6 agreements to be signed during President Aquino’s state visit to PROC – DFA

THE Department of Foreign Affairs announced on Wednesday that at least six agreements will be signed during President Benigno S. Aquino III’s five-day State Visit to the People’s Republic of China from August 30 to September 3, 2011.

Assistant Secretary of the DFA’s Office Asia and Pacific Affairs Cristina Ortega said that these agreements will be signed during the business fora and meetings the President will be having with Chinese business leaders in the different cities he will be visiting.

The three cities the President will visit are Beijing, Shanghai and Xiamen.

Ortega said the agreements include the Joint Statement (PH-PROC) on the West Philippine Sea, the Philippines-China Five-Year Development Program for Trade and Economic Cooperation, an MoU between the PCOO and State Council Information Office on Friendly Exchanges, an MoU on Sports Cooperation, Implementing Program on the MoU on Tourism and Exchange of Letters on
the Executive Program of the Philippines-China Cultural Agreement.

On the Joint Statement on the West Philippine Sea, Ortega said that the document will be released but only after the State Visit.

“We will have a Joint Statement of the Philippines and China (on the West Philippine Sea)…that will be crafted during and right after the State Visit to China so hindi pa natin alam yan. I don’t think we can preempt the Joint Statement but I would assume that there would be a line or two on the West Philippine Sea,” Ortega said.

On the Philippine-China Five-Year Development Program for Trade and Economic Cooperation, Ortega said the targeted sectors of this program are in infrastructure, mining, energy, information and tourism. (End)

PNoy ordered DFA to help repatriate Filipinos in Libya

PRESIDENT Benigno Aquino on Monday ordered Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs officials to help repatriate Filipinos in Libya, where the situation remains “unstable” despite signs of an impending end of hostilities.

“The President has given the instructions to validate the situation and to see what else can be done to help the Filipinos who want to be repatriated,” Deputy Presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said at a press briefing in Malacañang.

“The President has asked for continuous updates on the situation in Libya,” Valte said.

Acting DFA Secretary Antonio Rodriguez said he has received an advisory from the Philippine embassy in Libya that the situation there “might stabilize” in the next 24 hours.

According to Rodriguez, Foreign Affairs undersecretary Rafael Seguis who is in Libya reported that gunshots have stopped in Tripoli “except for celebratory gunfire.”

There is no movement of troops so far, Rodriguez reported. (End)

DFA, gimanduan na ang mga Pinoy sa Syria sa pagbakwit

TAGBILARAN CITY, Aug. 16 (PIA) – GIMANDUAN na sa Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) sa pagbakwit ang tanang Pinoy nga nagtrabaho o nagpuyo sa Syria.

Gipasaka na sa DFA sa Alert Level 3 ang sitwasyon sa tibuok Syria tungod sa nagka-grabeng kagubot didto.

Matud pa ni Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario nga abagahon sa kagamhanan ang tanang galastohan sa repatriation.

Gimanduan na ni Del Rosario ang Embahada sa Pilipinas sa Damascus nga hingusgan ang komunikasyon sa mga Pinoy sa Syria ug kumbinsihon sila sa pagbiya na sa nasud.

Gihingusgan pa sa security forces ni Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad ang pag-atake sa Port City sa Latakia aron bungkagon ang mga protesta batok sa pangulo diin 34 na ang nangamatay. (PIA-Bohol/ecb)

Hong Kong keeps travel ban on Philippines

HONG Kong has turned down the Philippine government’s repeated appeals to lift the Special Administrative Region’s nearly one-year-old ban on travel to Manila, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said.

The foreign office had “made representations with Hong Kong several times to have the travel ban lifted,” said Raul Hernandez, DFA spokesperson.

“The Department of Tourism (DOT) is also working to do this,” he told reporters.  Hernandez said both the DFA and DOT had not given up though. “We will continue with our representations and hope that a positive outcome will result from them.”

On Aug. 23, 2010, Hong Kong’s Security Bureau raised to black its Outbound Travel Alert (OTA) for the Philippines after eight Hong Kong tourists were killed and seven wounded in a bus hijacking perpetrated by a dismissed Filipino police officer. (DFA)

DFA: Alert level 1 up in UK amid riots

THE Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said on Wednesday alert level 1 has been raised in London as violence persists in the area.

DFA spokesperson Raul Hernandez urged overseas Filipino workers to be extra careful and vigilant of violence.

He said the Philippine government has not yet imposed of travel and deployment bans to London.

On Tuesday, the Philippine Embassy in London issued an advisory to the Filipino community in the United Kingdom to be vigilant and to exercise due caution in light of the riots that occurred around London and in other UK cities over the past days.

“The Embassy urges all Filipinos to stay away from high street areas, to avoid large gatherings and to avoid joining or going to places of riots or get involved in any public disturbance,” Charge d’Affaires, a.i. Reynaldo A. Catapang said.

The Embassy has also called on the Filipino community leaders and members to contact the local police immediately and/or the Embassy if there are any untoward incidents in their respective areas or to report any information on Filipinos who may have been injured or seriously affected by
the riots.

The Embassy remains in close contact with UK authorities and Filipino community leaders and is closely monitoring events and developments. It has also activated a round-the-clock monitoring team to continuously ascertain the situation. (End)