A delegation from the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) headed by Undersecretary Martin B. Diño took part in a Dialogue Program for Senior Philippine Officials organized by the Konrad Adenauer Foundation from 24 to 27 June 2019 in Berlin, Germany. Other delegation members included Assistant Secretary Marjorie Jalosjos, Assistant Secretary Ester Aldana, and Assistant Secretary Francisco Cruz.

 

The delegation was briefed by and met German officials from the Executive Branch, State  government, the Ministry of Interior, and the Parliament. They were assisted and guided throughout the program by Dr. Stefan Jost, Konrad Adenauer Foundation Country Representative in the Philippines. Philippine Embassy officials including Ambassador Theresa Dizon-De Vega and Political Officer Alvin C. Malasig likewise joined the different sessions.

 

The delegation had the opportunity to interact with German resource persons on governance policies, the German government system, and related topics. The group likewise met Member of Parliament Markus Koob, representing the German ASEAN Parliamentary Group and a member of the German Parliament’s Committee on Foreign Relations.

 

As part of the program, the delegation met with officials of the Saxon State Parliament, Saxon State Ministry of the Interior, and local officials of Dresden on governance issues and management, and the interface between the federal and state governments under the German Federal System of government.

 

The Philippine Delegation likewise had the opportunity to provide an explanation of the governance system in the Philippines, the various reforms being instituted, and developments in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao or BARMM. End

The Management Association of the Philippines (MAP), one of the country’s leading management and business organizations, with the support of the Philippine Embassy in Berlin, conducted a Seminar on Entrepreneurship and Investing in the Philippines on 28 June 2019. The seminar, which was held at the Embassy, presented opportunities for Filipinos and foreigners alike to do business in the country. The seminar was held a day after the Day of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) on 27 June.

Attended by over 50 participants, the seminar was opened by Ambassador Ma. Theresa B. Dizon-De Vega, who highlighted the exciting economic developments in the Philippines.

Ms. Carol Dominguez, MAP Board Governor and CEO of John Clements International Inc. expanded on these developments in her presentation “Investing in the Philippines,” wherein she talked about the engines driving the country’s growth, among them the BPO industry, Overseas Filipino remittances, tourism, demographics and talent pool, and consumption.

Taking off from the observation that Filipinos are major consumers, Ms Maria Cristina Concepcion, Chair of the Women Empowerment Committee of MAP and CEO of BPO International talked about the country’s Fintech landscape, including the opportunity to broaden Filipinos’ access to financial services and to encourage investments using technology-enabled solutions. She related it to the role of women as financial managers and entrepreneurs.

Lastly, Mr Cesar Averia, Jr., MAP member and President and CEO of EDI-Staffbuilders International, talked about Entrepreneurship, drawing on his personal experiences that shaped him as an entrepreneur. He also touched on his company’s work recruiting and preparing Filipino nurses for deployment to Germany and their inputs on building the 21^st global workforce.

The presentations were followed by a Q&A session where audience members raised questions or offered comments on the energy sector in the Philippines and the EU-GSP+ privileges enjoyed by Philippine exporters, among others.

The seminar concluded with the presentation by Ambassador Dizon-De Vega of a Certificate of Appreciation to the MAP team. Afterwards, the guests took part in a Networking Reception.

The seminar in Berlin is part of a MAP’s roadshow in Germany, which will also see them giving seminars in Frankfurt, Munich, and Stuttgart. The MAP program is in connection with the organization’s 2019 theme of “Shaping a Competitive Future”. END

Nine students of the Master in Development Management and Governance program of the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) today visited the Philippine Embassy in Berlin as one of the first stops of their study visit in Germany to learn about development from the lens of a developed country. They were accompanied by Professor Nelson Jose Vincent Querijero and Assistant Professor Rhea Ledesma-Gumasing.

The delegation was greeted by Ambassador Ma. Theresa B. Dizon-De Vega, and received a briefing about the Embassy’s work, particularly in advancing Philippine-German development cooperation, from Consul General Lillibeth Pono and Consul Catherine Torres.

The students came from diverse backgrounds, including the public sector, international organizations, civil society, and the academe.

After Berlin, they will visit Hamburg, Bayreuth, and Frankfurt, to meet with other educational institutions, learn from them, and explore prospective partnerships. (END)

The Philippines, as host of the 12^th Conference of Parties to the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS) also known as the Bonn Convention, delivered a special message at the commemoration of the 40^th anniversary of the signing of the Convention at an event held at the German Ministry of Environment, Nature Conservation, and Nuclear Safety on 24 June 2019.

Philippine Ambassador to Germany, Theresa Dizon-De Vega joined the German Minister for Environment, Nature Conservation, and Nuclear Safety Svenja Schulze, Federal Foreign Office Director General Miguel Berger, CMS Executive Secretary Amy Fraenkel, CMS Standing Committee Chair Mr. Øystein Størkersen, and Deputy Chief of Mission of the Indian Embassy in Germany Paramita Tripathi in delivering remarks to an audience of German and United Nations officials and members of the Diplomatic Corps.

Ambassador Dizon-De Vega thanked the CMS states parties and the Secretariat for their support during the Philippines’ presidency of the 12^th CMS Conference of States Parties (COP-12) held from 22-28 October 2017 in Manila. In particular, she cited approval of the Manila Declaration On Sustainable Development and Migratory Species.

The Declaration acknowledges the significant contribution of migratory wildlife to sustainable development, especially in the areas of agriculture, forestry, fisheries, tourism, energy, transport, and trade.

She likewise acknowledged the COP-12’s adoption of the resolutions proposed by the Philippines, including the listing of the butan-ding or whale shark and four other migratory species frequenting the country on the CMS appendices.

The Philippine hosting was the first CMS-COP held in Asia and broke previous attendance records with 1,000 delegates from 93 countries.

For her part, Minister Schulze issued a clarion call for concerted efforts to campaign for more countries to join the ranks of States Parties to the Convention with the hope of achieving at least 150 members by the time the Convention turns 50 years old a decade from now.

The Philippines is one of 128 States Parties to the Convention and is considered one of the most active advocates for its implementation. The CMS Secretariat is located in Bonn, Germany.

The States Parties to the CMS are expected to build on the gains at the Manila COP-12 Meeting when they reconvene for the 13^th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention in Gandhinagar, India from 17-22 February 2019. END