You plan to move to the Philippines? Wollen Sie auf den Philippinen leben?

There are REALLY TONS of websites telling us how, why, maybe why not and when you'll be able to move to the Philippines. I only love to tell and explain some things "between the lines". Enjoy reading, be informed, have fun and be entertained too!

Ja, es gibt tonnenweise Webseiten, die Ihnen sagen wie, warum, vielleicht warum nicht und wann Sie am besten auf die Philippinen auswandern könnten. Ich möchte Ihnen in Zukunft "zwischen den Zeilen" einige zusätzlichen Dinge berichten und erzählen. Viel Spass beim Lesen und Gute Unterhaltung!


Visitors of germanexpatinthephilippines/Besucher dieser Webseite.Ich liebe meine Flaggensammlung!

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Thursday, November 25, 2010

Philippine Barangay Power

It is really good that every three years between local government elections, every Filipino will have the power to choose who will govern the neighborhood in which he or she lives.

As one could learn from several books, barangays are in the Philippines since pre-Hispanic days. When the Americans took over in the Philippines, the barangay was renamed BARRIO and the leader became the barrio captain or tiniente del barrio. Under the Marcos regime the barangay was once again revived, and the name of its head replaced as barangay captain. 

Why do I talk about barangay power? Of course, the Local Government Code of 1991 has given back the barangays more power and structure, as well as reponsibilites. Fact is also, that there have been several attempts to modify and even abolish this indeed most basic of the Philippines' political units.

The barangay is keeping the community working and is responsible for local matters such as peace and order and constitutes a powerful link for any city, provincial and national politician. Barangays are still taken a load off the regular courts since conflicts are encouraged to be resolved at the barangay level. 

I also strongly agree with the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR) which wants the barangays as the first line of defense against global climate change. Costal barangays, in example, should be given more priority since they are the most vulnerable to rising sea levels rise. 



(Barangay Captain from Buhangin, Davao City, James "Jimmy" Salvador, during an interview after his re-election)

Foreign Language Education in The Philippines (III)

Foreign language teaching in the Philippines - so far so good! The demand in high-schools and university teachers is indeed big.

During my last stay in Manila I learned that the Department of Education, in cooperation with the Goethe-Institut Manila, has launched a program that introduces German as foreign language to High Schools in the Philippines (Pilot). In order for this program, proven to be a success since its formation, to establish itself further and to meet the demand for teachers, Goethe Insitut is offering 16 teacher scholarships for Philippine universities in 2011.

Participation in this scholarship program will enable universities to incorporate the study of German into their curriculum as well as be part of the German network. The scholarships will occupy a period of six months of German teacher training (April - October 2011)  at the Goethe Institut Philippinen in Manila. 

Of course, applications are only viable through the universities and departments that focus on the establishment of German as a foreign language in their schools. Private applications will not be accepted. in addition to this, applicants must be already employed by the university at the time of application and have a long-term contract with the school.

Foreign language education in the Philippines - in this case the German language - and such scholarships of the Goethe Institut Manila - another big step into the future. 

Understanding each other is good. Gut, wenn wir uns verstehen.

Why Do I Live in The Philippines? Warum lebe ich auf den Philippinen? (II)

Deswegen - zum Beispiel...

That's why - one of many other reasons...