MANILA, Philippines – Filipino troops detailed as peacekeepers in Haiti were trapped inside a collapsed building housing the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Port-au-Prince following a massive quake that devastated the Caribbean nation yesterday morning.
Other Filipino peacekeepers rushed to the scene to dig out their comrades and other UN workers from the ruins of the seven-story building, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).
Reporting to the DFA, the Philippine Mission in the United Nations said it could not determine at this point if there were any casualties among members of the Philippine military and police contingents.
“It said it could not account for all of the Filipino peacekeeping personnel as its only source of information was UN Headquarters in New York, which was only able to establish contact with MINUSTAH officials via satellite phones,” the DFA said. Continued…
Posted in News and updates, Philippine News, Philippine Updates.
Tagged with Philippine Updates.
By owiend
– January 21, 2010
Feast of the Black Nazarene (Quiapo, Manila)
9 January
Every 9th of January, thousands of devotees from all walks of life come to the district of Quiapo to take part in the procession as a way of strengthening their faith or fulfilling their vow to the Lord.
The statue was brought by a priest in Mexico and brought it to Manila in 1606. Since 1787 the statue has been housed at Saint John the Baptist Church in Quiapo. For more than 200 years the church has been placing the statue on a gilded carriage every January and pulling it through the streets of Quiapo. People who touch it are reported to sometimes be healed of diseases. Catholics come from all over to take the chance that they will be able to get close enough to touch the image and perhaps receive a miracle.
Manila
Manila is a teeming megalopolis composed of 17 different cities that blends of some of the country’s oldest and richest heritage treasures and the most modern metropolitan features of the Philippine landscape.
It is the country’s heart and soul and the central nerve of all activities in the country: seat of government, centre of trade and commerce and the core of education, arts, culture and entertainment.
Historic, bustling, awe-inspiring, Manila is a blend of cultures and flavours that offers an endless serving of places to see, sights to behold, and experiences to never forget.
Ati-Atihan Festival (Kalibo, Aklan)
11 – 17 January
The Ati-Atihan Festival is arguably the wildest fiesta in the country. During the last three days of this week-long festival a parade is characteristic. A colourful happening with celebrants who paint their faces in many different ways and wear bright outlandish costumes as they carouse and dance in the streets to the hypnotic beating of drums and incessant shouts of “Hala Bira!”
The Ati-Atihan Festival began as a feast of reconciliation between the immigrant Malays from Borneo and the resident Ati until the Spanish injected some Catholic elements into it. Continued…
Posted in News and updates, Philippine History, Philippine Tourism, Philippine Updates.
Tagged with Philippine Culture & Tradition, Philippine Updates.
By owiend
– January 21, 2010
The Philippine jewelry industry aims to convert small producers into a unified major player in global and national markets. Top jewelry industry leaders, who are officers of the Confederation of Philippine Jewelry Inc.. (CPJI), announced the overriding purpose in a recent national conference to organize the jewelry industry to attain a collective goal that not one player can singly achieve. The leadership includes Peter Zuniga, CPJI President and President of Meycauayan Jewelry Industry Association (MJIA) , Malou Unson, CPJI Vice- President and President of Phil Jewelry Business Club Foundation, Inc. Cecile Ramos, MJIA Chair, and Mia Faustmann, President of the Guild of Phil Jewellers, Inc. The industry’s goal is to become a world class player by 2014 in terms of the relative size of its exports.
Global Filipino Nation (GFN), an international good governance organization of global Filipinos leaders and organizations in over 25 countries, provided technical assistance in the CPJI-constituency formulation of a Logical Framework (LogFrame) to attain the jewelry industry’s goal of becoming a world class player. GFN Convenors Victor S. Barrios and Evelyn R. Singson, assisted by GFN Deputy Executive Director Connie Gomez Valdes, guided the industry leaders over a period of 6 months in fleshing out the details of the expected outcomes, inputs/resources required, time-bound performance indicators and monitoring mechanisms. A LogFrame is a tool used by multilateral financial institutions, such as The World Bank and IMF, to serve as a roadmap in programs and projects. Barrios and Singson stressed that the success of the jewelry industry in moving forward, aided by a LogFrame, could provide a template for lifting other Philippine industries with similar potentials to become world class players. Continued…
Posted in News and updates.
By owiend
– January 21, 2010
COPENHAGEN, Denmark—The Philippine delegation voiced support for the controversial Copenhagen Accord when the UN climate conference convened for the last time at dawn on Saturday.
Presidential adviser on climate change Heherson Alvarez conveyed the Philippine position, a measured endorsement of the climate deal, past 6 a.m., about four hours before the parties adopted the Accord. He made special mention of the breakthrough in the negotiations over REDD+, or reduced emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, which the Philippines helped broker earlier in the week.
During his intervention, the delegate who chaired the REDD-plus negotiations, Tony La Vina, dean of the Ateneo School of Government and a senior member of the Philippine delegation, sat to Alvarez’s right.
The country’s prepared statement follows:
“We support the adoption of the Copenhagen Accord.
We welcome the efforts made by the group of leaders who negotiated it in the spirit of exploring collective actions. However, we need to constantly and consistently stress the critical importance of transparency, broader consultation, and consensus in these international negotiations. Continued…
Posted in News and updates, Philippine News, Philippine Updates.
Tagged with Philippine Politics, Philippine Updates.
By owiend
– December 30, 2009
- On the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), OHCHR (HRTB), in partnership with the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) and UNIFEM celebrated a half-day panel discussion on “Women and migration in Europe, including in the context of the financial crisis” focusing on the European region and CIS countries. The event was held in Geneva on 4 November 2009, following the regional meeting of the ECE in preparation for the 15-year review of implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action, also held in Geneva on 2-3 November 2009.
- The discussion was attended by more than 100 participants from civil society groups, international organizations and representatives from permanent missions to the United Nations Office at Geneva. Ms. Jane Connors, Director of the Special Procedures Division moderated the event. The panellists were Ms. Violet Awori and Ms. Violeta Neubauer, members of the CEDAW Committee, Mr. Sergiu Sainciuc, Deputy Minister of Economy and Commerce of the Republic of Moldova, Ms. Filomenita Mongaya Hogsholm from WIDE, WIDE Danish Platform JULU and BABAYALAN, the Philippine Women’s Network in Europe and Ms. Virginia Wangare Greiner, Chair of the European Network of Migrant Women, representing civil society. Continued…
Posted in News and updates, Women's issues.
Tagged with Women's issues.
By owiend
– December 30, 2009
Your opinion matters!