March 2015 - Philippine Embassy

Boracay Declared 2015 Favorite Beach
Destination in Malaysian Tourism Fair
The announcement was
made in a press conference held
on March 9 at the MATTA Headquarters
in Kuala Lumpur.
MATTA organizing committee
chairman S. Jayakumar said that the
Philippines is rich in natural resources
and biodiversity, and also praised Boracay’s
fine white sand beaches.
“Boracay has consistently been part of the list of the best beaches in the
world, as evidenced by awards bestowed on it by major travel magazines and
organizations. It is our pleasure for Malaysians to discover the island, with its
pristine white sands and breathtaking beaches, which captivated many visitors
for nature tripping, watersports and beach hopping,” Ambassador J. Eduardo
Malaya said.
At the press conference, the Embassy also formally launched the Second Ambassador’s Tour to the Philippines, this time to Cebu and Bohol.
Embassy Launches
Second Ambassador’s
Tour to Cebu
and Bohol
Ambassador J. Eduardo Malaya (second from right) joins MATTA Fair Organizing Committee Chairman S. Jayakumar (second from left) in a handshake at the
launch of Boracay as the fair’s Favorite Beach Destination. Looking on are (from
left) MATTA Fair Organizing Committee member Rocky Kho and Philippine Tourism Marketing Representative for Malaysia Datin Melissa Ong.
The Philippine Embassy in Kuala Lumpur announced that Boracay has
been declared as Favorite Beach Destination 2015 by the Malaysian Association
of Tour & Travel Agents (MATTA) at its annual MATTA Fair held on March 13 to
15 at the Putra World Trade Center in Kuala Lumpur.
FFAM Induction
of Officers
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(Continued on page 2)
The officers of the Federation of Filipino Associations
in Malaysia (FFAM) for 2015
were inducted into office by
Ambassador J. Eduardo Malaya (leftmost in photo). The
FFAM is the umbrella organization of the Filipino community associations in Malaysia.
Malaysia Filipino Club (MALFIL) President Maria Carmencita Anonuevo (second from
left, front row) and Isabelino
Ako representing Netsky Bueno (third from left) were inducted as President and Vice
President, respectively.
The other FFAM officers
are (fourth from left, front
row) Secretary Christy Almeda
of Samahang Impok Bayan,
Assistant Secretary Vergie
Alvaro of Migrant Workers
Overseas Filipino Resource
Center (MWOFRC), and Treasurer Rose Geronimo of Kuantan Filipino Community.
Executive
Committee
members are (second row,
from left) Gina Tan of Business
Malaysia and Philippine Societies, Rein Pacada of Friends
Residing in Malaysia, Nora
Laranan of Kabisig, Teresita
Chuidian Hon of KL Pinoy,
Sheryl Duran of Samahang
Ilokano in Malaysia and Ruly
Cagadas of St. John Cathedral
Tahanang Filipino.
Labor Attache Elizabeth
Estrada (rightmost, front row)
attended the induction. o
5/13/15 8:46:39 PM
Minimum Salary Serves as Cushion Against Ringgit Devaluation
before the devaluation, HSW’s should
have had received RM1200 a month.
“This differential is, of course, not
much in relation to the overall valuable
service that is rendered by a Filipino
HSW. All these should be taken into account,” he added.
The Embassy also reminded employers to ensure that their Filipino
HSWs or employees have sufficient
health insurance, in light of increased
health care fees in government hospitals and clinics charged against foreign
nationals starting January 2015.
Provision for health insurance is also
stipulated in the employment contracts.
The Embassy’s Philippine Overseas
Labor Office continually reviews the
conduct of its accredited Malaysia employment agencies, and has implemented sanctions against those who violate
the terms of their accreditation. o
The Philippine Embassy in Kuala
Lumpur affirmed that Filipino household service workers (HSWs) in Malaysia
have a legally-mandated minimum salary of US$400 a month, which should
serve as cushion in light of the depreciation of the Malaysian ringgit.
“Philippine labor laws require a
minimum monthly salary of US$400
in the employment contract of HSWs
before they are allowed to depart the
country. As their salaries are reflected
in US dollars and in light of the depreciating ringgit, they should, in fact, be
getting higher salaries. This is a contractual obligation that should be observed by employers and employment
agencies,” Ambassador J. Eduardo Malaya said.
At the exchange rate of RM3.5 to the
US dollar, a Filipino HSW should receive
RM1400 per month. Four months ago,
Boracay declared 2015 favorite. . .from Page 1)
Ambassador Malaya said that now is the best
time to visit the Philippines, amidst the country’s
hosting of major international conferences, and its
strong economic growth.
“Now is the best time to visit the Philippines.
For one, the Philippine Government has declared
this year as Visit Philippines Year 2015 (VPY 2015).
The flurry of festivals, concerts, conferences, other
activities and events lined up will draw in both
domestic and foreign tourists to the country. The
country is also hosting the Asia-Pacific Economic
Cooperation (APEC) meetings, where its member
economies will congregate in different Philippine cities to talk about inclusive growth for their
citizens and during their downtime, take in all the
beautiful sights the Philippines has to offer,” Ambassador Malaya stated.
After the highly-successful ‘Ambassador’s Tour
to the Philippines’ in November 2013, the Embassy,
in partnership with the Philippine Department of
Tourism, is rolling out the second edition of the tour
on May 2 to 5 in Cebu and Bohol.
“This is mainly because the participants of the
first Tour informed us that they would like to join
the tour again and promised us that they will bring
in more friends and family to join. Cebu and Bohol
are increasingly becoming major Philippine tourist
destinations. It is an opportunity for our Malaysian
friends to see other parts of the country,” Ambassador Malaya explained.
Assisting the Embassy and the DOT Regional
Office in Cebu are the offices of Cebu Governor Hilario Davide III and Bohol Governor Edgardo Chatto.
Participants of the three-day/four-night tour
will fly directly to Cebu from Kuala Lumpur, where
they will be immediately treated to a city tour,
with visits to a guitar factory and workshops on
hand painting and fashion accessory. Cebu is wellknown for its guitars and fashion accessories. They
will then be feted to a welcome dinner.
The next day will have the participants explore
Cebu’s world-class islands and beaches in an islandhopping tour, with opportunities for snorkeling and
fish feeding in a marine sanctuary, a fishing village
tour and a picnic barbeque lunch on the island.
The participants will also have an opportunity to go on a day tour of Bohol province, where
they will be treated to a countryside tour, visit
the world-famous Chocolate Hills, see the world’s
smallest primates in their natural environment at
the tarsier reserve, and have lunch while cruising
the Loboc River before returning to Cebu.
Before they fly back to Kuala Lumpur the
next day, the participants will have the chance to
see Spanish colonial influences in Cebu in historical sights such as the Magellan’s Cross, the Sto.
Nino Church, Casa Gorordo and the Cebu Heritage
Monument.
The four day tour costs RM2788 or PhP33456
(half twin) and RM3288 or PhP39456 (single)
to include the Bohol day tour. The fee includes
three-nights hotel stay with daily breakfast in a
four-star hotel, meals, transfers and tours with
English-speaking local guide. Official carrier is
AirAsia, which flies directly to Cebu from Kuala
Lumpur.
The Ambassador also thanked Malaysians
for discovering more of the Philippines, as Malaysians posted the highest growth at 27.24 percent
increase with 139,245 arrivals in 2014, and became
the Philippines’ ninth largest tourist market. o
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SC Senior Associate Justice Antonio C. Carpio Speaks on South China Sea Issue
S
upreme Court Senior Associate
Justice Antonio T. Carpio delivered a lecture on the South
China Sea/West Philippine Sea issue
on 13 February at the Raja Azuz Addruse Auditorium.
The event was jointly organized
by the Malaysian Bar Council, the University of Malaya and the Embassy of
the Philippines. It was attended by
members of the Diplomatic Corps,
Malaysian foreign ministry officials,
members of the academe, think tanks,
practising lawyers and Filipino community leaders.
Mr. Steven Thiru, Vice-President
of the Malaysian Bar Council, gave the
welcome remarks, while Philippine
Ambassador to Malaysia J. Eduardo
Malaya introduced the distinguished
Ambassador J. Eduardo Malaya introduces Senior
Associate Justice Carpio.
guest lecturer. Prof. Dato’ Paduka Mohamad Bin Abu Bakar of the Department of International and Strategic
Studies, University of Malaya moderated the open forum. o
Mr. Steven Thiru, Vice President of the Malaysian Bar
Council, welcomes the guests and other attendees to
the lecture.
PHL Embassy in KL Donates Filipiniana Books to Malaysian National Library
The Philippine Embassy in Kuala Lumpur reported that cultural and people-to-people ties between the Philippines and Malaysia received a boost
when the Embassy and the Filipino Businessmen and
Professionals Caucus (FBPC) donated a set of books to
the Perpustakaan Negara Malaysia (PNM or Malaysian
National Library) at its main office in Kuala Lumpur.
Ambassador J. Eduardo Malaya and FBPC Chair
Edna Encarnacion turned over copies of Jose Rizal’s
Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo, and awardwinning novels notably F. Sionil Jose’s Viajero, Jessica
Hagedorn’s Dogeaters, and Miguel Syjuco’s Ilustrado.
Also part of the donation were books highlighting the
rich heritage of Muslim Filipinos, notably the Children
of the Ever Changing Moon, a collection of essays by
Muslim Filipino writers edited by Gutierrez Mangansakan III, and the Masjid/Mosque Architecture: Jewels
of Philippine Islamic Faith, a book on Muslim architecture published by the Philippine National Commission
on Culture and the Arts.
PNM Director General Nafisah Ahmad conveyed
the National Library’s appreciation for the donation of
books and described it as “timely”. It will form part of
the Library’s Exhibit on noted ASEAN works to be held
from April to June in line with Malaysia’s ASEAN Chairmanship this year.
Ambassador J. Eduardo Malaya (center) presents a set of books to Perpustakaan Negara Malaysia Director
General Nafisah Ahmad (left) during the turnover ceremony held on March 24. Also in the photo is Filipino
Businessmen and Professionals Caucus (FBPC) Chairperson Edna Encarnacion (right).
The Ambassador also donated copies of three
books he wrote and/or edited—So Help Me God: the
Presidents of the Philippines and their Inaugural Addresses; Frontlines of Diplomacy: Conversations with
Philippine Ambassadors, an oral history of 37 Philippine ambassadors and three diplomatic spouses and,
Philippines-Malaysia Agreements (1964-2014): Cornerstones of a Partnership, a compendium of Philippine-Malaysia agreements.
Ambassador Malaya cited the signing of the
Memorandum of Agreement on Culture and Heritage
Cooperation between the two countries during the
State Visit of President Benigno S. Aquino III to Kuala
Lumpur in February 2014. He looked forward to further
joint projects between the Embassy, the Library and
other Malaysian cultural institutions and groups, particularly in spreading culture through reading.
The PNM is under the Malaysian Ministry of
Tourism and Culture and is currently undertaking
three major activities: management of its current
resources, developing its collections of Malaysia and
international-related publications and other information materials for its users, and providing information
to its clientele. o
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“Reading Empowers the
Mind” - Ambassador Malaya
Ambassador J. Eduardo Malaya highlighted the need for a
reading culture among the young in his address at the launch
of the Master of Arts in English Language and Communication
program and the Right to Read Campaign at the USCI University in Cheras on March 18.
“There is nothing wasted in reading. It improves vocabulary and writing skills, widens one’s interests and viewpoints
and best of all, develops critical thinking. Reading empowers
the mind,” he said.
“I thus encourage all of us, particularly the students, to occasionally turn off the TV set or log out from the social media
accounts Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or Myspace, and start reencountering books, even e-books, and experience once more
the joys of the written word,” Ambassador Malaya added.
During his talk, the Ambassador also shared the importance of communication in imparting any institutions’ plans
and programs to the general public to inform and empower
them.
“I have often emphasized to my embassy staff members
that it is not sufficient for us to work hard; it is also essential
that we convey to our publics the sense that we are working
hard. If we fail to communicate that we are working hard, some
people may think that we are not working at all,” he stated.
Ambassador Malaya further explained that the operating
environment of a public that wishes to know and to know immediately is true for governments, NGOs with respect to their
funders and the sectors they serve, corporations vis-à-vis their
shareholders, universities in relation to their students and
their paying parents, and in almost all institutions.
“Clarity in communication is even more crucial in the field
of diplomacy, where form matters as much as substance and
where a word or a phrase – or how they are conveyed – can
become a deal breaker,” he said.
The USCI University’s Master of Arts in English Language
and Communication program is designed to provide students
with a framework to understand communication theories and
processes in an organizational context. Anchored on the detailed study of English and its correlation with digital technologies, it delves into the intricacies of the language that vary according to the desired context and mediums of dissemination.
Meanwhile, the Right to Read Campaign features collaborations with several well-known Malaysian writers and literary
critics in a year-long effort towards emphasizing the importance of reading as well as honing the writing and reading
skills of the local community. o
Oath-taking of Union of Muslim
Filipinos in Malaysia (UMFM)
The new set of officers of the Union of Muslim Filipinos
in Malaysia (UMFM) for 2015, led by its elected President,
Ustaz Cairoden Datu Solaiman Lao (second from left) took
their oath before Ambassador J. Eduardo Malaya (leftmost
in photo) on March 3 at the Embassy.
Also shown taking their oath are (third from left) Abdul Jalal Ampuan (Alternate Public Information Officer),
Jamal Muhaimen (Secretary General), Hamzah Balt (Internal Vice President), Faisal Bansao (Treasurer), Josephine
Patiño (Public Information Officer), Jamelah Melanie Binti
Abdullah (External Vice President). Not in photo is Maryam
Abdullah (Auditor).
The UMFM is a community association of Muslim Filipinos residing, working and/or studying in Malaysia. It was
established on 28 October 2012, in line with its community empowerment and outreach initiatives and to ensure
the welfare of Muslim Filipinos in Malaysia. o
Diplomatic BRIEF
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