‘Foreign Exchange’ Articles
Written by anyajulia on 23 December 2009
The Department of Agriculture imposed a temporary ban on bird and poultry imports from Germany and France due to reported occurrence of avian influenza (AI) or bird flue in said areas. This is in step with the government’s sustained efforts to keep the country free of the bird flu virus.
The Philippines along with Brunei and Singapore are the only AI-free countries in Southeast Asia.
Under the Avian Influenza Protection Program (AIPP), the DA is also implementing an Applied Veterinary Epidemiology Training (AVET) Program to strengthen the capacity of the field veterinary services, especially at the local level, in designing and managing disease surveillance, conducting outbreak investigation and effective outbreak containment measures.
Besides these measures, 20 critical areas are under surveillance especially during the bird migration season of October to February. (PIA)
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Written by anyajulia on 26 November 2009
The National Youth Commission (NYC) is now accepting applicants for Student Ambassadors and Supervisors to a 10-day Visit to Japan as part of the Japan-East Asia Network of Exchange for Students and Youths (JENESYS) Program. This program is in partnership with the Japan International Cultural Center (JICC) of the Embassy of Japan and the Japan International Cooperation Center (JICE).
The JENESYS Program is an annual youth exchange program that provides the youth with the opportunity to visit ASEAN countries and Japan, and establish friendship with their counterparts.
The delegates will live on board a Japanese luxury ship. While on country visits, they undertake various activities such as courtesy call, interaction with local youth, institutional visits, and homestay with local families.
The Program aims to deepen understanding of the different facets of the Japanese society including politics, diplomacy, economics and culture and to form the basis of future vision and construct firm solidarity among Asian countries which will promote mutual understanding of the future generation of ASEAN and East Asia Summit member countries.
To qualify for the JENESYS Programme of student ambassadors, applicants must be Filipino, single, must be between 16 to 18 years old, on or before April 1, 2010; and of good moral character.
For more details on the requirements, please go to the NYC website www.youth.net.ph. Visit the Embassy of Japan and the Japan International Cooperation Center (JICE). Or Click here for the full article. (PIA)
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Written by anyajulia on 25 November 2009
2009 CNN Hero of the Year, Efren Peñaflorida, the Filipino “pushcart classroom” educator will also be receiving the Order of Lakandula Award in the hero’s welcome by Malacanang. The ceremony will be lead by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo herself.
Peñaflorida’s selection was revealed by CNN’s Andenson Cooper at the conclusion of the third annual “CNN Heroes: An All Star Tribute” at the Kodak Theater in Hollywood on November 21.
The Filipino CNN Hero of the Year who will receive US$100,000., is in addition to the US$25,000 he is entitled of as one of the top ten nominees, to continue his work with the Dynamic Teen Company.
He announced that 10% of his winning will go to his Parish in Cavite, the others will be for the children who are beneficiaries of his kariton klasroom.
The other top ten CNN Heroes include Brad Blauser who provides hope and mobility to disabled children and their families in Iraq. Army veteran Roy Foster started Stand Down House to help veterans struggling with addiction and homelessness in Florida.
Bartender Doc Hendley is providing clean water to communities worldwide. Breast cancer survivor Andrea Ivory is bringing early detection to the doorsteps of uninsured women.
Zimbabwe native Betty Makoni founded the Girl Child Network to provide a haven for young victims of sexual abuse. School bus driver Jorge Munoz is helping hungry New Yorkers make it through tough times by handing out free meals from his mobile soup kitchen in Queens. (PIA)
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Written by anyajulia on 19 November 2009
The Arroyo Administration’s Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) gets the needed boost as World Bank grants US$ 405 million loan to support poverty reduction.
The Washington-based lender said that the loan grant will strengthen the capacity of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) as the project implementer and as a social protection agency, finance part of the new conditional cash transfer (CCT) program, and establish a national household targeting system to identify the poor and improve targeting in social protection programs.
The program is focused on the poor families in the various municipalities and provinces of the country and it is the DSWD that chooses the program beneficiaries through the conduct of a survey called the Proxy Means Test that is conducted to determine the poorest of the poor families.
Transfers to some 376,000 households are covered by the World Bank loan, the rest being financed from the Philippine government’s own budget resources. (PIA)
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Written by anyajulia on 19 November 2009
The Department of Education (DepEd) and the University of Auckland (UoA) in New Zealand sealed an agreement to push for reading proficiency among selected public elementary schools in the country.
The partnership will push for the “Reading Recovery in the Philippines” Project, a research-based early literacy intervention that successfully decreased the incidence of reading and writing difficulties among children across a range of linguistic, ethnic, and cultural-social groups in New Zealand.
In the agreement, the UoA will train Philippines Reading Recovery trainers and tutors, who will be selected by DepEd. As the Department implements the Reading Recovery Project, partners from New Zealand will facilitate the project through advisory and support visits. The project is also comprised of research for moderation and evaluation and wider academic collaboration. (DepEd)
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Written by anyajulia on 19 November 2009
The United Nations seeks US$143.7 million to support the Philippine Government in revised appeal for typhoon disasters.
The $144 million will cover the work of UN agencies, the International Organization for Migration and several non-governmental organizations from November until March 2010.
Only $26 million was received following the early October requesting $74 million, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs’ Financial Tracking Service (FTS). (PIA)
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Written by anyajulia on 18 November 2009
The United Nations (UN) World Food Summit on Food Security started on November 16 in Rome,
The various world leaders unanimously adopting a declaration pledging renewed commitment to eradicate hunger from the face of the earth sustainably, at the earliest date. They also committed to reverse the decline in domestic and international funding for agriculture and promote new investment in the sector, to improve governance of global food issues in partnership with relevant stakeholders from the public and private sector, and to proactively face the challenges of climate change to food security.
FAO says the share of international aid that is allocated to agriculture has steadily declined over the last three decades. While the summit agreed on the need to increase agriculture’s share of international aid, it did not allocate the $44 billion annually — 17 percent of overall foreign aid — the FAO says is necessary to feed a population that is expected to grow to 9 billion by 2050. (PIA)
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Written by anyajulia on 18 November 2009
The Philippines proposes the adoption of common visa among citizens of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in a bid to boost investments, particularly in the tourism sector.
The Philippines, through the Bureau of Immigration, is hosting the annual meeting of ASEAN immigration chiefs and consuls from the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar, Cambodia, Brunei Darussalam and officials of the Australian immigration and citizenship office.
Under the proposal, he explained that foreigners holding an ASEAN common visa can travel freely to any ASEAN member-country without the need to secure an entry visa. (PIA)
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Written by anyajulia on 16 November 2009
AMERICA, through U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced an additional $5.2 million in disaster relief and recovery assistance to the Philippines, upping the US aid to almost $20 M since three storms ravaged most parts of Luzon.
According to Secretary Clinton, the additional assistance will meet vital education, water and sanitation, health, and disaster preparedness needs of the country.
Secretary Clinton visits the Philippines on a two-day trip to show solidarity with the Filipino people in the wake of Tropical Storm Ketsana (local name Ondoy), Typhoon Parma (Pepeng), and Typhoon Mirinae (Santi), which have affected over 10 million people and claimed almost a thousand lives.
In Marikina, Secretary Clinton visited Malanday High School, in one of the areas hardest hit by the floods. The school lies next to the Marikina River, which overflowed onto the school grounds.
Secretary Clinton, along with U.S. Ambassador Christie Kenney, Education Secretary Jesli Lapus, Department of Social Welfare and Development Secretary Esperanza Cabral, and Marikina Mayor Fernando opened a Book Fair.
The American Brother’s Brother Foundation, through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), donated 50,000 reading books to Malanday High School and Elementary School teachers.
The teachers were able to select books along with other materials donated by USAID, such as desks and ceiling fans, to gain a new start after the floods.
The Malanday High School, Elementary School and Health Clinic are part of the U.S. Embassy’s Community Partnership Program.
Last weekend over 100 U.S. Embassy employees and family members worked side by side with Malanday community members to repair the schools and Health Clinic.
The Community Partnership Program is a long-term initiative of the U.S. Embassy to participate in the local community as neighbors who work together to improve the health and vitality of Metro Manila. (PIA)
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Written by anyajulia on 13 November 2009
Philippines and Indonesia ties mark 60 years. Established in 1949, key players of the two neighboring countries have gathered to celebrate the major gains of the Philippine-Indonesia bilateral ties.
On the occasion of the 60 Years Diplomatic Relations between Indonesia and Philippines held last month, the continuing Philippine-Indonesia relations is viewed as a “catalyst” in the growth, stability and security of the Brunei Darussalam-Indonesia-Malaysia-the Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA).
The two countries have been strong trade and investment partners, marked by the bullish and sustained economic exchanges.
The strong Philippine-Indonesia relations was also noted with establishing closer ties between each local government unit as seen through the success of the Jose Abad Santos-Glan and Sarangani Cooperation Triangle (JAGS-CT) which effectively generated concrete gains in the sisterhood agreement on trade, tourism and education. (MEDCo)
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Written by anyajulia on 12 November 2009
Japanese liner Fuji Maru, the cruise that promotes camaraderie between Japanese and ASEAN youths, is bringing in 350 youth ambassadors from ASEAN countries. They are participants to the 36th Ship for Southeast Asia Youth Program (SSEAYP).
Launched in January 1974, SSEAYP seeks to broaden the youths’ global perspectives, as well as strengthen their motivations and abilities in international cooperation by participating in discussions, introductions of each country and various exchange activities both onboard the friendship cruise and in countries it visits.
SSEAYP is sponsored and carried out annually by the Government of Japan with the active participation of the Southeast Asian countries. (PIA)
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