How the Filipino Could be Proud Before the World

By: Thelma Sioson San Juan, Philippine Daily Inquirer

  

The Madrid Fusion Manila that runs until Sunday is a welcome, think-out-of-the-box idea that makes the world sit up and listen (or eat).

It’s not the run-of-the-mill promotion of Filipino cuisine, indeed of the Philippines.

“People have always asked me, ‘How do we promote Filipino cuisine?’” Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez told us at the Malacañang Palace grounds last Thursday, before the cocktail reception for the foreign and local chefs participating in the event.

This is the first time that this world-famous gathering is held outside of Spain.

“I’ve always said it’s the people, our chefs [who can best promote Filipino cuisine],” said Jimenez.

At sundown, guests entered the Palace grounds to the upbeat music of the Makiling Ensemble—energizing sounds emanating from traditional and ethnic instruments played by young artists (from the Philippine High School for the Arts in Makiling, Laguna, we presume) which included, we were told, Diwa de Leon, son of our good friends Anna Sarabia and NCCA head Felipe de Leon Jr.

The Diwa we last saw ages ago was a kid so we couldn’t recognize that young man with a hat on.

The music wasn’t rustic or stereotypical native. It was hip and cool—perfect for this innovative event.

The tourism secretary was as upbeat as the music. According to him, the country earned some P4 billion this year from the influx of foreign tourists.

Apart from that, however, what really gladdens his heart is how local tourism has grown by leaps and bounds—to a trillion pesos. That’s how much Filipinos are spending to travel around the country these days.

We were not surprised at all by that revelation.

Years ago, dining out became the new element in the Filipino lifestyle. But recently, the Filipino lifestyle has been marked by more and more leisure travel. Never have Filipinos been traveling so much than they do now.

It seems this travel frenzy began with the annual trips to Boracay. Next came exploring Palawan, Bohol, Cebu, on top of the weekend road trips to Tagaytay and Batangas.

Pinoys have even rediscovered Baguio more recently. The Lenten holidays the past two years in the summer capital have seen overflow crowds—and humongous traffic jams.

Filipinos are becoming more and more like Americans or even Europeans, who plan their vacations way ahead of time and make them the highlights of their year.

For instance, I have some friends who have booked their destinations for Christmas.

And many have travel plans for the long May 1 Labor Day weekend.

Whichever way you look at it, this must be a sign that Filipinos are somehow feeling secure in their own country, not the least of which is its economy.

Jimenez noted how, today, “there’s not a single province” in the country which doesn’t have tourism in its agenda. Indeed, provinces are recognizing the pivotal role tourism plays in their growth. It could be a viable revenue source, a way out of poverty.

This is why he’s proud of the fact that Filipinos themselves are becoming the No. 1 tourists in the Philippines.

But while there are those who bemoan another fact, that there are Filipinos who’d rather go on foreign trips than explore their own country, Jimenez feels that this could also be a good thing.

“The more my countrymen travel, the more sophisticated they become and learn to appreciate their country,” he explained.

Later that night in the Palace, in his brief speech, President Aquino noted why “eating is indeed more fun in the Philippines.”

He began by recalling how, at one time, before he became President, he and his aide were left to their own devices and attempted to cook—with dire results. They almost burned the soup.

That ice-breaker brought him closer to an audience not typical of Palace gatherings— consisting mainly of culinary professionals and restaurateurs, not the usual businessmen or politicians.

This must have been one of the rare occasions that a Palace event was held for the culinary arts industry.

Top Filipino chefs as well as visiting foreign chefs (“rock stars” of the era) were around. This was the eve of the series of activities of Madrid Fusion Manila, to be held the next day at SMX Convention Center.

From April 24 to 26, there would be lectures, demonstrations—and, of course, food tasting—by these culinary stalwarts, a “palate conversation” of sorts.

That Thursday night at the Palace, the “conversation” between Filipinos and their Spanish counterparts had somewhat started.

Margarita Fores, who helped Madrid Fusion Manila become a reality, prepared the cocktail buffet. By now she’s an expert in sourcing food from all over the country.

Mingling with the guests, Mr. Aquino would stop by the buffet once in a while, curious about the spread. He stood before the deck of pastillas and wondered aloud if we should explain to the guests a brief background of the sweets.

As it turned out, there was no need for that. The foreign culinary personalities feasted on the pastillas, longganisa and other native fare. No questions asked.

Ballet Philippines' Principal Dancer Retires

ABS-CBNnews.com

Katherine Trofeo. Photo: Handout

MANILA – Katherine Trofeo, the principal dancer of Ballet Philippines (BP), is hanging up her pointe shoes.
Fondly called “Mommy Kit,” Trofeo was recently presented with roses onstage as the curtain fell on the last show of BP’s Sapphire Season. Her last role as principal dancer was the psychic vampire Gonongleda in “Manhid: The Pinoy Superhero Musical.”
Despite her retirement, Trofeo will continue to teach intermediate ballet in the BP Dance School’s Summer Dance Workshop.
“I look forward to watching the younger dancers bloom and find their own voices in our art form,” she said in a statement released by Ballet Philippines. “BP has always had this culture of excellence and passion for dance. I was very privileged to have experienced that and humbled by how the creators of the company along with past directors and ex-dancers keep giving and passing on their knowledge to the current generation.”
“I look forward to being part of that… of those who keep coming back and helping the family out,” she added.
Trofeo started taking up ballet at the age of 8 and turned professional at 15 under Enrico Labayen’s Lab Project.
She joined Ballet Philippines in 2008 and performed lead roles such as Swanilda in “Coppelia,” Marie in “The Nutcracker,” Wendy in “Peter Pan,” Maria Clara in “Crisostomo Ibarra,” Manda in “Pusong Wagas” and Sita in “Rama Hari,” among others.

The Top Ten Richest People in The Philippines

Things have changed since Forbes’ list of The World’s Billionaires was released in 2014. This 2015 there have been a few shakeups in the Top 10 richest people in the Philippines, and some changes in net worth. 

 

Interestingly, many of the country’s wealthiest people are self-made (including the richest man in the Philippines, Henry Sy). So if you’re determined enough and have the right business savvy, you might just find yourself on this list in the future.

 

Sy of SM Investments Corporation consolidates his status as the richest person in the Philippines for the seventh year in a row, his net worth increasing by 10 digits due to the growth of the largest Philippine retailer. Sy is also now the 73rd richest person in the world. 

 

John Gokongwei climbs to second place on the back of the strong revenue growth of JG Summit Holdings Inc.

 

The construction boom has propelled to No. 7 DMCI Holdings Inc.'s David Consunji, who is more than $1 billion richer now than he was when Forbes calculated his wealth in 2013.

 

Lucio Tan’s net worth took a hit over worries about the cigarette market. 

 

Jaime Zobel de Ayala, who ranked No. 9 in 2014 with a net worth of $3.4 billion, is a surprise exclusion from the list, but that’s because the data for his net worth this year is not yet available.

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It's great in the Philippines

I am blessed having so many tasks in the Philippines: teaching, writing, translating, consultations and much more. 

The Spanish Influence in Building Our Nation The Philippines

Carmen N. Pedrosa (The Philippine Star)

It may sound ironic but there is enough evidence to show that Spain’s influence in helping build the Philippine nation has not been properly appreciated. There were evils, true but there were also good ones.

The most notable of good Spanish influences was the Spanish Cortes or Parliament of 1812 when it promulgated the Cadiz Constitution.


Filipinos were invited as delegates. The first Philippine delegates were Pedro Perez de Tagle and Jose Manuel Coretto who took their oath of office in Madrid. The Cadiz Constitution was officially implemented in Manila soon after.

According to Wikipedia, it established the principles of universal male suffrage, national sovereignty,constitutional monarchy and freedom of the press, and supported land reform and free enterprise.

It also dealt with policies on Spain’s colonies including the Philippines. It issued a decree “granting all its colonies representation as provinces in the Spanish Cortes through deputies chosen by the various capital cities.” This can be said to antedate the contemporary push for a parliamentary federal system states by Bayanko for the Philippines.”

 Here is the report on what happened in  the Philippines under the Cadiz Constitution.

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“Governor General Manuel Gonzales Aguilar called for an election of Manila officials which resulted in the selection of Don Ventura de los Reyes, a wealthy merchant and member of the Royal Corps of Artillery of Manila, as the deputy. The Vigan-born Don Ventura de los Reyes was a son of poor Ilocano parents. He took part in the Ilocos revolt led by Diego Silang in 1762, but later on engaged in the vegetable and indigo business. He was one of the delegates who signed the Constitution but it was only after a year that those in Manila knew about its decrees.

One of the more important creeds embodied in this constitution was the exemption of the natives from paying tributes and rendering public services based on its equality clause. The natives conviction that they should exercise their rights as established by the Cadiz Constitution, created a problem which compelled the governor of the islands to issue an edict on Feb. 8, 1814, explaining the extent of the benefits bestowed by the Constitution.

It is important to note that it was a liberal constitution which vested sovereignty in the people, recognized the equality of all mean and the individual liberty of the citizen, and granting the right of suffrage. But it also provided for a hereditary monarchy and for Catholicism as the state religion.

Not surprisingly, Filipino constitutionalists of the time were more aware of the tenets of the Cadiz Constitution. It can be said that the first attempts for a system of government for the Philippines was parliamentary federal patterned after Spain. Even then there was a partiality of parliamentary government.

It is a pity that not enough study has been made of this crucial period from Spanish to American culture. A useful resource for such studies is the cinema, especially the early struggle of Filipino film makers.

One such movie, really a telenovela is Secreto de Confesion. It was directed by Fausto Galauran and produced by Don Danon. It was written by Manuel de Amechazurria and among its stars were Armando Villa, Rosa Maria, Nita Farias and others. I am especially interested in this film because it was distributed by Parlatone Hispano Filipino with majority shares owned by my late father, Raymundo F. Navarro.  I would be grateful for any information on whatever happened to the film. It will be included in a book I am writing about my father’s role in Filipino film making. There were other stockholders, surprise, surprise among them was a Jose Cojuangco. Later, Parlatone Hispano Filipino became a major film producer and funded most of the best films directed by Jose Nepomuceno who is considered the father of Philippine Movies.

“Secreto de Confesión was the first Filipino film in the Spanish language, which was presented at the time as “la primera película hablada y cantada en español producida en Filipinas” (the first film spoken and sung in Spanish in the Philippines)” according to Wikipedia.

Parlatone Hispano Filipino did a good job of distributing Secreto de Confesión worldwide. It was a box office hit in the United States, Cuba, Puerto Rico, and several other Spanish speaking countries in the American continent. It was also shown in Macau, Hong Kong, Spain and Portugal.

Other Filipino films in Spanish soon followed the success of Secreto de Confesion. Among them wereLas Dulces Mestizas, Muñecas de Manila or El Milagro del Nazareno de Quiapo. According to Wikipedia, these later telenovelas  “had an even greater success at the box office, and started to create international distribution channels for the Philippine film industry spoken in Spanish.”

Unfortunately, copies of the film were lost or destroyed during the US bombing of Manila. There are only copies of five pre-war Filipino movies, none of them in Spanish. (CNP: Again I would be grateful for any reader of this column to come forward with information on this films.)

A Tagalog version, produced years later, was screened after the end of World War II in 1945 in major cities throughout the Philippine archipelago, but with very limited box office success.

“Guillermo Gómez Rivera, Spanish-speaking Filipino writer and academic, director of the prestigiousAcademia Filipina de la Lengua Española (Philippine Academy of the Spanish Language), worked to recover this film in the memory of the Filipino film industry.” (Wikipedia)

According to cinema historians, the cinema of the Philippines (Filipino: Pelikulang Pilipino or Sine Pilipino) began with the introduction of the first moving pictures to the country on January 1, 1897 at the Salón de Pertierra in Manila.

The following year, local scenes were shot on film for the first time by a Spaniard, Antonio Ramos, using the Lumiere Cinematograph. Early filmmakers and producers in the country were mostly wealthy enterprising foreigners and expatriates.

 But on Sept. 12, 1919, a silent feature film broke the grounds for Filipino filmmakers. Dalagang Bukid (Country Maiden), a movie based on a popular musical play, was the first movie made and shown by Filipino filmmaker José Nepomuceno who later made other films for Parlatone Hispano Filipino.

The formative years of Philippine cinema, started from the 1930s. “Scripts and characterizations in filmscame from popular theatre and familiar local literature. Nationalistic films were also quite popular, although they were labeled as being too subversive.” There is much to learn of our history from films of those days.

Cebu City's Water Source is Drying Up

A barangay in Cebu City may have to double efforts to conserve water after one of its water sources is drying up due to the hot weather.

Four sitios of Barangay Busay have been experiencing water supply problems, GMA Cebu's Vic Serna reported Tuesday.

Worse, water rations from the City Hall have not been very frequent since the water source in Sitio Lower in Barangay Busay dried up as early as March.

Also affected by the water shortage are animals and even vegetables and flowers.

Private water truck owner Crispin Prantar has increased the prices of his water delivery service due to the short supply.

Prantar now sells water at P7 per container – more than double the P3 when the city's Department of Public Services was regularly delivering water.

The barangay is now considering acquiring a submersible pump to use in Sitio Garaje, to supply the affected residents with water.

For now, the residents may have to depend on Prantar's water truck delivery for their supply.

Dams drying up

Elsewhere in Cebu, GMA Cebu's Mark Anthony Bautista reported dams at the Jaclupan water facility in Talisay City have been drying up as well.

This has affected residents of Sitio Tabok-Sapa in Barangay Jaclupan as three of four water lines had gone dry.

Water pressure had also weakened for the other water lines, while the river in Barangay Jaclupan has started to dry up.

"Apektado talaga kami dahil sa init, wala na ngang tubig ang ilog kaya ngayon nagba-budget kami para makagamit rin ang iba," said resident Renato Elnace.

But some who set up water refilling stations are seeing brisk business.

"Opo lalo ngayong tag-init," said Lilia Elegin, when asked if her water refilling business had picked up.

The Metropolitan Cebu Water District said the water it produced had gone down from 42,000 to 21,000 cubic meters due to the drying of its basin.

Eight of 15 water pumps at the Jaclupan water facility are working.

"We cannot assure there will be convenience but there will be water to drink," said Engineer Lasaro Salvacion, MCWD acting assistant general for operation.

However, MCWD assured there will still be enough water supply as it gets 18,000 cubic meters from Carmen town.

"We are doing our best. We also need cooperation of our customers during this El Niño that (may) last up to October. The best way is to save water," said Salvacion.

 — Joel Locsin/LBG, GMA News

Philippines Has Most Resilient Economy

By Paolo Taruc, CNN Philippines

(CNN Philippines) — Should an economic crisis akin to last decade's Great Recession happen again, the Philippines would be the most "resilient" country and be able withstand it, despite its status as an emerging-market economy.

That's the assessment of Center for Global Development (CGD), a think tank based in Washington, D.C.

It's not that hard to imagine another financial crisis happening: Growth in China — the world's second largest economy — has slowed, the United States' bull market hasn't had a correction since 2011, and in the Eurozone, debt-ridden Greece has yet to strike a deal with its creditors.

Economist Liliana Rojas-Suarez of the CGD recently created a "resilience indicator" that measures the vulnerability of an economy to future financial shocks.

Her metric looks into several economic indicators that fall under two categories:

• a country's ability to withstand external shocks
• government's ability to "rapidly" implement policies that counteract the effects of such shocks

"I compare the values of the identified variables in 2007 (the preglobal financial crisis year) with the respective values at the end of 2014," she said.

Rojas-Suarez explained: "A country is said to be highly resilient to adverse external shocks if the event does not result in a sharp contractions of economic growth, a severe decline in the rate of growth of real credit and/or the emergence of deep instabilities in the financial sector."

Of the 21 countries she studied, Rojas-Suarez ranked the Philippines as the most resilient economy, ahead of South Korea and China, which fall at second and third, respectively.

Rojas-Suarez found that the Philippines posted a strong improvement in its indebtedness. The debt indicators had substantial influence over the country's ranking.

For example, she points out that the country cut in half its external debt to GDP ratio "from around 40 percent in 2007 to around 20 percent in 2014." This figure stands in stark contrast with most whose ratios are "without significant changes" within that same time period.

She also cites the country's lower government debt to GDP ratio which stood above 40% in 2007, and subsequently shrank to below that figure in 2014.

Likewise, the country also stood out because of its improved inflation performance in 2014 relative to 2007. Rojas-Suarez pointed out that inflation rates have been within the government's targets.

Latin American countries did not do well in the study: "Four of the six Latin American countries in the sample have deteriorated their positions in the ranking. This includes Argentina, which now holds the last position. "

Apart from "bad luck in terms of unfavorable trade," Rojas-Suarez explained that such countries ranked lower because of "the squandering of opportunity to implement needed reforms in the good post-crisis years."

Her study ultimately affirms a long-running cliché: An ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure.

"Policy decisions taken in the precrisis period played a major role in explaining a country's macroeconomic performance during the global economic crisis (of last decade)," explained Rojas-Suarez.

"[I]nitial conditions at the onset of a severe adverse external shock matter a lot. The good news is that, besides the commodity price shock, the most feared external shock: a sudden rise in interest rates in the US has not (yet) materialized. Time is still on the side of emerging markets’ authorities."

Disaster Early Warning Device in Comval Province

Comval Gov. Arturo, assisted by the teachers, harvests Broccoli, considered to be one of the world’s healthiest foods and is expensive in the market.  Other vegetables are also planted in Manat Elementary School  in Nabunturan through its “Gulayan sa Paaralan” program, part of advocating for healthy and nutritious food. (a. dayao/ids comval)

ComVal bags Agri-Pinoy Rice Achievers Award

For vigorously implementing agricultural interventions for the production of rice in the province, Compostela Valley has been recognized once again by the Department of Agriculture (DA) as one of the Top 10 Most Outstanding Rice-Producing Province in the country.

ComVal Provincial Agriculturist’s Office (PAGRO) Chief Dr. Rolando Simene received the plaque of recognition and cash prize amounting PhP4 million on March 26 at the Newport Performing Arts Theater, Resorts World, Pasay City during the 2014 Agri-Pinoy Rice Achievers Awarding Ceremony.

The Agri-Pinoy Rice Achievers Award is DA’s program to recognize the provinces, municipalities, cities, and irrigators’ association, small water impounding associations, agriculture extension workers, and local farmer technicians who have done significant contributions for the expansion of rice production in the Philippines. Particularly, “it aims to encourage the participation of LGUs and other stakeholders in rice production and sustain their awareness, support, and commitment to attain rice self-sufficiency.

The Philippine rice industry data shows that in 2014, national production reaches to 18.97 million metric tons (MT) or 2.87% production growth which exceeds its 2013 record by 528,406 MT.

Meanwhile, Fishery Division Chief and PAGRO Planning Head Ronald Sibayan said ComVal has been recognized as one of the top leading rice producers in the country because of the province’s Rice Sufficiency Program and best practices in rice farming such as the Palay Check, Techno Demo, Farmer’s Field School, and the implementation of farm-to-market roads.

The plaque and check was turned over by Dr. Simene on March 30 to Executive Assistant Isabelo Melendres, SP Member Moran Takasan, and Provincial Treasurer Carmen Razul during the Regular Employees’ Convocation at the Capitol Lobby.

It can be recalled that ComVal was given the same award by DA last year. (James Labrigas, FeM / IDS ComVal)

Compostela Valley Province – Tungod sa ilang dakong tabang  sa Comval Province ug mga natampo sa padayong mga paningkamot sa liderato sa probinsiya nga mamahimong Disaster Resilient ang mga katawhang Comvaleño labi na sa mokabat 15 ka bag-o ug highly sophisticated nga mga Disaster Early Warning Device nga ilang gihatag, opisyal karon nga gipaabot sa probinsiya pinaagi ni Vice Gov. Manuel “Way Kurat” Zamora ang dakong pasalamat ngadto sa mga tagdumala ug sa mga dagkong opisyal sa Department of Science and Technology(DOST).

Ang maong mga kahimanan naglangkob sa Water Level Monitoring Sensors (WLMS) ug Automated Rain Guage (ARG) nga gibutang diha sa Montevista Bridge; sa Compostela Bridge; sa Monkayo Bridges 1,2, and 3; sa New   Bataan Bridges 1 and 2; sa Compostela-New Bataan Bridge; sa Maragusan-Coronobe; sa Monkayo Poblacion; Laak Poblacion; Mangayon NHS, Compostela;  Manat NHS, Nabunturan; ug Brgy. Mangayon, Compostela.

Si Vice Gov. Zamora maoy mihatag sa Welcome Message ni Gov. Arturo “Chiongkee” Uy sa diha nga gisugdan sa Comval Province ang “Comval i-Rice Advocacy Campaign” atol sa usa ka adlawng Launching diha sa kapitolyo niadtong Lunes (Marso 30,2015), panahon niini  iyang gisulti ang mga maayong butang nga nahatag sa DOST sa probinsiya pinaagi sa gipakusog nga Science and Technology Innovations  nga naglakip sa Technology Transfer nga nakatabang ug dako sa programa sa nutrition labi na sa Food Fortification Law nga giimplementar sa nasud ilalom sa R.A. 8976 ug sa Disaster Preparedness pinaagi sa mga Disaster Early Warning Device nga una na nilang gihatag sa probinsiya.

Matud pa sad niya nga ang Comval Province maoy unang probinsiya nga gipili sa DOST alang sa Better Mining Program niini nga pagahatagan sa pinakabag-o ug pinakamodernong kahimanan sa Ore Processing Equipment, nga gawas Enviroment Friendly makuha sad niini ang highest precision level sa recovery sa Gold and Silver Extraction nga moabot gikan 95% hangtud sa 96%.

Human naaprobahan sa Comval SP pinaagi sa Unanimous Votes ang “Comval i-Rice Ordinance of 2015” nga giduso sa Author niini nga si Health and Social Services Committee Chair Senior Board Member Tyron Uy, gisugdan dayon ang Advocacy Campaign aron awhagon ang mga katawhang Comvaleño pagkunsumo sa Iron Fortified Rice alang sa kaayohan sa ilang panglawas. ( Gibert Cabahug/ids comval)

Happy Easter! Frohe Ostern!

A Blessed Happy Easter to all of you my dear readers!

Allen  meinen Leserinnen und Lesern ein  gesegnetes Osterfest!

Philippines gets 2 Billion Pesos Climate Projects from Germany

By Janvic Mateo (The Philippine Star) 

STAR/File photo

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines is getting 41 million euros or around P2 billion from the International Climate Initiative (ICI) of Germany that will fund 10 bilateral projects to address the impact of climate change.

Climate Change Commission (CCC) vice chairman Lucille Sering yesterday met with Norbert Gorissen – head of the International Climate Finance of the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety – to discuss the projects, some of which will be implemented until 2017.

“These projects are designed to build resilience of local communities, attain sustainable development, increase awareness, skills and capacity development for climate protection and adaptation, enhance employment opportunities and investments in renewable energies,” said Sering.

“All projects are aligned with our priorities and are consistent with the Philippine Climate Change Act, the National Framework Strategy on Climate Change and the National Climate Change Action Plan,” she added.

Among the projects funded by the ICI is support for the implementation of the framework and action plan on climate change adaptation and mitigation, amounting to over 3 million euros.

Sering said the grant has enabled the CCC to push forward with various programs, including studies on renewable energy and the mainstreaming of climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction in land use plan.

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The other bilateral projects on climate change in the country are biodiversity, ecosystem-based land use systems and protection of climate-relevant biodiversity with focus on reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation.

Gorissen, who visited areas affected by Super Typhoon Yolanda on Saturday, cited the importance of the partnership between Germany and the Philippines.

Aside from the bilateral projects, he said 28 other regional and global projects funded by his government have a component in the Philippines.

The German official said they are looking into funding more projects in the country.

“Prevention of disasters and resilience and adaptation activities will be part of that. It will also include activities on the area of emission reduction,” he said during a press conference in Pasig City yesterday.