On Reports of Misbehavior by US Troops Involved in Balikatan Exercises in Bicol
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2 April 2009 – There is no truth to reports that United States military personnel currently in Bicol for the annual
Balikatan exercises are availing of services of women of ill-repute.
VFA Commission Undersecretary Edilberto Adan assured that all US military personnel participating in the
said exercises are under strict orders and supervision to limit their movement from the project site to their
accommodations.
He added that the US soldiers are accompanied and secured by personnel from the Armed Forces of the
Philippines in their movements.
Undersecretary Adan was reacting to concerns raised by Senator Francis Pangilinan that the Visiting Forces
Agreement (VFA) has turned the Philippines into a “whorehouse for US soldiers.”
Reports reached Senator Pangilinan that during the month-long Magayon Festival in Legazpi City, women of ill-
repute were seen near the quarters where the US military personnel are staying.
“The Magayon festival has brought tourists, including a number of Caucasians, to Legazpi who are staying in
the same place where US soldiers stay. This may be a case of mistaken identity,” Undersecretary Adan
explained.
He added that the VFA Commission was assured by US CMO team leader Captain Schneider that they have
not allowed, and will not allow, any of his personnel to misbehave.
The VFA Commission had also emphasized to the Balikatan exercises participants to observe discipline and
respect four our laws.
Around 100 US soldiers are in Bicol to participate in the US-RP Balikatan Exercises. The US military
personnel are engaged in building roads, schools and water systems in Albay, Sorsogon, and Masbate. The
soldiers are also conducting medical missions. END
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On Filipino Reportedly Wounded in a Rocket Attack in Afghanistan:
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2 April 2009 - The Department of Foreign Affairs wishes to clarify that the Filipino earlier reported to have been
wounded in a rocket attack in Kandahar, Afghanistan last March 20, is well and in good condition.
Rolando Tresiño, who was reported to have been injured, is unharmed. He arrived in Manila last Monday,
March 30.
Mr. Tresiño works as a heavy equipment operator in Afghanistan.
He confirmed that their barracks in Kandahar Airbase was hit by rocket fire. Earlier, another Filipino, Norbert
Malana Hobayan, was killed in the same incident. END
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RP participation in 2009 Guangzhou International Travel Fair
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2 April 2009 – The Philippines participated in the 2009 Guangzhou International Travel Fair (GITF) held on 26-
29 March at the Guangzhou Jinghan International Exhibition Center.
The GITF is the most important travel fair in South China.
The Philippine Tourism Marketing Office (PTMO) for Hong Kong, Macau and South China based in
Guangzhou, in coordination with the Philippine Department of Tourism (DOT), organized a Philippines
Reception Night on March 25. PTMO is headed by Mr. Hoi Kuen Wong.
The event was attended by representatives from the various outbound travel agencies in Guangdong and
friends from the media industry.
Representatives from Philippine Airlines, Cebu Pacific Air, and China Southern Airlines also graced the event.
Tourism Undersecretary Eduardo Jarque, Jr. and Department of Tourism (DOT) Team China marketing head
Arlene Alipio flew in to witness the tourism activities as well as the cultural presentation by the Bayanihan
dance troupe at the dinner-reception.
In his speech at the Philippine Reception Night, Philippine Consul General to Guangzhou Alex Chua stressed
the importance of partnership between the government and the private sector, both in the Philippines and in
China, in encouraging more Chinese to visit and invest in the Philippines.
Among the exhibitors in the Philippine both at the GITF were the DOT, Jeron Travel and Tours, CK & Phils.
International Travel Incorporated, Philippine Airlines, and Cebu Pacific Airlines.
The Philippine booth was the most popular at the fair because of the excellent performance of the Bayanihan
which drew hordes of crowds and visitors. Members of the media also covered the performance of the dance
troupe. END
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Philippine Embassy in Rome sends Consular Mission to Cagliari
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2 April 2009 – The Philippine Embassy in Rome sent its first consular mission to Cagliari, Sardinia last 28-29
March to attend to the consular needs of Filipinos in the area and meet with local officials.
The mission was tasked to promote the interests of Filipino nationals there. It was headed by Consul
Emmanuel R. Fernandez, and composed of several Embassy officials and representatives from OWWA,
DOLE, SSS, and Pag-Ibig.
The mission began with an official visit to the Comune di Cagliari where Consul Fernandez met with Cagliari’s
Administrator for Public Instruction and Demographic Services, Edoardo Usai, on the concerns of Filipino
students in Cagliari and the Sardinian region.
A meeting with the Filipino community followed in the afternoon of Saturday at the Teatro Sant Eulalia, where
Consul Fernandez and the members of his mission spoke about the services and programs of the Embassy
and its attached agencies.
During the meeting, Provincial Administrator for Social Policy and Immigration, Angela Quaquero, presented
the consular team with the official seal of the province of Sardinia.
The following day, some 300 passports and other notarial documents were processed by the consular team
at the complex of the Parish of the Holy Name of Mary in La Palma.
Local leaders headed by Mr. Elmer Orillo, Fr. Bernard Atendido and Fr. Saul Maquinto provided the
organizational support for the event. END
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HK Writer apologizes to Philippine Consulate and Filipino Community in Hong Kong
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2 April 2009 – Mr. Chip Tsao, the Hong Kong writer whose column outraged Filipinos in Hong Kong and all
over the world, conveyed his formal and personal apology to the Philippine Consulate General (PCG) and
members of the Filipino community in Hong Kong last night.
Hong Kong PCG reported to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) this morning that Mr. Tsao personally
came to the consulate to apologize for his controversial article, “The War at Home,” published in the March 27
issue of HK Magazine.
In his address to the Filipino community present, Mr. Tsao conveyed his “most sincere” apologies to the
Filipino people for the offense he had caused through his commentary.
He explained that he had never intended to demean any particular group when he wrote the article, whose
aim was to poke fun at local authorities and other sectors.
He said he now realized that he had crossed the line, for which he was “terribly sorry.”
After his brief address, Mr. Tsao stood up and bowed before the group.
The Philippine Consulate and community leaders officially accepted Mr. Tsao’s apology and acknowledged
his gesture of visiting the Consulate General to personally meet and convey his apology to the Consulate and
to the Filipino community.
The publisher and editors of HK Magazine issued an official apology on 30 March 2009.
Mr. Tsao also expressed his apology earlier in the day on a number of occasions through television and radio
stations in Hong Kong.
He had offered to meet with the Filipino community face-to-face in his desire to address the very group that he
had offended.
After the meeting, the Philippine Consulate General and Filipino community leaders appealed to the Filipino
community to not allow the incident undermine the friendly relations between the community and Hong Kong
society.
The meeting was attended by leaders and members of the Filipino community in Hong Kong, including
representatives of the household service workers sector, religious groups, non-government organizations,
and professionals. END
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2 April 2009—Mr. Chip Tsao, the Hong Kong author of the controversial article, “The War At Home”,
bows before the representatives of the Filipino Community to emphasize his ‘most sincere
apologies.’ He addressed the Filipino community in Hong Kong in the evening of April 1 at the
Philippine Consulate General. Next to him is Deputy Consul General Kira Danganan-Azucena.
(Embassy Photos)
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