World Tourism Day Run Highlights Tourism and Water

The Philippines Department of Tourism – Centraluzon, together with the Alliance of Travel and Tour Agencies of Pampanga (ATTAP) and the Pampanga Agents Travel Society (PATS), will lead the celebration of WORLD TOURISM DAY on September 29, 2013, Sunday, with a massive FUN RUN at the Clark Parade Grounds starting at 5:00 in the morning. This was the announcement made by Regional Director, Ronaldo Tiotuico in a press statement issued recently. The two agencies are represented by their presidents, Marcia Hernandez and Roelson Ferry, respectively. The forthcoming event will usher in the coming of age of the travel and tourism industry of Central Luzon as it now begins to evolve to greater stature due to the forging of a stronger partnership between the government and the private sector. It symbolizes the achievements of the private sector in bringing about a good number of foreign and local tourists and travelers into the region as it begins to hit the 2M mark in visitor arrivals since 2012. Central Luzon has joined the ranks of millionaires’ row in the realm of attracting visitors to the various regions all over the country. More importantly, the event represents the industry’s collaboration and adherence with the UN General Assembly’s declaration of the year 2013 as the United Nations International Year of Water Cooperation focusing on tourism’s significant role and contribution to worldwide water conservation efforts. As a trillion-dollar economic sector, tourism is a powerful force capable of tackling this challenge by offering effective solutions geared towards a more sustainable water future. With over one billion people traveling all over the world each year, tourism can also be an important vehicle of raising awareness and changing behaviors. (source: untwo.org) With this year’s World Tourism Day theme focused on “Tourism and Water: Protecting our Common future”, the tourism department hopes to gather some 1,000 local and foreign runners in a single event with each one being reminded of the need to underline one’s responsibility and commitment to preserving the world’s vital water resources. This year’s WTD Run will have four (4) distance categories, namely 21K, 10K, 5K and 3K with their corresponding registration fees: P850, P650, P450 and P300, respectively. More than P80,000 worth of cash prizes, medals and certificates are at stake. Each participant will receive free jersey, race kit, race bib and race map. Part of the proceeds from the event will be donated to the Special Education Center of the Department of Education in Angeles City where some 200 children and adults with special needs are cared for throughout the year. The donation will be utilized to convert part of their facilities into barrier-free environment for the persons with disabilities. For further details and registration for the event, please contact any of the member travel agencies of either ATTAP or PATS. Or call the Department of Tourism – Central Luzon Office at Marlim Mansions Hotel Bldg., Diamond Subd., Balibago, Angeles City, Tel. No. (045) 625-8525 or Mobile 0917-506-2221 / 0939-904-5231. Emailcast by: Department of Tourism - Region III (Central Luzon) Paskuhan Village, City of San Fernando, Pampanga, Philippines Ronaldo P. Tiotuico - Regional Director Phone: (63 45) 961-2612 / 5617 / 625-8525 Email: tourismregion3@gmail.com / support@visitmyphilippines.com Recipient (Best Ecotourism Project - Mt. Pinatubo): PATA Gold Intl Award 2001, Kalakbay Natl Award 2001, ASEANTA Intl Award 2002 Log on: www.visitmyphilippines.com MORE THAN 13 MILLION ONLINE GUESTS HAVE VISITED THIS SITE SINCE 2007. FIND OUT WHY!

Lumad yes; Foreigners NO!

Lumad yes; foreigners no!

HAVE MY SAY

By Klaus Doring

I AM BACK. 11 days time out. Relax, unwind. I stay on my veranda, just had a glass of wine, check all old newspapers. And suddenly this headline caught my attention: Lumad yes; foreigners, no! Foreigners?

I am an expatriate living in the Philippines since 1999 for good. Foreigner’s, no?

But after checking the first paragraphs, I got happy. Mining is the topic. And our good vice Paolo Duterte voiced out: “Never!” Never on the applications of foreign groups to mine in the hinterland of Paquibato. Paquibato is one of Davao’s remote mountainous districts. From the nearby Panabo City, one can reach Barangay Mapula after a little less than two hours.

Vice Paolo made it very clear, and I must confess, I strongly agree with him. Don’t allow any foreign mining in Paquibato. The land rightfully belongs to the Lumad. And they will say they will themselves undertake mining there – fine! Yes, Vice Palo is so very right in saying, that he doesn’t want the landlords, the rich AND the foreigners to dip their fingers in the ancestral lands and make the people their laborers, ostensibly provide them houses to pretend that they are people and supportive of the people.

Kudos Vice Mayor Paolo Duterte. And, it’s known: Mayor Rody Duterte, his father also has been consistent about his anti-mining stance for the city.

*****

Email: doringklaus@gmail.com. The author is Professor for German Language at the University of Southeastern Philippines.

Also published today in  Mindanao Daily News/Mindanao Business Week.

Kadayawan Festival 2013 in Davao City

Rain, rain, rain - more then enough...

... in Mindanao. Indeed, Mindanao floods worsen!

Floods caused by intermittent heavy rains and incessant atrocotoes are swelling the number of evacuees in Maguindanano, with inudation alone affected a total of almost 46,000 families.

The city goverment of Cotabato City, meanwhile, declared a state of calamity after floods swelled to almost 20 percent of barangays, while North Cotabato Governor Emylou Talino Mendoza convened her Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Managament Council to address worening floods in Tulunan, Kabacan, Pikit and Mlang, among other towns.

Other flooded towns are Shariff Saidona, Datu Salibo, Shariff Aguak, Rajah Buayan, - just to mention some among many others.

Dozens of families were displaced in villages of Matalam and Kidapawan City, but, not because of rain - due to intermittent fighting between field members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and Moro National Liberation Front over territoral or land control.

Seven-hours Daily Blackouts in Zamboanga...

.... for, at least 45 days. Wow. Good, I am residing in Davao City. Bad for those in Zamboanga City... .

The Zamboanga City Electric Cooperative (Zamcelco) has announced that this city will again experience at least seven hours rotational blackouts daily.

Zamcelco president Omar Sahi said, this is due to the maintenance shutdown of STEAG State Power, Inc. power plant in Villanueva, Misamis Oriental and Agus 2 in Lanao del Norte.

Sahi said the two power plants supply a total of 28 megawatt (MW) for Zamcelco. The ccoperative's daily peak demand is pegged at 87 MW.

The implementation of the rotational blackout (or brownout, as said in the Philippines) per feeder would be three hours in the morning, three in the afternoon and one hour in the evening.

Zamcelco has a total of 24 feeders serving a total of 114,504 member consumers.

Vacation - Ferien

 

Yes, I am still in vacation.

Ja, ich bin immer noch im Urlaub.

Where? Wo?

Of course: in the Philippines!

Natuerlich: auf den Philippinen!

 

Beach, sand, sun, good food, relax...

Strand, Sand, Sonne, gutes Essen, ausruhen...

I will be back soon with a lot of new posts and impressions of my life as an expat in the Philippines.

Ich bin bald wieder zurueck mit vielen neuen Artikeln und Impressionen von meinem Leben als Auswanderer auf den Philippinen.

Fuel Pump Prices Seen to Rise Further in The Philippines

By Riza T. Olchondra

Fuel prices are expected to continue rising this week although at a slower pace given the substantial increases recently, industry sources said. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—Fuel prices are expected to continue rising this week although at a slower pace given the substantial increases recently, industry sources said. 

Respondents to an informal survey by the Inquirer estimated the price increases this week to range from P0.25 to P0.90 per liter on fuel products.

“Demand is subsiding hence the lower price hikes of P0.25 to P0.35 for diesel and P0.80 to P0.90 for gasoline,” Eastern Petroleum president Fer Martinez said via text message when asked to comment on the price trend. Martinez is also the chair of the Independent Philippine Petroleum Companies Association. 

Other industry sources had varying estimates, some slightly lower and others about the same as those of Martinez.

Department of Energy officials did not respond to requests for comment on the matter. 

Generally, price resistance sets in at certain levels, energy experts said. Since price hikes in the last few weeks were substantial, traders cashed in on their gains with more sales, neutralizing projected higher demand and price this week. 

However, since the Philippine market is but a drop in the global market for oil, outside developments such as political volatility in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) are expected to still greatly influence local prices. Syria and Egypt are not oil-producing but fears of spillover disturbance in oil producing countries and oil roads tend to spook markets, driving prices up. 

Gasoline is additionally vulnerable due to the summer driving season in the US (top gasoline consumer) and continued growth in the Chinese economy (No. 2 global consumer). 

Platts global director Jorge Montepeque said at a recent forum that international fuel prices were softening before the political crisis hit Egypt but fears of a supply crunch has since driven prices up. Egypt is located centrally in the Mena region and further escalation of violence could affect supply from major pipelines of oil suppliers, according to experts.

Fuel price volatility has had the Department of Energy supporting moves for possible quarterly fare adjustments based on price movements. Energy Secretary Jericho Petilla has told reporters at the same Platts forum that such a scheme has been suggested to the Department of Transportation and Communications and is up for them to take up or not. Petilla noted, however, there was feedback that fuel prices are deregulated while fare prices are regulated.

Why Germany is Opening Market to Filipino Nurses

By Sarah Marsh, Reuters

 

Germany needs immigrants due to ageing population, labour shortages

• Berlin reduces red tape and boasts liberal immigration laws
• Starting to tackle discrimination, hostility to immigrants
• Migrants have growing share of vote, courted by parties

BERLIN - Ata Ucertas, a doctor from Istanbul with a moustache that curls up his cheeks, was welcomed with open arms when he came to Germany this year, evidence of a shift in German attitudes as its population shrinks and labour becomes scarce.

Helped by a shortage of doctors in Germany, the 25-year-old Ucertas was issued with a visa to come learn German within two months of applying. "The immigration officials were really nice to me," he said.

After decades of tending to depict the millions of residents of Turkish origin in Germany as a drag on society, policymakers are now courting foreigners and learning to be more inclusive.

A fifth of residents and a third of school children have a migrant background, making up a growing share of the electorate.

With elections approaching in September, the changing attitudes are reflected in the rhetoric of Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives.

A decade ago when unemployment was high and immigration laws strict, Merkel's party campaigned on slogans like "Kinder statt Inder" (Children instead of Indians). Now they are calling for a "welcome culture" towards migrants.

"Germany is making a lot of effort to promote immigration because of the very severe demographic situation which will affect it more than virtually any other OECD country," said OECD migration expert Thomas Liebig.

"The discussion about a welcome culture is part of the whole process of becoming a country for which migration is normal."

With joblessness near its lowest level since the reunification of East and West Germany in 1990, the country faces a shortage of 5.4 million skilled workers by 2025, despite attempts to mobilise women and older people.

Nearly 300,000 people, mainly from the European Union, migrated on a long-term basis to Germany in 2011, OECD data shows, around a third more than in 2010. Most came from the eastern states that joined the EU in 2004, such as Poland.

UNNOTICED REVOLUTION

Germany has long been notorious for its bureaucratic hurdles and an offputting attitude towards economic migration.

The hundreds of thousands of "guest workers" recruited from Italy, Greece, Turkey and other southern states in the 1960s to help it rebuild from the rubble of World War Two were not encouraged to integrate and learn the language, though many did.

Fearing unemployment in the 1970s oil crisis, Germany shut its doors and tried to repatriate the no longer welcome guests.

Influxes of asylum seekers and ethnic Germans from the ex-Soviet Union in the 1990s and the challenges of reunification made Germany even more reluctant to open up. Limits on migration from new EU members in the 2000s lasted longer than elsewhere in the bloc.

"For decades we turned our authorities into a firewall; we told them to keep these people at bay, they only want to get into our social systems," said Peter Clever, a leader of the BDA employers' union. "They were asked not to be that friendly."

But as Germany's job market improved in the 2000s, shortages occurred, and stop-gap measures such as deals to recruit healthcare workers from China and the Philippines were not enough to make up the shortfalls.

Germany has been unwinding its recruitment ban, starting with highly qualified workers and slashing the minimum salary and investment that workers and entrepreneurs needed to immigrate.

This month it jettisoned 40 percent of its immigration rules, lowering barriers for medium-skilled workers in sectors with chronic shortages such as train drivers and electricians.

"This little revolution has gone by largely unnoticed," said the OECD's Liebig. For highly skilled workers Germany now has some of the most liberal immigration laws of the 34 OECD states.

It is tackling the language barrier by setting up new courses abroad and helping people get their qualifications recognised so doctors do not have to work as taxi drivers.

It is recruiting foreigners to study at its universities and for its highly regarded apprenticeships, with a current focus on areas of southern Europe with soaring youth unemployment.

The southern town of Mindelheim, which has a jobless rate of 2.2 percent, effectively full employment, recruited 20-year-old Spaniard Jan Sabater Viñals for a hotel apprenticeship.

"I clearly have a lot more opportunities in Germany than in Spain," he said. "I want to stay three years, maybe more."

LATENT HOSTILITY

Immigration is rising so much that Germany's population grew in 2011 for the first time in nearly a decade. But relative to its population it still attracts only a tenth as many foreign workers as countries like Canada that have traditionally welcomed immigration.

And many of the guest worker generation and their families still feel unwelcome, particularly the non-Europeans.

Baris Yesildag, 26, selling baklava pastries on the Berlin Turkish street market, says he was born in Germany to Turkish parents but had never been accepted as a German: "I did voluntary military service here, but an officer told me I was only doing it for the money and not for Germany."

While the far-right is politically weak, xenophobic views still make it into the mainstream debate in Germany.

A 2010 book by ex-Bundesbanker Thilo Sarrazin slamming Muslims as welfare spongers became a best-seller, emboldening some conservatives to attack migrants for failing to fit in.

Experts say hostility has been fuelled by the low status of the guest workers who struggled to rise up the socio-economic ladder. Many Germans blamed this on their unwillingness to integrate. In reality, a school system that streams pupils from a young age and only teaches for half the day doesn't help guest workers' children learn good German and means may are later stuck in low-skilled jobs.

The United Nations says Germany has been sluggish to tackle discrimination in areas like housing, which have led to migrants living in ghettoised communities. Immigrants are also still underrepresented in public office, the police and media.

Crucially, however, the latest wave of immigrants face fewer obstacles to social inclusion, not least because they are mostly highly educated Europeans who have had language help.

CELEBRATING DIVERSITY

Former Social Democrat Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder started the drive for a more inclusive society with the reform of a bloodline-based citizenship law dating back to 1913 to enable immigrants to get nationality. He also brought in courses to familiarise newcomers with the culture and language.

Merkel has to work harder to win over her conservatives, who are traditionally tougher on immigrants, but her efforts are having a trickle-down effect. A 2006 "Diversity Charter" signed by four private companies now has more than 1,500 signatories.

In a ceremony in Berlin, men and women from as far afield as Nigeria and China, sporting attire from headscarves to African prints, beam as they receive their new citizenship papers.

Among them was Karolina Krolicka, a 22 year old Polish-born law student with a slight accent. She arrived in Germany with her family years ago and wants to stay.

Krolicka swore her allegiance to the German constitution during the ceremony, which culminated in Germany's new citizens rising to sing the national anthem.

"I'm going to celebrate now," she said

In Defense of Airline Passengers

Pre-published in MINDANAO DAILY MIRROR  on Sunday, July 14, 2013 - with friendly permission of the publisher Marietta Siongco.

Airline passengers will soon get a relief from bad experiences from erring air carriers under a bill creating the Air Passenger Fairness Act of 2013 that seeks to protect the interest of the commuting public.

Re. Marcelino Teodoro (1st District, Marikina City) filed House Bill 36 that aims to ensure that the interest of the public is protected against abuses.

"Air carriers are public utilities exercising public functions. Public functions are powers of national sovereignty which reside in the people and all government authority that emanates from them, "Teodoro said.

He also said, that an airline company as a creature of the State is presumed to exist for the common good and expected not to jeopardize the interest of the public.

"The bill of rights of air passengers is for the people. It is a charter that clearly defines the rights of the passengers, talking to the passengers directly since regulatory measures on air carriers can be a subject of a separate economic regulation or agency resolution, "Teodoro said.

...

The air carrier must establish a system wherein the purchaser is fully apprised of the required disclosures, like printing and attaching the ticket and boarding pass; incorporate the terms and conditions of carriage by reference, explaining by the carrier agent in a language understood the purchaser; and posting in their website, or other online accounts. 

...

Every passenger has the right to a safe flight, a convenient and on-schedule conveyance in accordance with contract of carriage with he air carrier.

The measure guarantees every passenger to have access and use of emergency and safety devices, medical assistance, and proper application of first aid procedures during emergency situations or when his or her health requires. 

...

Every passenger has the right for a full refund of fares, to rebook a purchased ticket with limited to an administrative fee ONLY, be denied from denied boarding, among others. (PNA).

Well, up, up and away. Have a save and sound flight, guys!

They Might Come...

Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte welcomes any investigation from the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) amidst the recent rise of killings of suspected criminals in the city.

"They can come. I welcome them, " Duterte said when asked by media to comment on the possibility of the CHR to include him in the probe.

The rush of killings in the city and without a single case resolved by the police led to suspicions that these are state-supported.

On the other hand, the good mayor's Rody Duterte's nth statement is very clear: "If you are criminals, I advise you to leave."