Pinoys in USA 'hungry' for good news from home, claims RP mission
MANILA, Philippines — Amid successive scandals rocking the Philippines, Filipinos in the United States are hungry for good news from home, a Philippine government team that visited them claimed.
The Philippine Mission to the UN Web site said the team had gone to key cities in the US to assure some two million Filipinos there the Philippines is faring well in the global financial crisis.
“Coming here, we thought we would be faced with disbelief and confronted with hard questions, but we were pleasantly surprised that our kababayans here would rather want to hear the positive developments in the Philippines," claimed Edgardo Pamintuan, presidential adviser on external affairs and chairman of the Subic-Clark Alliance for Development Council (SCADC), who led the team.
Pamintuan said the team was ready to clarify even the negative news, "but no one raised them."
The team met with groups of Filipino-American leaders in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and San Francisco to relay to them the measures undertaken by government to cushion the impact of the crisis.
Members of the team included Alexander Cauguiran, executive vice president and chief operating officer of the Clark International Airport Corporation; Undersecretary Danilo de Austria Consumido; and Leonardo Kirk Galanza of the Office of the External Affairs of the Office of the President.
The Philippine Mission press statement quoted some Filipinos who said they are "tired" of negative news and even praised the Philippine government for its efforts against the crisis.
“We are tired of the negative news, like the political circus in the guise of congressional investigations. We now realize that the Philippines is doing quite well in the face of the global crisis, because the Philippine Government is firmly focused on strengthening the economy," said Crisanto Reyes, an accountant working and residing in Santa Clara, California.
“We should have more of these dialogues, it makes us feel good," said Dr. Paul Relos, a dentist from San Francisco.
Verne del Rosario, a real estate businessman who grew up near Clark, Angeles City and has never been home for 19 years, expressed elation that Clark and Subic are now a vibrant economic zone, employing almost 60,000 people.
“I remember that our neighborhood used to rely on the bases, but only for menial jobs and a few scraps and trading of surplus PX goods from American soldiers. I am happy to know we have good quality jobs there now," he said.
On the issue of human rights in the Philippines, the team said the situation has improved tremendously over the past two years.
It claimed the verified unexplained killings that reached 145 cases in 2006 have dramatically gone down to six in 2007 and five last year.
“We do not condone these unexplained killings, even if there is only one case. That is why government has put in place all the necessary policies and institutions to check their occurrence," Consumido said.
He blamed these "unfortunate things" on insurgents in the countryside fighting a desperate guerrilla war. He said the rebels cannot claim clean hands.
“But the important thing is we are doing our best to curb it, and our efforts have been recognized by even the United Nations and the US State Department," said Consumido. - GMANews.TV
The Philippine Mission to the UN Web site said the team had gone to key cities in the US to assure some two million Filipinos there the Philippines is faring well in the global financial crisis.
“Coming here, we thought we would be faced with disbelief and confronted with hard questions, but we were pleasantly surprised that our kababayans here would rather want to hear the positive developments in the Philippines," claimed Edgardo Pamintuan, presidential adviser on external affairs and chairman of the Subic-Clark Alliance for Development Council (SCADC), who led the team.
Pamintuan said the team was ready to clarify even the negative news, "but no one raised them."
The team met with groups of Filipino-American leaders in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and San Francisco to relay to them the measures undertaken by government to cushion the impact of the crisis.
Members of the team included Alexander Cauguiran, executive vice president and chief operating officer of the Clark International Airport Corporation; Undersecretary Danilo de Austria Consumido; and Leonardo Kirk Galanza of the Office of the External Affairs of the Office of the President.
The Philippine Mission press statement quoted some Filipinos who said they are "tired" of negative news and even praised the Philippine government for its efforts against the crisis.
“We are tired of the negative news, like the political circus in the guise of congressional investigations. We now realize that the Philippines is doing quite well in the face of the global crisis, because the Philippine Government is firmly focused on strengthening the economy," said Crisanto Reyes, an accountant working and residing in Santa Clara, California.
“We should have more of these dialogues, it makes us feel good," said Dr. Paul Relos, a dentist from San Francisco.
Verne del Rosario, a real estate businessman who grew up near Clark, Angeles City and has never been home for 19 years, expressed elation that Clark and Subic are now a vibrant economic zone, employing almost 60,000 people.
“I remember that our neighborhood used to rely on the bases, but only for menial jobs and a few scraps and trading of surplus PX goods from American soldiers. I am happy to know we have good quality jobs there now," he said.
On the issue of human rights in the Philippines, the team said the situation has improved tremendously over the past two years.
It claimed the verified unexplained killings that reached 145 cases in 2006 have dramatically gone down to six in 2007 and five last year.
“We do not condone these unexplained killings, even if there is only one case. That is why government has put in place all the necessary policies and institutions to check their occurrence," Consumido said.
He blamed these "unfortunate things" on insurgents in the countryside fighting a desperate guerrilla war. He said the rebels cannot claim clean hands.
“But the important thing is we are doing our best to curb it, and our efforts have been recognized by even the United Nations and the US State Department," said Consumido. - GMANews.TV
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