NOY BLOWS HOT AIR AT APEC FORUM / HAWAII VICE SPEAKER PROUD OF BEING PINOY
[Photo courtesy of the Philstar - President Aquino stresses a point during the panel discussion at the 2011 APEC CEO Summit in Honolulu, Hawaii Friday.]
MANILA, NOVEMBER 13, 2011 (TRIBUNE) President Aquino bereft of any solid achievement at the homefront turned to blowing his own non-existent horn yesterday before a group of corporate chief executive officers at the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) forum business summit as he bragged about the country not needing to import rice anymore and a discovery of a major natural gas deposit which will be bigger than the Malampaya field.
The Malampaya gas field is already a major source of natural gas that feeds at least three high-capacity power plants.
Aquino is in Honolulu, Hawaii for a three-day working visit to attend the 2011 Apec Leaders' Meeting from Nov. 11 to 13.
"Our agriculture minister gave us a guarantee there's no need for further importation of rice with the next harvest due in January," Aquino claimed.
The country, however, have just been through back-to-back typhoons Pepeng and Quiel that flooded most of the rice fields in Central Luzon and other major rice producing provinces in the main island of the Philippines.
"We will have an excess over that which is mandated as the strategic reserves on rice through what was done which was not radical changes but rather just doing what was necessary," he went.
He added his government provided genuine certified seeds to farmers, necessary inputs, and marketing campaigns to farmers.
He credited his administration for achieving a condition which made it "more profitable to plant rather than to import."
"This led to three quarters of bumper harvests all in a year's time," he added.
On the supposed natural gas find, Aquino without identifying where it is said the discovery was even bigger than the Malampaya deposit.
"There are substantial deposits we believe are already on the proven scale which at this point will dwarf the existing Malampaya oil fields," Aquino claimed.
Aquino went on to claim that the development of the major natural gas field will start next year and will be undertaken by an American company.
"This is a new field that is gonna be brought up and I understand will be started next year by an American company in the northern portion of the Philippines," Aquino claimed.
Aquino topped off his bluster by taking a swipe at his predecessor, former President Gloria Arroyo, from whom he said his government inherited "tremendous problems" in the field of food security since Arroyo focused more on political survival rather than "doing what was right."
While Aquino was a having a field day in grandstanding at Hawaii, a senator warned of the Occupy movement reaching the country soon.
Sen. Edgardo Angara urged the Aquino administration to address the growing income inequality in the country saying that this should serve as a warning to the government that far-reaching economic reforms are direly needed.
The possibility of the Occupy Movement that has recently overtaken Wall Street and other financial centers of the world reaching the shores of Philippines is not remote, Angara said.
"I think it's more than a possibility. It's a probability. It started in Spain, where the highest incidence of unemployment in the whole of the West (Europe). Twenty percent of their labor force are unemployed. Then it spread to Wall Street, then the entire US — 80 cities in the States," said Sen. Edgardo Angara.
"In Europe, almost all the capital cities have Occupy movements. I'll not be surprised if the contagion spreads to us because of the nature of real-time communication and rapid updates on TV and on the internet, other modes of social media," he told reporters.
Angara has earlier
Some two weeks ago, Occupy protesters effectively shut down Oakland Port, one of the busiest ports in the United States, followed by a march for "Bank Transfer Day" which encourages Americans to transfer their money from banks to credit unions as an act of protest against unreasonable debit fees.
The Movement, barely two months old, has spread to 951 cities in 82 countries across the globe, including 70 major cities in the United States alone.
The movement is clamoring for reform in the form of constitutional amendments, a fairer tax code, universal employment, national debt reduction, and environmental protection.
"Social and economic inequality continue to fan the flame of the Occupy Movement — conditions which also exist in our country," observed Angara, vice chairman of the upper chamber's finance committee.
"This means that we are just as vulnerable to the same unrest and instability. These recent events should serve as a wake up call for us in government to start implementing more concrete solutions to end poverty and address growing income inequality," said the veteran lawmaker.
"This can only be done by building a knowledge-based, innovation-driven economy which spurs sustainable development and provides quality jobs to Filipinos. We have to implement structural changes, make sufficient investments in physical infrastructure and prioritize human capital development," he stressed.
"The Philippines is not exempt for the social and economic tides holding sway in the rest of the world. We must take action now," said Angara.
The senator further said that unlike the so-called First Quarter Storm, a similar movement or protest action led mostly by University of the Philippines (UP) students during the Marcos administreation in the 70s, the Occupy Movement is rooted on a more serious cause.
"These are youth, not just students. Young people who have no jobs, those thinking that they're already hopeless. They are complaining to the government, why they have no job and yet banks are given financial restructuring. Angie M. Rosales
FROM PHILSTAR
Hawaii's deputy speaker is a proud Pinoy By Delon Porcalla (The Philippine Star) Updated November 13, 2011 12:00 AM
[PHOTO - Hawaii's Vice Speaker, Joey Manahan, is currently serving his third term as State Representative for the 29th House District, Kalihi-Kai, Kapalama, Mokauea and Sand Island.]
HONOLULU — Hawaii's Vice Speaker, Joey Manahan is proud of his Filipino heritage.
Manahan, grandson of the late socialite and talk show host Elvira Manahan, was born in Makati City but his family settled in California when he was 10. He graduated from high school at the Bellarmine College Preparatory in San Jose.
He attended the University of Hawaii at Manoa where he earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications with honors.
He later on worked as a legislative aide in Hawaii State House and the Hawaii State Senate. He also served as administrator for the State of Hawaii Office of Elections.
"There are many positive things that we can do with government in terms of helping our community especially the Filipino community here. And that's really where my passion came from and that's what helped me to be where I am today," he said in an interview with Radio TV Malacañang.
He noted that only the state of Hawaii has officially recognized October as "Filipino-American Month." Although there is a similar activity in California, it is only recognized among community organizations.
"The Filipino-American National Historic Society was where the legislation came from. And that's basically where I got the idea. I thought it was important to recognize that because especially for second and third generations were already born here.
The Philippine consulate general in Hawaii said the Filipino community in Hawaii is currently the third largest ethnic group in the island next to Caucasians and Japanese-Americans.
"I feel like they need to be engaged. And it's always been a challenge to get them to see that they are also Filipino. They are included in this category – Filipino-American. And I think that's very important. I don't want them to be disenfranchised," Manahan said.
"So, learning history is a very important part of that. The university here is the only university also in the nation that has a Philippine major in Philippine studies. It's quite remarkable actually," he added.
According to a briefer provided by Consulate General Leoncio Cardenas Jr. to the media delegation, there are around 300,000 Filipinos in the island, a 10 percent increase in number from the US Census released in 2000.
Out of this number, 180,000 are holders of Philippine passports. According to the 2007-2009 American Community Survey, most Filipinos are employed in Hawaii's tourism industry.
Nineteen percent of Filipino workers here are professionals holding management positions, 39 percent are in the service industry, 18 percent are in sales and office occupations, eight percent are in construction, 11 percent are in transport and production while 4.5 percent are self-employed.
Only two percent are engaged in farming, fishing and forestry.
The first group of Filipinos to settle in Hawaii, most of them from the Ilocos region, migrated here in 1906. A majority of them worked in sugar plantations. The Filipino population swelled between 1919 to 1946.
"Filipinos who migrated to Hawaii thrived to become prominent labor leaders, care home owners, medical professionals and also as politicians. Hawaii produced the first governor of Filipino ancestry in the US, Benjamin Cayetano, from 1994-2002," the briefer read.
The consulate also said that by the first half of the 21st century, Filipinos are expected to become the dominant ethnic group in the state. It noted that 400-500 migrant Filipinos list Hawaii as their proffered destination.
This translates to an additional 4,800 to 6,000 Filipinos arriving every year.
Meanwhile, President Aquino attends the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) leaders' summit in Honolulu this weekend and is also scheduled to meet with the Filipino community in the island on Nov. 13, 7 p.m. at the Hilton Hawaiian Village Hotel.
Cardenas said Filipinos are looking forward to meeting Aquino.
"Ito ang pinaka-unang pagkikita nila ng mga Pilipino dito sa Hawaii (This will be their first meeting in Hawaii) They are so eager, they are so excited to meet with the President,"said Cardenas in an interview with Radio-Television Malacañang.
He said the Filipino community here supports Aquino's reform agenda in the Philippines.
"I think it's gonna be a two-way communication because they would like to tell the President how much they have achieved here in Hawaii. Something that the Filipino people and the President particularly should be very, very proud of," Cardenas said.
"I think they would like very much to also hear from the President in terms of his programs to realize the objectives of peace and security and prosperity for the Filipinos because they care a lot for their brothers and sisters in the Philippines," he added.
Hawaii Gov. Neil Abercrombie, members of the state legislature, and mayors of the islands will also attend the gathering.
"I think this is a manifestation of the importance of the Filipino community here because the leaders of all the counties in all the states of Hawaii are coming to join us to be able to listen to the President speak that evening," Cardenas said.
Manahan said he is also excited to meet Aquino.
"Personally, it's very thrilling and am very excited to meet him and see whether he's like his father (who) had a profound impact on history in the Philippines," he said. "And for us as a community, we're very excited and curious to hear his message for us here especially not just for immigrants working overseas but also for second and third generation."
Manahan said Hawaii is taking advantage of hosting this year's APEC summit by promoting tourism in the island.
"APEC is the biggest conference we had. We're having heads of state, ministers from the Asia-Pacific region. For us, we are very proud for they've chosen Hawaii to be the site of their conference," Manahan said. "For us the timing is impeccable. We are a tourism economy and we thrive on these conferences."
In a separate interview with RTVM, Anacleto Alcantara, president of Group Builders in Hawaii, said that Filipinos in Honolulu are looking forward to Aquino's visit.
"We are very fortunate and we are very glad that the highest official of the Philippines is coming to us," Alcantara said.
Bennette Misalucha of the Philippine Celebrations Coordinating Committee of Hawaii said that the Filipinos here are very supportive of the Aquino administration's efforts to fight corruption and alleviate poverty in the Philippines.
"Ang message po natin kay Presidente Aquino, sana po ipagpatuloy niya ang ginagawang mga magandang initiatives. Lahat po kami ay sumusuporta sa kanyang mga efforts to alleviate poverty and corruption sa atin (Our message for President Aquino is for him to continue his good initiatives. All of us support his efforts to alleviate poverty and corruption)," Misalucha said.
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Chief News Editor: Sol Jose Vanzi
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