Ambassador Minda Calaguian-Cruz and Ms. Isabella Loh, Chief Executive Officer, WRS, peer intently
as the Luzon bleeding heart pigeons are released.

This event fittingly comes at a time when the global community has committed to consolidate efforts towards reducing the loss of biodiversity by declaring 2011-2020 as the UN Decade on Biodiversity.

In her remarks, Ambassador Cruz expressed her appreciation to the Jurong Bird Park and Wildlife Reserves Singapore for their commitment to assist in saving one of the country’s endangered specie of wild birds. The Ambassador highlighted that this project is the first Philippine-Singapore conservation breeding program for the Luzon Bleeding Heart Pigeon and the first ex-situ conservation project involving Philippine endemic species in the ASEAN region. She expressed hope for the success of the project and its expansion to more breeding programs/partnership at national, regional and global level.

Ambassador Minda Calaguian-Cruz looks on as a Luzon bleeding heart pigeon steps out into its
new home at the South East Asia Aviary.

The breeding loan agreement opens the window for breeding at least 10 pigeons within one year which will be returned to the Philippines as soon as they reach adulthood which takes 6 to 8 months. WRS takes the responsibility of brining the pigeons from the Philippines to Singapore and the care and repatriation of the offsprings to the Philippines. The parent stock will remain in the Southeast Asia Aviary of the Jurong Bird Park.

Luzon Bleeding Heart Pigeon (Gallicolumba luzonica) is listed under Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) which indicates that the international trade of the specie is strictly regulated.

Attesting to the significance of the event, the event was attended by the heads of the different parks including Mr. Raja Segran, General Manager, Jurong Bird Park, Mr. Vijaya Kumar Pillai, General Manager, Night Safari, Mr. Desmond Tan, General Manager, River Safari were present at the ceremony.

Note: Photo captions courtesy of Jurong Bird Park and Wildlife Reserves Singapore

Requirements:

• Born on or before 13 May 1995
• Intends to vote in Singapore during the 2013 Elections
• Philippine Passport & Singapore IC
• Seaman’s Book (for seafarers)
• Oath of Allegiance (for dual citizens)

Only Filipinos registered as Overseas Absentee Voters can vote in Singpore. Please proceed to the OAV Registration Section beside Window 12.

Registration is open from 9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 1:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. For further inquiries, please e-mail php@pacific.net.sg and indicate “OAV Registration”

DTI Undersecretary Cristino Panlilio opened the event with his keynote address, which focused on ten macroeconomic indicators that point to the Philippines’ strong economic position and attractiveness as an investment destination. Foremost of this is the fact that PSE was the strongest performing stock market in Asia in 2011, ahead of Indonesia and Malaysia, with a 4.07% year-to-date increase.

Ambassador Minda Cruz with DTI Usec. Cristino Panlilio (2nd from left),
PSE President Hans Sicat (3rd from right) and the other speakers at the roadshow.

PSE president and CEO Mr Hans Sicat then gave a presentation on the Philippines as an investment destination, providing statistics that reinforced Usec. Panlilio’s message about the Philippines stable economy and strong market indicators. He cited the credit ratings upgrade received by the Philippines from Fitch Ratings, Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s Investors Service since 2008. He likewise mentioned PSE’s milestones in 2011, including rule amendments, market education initiatives, improved governance, and increased trading activity which led to consolidated financial performance in 2011.

Next came presentations from high-level representatives from two of the strongest industry sectors in the Philippines. Mr Arthur Tan, president & CEO of Integrated Micro-Electronics, Inc., discussed the resurgence of the Philippines as a strategic option for electronics in Asia. Mr Emmanuel Samson, chief financial officer of Nickel Asia Corporation, then spoke about his company’s long track record as a major nickel producer, and its strong prospects for the future, especially with the ongoing development of the Taganito HPAL project, which is the biggest mining investment in the country to date, at US$1.4 billion.

Mr Euben Paracuelles, an economist at Nomura Holdings, then made a presentation entitled “On the Path to Investment Grade” wherein he expressed the view that the fiscal reforms being undertaken by the current administration in the Philippines are already creating conditions for higher growth. In particular, he cited the drastic reduction of special purpose funds in the budget, which are subject to highly discretionary spending, from P900 billion in 2010 to P200 billion at present, with the difference now being rechanneled to mainstream initiatives of the government, including social spending.

Capping the roadshow was a panel discussion on the topic “Will the Momentum Continue: Foreign Perspectives,” which brought together a group of economists and wealth managers of different nationalities, representing various companies, including Bloomberg L.P., JP Morgan Chase, Standard Chartered, and Western Asset Management. The discussants expressed very positive views on the country’s economic trajectory, with the panel moderator from Bloomberg admitting that his attempts to play ‘devil’s advocate’ proved unsuccessful because everyone in the room seemed to be convinced of the emerging Philippine success story.

Philippine Ambassador Minda Calaguian-Cruz attended the roadshow together with Consul Cathy Torres, the embassy’s economic officer, and Ms. Anne Cathy Ronquillo, Trade Assistant at the Philippine Trade and Investment Center, Singapore.

In order to help spread this message to the rest of the world, the Philippine Embassy in Singapore is organizing a series of Ambassador’s Tours to select destinations in the Philippines this year.

The inaugural tour took off for Puerto Princesa on 8 to 11 March 2012, led by Ambassador Minda Calaguian-Cruz and her husband, Philippine Ambassador to Korea Luis T. Cruz. The group included 23 people, including the ambassadors to Singapore of Cambodia, Canada, Mexico, Peru and Brazil, as well as the former ambassadors to Singapore of Mexico and Sri Lanka, and several Singapore-based businesspeople.

(L-R) – Ambassadors Luis and Minda Cruz; Cambodian Ambassador Sin Serey; Madam Jayathri Samarakone,
former Sri Lankan Ambassador, and High Commissioner and Madam David Sevigny of Canada at PPUR

In collaboration with the Office of Mayor Edward S. Hagedorn, the Office of Palawan Governor Abraham Kahlil B. Mitra, the Tourism Office of Puerto Princesa, the Department of Tourism (DOT), DOT-MIMAROPA, and partner travel service providers, the Embassy came up with an attractive tour package, which included a visit to Puerto Princesa Underground River (PPUR), an overnight stay at Dos Palmas Island Resort & Spa, island hopping at Honda Bay, a city tour of Puerto Princesa, and a half-day sightseeing and shopping stopover in Manila.

The visit to PPUR, which was recently declared as one of the New7Wonders of Nature, and to Isla Puting Buhangin, a small island owned by Dos Palmas, served as the highlights of the four-day tour.

The excursion also served as an opportunity to showcase the warmth and hospitality of the Palaweños, with the offices of Mayor Hagedorn and Governor Mitra mounting impressive welcome receptions for the group that showcased the cultural richness of Palawan.

The Canadian High Commissioner, the Mexican Ambassador and his family, the wife of the Brazilian
Ambassador, and the former Mexican Ambassador and his spouse try banana boat diplomacy at Isla Pandan.

Through the Ambassador’s Tours, the Philippine Embassy in Singapore hopes to heighten interest in the Philippines as a travel destination among Singaporeans and foreign nationals based in Singapore, especially those who are in a position to share their positive impressions about the country to their respective networks.

“Studies have shown that one job is created for every tourist who visits the Philippines,” said Ambassador Cruz. “This means that if we reach the government’s target of raising our tourist arrivals to 10 million by 2016, from 3.92 million last year, we would be able to create 6 million jobs in 5 years. This is not even counting the employment that can be generated indirectly from tourism. Clearly, the tourism industry is an important plank of our economic development strategy.”

The choice of destination for the first Ambassador’s Tour coincided with the DOT’s objective to intensify its promotion of Palawan. Speaking at the Tourism Roadshow held last 28 February 2012 in Singapore, Ms. Maria Corazon Jorda-Apo, DOT Director for the Americas and Asia-Pacific, said, “We want to encourage Singapore-based travel experts to market Palawan, a beach resort which is undergoing significant development with the help of major foreign investors.”

Future Ambassador’s Tours are planned to Donsol for whale-shark viewing, and Cebu and Bohol, among other destinations.

Only 150 OEC applications will be accepted at the Embassy’s OEC extension service at Lucky Plaza on the above dates, and will be processed according to the following schedule:

Application Nos. 001-075: 9:00 A.M. to 12:30 P.M.
Application Nos. 076-150: 1:30 P.M. onwards

Likewise, on the above dates, only 800 OEC queue numbers and 400 OWWA queue numbers will be issued at the Embassy, and will be processed according to the following schedule:

Queue Nos. 001-200: 9:00 A.M. to 10:30 P.M.
Queue Nos. 201-400: 10:30 A.M. to 12:30 P.M.
Queue Nos. 401-600: 1:30 P.M. to 3:00 P.M.
Queue Nos. 601-800: 3:00 P.M. onwards

Applicants without queue numbers, or with queue numbers that are not yet scheduled for processing, will be restricted from entering the Embassy to prevent overcrowding. The Embassy reminds applicants to refrain from bringing companions, to avoid further congestion of its public waiting areas. The Embassy reserves the right to restrict the entry of non-applicants.

To further facilitate the speedy processing of OECs, applicants are reminded to ensure that their documentary requirements are complete and in order. The list of requirements for OWWA membership and OECs are available at http://www.philippine-embassy.org.sg/labor/owwa/ and http://www.philippine-embassy.org.sg/labor/oec/ respectively. The necessary forms may be downloaded and printed out ahead of time from http://www.philippine-embassy.org.sg/forms/ under “Labor Forms”.

In order to avoid inconvenience in obtaining necessary documents during peak travel periods such as Holy Week, applicants are strongly encouraged to schedule their visits to the Embassy from Monday to Thursday and in advance of their planned travel dates.

The Chief Executive issued Proclamation No. 282 on November 8, this year, with the directive to enjoin the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) and the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) to lead in the celebration of the centennial birthday of the national artist. Aquino was born on March 9, 1899 in Lolomboy, Bocaue, Bulacan.

The category of National Artist was created under Proclamation No. 1001 signed in 1972.

“Preeminent achievements that have enhanced the cultural heritage of the Filipino people deserve the recognition and acknowledgment of our government in pursuit of its policy of preserving and developing the Filipino culture and a national identity,” President Aquino said.

He said that “the works and achievements of Aquino are reflective of this preeminent excellence and of the national genius that contributed to the national heritage of the Philippines and the world.”

Acknowledged as the Folk Dance Pioneer, Aquino began her research on folk dances in the 1920’s making trips to remote barrios in Central and Northern Luzon. Her research on the unrecorded forms of local celebration, ritual and sport resulted into a 1926 thesis titled “Philippine Folk Dances and Games,” and arranged specifically for use by teachers and playground instructors in public and private schools.

In the 1940’s, she served as supervisor of physical education at the Bureau of Education that distributed her work and adapted the teaching of folk dancing as a medium of making young Filipinos aware of their cultural heritage.

In 1954, she received the Republic Award of Merit given by the late President Ramon Magsaysay for “outstanding contribution toward the advancement of Filipino culture”, one among the many awards and recognition given to her.

Her books include the Philippine National Dances (1946); Gymnastics for Girls (1947); Fundamental Dance Steps and Music (1948); Foreign Folk Dances (1949); Dances for all Occasion (1950); Playground Demonstration (1951); and Philippine Folk Dances, Volumes I to VI. (PNA)

A designated representative may claim the passport on the applicant’s behalf, provided s/he can present a signed authorization letter from the applicant and a valid Singapore identity card or work pass.

Passport release is from Monday to Thursday, 10:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Please bring your old passport for cancellation. Passports left unclaimed for more than 6 months from the date of issuance will be cancelled, per Department Order No. 37-03.

The Presidential Awards highlight the time-honored Filipino values of PAKIPAGKAPWA, PAGTUTULUNGAN and PAGKAKAISA. The four (4) award categories:

• Lingkod sa Kapwa Pilipino (Linkapil Award) – for overseas Filipino associations or individuals with exceptional or significant contributions to Philippine reconstruction, progress and development
• Banaag Award – for overseas Filipino individuals or associations for their contributions in advancing the cause of &/or have significantly benefited overseas Filipino communities or sectors
• Kaanib Award – for foreign individuals or organizations with exceptional or significant contributions to Philippine reconstruction, progress and development, &/or have significantly benefited a sector or community in the Philippines, or advanced the cause of overseas Filipino communities.
• Pamana ng Pilipino Award – for overseas Filipinos who have demonstrated the talent and industry of the Filipino and brought honor and recognition to the country through excellence and distinction in the pursuit of their work or profession.

PROCEDURES

1. Any individual or organization (Filipino or foreign), based in the Philippines or overseas may submit nominations for the awards.
2. Former nominees who are not recipients of the award may be re-nominated under the same or different category. 
3. Individuals or organizations may not be nominated in more than one category (the Secretariat reserves the right to reclassify nominations as needed) 
4. If an individual and his/her organization are nominated to the same category, the primacy of the organization is upheld. 
5. Only one award can be given to a person or organization for the same activities. 
6. Awards may be given posthumously. 
7. Nominations may be submitted to the Commission on Filipinos Overseas or to the Awards Committee of any Philippine embassy or consulate. Online nominations can be done through www.cfo.gov.ph. 
8. Awards ceremonies will be held at the Malacañan Palace in December 2012.

DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION:

15 June 2012
Awards Secretariat
Commission on Filipinos Overseas, Citigold Center, 1345 Pres. Quirino Avenue cor. Osmeña Highway (South Superhighway) Manila, Philippines 1007.

For more information, you can contact telephone numbers (632) 561-8291 or (632) 552-4700 local 761-767, and email addressed at info@cfo.gov.ph, jramos@cfo.gov.ph and npangilinan@cfo.gov.ph.

A person applying for extension of his Philippine passport’s validity will need to present his passport collection slip at Window 1 of the Embassy, together with the following documents:

• Passport Extension Form with passport-size photo;
• Duly accomplished Assistance-to-Nationals (ATN) form; and
• Supporting documents that indicate the nature and urgency of their scheduled travel.

Applications for extension of passport validity are subject to the review and approval of a consular officer. A fee of S$34.00 is applicable for extension of passport validity. It takes two (2) working days to process the extension of a passport.

Please be advised that only non-machine readable (green) passports may be extended. The Embassy cannot extend Machine-Readable and/or e-Passports, nor may it add pages to a passport booklet whose pages have been filled with visas and immigration stamps.

Since a passport with at least six (6) months’ validity is a standard requirement for international travel, Filipinos in Singapore are encouraged to renew their passports early to avoid inconvenience and additional expense. While the Embassy will be implementing a shorter processing period of four (4) weeks for passport applications processed from 30 January 2012 onward, applicants are advised to factor in the necessary lead time required for securing a confirmed appointment schedule.

For information on the procedure and requirements for scheduling an appointment for passport renewal, please visit http://www.philippine-embassy.org.sg/consular/passport/application-renewal/.