Embassy of the Phi l ippines Washington, D.C.

2nd Quar ter of 2012

NEWSLETTER

H.E. President Benigno S. Aquino III’s official visit to Wash-ington, D.C. on June 7 and 8, 2012 was capped by his meeting with President Barack Obama at the Oval Office, where the two heads of state once again committed them-

selves to promoting peace and security of the Asia-Pacific region and to defending each other’s countries against external aggression. President Obama also reassured

President Aquino of his support for the upgrade of the Philippine military’s capabilities.

In the economic front, the two leaders stressed the importance of creating jobs and improving the lives of Filipinos and Americans. They committed themselves to bolstering efforts to

expand trade and economic activities. President Aquino secured invest-ments for the Philippines following his meetings with corporate executives from Sithe Global, Denham Capital, and Underwriters Laboratories. He also served as keynote speaker at the historic launch of the newly-formed

U.S.-Philippines Society.

The President was also feted by Sec-retary Hillary Clinton at a luncheon at the State Department, where she pledged the US government’s funding and establishment of a National Coast Watch Center that would enable the Philippine government to patrol its

maritime territory. She also vowed to increase the number of US Peace Corps volunteers in the Philippines.

The Philippines and the United States had their first Two Plus Two Ministerial Consultations on April 30, 2012. Held in Washington DC, the consulta-tions, brought the two foreign affairs/state and defense secretaries to-gether where they discussed policy measures on how to deepen the relationship of the Philippines and the US as allies in several aspects to include economic, political and of course defense and security relations including how the two countries could contribute to regional peace and stability.

Both sides acknowledged that the challenges facing them as

allies to include maritime security and natural disasters necessitate cooperative approaches. The two allies recognized the usefulness of having high value and high impact exercises and activities that would enhance their collective capacity to respond security challenges. While the Philippines emphasized the need to upgrade the capability of its defense forces to effectively meet the multitude of security

challenges that it faces, the US conveyed that it remains committed in honoring its obligations under the Mutual De-fense Treaty. The Joint Vision Statement re-leased at the end of the consultations provides the overall trajectory of PH-US relations in the foreseeable future.

The Two Plus Two consultations is considered as the highest policy level consultative mecha-nism between Manila and Wash-ington in addition to the Bilateral Strategic Dialogue of senior officials and the Mutual Defense Board/Security Engagement Board meetings between the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the US Pacific Command.

(DND-OASSA)

PH AND US HOLD TWO PLUS TWO CONSULTATIONS

A Q U I N O A N D O B A M A M E E T A T T H E W H I T E H O U S E

SHARED VALUES. President Aquino and President Obama reaffirm their commitment to promote peace and security of the Asia-Pacific region during their meeting at the Oval Office on June 8. RTVM photo.

SENATE LEADERS HONOR PRESIDENT

AQUINO WITH RECEP-TION AT U.S. CAPITOL

Members of the United States Senate leadership hosted a

reception for President Be-nigno S. Aquino III on June 7, 2012 at the U.S. Capitol dur-ing his two-day visit to Wash-ington. The high-powered legislators included Senate President Pro-Tempore Daniel K. Inouye (Democrat-Hawaii),

who also serves as the Chair-man of the Senate Appropria-tions Committee, Senator Wil l iam Thad Cochran (Republican-Mississippi), Rank-ing Member of the Committee on Appropriations, Senator Richard G. Lugar (Republican-Indiana), Ranking Member of

the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, and Sena-tor John F. Kerry (Democrat-Massachusetts), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (Democrat-Nevada), Senator

John McCain (Republican-Arizona), Senator Mark War-ner (Democrat-Virginia) and Senator Jack Reed (Democrat-Rhode Island) were among the senators who met with President Aquino. >>>

OVERFLOW CROWD OF FILIPINOS AND AMERI-CANS GRACE LAUNCH

OF US-PH SOCIETY

Amid an overflow crowd of guests composed of corpo-

rate executives, high-level United States government officials, and leaders of the Filipino American community, the U.S.-Philippines Society was launched on June 7, 2012 in this city’s Mandarin Oriental Hotel with President

Benigno S. Aquino III serving as the guest of honor. >>>

The Philippine Embassy in Washington, D.C. and the United States Chamber of Commerce jointly convened a business roundtable focused on "Strengthening Philippines-U.S. Trade and Invest-ment Partnership" on March 23, 2012 at the Lee Anderson Veterans Center of the U.S. Cham-ber headquarters in Washington, D.C.

“We hope to identify the key priorities and deter-mine the key elements that will further strengthen the Philippines-U.S. bilateral trade and investment partnership,” Ambassador Cuisia said.

U.S. Chamber Vice President for Asia Tami Overby, in turn, explained that the roundtable is a product of the Arangkada Philippines 2010, an advocacy paper published by the Joint Foreign Chambers of the Philippines, which identified headline recommendations on how to improve the Philippines’ international competitiveness. >>>

president, Chet Atkins

and Gus Schumacker;

and the company's direc-

tor for government rela-

tions, Matthew Sparkes.

They discussed collabora-

tion opportunities to pro-

mote global food security

through post harvest

improvements, especially

in less developed coun-

tries, while mutually sup-

porting Filipino and

American commercial

interests in GrainPro. >>>

Philippine Ambassador

to the United States

Jose L. Cuisia, Jr. and

Philippine Agriculture

Attache to the U.S. Dr.

Josyline Javelosa re-

ceived officials from

GrainPro, Inc. at the

Philippine Embassy on

March 29, 2012. They

included three of its

b o a r d m e m b e r s ,

namely Philippe Villers,

who is at the same

time the company's

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P H L E M B A S S Y H O S T S R E C E P T I O N F O R A P C A C

P H I L I P P I N E E M B A S S Y A N D U S C H A M B E R O F C O M M E R C E

C O N V E N E B U S I N E S S R O U N D T A B L E O N ‘ S T R E N G T H E N I N G P H - U S T R A D E A N D I N V E S T M E N T P A R T N E R S H I P ’

G R A I N P R O E X E C U T I V E S E X P R E S S S U P P O R T F O R P H L

F O O D S E C U R I T Y N E E D S

The Philippine Embassy hosted a reception for the Asia-Pacific Council of American Chambers of Com-merce (APCAC) entitled: “2012 AP-CAC Washington Doorknock” for their delegation members at the Embassy’s Romulo Hall. Minister and Consul Ariel R. Peñaranda, Charge d’Affaires, a.i., delivered the welcome remarks at the event, followed by a presentation on the Philippine econ-omy and the global economic outlook by the Embassy’s Economic Officer Lito Nayan. The APCAC Delegation, comprised of top representatives from Bangladesh, Cambodia, Japan, Korea, Philippines, Thailand, and Viet-nam, was headed by Mr. Tom Clark, Vice President, GE Capital (Asia). >>>

GNPOWER TO INVEST

$1 BILLION FOR

ADDITIONAL POWER

SUPPLY IN LUZON

Officials of GN Power Mariveles

Coal Plant (GMCP) in Bataan

informed President Benigno S.

Aquino III of their intention to

expand their operations in the

Philippines with an investment of

close to US$1 billion that could

generate thousands of jobs. In

his first official activity during his

visit to Washington, D.C., the

President met on June 7, 2012

with Dr. Dan Chalmers, Chief

Executive Officer of GN Power,

Jason Oliver, Senior Vice

President for Development of

Sithe Global Power, and Robert

Warburton of Denham Capital.

>>>

Amb. Cuisia addresses questions at the US Chamber of Commerce during a business roundtable on "Strengthening Philippines-U.S. Trade and Investment Partnership" on March 23, 2012.

APCAC members pose with officers of the Philippine Embassy for a photo opportunity following the presentation on the improving economic climate in the Philippines by Economic Officer Angelito Nayan at Romulo Hall on June 20.

C O C O A F O U N D A T I O N O F F I C I A L S H E L P P R O M O T E

C O C O A - G R O W I N G

Philippine Ambassador to the United States

Jose L. Cuisia, Jr, received guests from the

World Cocoa Foundation (WCF) on March 28,

2012 at the Philippine Embassy. The WCF

officials, led by its president, Bill Guyton, up-

dated the Ambassador on its activities with

Philippine partners such as the Cocoa Founda-

tion of the Philippines, Mars Inc., Department

of Agriculture, and University of Southern Min-

danao, in promoting a sustainable cacao in-

dustry.

Mr. Guyton disclosed that the ten-year outlook

for cacao shows a likely huge demand over

supply gap and thus, emphasized the need for

a sustainable supply. >>>

G O L D M A N

ENVIRONMENTAL PRIZE

A W A R D E E V I S I T S

PHILIPPINE EMBASSY

Fr. Edwin Gariguez, an awardee

o f the 20 12 Go l dm a n

Environmental Prize, called on

Philippine Ambassador to the

United States Jose L. Cuisia, Jr.

on April 20, 2012. Fr. Edu, as he

is called, and Ambassador Cuisia

know each other through work

on different projects in the

Philippines through the Catholic

Bishops Conference. >>>

Economic

T he Philippines was this year’s featured country at the 2012 Memphis in May International Festival. The month-long event served as an invaluable opportunity for Philippine Embassy officials to showcase to the American Mid-South the Philippines’ rich culture, promote the country’s tourism, encourage increased trade and investment activity, develop relations with

local officials, and meet with the local Filipino American community.

A number of exhibits were organized in local museums, galleries and public spaces, including the following:

“Revolution Revisited” – photo exhibit on the “People Power” revolution;

“The Corregidor Island Story” – artifacts that show the important role played by the island during

World War II;

“Floating Warps and Guiding Heddles” – display of rare and fragile textile weavings from Museo

Ilocos Norte;

“Flora de Filipinas” - fine prints of Philippine botany;

“Art of the Philippines” – select paintings from the Philippine Center in New York;

“Living Landscapes and Cultural Landmarks of the Philippines” – photography exhibit of heritage

sites in the Philippines.

Award-winning contemporary films from the Philippines – Emir and Halaw – were shown at the Brooks Museum and MALCO Studio on the Square, respectively. Philippine rock band Sponge Cola performed at the Beale Street Music Festival, in front of a crowd estimated at 80,000. And, the Worldwide Family of Modern Arnis and Bayanihan National Dance Company staged memorable per-formances at the packed Orpheum Theater. Two special shows were also made by the Bayanihan for some 4,000 local schoolchildren of Memphis in elementary and high school free-of-charge. More-over, 12 students from Cebu City National Science High School were the beneficiaries of grants that allowed them to stay with selected host families in Memphis, attend classes at a local high school, visit the city’s famous monuments and landmarks, and experience the culture of Tennessee first-hand. >>>

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P H I L I P P I N E S F E A T U R E D A T M E M P H I S I N M A Y F E S T I VA L

D O C U M E N T A R Y O N R E S C U E O F J E W S I N T H E P H I L I P P I N E S P R E V I E W E D I N C I N C I N N A T I

Senator John McCain address guests at the reception in Washington, DC commemorating the anniversary of Philippine independence. >>>

S E N A T O R M C C A I N P R O C L A I M S B I P A R T I S A N U S C O N G R E S S I O N A L S U P P O R T F O R T H E P H I L I P P I N E S

Y O U N G F I L - A M S C A P T I V A T E D

B Y P O W E R - P A C K E D P A N E L S

Amb. (6th, L) and Mrs. Cuisia (5th, L) pose with the emcee, speakers and moderators of the Filipino American youth forum, dubbed “Merienda with Am-bassador Cuisia.” (L-R) Margaret Lacson-Ecarma, Wilma Consul, Naomi Estaris, Cristino Arroyo, Mrs. Vicky Cuisia, Amb. Cuisia, Angeline Hartmann, Fred Tayco, Christina Lagdameo, Marlan Maralit, and

Francis Tanglao-Aguas.

D O C U M E N T A R Y O N J O U R N E Y F R O N T M A N A R N E L P I N E D A O P E N E D S I L V E R D O C S F E S T I V A L

T E N T H E D I T I O N O F B R O W N

S T R O K E S O N A W H I T E C A N V A S

L A U N C H E D A T T H E E M B A S S Y

A S P A R T O F T H E 1 1 4 T H

C O M M E M O R A T I O N O F

P H I L I P P I N E I N D E P E N D E N C E

P H I L I P P I N E E M B A S S Y H O S T S D I S C U S S I O N O F H O N O R I N T H E D U S T W I T H A U T H O R G R E G G J O N E S

Cultura l

Ambassador Jose Cuisia (bottom row, fifth from left) poses for a photo opportunity with some of the twenty-eight artists who participated in the tenth edition of the Brown Strokes on a White Canvas, during its launch at the Romulo Hall of the Embassy of the Philippines on June 21.

Young Filipino American students and profession-als in the D.C., Maryland and Virginia area were enthralled by a power-packed line up of speakers and moderators in a forum dubbed “Merienda with Ambassador Cuisia,” which was held at the beautifully adorned Jack Morton Auditorium of George Washington University last March 18, 2012. The activity was staged in partnership with District 6 of the Filipino Intercollegiate Net-working Dialogue (FIND), ably headed by Chris Cordero of George Washington University. >>>

As part of the commemoration of the 114th anniversary of the declaration of Philippine inde-pendence, Philippine Ambassador to the United States Jose L. Cuisia, Jr. launched on June 21, 2012, the tenth edition of the “Brown Strokes on a White Canvas” art exhibit at the Romulo Hall of the Embassy.

This year features twenty-eight Filipino Ameri-can artists, who are based in the metropolitan Washington DC area. “Brown Strokes on a White Canvas” seeks to recognize the “exceptional talent of Filipinos in the visual arts.” >>>

Peggy Ellis and Barbara Sasser, co-producers of “Rescue in the Philippines,” addresses guests at the preview of the film at Hebrew Union College in Cincin-nati. >>>

The documentary Don’t Stop Believin’: Everyman’s Journey made by critically-acclaimed Filipino documentary filmmaker Ramona Diaz was the Opening Night film of the Silverdocs Festival produced by the American Film Institute (AFI) and the Dis-covery Channel. Silverdocs is the premiere documentary festival in the United States. The Opening Night was held last June 18, 2012 at the AFI Silver Theater in Silver Spring, Maryland. >>>

The Philippine Embassy in Washington, D.C. in cooperation with the Philippine Arts, Letters & Media Council (PALM), headed by its President, Mitzi Pickard, hosted a reception on May 24, 2012 to meet Gregg Jones, author of Honor in the Dust: Theodore Roosevelt, War in the Philippines, and the Rise and Fall of Amer-ica’s Imperial Dream. >>>

Consular

CONSULAR OUTREACH MISSIONS HELD IN TAMPA, VIRGINIA BEACH AND MEMPHIS

The Philippine Embassy’s Consular team continued its consular outreach missions this year with visits to

Tampa, Virginia Beach and Memphis during the months of April and May 2012.

Over 500 applicants for passport renewals were made during the consular outreach mission in Tampa,

Florida, held at the Bayanihan Arts and Events Center on March 30 to April 1, 2012. Additionally, 89 for-

mer Filipinos reacquired their Philippine citizenship and 266 Filipinos registered as Overseas Absentee

Voters. The outreach mission coincided with the annual Philippine Festival, which was held at the 10-acre

Bayanihan Center.

The Consular team then trooped to Virginia Beach on April 21. At least 116 Filipinos applied for passport

renewals, 18 former Filipinos reacquired Philippine citizenship, and 55 applicants came for other consular

services throughout the day. The team was also able to register 30 Overseas Absentee Voters and col-

lect 56 signed letters addressed to U.S. legislators in support of the passage of the Save our Industries

Act in the U.S. Congress. The venue of the outreach was the Travel Outlet office, which also assisted the

Embassy in organizing the outreach mission.

The day before their arrival for the outreach mission, the Consular team visited two local prisons in the

area. Consul Arlene Magno and Assistance-to-Nationals Officer Sofronio Cortel, headed the team in visit-

ing the Hampton Roads Regional Jail in Portsmouth, where one Filipino inmate is currently detained, while

awaiting court hearings. They also visited the Virginia Beach Sheriff’s Office where they called on Sheriff

Ken Stolle who personally gave them a tour of the facility grounds. Consul Magno pleasantly noted that at

least 22 of his deputies were of Filipino descent.

The first consular outreach mission ever in Memphis, Tennessee, was held on May 12 and 13, 2012,

coinciding with the Memphis in May Festival, which featured the Philippines as the 2012 honored country.

During the one and a half day outreach held at the St. Francis Parish Life Center in Cordova, the Consular

team, headed by Consul Arlene Magno, attended to 88 passport renewals, 15 civil registry applications

and 14 legalization of documents, registered 46 Overseas Absentee Voters, and collected 48 Save Act

letters of support. Passport applicants came from outside the state of Tennessee, such as Arkansas,

Mississippi and Louisiana. Consul Magno also administered the oath of allegiance to 50 new dual citizens.

The outreach in Memphis was the Embassy’s sixth for the year, and was conducted with the assistance

and support of the Philam Memphis, led by its president, Mr. Rolando Gersava.

Representatives of the Philip-pine Embassy in Washington, D.C. led by Consul Emil Fernan-dez took part in the 2012 Philip-pine Festival Community Picnic and Sportsfest organized by the

Philippine American Foundation for Charities. Photo shows Em-bassy representatives taking part in the parade. The event was held at Fort Washington, Maryland on June 24, 2012. >>>

P H L E M B A S S Y T A K E S P A R T I N P A F C C O M M U N I T Y P I C N I C A N D S P O R T S F E S T

P H L C I T E D F O R S I G N I F I C A N T E F F O R T S I N E L I M I N A T I O N O F T R A F F I C K I N G

The PHL government was cited for “making significant efforts” to eliminate trafficking, in the US State Department’s 12th An-nual Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report, which was released on June 19, 2012.

“We are glad that other govern-ments are aware of the work being made by the PHL govern-ment to combat human traffick-ing,” PHL Amb. to the US Jose L. Cuisia, Jr. said. “We realize the seriousness of this problem and no less than Vice President Je-jomar Binay and Justice Secre-tary Leila de Lima have made this a priority issue to be ad-dressed.” >>>

Embassy of the Philippines

1600 Massachusetts Ave NW

Washington DC 20036

Tel 202-467-9300

Fax 202-467-9417

phembassyusa@verizon.net

www.philippineembassy-usa.org

P H L A M B A N D U S L A B O R

S E C S I G N A G R E E M E N T O N

M I G R A N T W O R K E R S R I G H T S

Amb. Cuisia (seated, 2nd from L) signs the partnership agreement with US Sec. of Labor Hilda Solis (seated, 2nd from R) as other Labor Department officials look on.

During a ceremony on June 11, 20012 at the Washington headquarters of the United States Department of Labor (DOL), ambas-sadors representing the embassies of the Philippines, Honduras, Peru and Ecuador signed partnership agreements with Secre-tary of Labor Hilda L. Solis that would en-sure migrant workers are aware of the right to safe workplaces and to receive full pay-ment of the wages owed to them under the

laws of the US. >>>

S E C R E T A R Y B A L D O Z P U S H E S F O R

R E T E N T I O N G S P S T A T U S F O R P H L

PHL Labor Sec. Rosalinda Baldoz (left) is joined by US Labor Sec. Hilda Solis (right) during her visit to the US Department of Labor (USDOL). USDOL photo.

Philippine Labor Secretary Rosalinda Dimapilis-Baldoz pushed for the retention of the country’s status as a beneficiary of the United States General-ized System of Preferences (GSP) during her recent meetings with officials of the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR). Baldoz, who was on official visit in the U.S. from June 15 to 21, 2012, reported the progress made by the Philippine government in upholding labor rights and pursuing legislative re-forms in labor administration. The GSP aims to pro-mote economic growth in beneficiary countries by

providing duty-free entry for their products. >>>

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