What's On & Expat - Philippines

Stern Warning Issued to Drug Traffickers and Couriers

The Philippine Embassy in Beijing reported to the Department of Foreign Affairs that China’s Ministry of Public Security cracked a trans-border case on June 25 where drugs worth around RMB54.0 million (USD7.09 million) were seized. Eight people were arrested and detained, among them, a former Chinese navy soldier and one Filipino national, the Department of Foreign Affairs said.

     An official of the Ministry’s Narcotics Control Bureau attributed the successful operation to close police cooperation between

the Philippines and China over the past three years which resulted in the exposure and apprehension of a gang known to be a major drug processor and trafficker in the region.
 
     In a related development, China ’s Supreme People’s Court said that it would update its judicial interpretation and penalties under its criminal law noting the alarming rise in cases involving new drugs such as methadone and ketamine, and the use of tourists and pregnant women as couriers of illicit substances.

      The Chinese high court

issued a stern warning that it would show no leniency in handing down heavy penalties, including capital punishment, to the leaders of drug syndicates and those who participate in cross-border drug crimes. It also declared the approval of the death penalty imposed by lower courts on seven Chinese citizens convicted for drug-trafficking.  
 
     In two separate cases in June 2007, Chinese courts in Shanghai and Guangdong imposed life imprisonment terms on two Filipino nationals caught red-handed bringing in illegal drugs into China .  

     Philippine Ambassador to China Sonia C. Brady strongly urges all Filipinos to take precautionary steps to avoid any involvement in drug trafficking when traveling to China where smugglers and couriers of illegal drugs are bound to face heavy punishment. “Under the Chinese penal code, anybody caught bringing more than 50 grams of prohibited drugs into China may be sentenced to a fixed term imprisonment of 15 years, life imprisonment or death,” Ambassador Brady explained.

The French Connection

By Katrina Cabanos

Fighting Breast Cancer Through Golf

The Republics of the Philippines and France celebrated the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations last Tuesday, June 26. Sixty years ago in Paris, the then Philippine Vice-President Elpidio Quirino and the former French Foreign Minister Georges Bidault signed the Treaty of Amity which began six decades of a durable and mutually beneficial bond between the two nations.

     A symposium on the historical relations between France and the Philippines was held at the Escaler Hall of the Ateneo de Manila University last Tuesday. It delved into the earliest French-Philippine connection that not many people are aware of.

     “Our ambition today is to develop a few points in our bilateral history which might be less well known. And, in particular, a few contributions of my country to yours,” French Ambassador Gerard Chesnel said.

     The first French encounter of the Philippines happened long before the forging of formal diplomatic ties. In1521, Ferdinand Magellan reached the shores of what was then an undiscovered archipelago, which later came to be known as Las Islas Filipinas. Incidentally, 18 of this Spanish expedition’s crewmembers were French.

     An influx of French arrival ensued over the centuries. The small city of Jala-Jala, Rizal was a popular French settlement during the 1900s and still bears traces of this legacy. The mayor Jala-Jala, Hon. Ellionor Pillas, sent a letter talking about his city’s colorful past which was read by H.E. Chesnel.

     French influence became even more pronounced with the onset of missionary movements form various French religious orders. They eventually evolved to be among the most prominent educational institutions of the country. This includes St. Paul’s College, the De La Salle schools and Assumption College. The symposium featured representatives from each of the schools to talk about their French heritage.

     The Negrenses also credit its thriving sugar industry to early French settlers who were

responsible for its development. These French men lived out the rest of their lives in the Philippines where they got married, had kids and even fought for Philippine independence alongside the locals during World War II. To this day, their descendants pay tribute to their French ancestry and their French forefather. They are the Gastons, the Kahns, and the Guerreros, all hailing from the Negros region.

     The French further influenced Filipinos through its cuisine, the arts and philosophy. Felice Santa Maria, the founding chairman and president of the International Wine and Food Society; Fine Arts Professor Santiago Del Pilar of UP Diliman and Dr. Leovino Garcia, philosophy professor of the Ateneo each gave speeches about France’s foremost influence in their respective areas of expertise.

     Perhaps the greatest influence that the French imparted to the Filipinos were the ideas from the French Revolution helped our National Hero Jose Rizal and his compatriots, the Katipuneros to be fired up in their idealism and resolve to rebel against Colonial Spain.

     Lastly, the French Revolution, with its ideals of liberte, egalite and fraternite (liberty, equality and fraternity) had a hand in the Philippine Revolution. It sparked the flame of nationalism and patriotism of Philippine national hero Jose Rizal, and many others.

     In his speech, Dr. Leovino Garcia, Ateneo de Manila University professor of Philosophy said “No life can be full unless it has some French element in it.” Without doubt, the French influence in the Philippines is all encompassing and has permeated into different aspects of our lives, consciously, or otherwise. Reverend Father Bienvenido Nebres, S.J, president of the Ateneo, articulates it best saying, “The gift of France is the gift of heart.” Cultural barriers do not deter the people from create ties with each other.

     Members of the diplomatic corps, the media and the academe attended the event. National Artist F. Sionil Jose, former Senator Leticia Ramos-Shahani and prominent historian and National Commission on Culture and Arts Chairman Ambeth Ocampo were also present.

Can one help fight breast cancer through golf? Well, not exactly or directly. But yes, the Philippine Cancer Society and the Rotary Golfing Felloswhip Foundation of the Philippines are trying to do it indirectly through their joint Drive for Life Golf Tournament.

     The cure for breast cancer has yet to be discovered. The most brilliant minds in the medical field have been searching for a cure for the last few decades but they have yet to find or develop the medicine to heal one of the ailment or to prevent its occurrence.

     But short of the “magic bullet”, the next best thing in fighting breast cancer is to screen women for the disease. If found positive for breast cancer, the women can be treated immediately through surgery and chemotherapy before it spreads and results in the death of the patient.

     However, facilities and services for breast cancer screening are generally costly and confined mainly to hospitals.

     This makes such screening unaffordable and inaccessible to economically-disadvantaged sectors of the population.

     On the other hand, the mobile van can go to underserved communities where cancer information and detection services are scare if ever available at all.

     Slated on July 17, the Drive For Life tournament will be held at the Wack Wack Golf and Country Club on Shaw Boulevard, Mandaluyong City. More than a hundred golf enthusiasts are expected to take part in the one-day event which is meant to raise the funds needed for the mobile van and the mammography unit.

     The Drive For Life golf tournament is a big leap in stepping up the drive against breast cancer. And through the conjoined efforts of golf enthusiasts across the nation, the mobile mammography will literally become a vehicle through which many lives that would have otherwise been lost could still be saved.

Private Sector Initiative Benefits Small Hotel Operations

The Department of Tourism together with Patio Pacific Resort management recently forged a partnership that will benefit the small hotel and resort operators.

     In fulfillment of its corporate social commitment to assist in the development of the tourism industry, Patio Pacific Resort shares its 16 years of management expertise by donating a “Front Office Management Software” for distribution to DOT’s accredited small accommodation establishments.

     Tourism Secretary Joseph H. Durano lauded the gesture of this resort management citing the private sector initiative as vital to the further development of small- scale tourism business operations. Durano further said that this will advance frontline services and make their operations globally competitive.

     Charles Uy, owner of the resort said that the beneficiaries of the software are the DOT accredited accommodations establishment with a maximum of 15 rooms.

     The software is capable of recording guests registration information, outlet sales transactions, room bookings , inventory reports and mailing lists. Data recorded is then the basis for the generation of reports that are required in the efficient and proper management of an accommodation establishment.

     For more details visit the Patio Pacific Resort’s website: www.patiopacificboracay.com or call Marian Obispo, Accreditation Division at (02) 523-02-52 / 524-98-41.

Road Treat from Cebu Chamber

By Richard A. Ramos

IN PREPARATION FOR its Beauty, Health & Wellness Show 2007 scheduled this August 17-19, 2007, the Cebu Chamber of Commerce & Industry (CCCI) in cooperation with the Spa and Wellness Association of Cebu (SWAC) has launched a series of roadshows every Wednesday starting July 4, 2007.

     Dubbed as “BHW Road Treat”, the event is a caravan of free services & freebies pertaining to wellness, ranging from foot massage to medical services for the residents of neighboring cities as well as strategic locations in Cebu.

     On July 11, the roadshow will be at the Capitol Grounds at 2pm. July 18 will find the BHW will find its way to Lapu-Lapu City and will eventuallygo to the Cebu City Hall Grounds on July 25. Mandaue City Park will host the event on the 1st of August.

     After the North Cebu leg, the “BHW Road Treat” will conduct an activity at Talisay City Hall (SRP side). “BHW Road Treat” will also have its Radio Tours every Tuesday of the week at DYAB, Mom’s Radio, WRock, Hot FM and at DYLS FM. The roadshow will also be featured on ABS-CBN TV during the Show at SM.

     This is in consonance with the BHW vision of reaching out to all sectors & making wellness available to all regardless of economic stratum. Different techniques pertaining to Beauty, Health & Wellness will also be featured during the roadshow through songs & dances.

     This year’s show carries the theme “Wellness Revolution in Cebu” that fulfills the vision of reaching out to all sectors and making wellness available to everybody. The show will give hands-on demonstrations on the latest tools and techniques in wellness promotion, series of fora, exhibits and fashion show. The show comes with coupon-savings brochures, raffle prizes, and SWAC Privilege Card to entice more viewers and guests.

     CCCI invites all key players of the Beauty, Health and Wellness industry to participate in the exhibition. Booth rates are at Php 12,000 for 2m X 2m and Php 15,000 for 2m X 3m.

     Target exhibitors are the following: wellness practitioners and their associations,  wellness products and services, health care educators, schools and colleges, health food retailers and wholesalers, fitness centres, equipment, trainers, mediation and other personal growth teachings, all holistic approaches massage, aromatheraphy, reflexology, life coaching and other motivational arts, outdoor and nature activities, environmentally friendly products and services, spas, hotels, resorts and inns which have holistic treatments available or market themselves as retreats.

     For more inquiries, please contact CCCI and look for Nancy or Haidee at tel. nos. (032) 232-1421-24 loc. 107-109 or 232-3938.