF members to civilian life.

It is very important for investors to come, in order to create job opportunities and also for the international community to see that something is happening on the ground.

Murad Ibrahim, BARMM interim chief minister

“All of this sends the signal that the situation here is improving,” he stressed, adding that a recent meeting with an official from a Saudi delegation to the region had given him great encouragement.

“He gave his commitment that he will help convince the business community in Saudi Arabia to try to invest in the BARRM. He even asked for our development plan so he can present it to them,” Murad said.

“I could see they are really interested, especially given Saudi shortages of animal feeds. They need suppliers and they’re looking at us as a possible source. We have the potential to produce halal food, too so we can supply halal products as well.”

Last month, Murad led officials at a meeting with Malaysian representatives to discuss the possibility of strengthening development ventures between Malaysia and the BARMM.

Lawyer Wencelito Andanar, Malacañang’s special envoy to Malaysia, accompanied the Malaysian delegation comprising the Malaysian Embassy’s Charge D’Affaires Rizany Irwan Muhammad and Assistant Trade Councilor Irvin Francis, as well as officials of the Malaysian Chamber of Commerce and Industry headed by its president, Edward Ling in the two-day visit to Cotabato City.

Murad cited the importance of the meeting, which he said could “elevate the strategic partnership between BARMM and Malaysia from being peace partners to being development partners.”

He told reporters: “Helping BARMM as a brother and a relative is part of Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammad’s ‘prosper-the-neighbors’ policy.”

Aside from Saudi Arabia and Malaysia, the government of Turkey has also vowed to extend assistance to the BARMM, particularly in its agricultural sector.

...the apology

California gov't says sorry to Filipinos

abs-cbnNEWS.com

11/25/2011

 

 

MANILA, Philippines - The state of California has extended its apology for the years of discrimination Filipinos endured in their state with the presentation of the Assembly Concurrent Resolution No. 74 to the cast and crew of the Filipino play “Ang Romansa ni Magno Rubio” in Hollywood.

 

The resolution, which was pushed by Assemblyman Luis Alejo, states that the government of California expresses regret over the Americans' unwarranted prejudice on Filipinos from the 1920s until the 1940s.

Alejo said, "It's the official apology by the state of California for the past mistreatment, discrimination and unjust laws that Filipino-Americans had to endure here."

The cast and crew of “Ang Romansa ni Magno Rubio” welcomed the humble gesture on behalf of the Filipino people, especially those who experienced mistreatment first-hand.

Its director Bernardo Bernardo said, "Pahalagahan natin ang pinagdaan nung mga nauna sa atin. Sila ang nagbukas ng daan para sa atin."

"Can you imagine kung tayo ang naunang sumalta dito? We owe them a lot."

"Ang Romansa of Magno Rubio" is the Tagalog version of the Lonnie Carter play "The Romance of Magno Rubio," which is based on a story by Filipino writer Carlos Bulosan.

It revolves around the story of Filipino immigrants in America.

"Ang Romansa of Magno Rubio" is the first Tagalog play mounted at the Ford Theater, Hollywood. -- Report from Yong Chavez, ABS-CBN North America Bureau

...the investment haven

Invest in the Philippines, Koreans urged

By: Tina G. Santos
Philippine Daily Inquirer

Sunday, November 20th, 2011

MANILA, Philippines—Philippine Economic Zone Authority (Peza) Director General Lilia de Lima has urged Korean businessmen to invest in the Philippines.

De Lima sounded the call during the Philippine Investments Seminar held in Seoul on Nov. 14 which was attended by some 80 Korean businessmen, the Department of Foreign Affairs said, citing a report from the Philippine Embassy in Seoul.

In her speech, De Lima disclosed that Peza registered total investments of P113.6 billion this year, a 60-percent increase in investments over the previous year.

“She urged Korean companies to consider the Philippines as an investment destination due to its favorable investment climate and dynamic political regime,” the DFA said in a statement.

There are 269 Korean enterprises operating in various Peza zones, constituting 3.89 percent of all local and foreign investors.

During the seminar hosted by the Korean Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Samsung Electronics Philippines Manufacturing Corp. (Sephil) president Sun Hung Kim gave a testimonial.

He said Sephil had always believed in the Philippines as an investment destination, adding that Sephil was also proud of the company’s Filipino engineers who developed a fully localized product for the international market.

In the course of her two-day visit, De Lima met with Minister Choi Joong-kyung of the Ministry of Knowledge Economy and visited the assembly plant of S&T Daewoo.

...the good neighbor

Korean president in PHL for 3-day state visit

11/20/2011

GMA News

President Benigno Aquino III will host a state dinner Monday for visiting Korean President Lee Myung-Bak, who arrived Sunday for a three-day state visit to the Philippines.

Korean President Lee Myung-bak and first lady Madame Kim Yoon-ok arrive at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport on Sunday for a three-day state visit to the Philippines.

abs-cbnnews.com

Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said welcome honors would be accorded to Lee when he visits Malacañang where he would have a bilateral meeting with Aquino.

The two would also witness the signing a memorandum of understanding on agro-industrial development between Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala and South Korean Agriculture Minister Seo Gyu-yong.

The MOU binds the two countries to jointly promote a "Multi-Industry Cluster" project that aims to promote agro-industrial development to be funded by loans or private investments.

Valte, in an interview by Radyo ng Bayan on Sunday, said they expect Aquino and Lee to discuss subjects that are of common interest to the Philippines and Korea like the tourism and infrastructure industries, as well as the deepening of ties between the two countries.

At least 21percent of foreign tourists in the country are Korean. An estimated 740,000 Koreans visited the Philippines in 2010.

Foreign Affairs spokesperson Raul Hernandez said Lee, during his visit to the country, would also offer a wreath at the statue of Philippine National Hero Jose Rizal at the Luneta Park, attend the Philippine-Republic of Korea Business Forum and a town hall meeting at the Ateneo de Manila University.

Lee, who arrived around 1:30 p.m. Sunday, will leave on Tuesday morning.

Prior to his visit to Manila, Lee attended the Association of Southeast Asian Nation (ASEAN) meeting in Bali in Indonesia with Aquino. — KBK, GMA News

...the Hong Kong landmark case

Filipina wins landmark Hong Kong residency case

Agence France-Presse, Associated Press

Friday, September 30th, 2011

Eman C. Villanueva, second right, secretary general of the United Filipinos in Hong Kong, and other supporters of the Filipino migrants organizations flash victory signs outside High Court in Hong Kong Friday. AP

HONG KONG—A Filipino maid in Hong Kong won the opening legal battle Friday in her fight for permanent residency after a court ruled an immigration provision excluding the city’s hundreds of thousands of foreign maids was unconstitutional.

The legal action, brought by Evangeline Banao Vallejos, who has lived in Hong Kong since 1986, has cast a spotlight on the financial hub’s treatment of its army of 292,000 maids, most of whom are from the Philippines or Indonesia.

The High Court ruled that the immigration provision denying the maids the right to gain permanent residency after seven years — as other foreign residents can — was inconsistent with the Basic Law, Hong Kong’s mini-constitution.

“My conclusion is that on the common law interpretation approach the impugned provision is inconsistent with (Hong Kong’s Basic Law),” Judge Johnson Lam wrote in a ruling issued Friday.

Lam rejected arguments by Hong Kong government lawyers that the maids did not have the same residency status as other foreign residents.

“The mere maintenance of (a) link with her country of origin does not mean that (a maid) is not ordinarily resident in Hong Kong.”

The government is likely to appeal Friday’s ruling.

The case was launched by Vallejos, a longtime foreign domestic helper, who sought a judicial review after her bid for permanent residency was rejected.

Vallejos’s lawyer Mark Daly hailed the decision as “a good win for the rule of law.”

“To be clear, Ms Vallejos won on the unconstitutionality of the provisions,” said Daly, one of the lawyers handling her case.

“We spoke to Vallejos—she said she thanks God and all the people who have helped her, including her employer and her lawyers,” he said. “She is busy working so she has no time to be here today.”

The case has divided opinion in Hong Kong, with some arguing that immigration provisions barring maids from applying amounts to ethnic discrimination.

Activists said the legal challenge would entrench domestic workers’ right to equality, but opponents fear it will open the floodgates to new immigrants, which would put a strain on the city’s resources.

A pro-government political party has warned there would be an influx of as many as 500,000 people — including children and spouses of foreign maids — that would cost HK$25 billion ($3.2 billion) in social welfare spending.

The Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong forecast unemployment could jump from the current 3.5 percent to 10 percent.

The government has declined to say how many maids would currently be eligible to apply for permanent residency.

Under Hong Kong law, foreigners can apply to settle in the city after seven years of uninterrupted residency, but maids were specifically excluded.

Vallejos challenged the restriction, saying it was unconstitutional and discriminatory, but the government argued in court it was “appropriate” and that it is empowered to define who is eligible for residency.

Another court hearing will be held on October 26 on whether Vallejos can now be declared a permanent resident, but government lawyers have already said they would appeal any ruling in favor of the maids.

The case could also have implications beyond Hong Kong for other Asian economies that rely on cheap imported labor for cooking, cleaning and care of the young and elderly.

Foreign maids in Hong Kong are entitled to better working conditions than in other parts of Asia — they are guaranteed one day off a week, paid sick leave, and a minimum wage of HK3,740 ($480) a month.

But rights groups say they still face general discrimination and a lack of legal protection. A maid’s visa is tied to a specific employer, leaving her vulnerable to domestic abuse, the activists say.

Without the right to permanent residency, if dismissed by her employer she must find another job in domestic service or leave Hong Kong within two weeks.

Daly said he expected the government to appeal within the 28-day deadline.

About 290,000 of Hong Kong’s 7.1 million people are foreign maids.