How did the Philippines trump China to become the fastest growing economy in Asia?

Economic expansions compared. The graph above shows the first-quarter growth in the GNP in the last five years. Illustration from Manila Standard Today

The Philippine economy grew by 7.8% in the first three months of 2013, surpassing every single analyst estimate and putting it just above China as one of Asia's fastest growing economies. The torrid growth, the best in nearly three years, is especially impressive given that exports declined 6.2% as electronics shipments collapsed.

So how is it growing so fast?

1) Infrastructure

The Philippines, like Thailand, is pursuing a massive infrastructure spending program worth around $10 billion. It covers a wide range of investments, from power plants and bridges to roads and schools. Although not all the money has been spent, the program has already created upwards of 400,000 jobs and helped win an investment grading from rating agencies, opening up the country to more international money.

2) Domestic Demand

If foreigners aren't going to buy your goods, you better hope the locals are. Domestic demand in the Philippines has been very strong, driven by private investment and consumer growth in a way that China must envy. Manufacturing growth in the country is up by 9.7% due to demand for food, appliances, communication and transport, and construction were up a whopping 32.5% in the first three months of the year. Services expanded 7%.

Filipinos preferred their products and called their Philippine made products as "genuine and Original" with better quality than imported products from china which they called them as "Lokal" or imitation with poor quality. Consumer's patronizing locally made Philippine products also boost the manufacturing sector in the country.

"Initially, this was led by infrastructure spending from the government," the National Economic and Development chief Artemio Balisacan told the Philippine Star. "By the second half of 2012, private construction started to rebound."

3) Overseas Filipino Remittance Payments

Underpinning domestic demand is a raft of Overseas Filipino remittance payments that make their way to the Philippines each year from its vast Diaspora—over $5 Billion Dollars in the first quarter of 2013. The cash transfers have long helped the Philippines pay off foreign debt and boost domestic consumption.

Can it continue?

Good news lasts only so long, and analysts have pointed to several risks. Exports may continue to fall as China slows and Europe stagnates. But the global slowdown had little impact on manufacturing so the Philippine could rely on domestic strong demand. Overseas Filipino Remittance payments, although large, are at their lowest in nearly four years, and the Philippine stock market tumbled almost 4% on Thursday, in line with the Nikkei, despite the strong economic growth figures. Manila is sticking with a 6-7% growth target for the whole of 2013.

"There's a disconnect between the economy and the valuation of the market," a Manila-based trader told Bloomberg. "While overseas investors say they like our economic fundamentals, they find valuations to be stretched."

The Philippine stock market is one of Asia's best performing bourses, up 41% in the last year, but traders are clearly worried about whether there is an asset bubble in the making. The Philippines has strengths China doesn't, but building roads and pushing up the budget deficit is not enough when it comes to a long-term strategy.

With report from QUARTZ

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Philippines 2013 fastest growth in Asia hits up 7.8% in Q1 nudged ahead China and Indonesia’s 7.7 & 6%

Philippine unexpected growth beat all estimates in a Bloomberg News survey of 22 economists.

The country's economy posted better than expected growth in the first quarter of 2013 (January-March), lifted by strong manufacturing and construction sectors, and cementing views the central bank will leave its key policy rate on hold for the rest of 2013.

With the Philippines facing export headwinds as global growth shows signs of an extended slowdown, analysts expect the central bank to tweak some policy levers to support domestic consumption.

Gross domestic product expanded a seasonally adjusted 2.2 per cent in the first quarter over the prior three months, faster than the upwardly revised 1.9 per cent in October-December, and above a market forecast of 1.6 per cent.

The quarterly rate was the fastest since the first quarter of 2012, when it grew at the same pace.

From a year earlier, the economy grew 7.8 per cent, helped by increases in public and private spending, making the Philippines the fastest growing economy in Asia as it nudged ahead of China's growth of 7.7 per cent on an annual basis and 1.6 per cent quarter on quarter.

The Philippines' annual GDP figure was also higher than 6.1 per cent growth forecast in a Reuters poll.

The January-March data marked the third consecutive quarter of above 7 per cent annual growth for the Southeast Asian country, with the yearly growth rate in the period the highest for any single quarter during the three-year-old Aquino administration, the economic planning agency said in a statement.

The export-reliant Philippines is facing some risk that demand for its high-tech products will slow on more evidence that global growth is losing momentum.

"We remain vigilant of the downside risks; disasters can negate the gains and push back development. The global economy remains fragile," economic planning chief Arsenio Balisacan told reporters, adding capital inflows were also another risk.

Markets' reactions to the data were mixed. The peso was off early lows and was quoted at 42.35 per dollar at 02.16 GMT from a low of around 42.515 in early deals. But the Philippine stock market was down about 1 per cent.

Economists said the central bank would most likely leave its key overnight borrowing rate on hold for the rest of the year, with inflation forecast to stay within the central bank's 3 to 5 per cent target band this year despite strong growth.

The central bank next meets to review policy on June 13. It has kept its policy rate steady at a record low of 3.5 per cent since December 2012, but has slashed the rate on its special deposit account (SDA) facility by more than 200 basis points since July 2012 to divert credit to more productive use.

"We think the BSP (Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas) will continue to cut the SDA rate to lift domestic spending as well as save costs," said Trinh Nguyen, economist at HSBC in Hong Kong.

With the outlook on exports still murky, domestic consumption will remain as the main driver for economic growth this year. Manila is targeting growth of 6 per cent to 7 per cent in 2013 after a revised 6.8 per cent expansion the prior year. Domestic demand is seen holding up well in 2013, underpinned by strong remittances, low inflation and record-low borrowing costs.

Economists in the same poll forecast full-year 2013 growth of 6.2 per cent, slower from the previous year but better than the 5.9 per cent estimate in a Reuters quarterly poll in April.

National Economic and Development Authority director general and Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Artemio Balisacan said the country grew fastest in Southeast Asia, even overtaking growth rates of neighbors China and Indonesia having 7.7 percent and 6 percent respectively.

"Impressive performance of these sectors prove that the country is already reaping the benefits of strengthening priority sectors that are potential growth drivers and employment generators," said Balisacan. "Business confidence and consumer optimism fuelled this growth, putting to rest doubts cast on the 2012 figures as being due to base effects only."

"The numbers speak for themselves. The numbers exceeded market forecasts, including my own," Balisacan added.

He also said the impressive growth of various sectors would also generate employment for Filipinos.

In 2012, the Philippine economy grew 7.1 percent

Pineapples are stacked on a truck at a Dole Food Co. plantation in Polomolok,  South Cotabato, Mindanao, the Philippines. Exports, which make up the equivalent of about 30 percent of the economy, fell in two out of three months through March, data showed. photo: SeongJoon Cho/Bloomberg

Growth sectors

Albert said the robust growth was boosted by the strong performance of manufacturing and construction, backed up by financial intermediation and trade.

Increased domestic demand led to the local manufacturing sector growing at 9.7 percent while the construction sector grew by 32.5 percent in the first three months of the year.

"Initially, this was led by infrastructure spending of the government. By the second half of 2012, private construction started to rebound," said Balisacan.

On the other hand, Albert cited the continued inflow of remittances from overseas Filipino workers, which accelerated the Net Primary Income from the rest of the world to grow by 3.2 percent.

This boosted the Gross National Income (GNI) growth to 7.1 percent from 5.7 percent in 2012, according to the NSCB chief.

The agriculture sector also grew by 3.3 percent as the fisheries subsector bounced back to a growth of 5.5 percent during the first quarter.

Capital formation spurred overall growth with its 47.7 percent expansion, according to Balisacan.

"For the first time, expenditure in capital formation, including other private sector investments such as on durable equipment, contributed more to growth than household consumption expenditure," the Cabinet official said.

Government consumption also grew by 13.2 percent due to state support for social programs such as the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program.

Balisacan is also expecting the growth to be sustained regardless of the sluggish growth of developed countries.

"Despite what's happening in other countries, (the global economy) will not hamper our growth," he said.

Inclusive growth?

Meanwhile, Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Secretary Ramon Carandang said the government is not resting on its laurels with the faster-than-expected growth in the first quarter.

"Our challenge is to sustain the growth and ensure that all Filipinos feel its positive effects," he said on Twitter.

A recent survey has reported that some 1.1 million young Filipinos have joined the unemployed and underemployed pool of 10.05 million this year and a reverse migration which the country currently experiencing could also affect the figure.

There has also been little change in poverty and hunger figures, standing at 27.9 percent in early 2012.

Related story: The Grim Reality Behind the Philippines' Economic Growth

"To address this, we need to create more jobs than that number," Balisacan said.

Meanwhile,  Abigail Valte, deputy presidential spokesperson, said the Aquino administration remains focused on fostering inclusive growth.

"Since our administration took office, we have worked to drastically expand social safety nets to help the most vulnerable in our country...The recent election results show that the public has confidence in the President, and agrees with the direction the country is going. Therefore, our administration will continue to promote and expand policies that lead to a Philippines where no one is left behind," Valte said in a statement.

2012 growth figures revised

On Wednesday night, the NSCB also revised the 2012 annual GDP growth figures from 6.6 percent to 6.8 percent.

"The revision was brought by the upward revisions in Public Administration and Defense: Compulsory Social Security (PAD), Mining & Quarrying, Other Services, and Construction," the NSCB said.

Net Primary Income was similarly revised upward from 3.3 percent to 4.8 percent which consequently resulted in an upward revision of GNI for 2012 from 5.8 percent to 6.5 percent.

In contrast, the 2011 GDP growth figure was revised downward from 3.9 percent to 3.6 percent due to the revisions in Construction, Other Services and Real Estate, Renting & Business Activities.

The GNI for 2011 was also revised downward from 3.2 percent to 2.8 percent.

Meanwhile, GDP growth figure for fourth quarter of 2012 was revised upward from 6.8 percent to 7.1 percent due to upward revisions in construction, financial intermediation and PAD.

"Released last January 2013, the preliminary GDP estimates for said quarter were based from limited data available 15 days after the reference period," the agency said.

With report from Financial Times, Bloomberg and philSTAR

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Philippines Says It Followed Rules of Engagement in Sea Shooting

The Philippines said a coast guard vessel obeyed the rules of engagement when it fired on a Taiwanese boat in a May 9 confrontation that killed a fisherman and strained relations between the two countries.

Officers on the patrol boat opened fire when the fishing vessel's crew tried to stop them from boarding a separate, bigger Taiwanese ship that was also in the Philippines' exclusive economic zone, Transportation Secretary Joseph Abaya told reporters in Manila today. The shots were meant to immobilize the fishing boat that was blocking the way, he said.

"We complied with the rules of engagement," Abaya said. "There is no authority to fire at human beings or target them, and whoever died was not seen."

Taiwan and the Philippines are separately investigating the shooting, which has soured trade ties after Taiwan rejected President Benigno Aquino's offer of an apology and imposed economic punishments. The standoff highlights strains in a part of the South China Sea beset by competing territorial claims from countries including Taiwan, the Philippines, Vietnam and China.

"We want to show that if China intrudes into our waters, we will take an equally harsh stance," Benito Lim, a political science professor at the Ateneo de Manila University, said by phone. "Aquino could have officially apologized and scolded the coast guard to end it all, but he didn't."

'Continuously Monitoring'

Travel agencies have canceled trips amid a broader Taiwanese halt to diplomatic engagement. Taiwanese visitors, who made up 4.2 percent of the 1.27 million foreigners who came to the Philippines in the first quarter, may drop by about 20,000 a month after a travel warning from Taiwan's government, Philippine Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez said yesterday.

In an interview earlier this month, the captain of the Taiwanese fishing boat, Hung Yu-chi, called the Philippine coast guard attack unprovoked and said his fishing boat had been in Taiwanese waters. He said his father was struck by a bullet and killed as he and the crew hid in an engine room.

Philippine authorities are "continuously monitoring" the fishing area off the coast of the northern Philippine province of Batanes in the Philippine Sea, where the shooting occurred, Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Director Asis Perez said in a separate briefing today.

Agriculture officials from the Philippines and Taiwan will hold fishery talks by July as part of a continuing dialogue, he said, adding that meeting had been scheduled before the diplomatic tensions began.

China Tensions

The Philippines assured China it would only send food and water to its soldiers on Ayungin Shoal in the disputed Spratly Island area and won't build other structures there, Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin told reporters in a separate briefing today after meeting with Chinese Ambassador Ma Keqing.

China is monitoring the BRP Sierra Madre vessel that serves as a base for Philippine soldiers after it went aground in 1999 on the shoal, which is 110 nautical miles off Palawan province, Gazmin said in Manila.

There are currently two Chinese surveillance vessels in the area, Philippine Navy spokesman Colonel Edgard Arevalo said by phone today.

To contact the reporters on this story: Norman P. Aquino in Manila at naquino1@bloomberg.net; Joel Guinto in Manila at jguinto1@bloomberg.net. To contact the editor responsible for this story: Rosalind Mathieson at rmathieson3@bloomberg.net

Bloomberg 

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Philippines, Brazil inked initial air services agreement for Rion de Janeiro - Manila Direct Flight

(Top, left photo) Undersecretary Rafael E. Seguis (right) and Mr. Bruno Silva Dalcolmo, Superintendent of the National Civil Aviation Agency initial the Air Services Agreement (ASA) for the Philippines and Brazil, respectively. (Top, right photo) DOTC Undersecretary Jose Perpetuo M. Lotilla (right) and Mr. Dalcolmo sign the MOU between aeronautical authorities. (Photo below) Undersecretary Seguis shakes hands with Mr. Dalcolmo at the conclusion of the negotiations.

The Philippines and Brazil negotiated and initialed an Air Services Agreement on May 20 at the office of Brazil`s National Civil Aviation Agency (ANAC) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

The ASA would pave the way for the two countries' respective carriers to mount daily flights to and from each other's territory.

Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Undersecretary Rafael E. Seguis headed the Philippine delegation, composed of officials from the DFA, Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB), Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC), Department of Tourism (DOT) and the Philippine Embassy in Brasilia, which successfully negotiated the country's first ASA in South America with the objective of opening new destinations for Philippine carriers  and boosting Philippine tourism.

In his welcome remarks, Mr. Bruno Silva Dalcolmo, Superintendent of International Relations of ANAC and head of the Brazilian delegation, said that Brazil considers the Philippines as the "perfect gateway to Asia."

In response, Undersecretary Seguis expressed optimism that the ASA will result to further increases in tourism figures and people-to-people exchanges between the two countries. Brazilian tourists comprise the largest tourist arrival in the Philippines from South America and are considered among the biggest tourism spenders accounting for $22 billion spent internationally in 2012. On the other hand, the Philippines could serve as another gateway to the ASEAN market of at least 600 million people.

Pending ratification of the ASA,  the aeronautical authorities of both countries signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) granting traffic rights and setting out other operational details for their  designated carriers.

The ASA is the 11th bilateral agreement between the Philippines and Brazil and a milestone in the two countries' 53 years of formal diplomatic relations.

Ms. Ma. Socorro R. Gonzaga, Philippine Airlines' (PAL's) Vice President for External Affairs, confirmed that with the signing of the MOU, PAL may fly to Brazil three times a week and up to seven flights a week.

dfa.gov.ph, Official Gazette of the Philippines

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2013 QS World University Rankings TOP lists Philippine Universities

Shopping for a university? If you're looking to study abroad, check out the 2013 QS World University Rankings by Subject, which recognizes the top 200 universities in the world in 30 areas of study. If you're not going to stray too far, there is also a chart ranking higher education institutions (HEIs) within the country.

On top of the world this year is Harvard University, which ranks No. 1 in 10 disciplines, followed by Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), which topped seven areas of study; University of California (UC) Berkeley (4); Oxford (4); Cambridge (3); Imperial (1); and UC Davis (1) (see chart below).

The data may be interpreted in many ways, of course. For instance, although Harvard hogs more top spots than any other university, it is the University of Cambridge that makes it to the top 10 in most subjects with 27, leading Oxford and Berkeley (23), Stanford (22) and Harvard (21).

Three Philippine HEIs are among the top 200 universities in three of the 30 subjects ranked. They show a strong performance in English language and literature, with Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU) and the University of the Philippines (UP) both placing in the 51-100 range and De La Salle University (DLSU) in the 101-150 range.

UP is also among the top 200 HEIs for agriculture and forestry, while ADMU also figures in the top 200 for modern languages.

Now look at the country file (see chart for an overview of Philippine HEIs rankings by subject).

Here UP shines at No. 1 in 22 out of 30 disciplines and is in the top three in 27 out of 30 subjects. ADMU takes the topmost rank in five and is in the top three in 22 out of 30 areas of study. DLSU ranks first only in chemical engineering but is in the top three in 15 out of 30 disciplines.

QS limited its rankings in the country version to the first five. The other universities that are in the top tier here are the University of Santo Tomas (in 15 out of 30 disciplines); Mindanao State University-Iligan Institute of Technology (6); University of San Carlos (4); Ateneo de Davao University (4); Polytechnic University of the Philippines (4); Mapua Institute of Technology (3); Asian Institute of Management (2); and Mindanao State University, Xavier University, St. Louis University, Central Mindanao University and Silliman University (1).

For some reason, the Asian Institute of Management is ranked first under the heading "Engineering-Mechanical, Aeronautical and Manufacturing," when it offers no such programs, and No. 2 under "Accounting and Finance," when it offers only master's programs in Business Administration and in Development Management.

Back to the global evaluations. In the QS World Ranking of Universities, which is separate and apart from the 2013 study that ranks HEIs by subject, out of 873 institutions UP is at 348, ADMU is in the 451-500 ranking and DLSU is in the 601+ group.

In the 2012 QS University Rankings: Asia, which evaluated the top 300 universities in Asia, UP ranked No. 68 and ADMU ranked No. 86, while other local HEIs fared thus: DLSU (142), UST (148) and the University of Southern Philippines (251-300).

The recently released world rankings by subject evaluated 2,858 HEIs. As the official media release says: "It is the only international comparison that allows prospective students to compare universities in their particular area of interest."

QS tapped some 70,000 academic experts and graduate recruiters worldwide for input. It asked academics to name the leading universities within their field. Employers, on the other hand, identified the universities that they believed were responsible for the best graduates in a given area.

And how did the Asian universities fare overall? They shone in such disciplines as science, engineering and technology. In civil engineering, for instance, nine out of the top 20 HEIs are in Asia, with Japan's University of Tokyo ranking third and Kyoto University, seventh, along with three HEIs from Hong Kong and two from mainland China.

But it isn't just the ace Asian universities that are giving the US, UK and European HEIs a run for their money. Keenly competitive are the Australian universities that ranked among the global top 20 in 25 of the 30 areas of study.

Founded in 1990, QS is a British education and career networking company that has been ranking universities worldwide since 2004 based on research, teaching, employability and internationalization. In 2011, QS extended the study to cover a range of popular subjects.

The 2013 QS World University Rankings by Subjects evaluated the performance of HEIs in the arts and humanities, engineering and technology, life sciences and medicine, natural sciences, social sciences and management for specific subjects such as English language, modern languages, history, mathematics, accounting and finance, electrical engineering, chemical engineering and psychology, among others.

For the full methodology, log on to TopUniversities.com.

INQUIRER

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Dan Brown calls Manila 'gates of hell' in novel “Inferno”; Upsets MMDA and DOT Departments

Dan Brown's Inferno

Philippines -- While travel magazines have recently been citing the Philippines as a tropical paradise, American author Dan Brown seems to think otherwise based on his much-anticipated new novel.

In "Inferno," the fourth part in Harvard art professor Robert Langdon's adventures, one of the characters goes through "the gates of hell" in Manila.

The description of the city is from the first-hand account of one of the fictional characters, the messianic Dr. Sienna Brooks.

One character from the novel, Sienna Brooks, joined a humanitarian mission to Manila only to be shocked by its poverty and then raped by local ruffians.

An excerpt from the book goes: "When the group settled in among the throngs in the city of Manila—the most densely populated city on earth—Sienna could only gape in horror. She had never seen poverty on this scale."

As written in a fictional novel of Dan Brown in his Book, Dr. Brooks, went to the Philippines for a mission to supposedly feed poor fishermen and farmers on the countryside.

She expected the Philippines to be a "wonderland of geological beauty, with vibrant seabeds and dazzling plains."

Upon setting foot in Manila, however, Brooks could only "gape in horror" as "she had never seen poverty on this scale."

She said her "dark depression" flooded back, with pictures of poverty and crime flashing through her eyes.

"For every one person Sienna fed, there were hundreds more who gazed at her with desolate eyes," the book read.

One after the other, the book described chaotic Manila: "six-hour traffic jams, suffocating pollution, horrifying sex trade."

The book described the sex industry as consisting mostly of young children "many of whom had been sold to pimps by parents who took solace in knowing that at least their children would be fed."

"All around her, she could see humanity overrun by its primal instinct for survival…When they face desperation…human beings become animals," the book read.

The book went on to detail a turning point in Brooks' life. "I've run through the gates of hell," she said.

Traumatized, Brooks "left the Philippines at once, without even saying goodbye to the other members of the group."

This is not the first time that the Philippines' so-called ugly side was described in novels and movies.

Hollywood actress Claire Danes got a lot of bad press when she shot her 1999 movie "Brokedown Palace" in the Philippines which settings is in the garbage area. She described Manila as smelling "of cockroaches. There's no sewage system in Manila, and people have nothing there. People with, like, no arms, no legs, no eyes, no teeth."

She was later declared persona non grata.

Last year, actor Taylor Kitsch created a controversy when he described his "airport nightmare" supposedly in the Philippines to TV talk show host David Letterman, claiming an immigration officer even tried to take his iPhone. It turned out that Kitsch was actually talking about Indonesia but did not bother to correct his statement despite the social media backlash.

Tourism officials have been trying to bring to boost the image of the Philippines with its catchy phrase, "More Fun in the Philippines." The Department of Tourism reported an increase in tourist arrivals last year.

The Philippines also had its fair share of praise from Hollywood when stars Jeremy Renner and Rachel Weisz spoke about their experiences shooting "The Bourne Legacy" in the country last year.

Just last week, Vin Diesel was seen roaming around town in a jeepney.

The impact of Dan Brown's "Inferno" remains to be seen. While a work of fiction, Brown again provides an introduction that confuses the ordinary reader about what's true and what's not -- just like in his popular novel "The Da Vinci Code."

"Inferno" is his take on Dante Alighieri's "The Divine Comedy."

MMDA to Dan Brown: Manila is portal to heaven not gates of hell

MMDA Chairman Francis Tolentino's letter to novelist Dan Brown. Ian Cruz

The Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) on Thursday wrote a letter to American best-selling novelist Dan Brown expressing "disappointment" over his "inaccurate" depiction of Manila in his latest novel Inferno.

"While we are aware that yours is a work of fiction, we are greatly disappointed by your inaccurate portrayal of our beloved metropolis," MMDA Chairman Francis Tolentino said in a letter. 

"We are displeased of how you have used Manila as a venue and source of character's breakdown and trauma, much more her disillusionment in humanity," read the letter dated May 23.

Tolentino told GMA News that rather than the "gates of hell" that Brown called Manila, the metropolis is more of a "portal to heaven" because of the residents' religiosity.

 "More than your portrayal of it, Metro Manila is the center of Filipino spirit, faith and hope… Manila citizens are more than capable of exemplifying good character and compassion towards each other, something your novel has failed to acknowledge," Tolentino stressed.

"Truly, our place is an entry to heaven," he added, reversing Brown's depiction of Manila as "gates of hell."

"We hope that this letter enlightens you and may it guide you the next time you cite Manila in any of your works," the MMDA chairman noted.,

Sources: ABS-CBN News and GMA News

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Philippines approves three new wind farms for 208 megawatts - operational by 2015

The Philippines has approved three wind farm projects that will generate 208 megawatts, enough to power more than 40,000 middle-class homes, an energy official said.

The wind projects will be the first to benefit from an incentive scheme which aims to ensure half the country's energy comes from renewable sources by 2030, compared with about 39 percent currently, the official said.

The three projects are due to be operational by early 2015, said Mario Marasigan, the energy department's renewable energy bureau chief. "We approved their declarations of commerciality. They (guaranteed) to us that they are viable under the rate of 8.53 pesos (20 cents) per kilowatt hour," he said.

Under the incentive scheme, wind companies will get a fixed kilowatt hour rate of 8.53 pesos (20 cents) rather than a fluctuating amount. The provision is part of the 2008 renewable energy law intended to spur investment in sources including geothermal, biomass, solar, hydro and wind.

The largest of the projects is a wind farm to be set up in Burgos town, 320 kilometers north of Manila by Energy Development Corp. — the 87-megawatt project will cost an estimated $300 million, the company said in a statement.

Two other wind projects of 67.5 megawatts and 54 megawatts will also be set up by local firms, Alternergy Wind One Corp. and Trans-Asia Oil and Energy Development Corp., respectively. The two firms declined to disclose how much their projects would cost.

The Philippines already has one 33-megawatt wind power plant in the north, set up in 2005 before the renewable energy law was passed.

as published in Arab news

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Rugby: Philippines beat UAE in relegation battle in Asia 5 Nations

Andrew Russell of the United Arab Emirates (C) is tackled by Philippine rugby player Jake Ward during their Rugby Asian Five-Nations match at the Rizal Memorial stadium in Manila. (AFP/Noel Celis)

The Philippines beat the United Arab Emirates 24-8 in the Asia Five Nations on Saturday as the hosts' maiden win ensured their survival in their first season in the region's top flight.

Graeme Hagan, the hosts' hooker, scored a try early in the second half to douse a rally by the UAE, who had come back from 12-nil with a penalty conversion followed by a try off a rolling maul near the stroke of half time.

Chris Hitch, Gareth Holgate and Matt Saunders scored the other tries for the Philippines, with Alexander Aronson also converting once.

The visitors' only try was credited to Reinier Els, while Andrew Russell scored the penalty.

"We worked hard for this over the past month," the Philippines' head coach Jarred Hodges said.

"But we're not happy with a top four -- we want to be among the top two nations in Asia."

The win was the Philippines' first in their first season in Asia's top flight, following three straight losses to Japan, Hong Kong and South Korea.

With their fourth straight loss, the UAE drop to the First Division, while that division's champions Sri Lanka will be playing in the Asian Five Nations next season.

AFP/de

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19% up ↑ Philippines now Saskatchewan Canada’ stop source of immigrants

According to the federal census, there are now 68,780 immigrants in Saskatchewan, with almost 27,000 coming to the province between 2006 and 2011. (CBC)

2011 federal census shows big increase in newcomers

Saskatchewan's immigrant surge is being reflected in the latest data from the federal census — with a big wave of people from the Philippines accounting for much of it.

According to the latest set of 2011 data released by Statistics Canada on Wednesday, there are 68,780 Saskatchewan residents who were born in other countries, compared to 48,160 in 2006 when the previous survey was taken.

In other words, more than 39 per cent of Saskatchewan's immigrants arrived between 2006 to 2011.

Thanks to the surge, 6.8 per cent of Saskatchewan's population is foreign-born, compared to 5.5 per cent in 2006.

Immigrants still represent a smaller proportion of the population in Saskatchewan compared to the rest of Canada (20.6 per cent), but it's a big jump compared with previous censuses.

The rise of Saskatchewan's Filipino population arguably represents the most dramatic change in the report.

In 2006, people from the Philippines accounted for 2,455 of Saskatchewan's visible minority immigrants.

In 2011, the figure had jumped to 12,775 — a 420 per cent increase.

For the first time ever, the Philippines have become Saskatchewan's most important source of newcomers, replacing the United Kingdom (7,370).

Tagalog, spoken in the Philippines, has become the most common non-official language spoken by immigrants at home.

In recent years, the provincial government has been involved in recruiting skilled workers from the Philippines, particularly in the health care field.

Meanwhile, Saskatchewan's aboriginal population to continues to grow and now accounts for 15.6 per cent of the total.

That compares with about 14.8 per cent of the population in 2006.

CBC News

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A Filipino in Antarctica: Cold continent, hot Neutrinos science, Philippine Flag raised

PHILIPPINE FLAG AT THE SOUTH POLE. A Philippine flag (R) flutters in the strong Antarctic winds, along with American (C) and Chilean (L) flags atop the IceCube observatory, Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station, Antarctica. Photo by Blaise Kuo Tiong

In the southernmost point of the planet, one of the most unforgiving places on Earth, scientists are trying to unlock the mysteries of an elusive type of subatomic particle.

Among these scientists battling high winds, below-zero temperatures, and isolation, is Blaise Kuo Tiong.

Born and raised in the Philippines to Filipino-Chinese parents, Blaise left for the United States at the age of 9. There, he pursued a degree in Mathematics at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). After graduation, he worked at the NASA Jet Propulsion Lab (JPL) in California.

After that, he moved to the IceCube South Pole Neutrino Observatory, where he works at present. IceCube is one of the world's major research centers dedicated to understanding subatomic particles called neutrinos.

Neutrinos are very light, elusive particles that have a neutral charge, rarely interacting with other matter. They are believed to be one of the most numerous particles in the entire universe. They help us understand various phenomena, from radiation in a nuclear plant to a range of cosmic processes, helping us get to know our universe and its quirks.

At IceCube, Blaise and his team work with a "downward-looking" telescope, detecting neutrinos as they pass through thousands of meters of ice.

For example, when a supernova explodes, the neutrinos coming from it arrive before the light does, pointing where supernovae explode. Scientists are then alerted when and where a supernova will explode, allowing them to peer into their telescopes.

Rappler talked to Blaise via a Google+ Hangout, and he talked about his work, living in Antarctica, and his Filipino roots.

Working at the South Pole

WORKING IN THE COLD. Blaise Kuo Tiong checks on one of IceCube's equipment buried in the Antarctic ice. Photo courtesy of Blaise Kuo Tiong

Rappler: What is your job like on a typical day?

Blaise: There are physicists who do the research, [and] software programmers who refine the filters of the search to make the data more clustered and easier to be analyzed. Then there are people who work on computers, like me. Our tech needs to be running 24/7. We wouldn't want to miss anything. If a supernova happens and the computers are down for 10 minutes, that is a disaster.

Every day we collect about a hundred gigabytes of data that we upload via satellite to our networks in Madison, Wisconsin (headquarters of the IceCube project, at the University of Wisconsin). But there's another terabyte of data that gets clumped each day; we store it on tape and then send them by airplane.

R: How is it like working in Antarctica?

B: We are always asked the same question: "Why would you want to go there? There's nobody here, you're cut off from the rest of the world." But I think that is the appeal. You have to rely on your own to solve the situations that can come up.

We're here at almost 9,500 feet. When I first got here, I couldn't do any work because I was always short of breath. But the cold is actually okay. If you put on the gear to keep you warm when you are outside, before you know it, you're already sweating in your jackets.

Life in Antarctica

R: How is life there outside work?

B: Right now it's too cold so most of the activities we do indoors. We have a big gym here where we can play a lot of sports. We spend a lot of time watching movies, video games or board games. I think next weekend there's going to be a tournament of a card game. A couple of weeks ago, I found some beans and made a sungka board. I also brought some mahjong tiles so we play that once in a while.

R: In Antarctica, there are 6 months of continuous daylight and 6 months of continuous darkness. What are the best and worst things about that?

B: The best thing about an all-day 'night' is that you could look at the stars 24/7... Today, there's a full moon and a halo on the moon called the 'moondog.' It looks crazy. It looks like it's on a different time practically. We also got some pretty good auroras today -- those shimmering green lights. Those you can't really see in the rest of the world besides the polar regions.

POLAR LIGHTS. Aurora australis light up the Antarctic sky. Photo by Blaise Kuo Tiong

R: When is it hottest and coldest in Antarctica?

B: In the summer months I'd say around January is when it's the hottest. We probably reach maybe -10°F. There was a time during the summer that we actually had a 2-mile race in our shorts. During winter time, it reaches -100°F. Right now it's at -66°F. Yesterday was about -85°F. Weird thing is it can get 40°F, where it could go -60°F from a -100°F like almost overnight.

R: There is only one sunrise and one sunset a year. How long do they last?

B: We have a sunset at March but it took about two weeks before you couldn't see the Sun anymore. It's interesting: the Sun sits at the horizon for that long until finally you can't see it. The sunrise should be about the same and it will happen right around August or September.

Filipino roots, Filipino pride

R: There's a photo of the observatory with 3 flags flying up there, and one of them is the Philippine flag. Did you raise that?

B: I brought two flags down here with me (American and Philippine). When the station closed last February the first thing I did was put up the American flag, a Filipino flag and a Chilean flag. So they're all hanging out there now. Hopefully they'll last over the season. I have one back-up in case the first one gets destroyed because there are pretty high winds here at times.

R: How connected are you to your Filipino roots?

B: A lot of my family on both sides still live in the Philippines; being Filipino is definitely part of my identity. In the last few years, I visited at least every other year, almost every year. I like to visit just to not lose track of those roots.

PINOY IN ANTARCTICA. Filipino scientist Blaise Kuo Tiong at the IceCube South Pole Neutrino Observatory. Photo courtesy of Blaise Kuo Tiong

R: Where do you go when you get here?

B: A lot of my mom's relatives are in Ilocos and Vigan. A lot of my relatives are in Manila as well, and some are in Cebu. I usually visit those places.

But obviously, it's the beach. The last time I was in the Philippines, I think I went to about 20 beaches. I know I went to Bohol and to Palawan. I'd say Philippine beaches are some of the best I've ever seen. Definitely the sand in Boracay you can't find it in anywhere else. And the diving is so good in Palawan, Batangas, Bohol.

R: What are your plans after the cube?

B: I got here in November and will go out after a year. Well, I'll probably do a little traveling first. People who are the Antarctic program -- that's one of their passions. If you're sitting down doing dinner, everybody's talking about the places they've been or the places they want to go to. After that I'll probably go back to the States. I have a family in Los Angeles, and a lot of my stuff is there. I'll probably think of the next challenge, which I haven't thought of yet. And in the next 6 months, that would probably be it.

For more about his research and research life in Antarctica, visit http://antarctica.kuotiong.net/. –

Rappler.com

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When USA refused Jew refugees; brought back to Germany and killed but Philippine opens to save 100,000 or more

On June 21, 2009, a monument to Manuel L. Quezon was unveiled at the 65-hectare Holocaust Memorial Park in Rishon LeZion, Israel's 4th largest city located south of Tel Aviv. The monument, designed by Filipino artist Junyee, is called "Open Doors". It is a geometric, seven-meter-high sculpture rendered mainly in steel and set on a base of marble tiles shipped from Romblon, showcasing three doors of ascending heights.

• Telltale Signs: Philippines – a Jewish refuge from the Holocaust
• To the members of his own Catholic Church who were prejudiced against Jews, Quezon asked: "How can we turn our backs on the race that produced Jesus Christ?"
• The untold Stories in the Philippines. Why was this noble deed hidden from the Filipino people and omitted in Philippine history books?
• The Philippines as the first country to recognize Israel as a state

The world knows about Austrian industrialist Oskar Schindler and how he saved 1,100 Polish Jews during WWII by hiring them as workers in his factory because of Steven Spielberg's Schindler's List which received the 1993 Oscar for Best Picture. This month, the world will know about Philippine Commonwealth Pres. Manuel L. Quezon and how he helped 1,305 German Jews escape Nazi persecution in 1939 by providing them with visas and safe shelter in the Philippines because of a documentary, Rescue in the Philippines: Refuge From the Holocaust, being shown in PBS stations throughout the US. It will aired again on KQED on Sunday, May 5, at 6:00 PM.

The significance of Quezon's actions can best be appreciated in the context provided by another Hollywood movie, the 1976 film, Voyage of the Damned,based on the true story of the 1939 saga of the luxury liner MS St.Louis, which left Hamburg, Germany with 937 Jewish passengers bound for Cuba. When the ship landed in Havana, the Jews were refused entry, as the Nazi authorities expected. The ship then headed for Florida where the US government also refused to allow the Jews to disembark. After the ship was refused entry in other ports, it returned to Germany where its Jewish passengers were forcibly removed and dispatched to concentration camps for extermination. A Nazi official in the film declares: "When the whole world has refused to accept them as refugees, no country can blame Germany for the fate of the Jews."

But at least one country can. In the year when the MS St. Louis was rejected by all the countries where it sought refuge, the Philippine Commonwealth accepted 1,300 Jews and was willing to accept as much as 10,000 more if the US State Department had allowed its commonwealth to do so, and as many as 100,000 if Pres. Quezon had his wish.

The Washington Times first reported this news on December 5, 1938 ("Quezon Urges Jews' Haven") when it announced that "the possibility of a haven for Jewish refugees from Germany was broached today by Pres. Manuel Quezon" who said "I am willing to facilitate entrance of such numbers of Jewish people as we could absorb…I favor large scale immigration to Mindanao, if well financed."

The untold story of the Philippine rescue of Jews was first prominently recounted by Frank Ephraim in his book, "Escape to Manila: From Nazi Tyranny to Japanese Terror" (University of Illinois Press, 2003), which was based mostly on his own eyewitness account as a child who was one of 1300 Jewish refugees who arrived in Manila in 1939.

According to Ephraim, the history of the rescue begins with the decision of the Frieder brothers in 1918 to relocate its two-for-a-nickel cigar business from Manhattan to Manila, where production would be cheaper. Alex, Philip, Herbert and Morris Frieder took turns overseeing the business in the Philippines for two years each joining a community that had fewer than 200 Jews. At its height, the Frieder brothers' tobacco company in Manila produced 250 million cigars in a year.

The genesis for the Jewish exodus to the Philippines came in 1937, when 28 German Jews who had earlier fled Germany for Shanghai were evacuated by the Germans to Manila after fierce fighting erupted between Chinese and Japanese troops. The Jewish Refugee Committee in Manila, headed by Philip Frieder, was formed to help them settle in the Philippines. From these refugees, the Frieders heard first-hand accounts of the Nazi atrocities in Germany and of the uncertain fate of the 17,000 Jews still stranded in Shanghai.

The Frieders decided to seek the help of their poker buddies to get the Philippines to become a haven for the fleeing Jews. But these were no ordinary poker buddies. One was Paul V. McNutt, the American High Commissioner for the Philippines; another was a young officer named Col. Dwight D. Eisenhower, the aide of Gen. Douglas MacArthur, then Field Marshall of the Philippines; and then there was Manuel L. Quezon, the president of the Philippine Commonwealth.

In their late night poker sessions, as Ephraim recounts it, the buddies hatched a plan for the Philippines to accept as many as 100,000 Jews to save them from persecution in Germany.

McNutt had served as National Commander of the American Legion and as governor of Indiana (1933-37) before Pres. Franklin D. Roosevelt tapped him to be the High Commissioner of the Philippines in 1937. McNutt's task was to convince the US State Department to grant visas for Jews to enter Manila.

Col. Eisenhower's task was to organize a plan to bring Jews to settle in Mindanao. In the Rescue in the Philippines documentary, Susan Eisenhower, President Dwight Eisenhower's granddaughter, reflects on his involvement: "It's one thing to sit around a card table and talk about a worrisome situation—even a dire situation. It's quite another to actually take some action, and I think that's why this is a story for all time."

Pres. Quezon faced the formidable task of winning over the anti-Semitic members of his own cabinet as well as those in the political opposition led by Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo who viewed Jews as "Communists and schemers" bent on "controlling the world". In a letter written in August of 1939, Alex Frieder wrote of Mr. Quezon's response: "He assured us that big or little, he raised hell with every one of those persons. He made them ashamed of themselves for being a victim of propaganda intended to further victimize an already persecuted people."

To the members of his own Catholic Church who were prejudiced against Jews, Quezon asked: "How can we turn our backs on the race that produced Jesus Christ?"

In the Rescue film, Manuel L. Quezon III ponders his grandfather's reason for helping the Jewish people: "I think for my grandfather, it was perhaps that simple. You have a country. You have a little authority. You have an opportunity. Someone has asked for refuge—which is the most basic humanitarian appeal anyone can make. You answer it."

At the April 23, 1940 dedication of Marikina Hall, a housing facility for Jewish refugees that was built on land that he personally donated, Quezon said: "It is my hope and, indeed, my expectation that the people of the Philippines will have in the future every reason to be glad that when the time of need came, their country was willing to extend a hand of welcome."

Quezon's expectation of how future generations of Filipinos will feel about the rescue of the Jews during their time of peril had one drawback: the future generations of Filipinos were never informed of their country's noble deed. After the Rescue documentary was shown at its April 7, 2013 San Francisco premiere in Japantown, a question and answer forum followed. One elderly Filipina from Vallejo stood up and identified herself as having been a public school teacher in the Philippines before immigrating to the US. "How is it possible that I never heard of this Jewish rescue when I was a student in the Philippines, when I was a teacher there, all the way until I watched this film tonight?" she asked.

 The answers provided by other Filipinos in the audience ("because it was not taught in Philippine history books") begged the question of why this significant event in Philippine history was omitted from the Philippine history books.

 I went to elementary school at Letran College in Intramuros, Manila. Every day, for the 8 years I was there from kindergarten to 7th grade, I passed by the imposing bronze statue of Manuel L. Quezon, the school's most distinguished alumnus. We were taught everything there was to know about Quezon at least until I read Frank Ephraim's book in 2005 and learned for the first time about Quezon's role in saving 1305 Jews in 1939 and wrote about it then.

Why was this noble deed hidden from the Filipino people and omitted in Philippine history books? Strangely enough, what is recounted in the history books is that on November 29,1947, the Philippines was the only Asian nation to support the partition resolution at the United Nations creating a Jewish State in Palestine.

The Filipino people and most of the world may not know what Quezon and his poker buddies did to save 1305 Jews in 1939 but the people of Israel are aware of it. On June 21, 2009, a monument to Manuel L. Quezon was unveiled at the 65-hectare Holocaust Memorial Park in Rishon LeZion, Israel's 4th largest city located south of Tel Aviv. The monument, designed by Filipino artist Junyee, is called "Open Doors". It is a geometric, seven-meter-high sculpture rendered mainly in steel and set on a base of marble tiles shipped from Romblon, showcasing three doors of ascending heights.

Speaking at the dedication ceremonies on behalf of the Philippine government, Tourism Secretary Joseph Durano said: "the monument celebrates the Filipino heart, a heart that touches others with compassion, a heart that makes one a blessing to the world."

But that Filipino heart desperately needs to be informed about the noble act that made it a blessing to the world.

The education of that Filipino heart has begun with the release of Rescue in the Philippines: Refuge From the Holocaust and its public airing TV stations throughout the US. This will soon be followed by another documentary,  "An Open Door: Jewish Rescue in the Philippines", which is being produced and directed by a Washington DC-based filmmaker, Noel "Sonny" Izon.

In his film, Izon seeks to "explore the rare confluence of the Pacific and European theaters. It juxtaposes momentous events in history such as the passage of the Nuremberg Laws on September 15, 1935 and, exactly two months later, the inauguration of the Philippines as a Commonwealth of the United States. One door closes and another opens…the story of a deep and improbable, international friendship borne of common adversity and intense love for freedom. Together, Filipinos and Jews struggled, endured and ultimately prevailed against overwhelming odds."

Izon has a personal reason for making his film. He was born in Manila in 1946, the year after his "deathly ill" father was saved at a Manila hospital by Dr. Otto Zelezny, one of twelve physicians among the 1300 Jews who found safe haven in the Philippines. This film is his chance to thank the good doctor from Berlin who "made my life possible".

James R. Busis of the American Jewish Committee believes this story should be told beyond the Filipino people: "This unique story, of an Asian country that wasn't even really a fully independent country and had no special ties to Jews, is part of that fabric of history that has been largely neglected and deserves the same level of 'telling' as many other Holocaust stories receive."

ASIAN WEEK

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