GIZ Workshop on Renewable Energy in Germany and in the Philippines

October 29, 2012

Berlin. 29 October 2012. “There is massive potential for deeper economic cooperation between the Philippines and Germany in the field of renewable energy,” Philippine Ambassador to Germany Maria Cleofe Natividad stated during her opening remarks at the GIZ workshop on renewable energy in Berlin.

The GIZ, or the Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Internationale Zusammenarbeit, conducted on 19 October 2012 a one-day workshop on “Renewable Energy in Germany and in the Philippines“ participated in by representatives from the Philippine government and private sector players of the power sector.

The workshop provided an opportunity for visiting Philippine policy-makers and business representatives to meet German experts and learn more about Germany’s renewable energy (RE) policy, market intergration, as well as technical aspects such as grid integration.

From left to right: Rep. Henedina Abad, Chair of the Philippine House Committee on Energy; Philippine Ambassador to Germany Maria Cleofe Natividad; DOE Undersecretary Jose M. Layug, Jr. deliver their remarks at the workshop on renewable energy hosted by the GIZ.

On the other hand, Hon. Henedina R. Abad, Chair of the House Committee on Energy, noted that the enactment and implementation of the Renewable Energy Act in the Philippines was the product of “relentless advocacy.” She noted the challenges faced by the Philippines in its drive to promote clean energy and the need on the part of government to balance regulation with market competition.

The workshop featured in-depth discussions where participants share insights on the photovoltaic (PV) policy in Germany, market development and generation costs of renewable energy, and issues affecting PV grid generation.

The delegation was headed by Hon. Henedina R. Abad, and included officials from the Department of Energy and regulatory bodies such as the Energy Regulatory Commission. The private sector included representatives from SURE Inc., Edward Marcs, JL Business and Technology Consultancy Inc. and experts from electric distribution companies such as MERALCO, CEPALCO, Visayan Electric Company and Davao Light and Power Company.

r.Hans Jose Fell of Germany’s Green Party (ninth from left) takes time to meet the Philippine delegation

The workshop was one of the major activities prepared by the GIZ (or the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Interanationale Zusammenarbeit) for Philippine power industry stakeholders that took part in a six-day information visit to Germany to learn more about Germany’s experience in solar technology and grid integration. Another activity organized by the GIZ was a meeting with Mr. Hans Josef Fell of the Green Party. Mr. Fellhas been described in German media as “the father of the Feed-in-Tariff Law in Germany.” The Green Party member encouraged the Philippine Government to embrace renewable energy which he says will soon replace more conventional sources of energy as the prime source for electricity.

The Philippine Embassy in Berlin has been working closely with the GIZ and concerned federal ministries such as the Federal Ministry of the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety in various energy and climate fund initiatives. And in September 2012, after the long-awaited feed-in tariff rates were put in place, the German Federal Ministry of Environment increased its assistance for climate policy and renewable energy in the Philippines by 3 million euros. END

Philippine Criminal Code Committee fosters cooperation with German justice sector

October 27, 2012

Berlin. 27 October 2012. The Philippine Criminal Code ComIn Munich, the Code Committee also visited the Bavarian State Bureau of Criminal Investigation and met with representatives of the Forensic Technical Institute. The members of the committee also listened to lectures on substantive and procedural criminal law given by Dr. Laurent Lafleur, judge from the District Court of Munich, and Mr. Stefan Antor, Presiding Judge of the Court of Appeals of Munich. The Committee members also observed an actual court hearing at the Center of Criminal Justice and met with Ms. Stefanie von Strünk of the Bavarian State Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection.mittee (Code Committee), formed in 2011 to undertake the review of the Revised Penal Code, was in Munich and Berlin from 23 to 29 October 2012 for an exchange and information program upon the invitation of the Hanns-Seidel-Foundation (HSF).

Ambassador Maria Cleofe R. Natividad with Mr. Michael Glos, MdB, Member of the Federal Parliament and Mr. Siegfried Kauder, MdB, Member of the Federal Parliament and Chairman of the Committee on Justice.

The members of the Code Committee met their counterparts to learn more about best practices in the German jurisdiction and to give updates on the progress of their work in drafting a new Criminal Code that would improve the administration of criminal justice in the Philippines.

Assistant Secretary Geronimo Sy presents the work of the Criminal Code Committee at the Federal Foreign Office.

In Berlin, Ambassador Maria Cleofe R. Natividad welcomed the delegation at the Philippine residence and accompanied them in meetings at the Federal Foreign Office (FFO), the Federal Parliament, and the Federal Chancellery. At the FFO, Assistant Secretary Geronimo Sy, who chairs the Code Committee, gave a presentation on the status of their work towards crafting a modern Criminal Code. At the Federal Parliament, Congressman Niel C. Tupas Jr. also met with his counterpart, Mr. Siegfried Kauder, MdB, who chairs the Committee on Justice.

Congressman Niel C. Tupas, Jr. leads discussions at the Federal Chancellery.

“The Criminal Code Committee has made so much progress since their visit last year. Given the dynamism of the Committee, I am optimistic that this cooperation between our criminal justice authorities will be sustained in the long term,” Ambassador Natividad said, noting the report of Chairperson Sy that the Committee had completed Book 1 of the New Criminal Code and had presented the proposed penal law to relevant stakeholders in a roadshow in the Philippines.

Ambassador Maria Cleofe R. Natividad welcomes the Criminal Code Committee at the Philippine Embassy during the Dialogue with the Filipino Community.

The delegation also participated in the 6th Philippine Embassy Dialogue with the Filipino Community in Berlin. Congressman Niel C. Tupas, Jr. and Undersecretary Leah T. Armamento spoke before the Filipino community and reported on developments in the Philippines, particularly on their continuing work for good governance and anti-corruption reforms.

The delegation was headed by Congressman Niel C. Tupas, Jr. (5th District of Iloilo, 15th Congress of the Philippines), Chairperson of the Committee of Justice in Congress. He was joined by Undersecretary Leah T. Armamento (DOJ), Assistant Secretary Geronimo L. Sy (DOJ), Government Corporate Counsel Raoul C. Creencia (OGCC), Assistant Solicitor General Marissa M. Guillen (OSG), City Prosecutor Atty. Feliciano A. Aspi (Office of the City Prosecutor of Makati City), Assistant City Prosecutor Jeremy V. Bionat (Office of the City Prosecutor of Iloilo City), State Prosecutor Hazel C. Decena-Valdez (National Prosecution Service), Atty. Clemente M. Clemente (Regional Trial Court of Manila), Atty. Ethel B. Regadio (Land Registration Authority), Atty. Lyra Stella C. Valera (PNP). The delegation was accompanied by Mr. Paul G. Schäfer Resident Representative of the Hans Seidel Stiftung in the Philippines. (END)

Philippine Embassy Meets with Sabine Weiss, German Parliamentarian and Champion of Women’s Rights

October 24, 2012

Berlin. 24 October 2012.

“It is an honor to be a friend of a member of the German Parliament who shares our strong advocacy for women’s rights and who has a long and solid history of working for the welfare of Filipinos,” Philippine Ambassador to Germany Maria Cleofe R. Natividad said after a meeting with Ms. Sabine Weiss, member of the German Federal Parliament (Bundestag).

In Germany, where 82% – or more than 4 out of 5 Filipino migrants – are women, Ms. Weiss, a member of the Group of Women (Gruppe der Frauen) in the Parliament, is an important partner of the Embassy in its efforts to address issues related to women and migration.

Ambassador Natividad discussed with Ms. Weiss ways to deepen cooperation between the Philippines and Germany on these issues, and in particular, the project of Ms. Weiss to improve the welfare of Filipinos in Palapar Norte, Malasiqui, Pangasinan.

The origins of the Palapar Norte project go back to over thirty years – and illustrate the commitment of Ms Weiss to women’s rights and advocacy for delivering basic services to developing countries, like the Philippines.

In June 1989 as a young lawyer, Ms. Weiss was appointed to handle a human trafficking case involving ten Filipino women. The women were detained by the German immigration office and about to be deported. Together with fellow lawyers and advocates against human trafficking, Ms. Weiss was able to find a solution to the problem and to prevent further exploitation by traffickers. Through their efforts, five young women who were then eighteen years old were provided vocational education in Germany. After completing their vocational training, the Filipinos returned to the Philippines.

Ms. Sabine Weiss with the pupils of Palapar Norte Elementary School

Months later, in 1992, Ms. Weiss paid them a visit in their province. She stayed in the small town of Palapar Norte in Malasiqui in Pangasinan, 250 km north of Manila. In the town, Ms Weiss saw the need for the delivery of basic services like education and health. Within the same year, she and her fellow campaigners founded the non-profit charity organization Pangasinan Ev. They collected donations to develop Palapar Norte. They bought a piece of land, livestock and agricultural machines, established a provincial hospital together with the adjacent town using imported German medical equipment. Three years ago, she inaugurated an elementary school. An expansion to high school is planned for the near future.

Today, the town has around 2,000 inhabitants who enjoy the fruits of the projects initiated with the help Ms. Weiss. Ms Weiss herself spends some time in Palapar Norte annually to supervise the projects.

Sabine Weiss is a member of the Christian Democratic Union of Germany and has been a member of the German Bundestag since 2009 representing the constituency of Dinslaken, North Rhine Westphalia. She graduated at the University of Bochum with a law degree. She founded the “Pangasina Ev” private sector development assistance project in 1992. She practised as a lawyer in Duisburg and Dinslaken from 1989, and is a member of the board of Solidarity with Women in Distress (SOLWODI) in North Rhine-Westphalia that was founded by Sister Lea Ackermann in 1997. She became the first directly elected mayor of the town of Dinslaken in 1999 and was re-elected mayor in 2004. END

German firms set their sights on the Philippines

October 23, 2012

Berlin. 23 October 2012. An information session on the Philippines as a business location for the German enterprises took place at the PricewaterhouseCoopers conference center in Potsdamer Platz, Berlin, on 28 September 2012.

The economic event was co-sponsored by the Philippine Embassy in Berlin, the Philippine Economic Zone Authority, the ZukunftsAgentur Brandenburg, PricewaterhouseCoopers AG, the media publication ASEAN Today and the German Philippines Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GPCCI).

Ambassador to Germany Maria Cleofe Natividad delivers the welcome remarks at the Philippine business forum in Berlin.

Thirty eight German business entrepreneurs, traders, consultants and representatives from government institutions listened to presentations on the Philippines as a prime business and investment location in Asia.

Philippine Ambassador to Germany Maria Cleofe Natividad noted in her welcome remarks that the Philippines to date is one of the strongest-performing economies in Asia, and that the country’s growth forecast is between 5 to 6% in 2012.

EZA Director General Lilia De Lima assures German investors that the government of President Aquino is committed to promoting the Philippines as an investment friendly country.

Dr. Lilia de Lima, Director General of the Philippine Economic zone Authority, delivered the key note presentation on opportunities for foreign investors in Philippine economic zones. Dr. de Lima also gave a presentation in Stuttgart on 27 September 2012 at an investment forum sponsored by GPCCI and Wirtschaftsrat Deutschland. In her presentation, Dr. de Lima noted that there are currently 281 companies operating in PEZA that are from EU countries, and 36 of these firms are German companies that specialize in the areas of air transport, electronics, garments and manufacturing.

From Left: Commercial Counselor Jose Antonio Buencamino; Lufthansa Technik CEO Gerald Frielinghaus; PwC Senior Manager Alexander Lehnen, Ambassador Maria Cleofe Natividad; CS Garments President Claus Sudhoff; PEZA Director General Lilia De Lima, and ZAB GmbH Deputy Director Kirstin Wenk

The guests also heard the presentations of Mr. Jose Antonio Buencamino, Commercial Counselor of the Philippine Embassy in Berlin, who provided an overview of the Philippine business climate and investment opportunities, as well as Mr. Alexander Lehnen, Senior Manager of PricewaterhouseCoopers AG, who delivered a presentation on tax structuring of German investments in the Philippines.

Two German businessmen based in the Philippines and active officials of the GPCCI – Mr. Gerald Frielinghaus, President and CEO of Lufthansa Technik Philippines and Mr. Claus Sudhoff, President and CEO of CS Garments – also shared their extensive experiences in the country and why they have chosen the Philippines for their operations and not other countries in Asia.

However, the Department of Trade and Industry has announced that it will end its trade and investment representation in Germany by year’s end. This will mean the closure of its Berlin office and the transfer of its Commercial Counselor to another post. Members of the German business community in Manila and other prospective German investors have expressed serious concern saying that the closure would impact negatively on the renewed German interest to do business in the Philippines.

As the Philippines receives greater attention from foreign investors, Director General De Lima and Ambassador Natividad agreed that this is not the time to be absent from the scene. Rating agencies such as Standard & Poor, Fitch and global financial institutions such as Credit Suisse, Bank of America-Merrill Lynch and Deutsche Bank gave positive growth forecasts for the Philippines, at a time when most economies in Europe and Asia face slower growth prospects. It is believed that once the Fraport issue is resolved, the floodgates of heightened investment flows from Germany will literally be opened and in the process generate more jobs and export earnings for the country. (END)

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The Philippine Embassy in Berlin

GIZ Workshop on Renewable Energy in Germany and in the Philippines

Philippine Criminal Code Committee fosters cooperation with German justice sector

Philippine Embassy Meets with Sabine Weiss, German Parliamentarian and Champion of Women’s Rights

German firms set their sights on the Philippines

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