Thailand eyes tourism, labor ties with Philippines

Thailand is seeking to increase its tourism and labor ties with the Philippines.

This was revealed by a visiting delegation of Thai officials from its Ministry of Tourism and Sports led by Vice Minister Jakkaphon Tangsutthitham who participated in the recent UN Tourism Gastronomy Forum meeting held in Cebu last week from June 26 to 28 at the Shangri-La Mactan Resort and at the Sheraton Cebu Mactan Resort.

According to the Thai Ministry of Tourism and Sports officials, formal talks were started last week, initially for flights from Bangkok to Cebu, and further down the line for flights to and from other Thai destinations such as Phuket, Chiang Mai and Samui to Palawan as well.

A memorandum of understanding for the air negotiations will hopefully be reached in the fourth quarter of this year for flights from Bangkok to Cebu. Likewise, the Thai government is also eyeing a labor agreement that aims to up-skill and re-skill both Thai and Filipinos, as Thailand also has some Filipinos working there, even teachers.

Aside from additional seat entitlements, the Thai Tourism officials also had discussions with Philippine Department of Tourism officials led by Secretary Christina Garcia-Frasco to have a sister city tie-up. The Thai Ministry of Tourism and Sports were quite impressed with Secretary Frasco, describing her as “very smart.”

Malaysia-Philippines celebrate 60 years of friendship

Another Association of Southeast Asian Nation (ASEAN) neighbor, Malaysia, celebrated last Monday, July 1 its 60 years of friendship with the country at the Rizal Ballroom in Shangri-La Makati, with Malaysia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Utama Mohamad bin Haji Hasan gracing the event to mark the momentous event, along with its hardworking Ambassador to the Philippines Melvin Castelino, who last week was also in Cebu for the UN Tourism events.

In his speech, Malaysian Foreign Minister Hasan paid tribute to Malaysia and the Philippines close and strengthened ties for the past 60 years, “surviving the test of time and global transformation” that is built on “mutual respect, shared values.”

In terms of investments, Minister Hasan announced the continuing expansion of Malaysian Maybank in the Philippines with the opening by the end of July its first Islamic bank branch in Zamboanga. He also welcomed the progress of the Philippines in developing its halal industry, particularly with the launch of the Philippine Halal Development Strategy Plan by the Department of Trade and Industry which “Malaysia has been fully supportive of” and which he said would expand the halal food chain in the region.

The Malaysia-Philippine friendship anniversary celebration was so well-attended that from an initial gala dinner invitation, the event was instead transformed into a dinner cocktail due to the large attendance.

Spotted that night was Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo who also praised the 60 year friendship between the two countries that diplomatically started in 1964, but which he pointed out actually started hundreds of years ago, with historic and cultural ties.

Senators Cynthia Villar and JV Ejercito also graced the event, along with SM Prime’s Executive Committee chairman, Hans Sy and Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s George Barcelon and Federation of Filipino Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry Inc. president Cecilio Pedro.

The Boss

But an unexpected guest that night was no less than The Boss, San Miguel Corp. chairman and CEO Ramon Ang in a Barong, with his trademark black baseball cap emblazoned with the word BOSS.

According to RSA, he had to attend the event due to the insistent invitation and follow up calls of Ambassador Castelino whom he met during the recent Philippine Economic Briefing held in May at the Philippine International Convention Center where RSA had cited the subsidies extended by Malaysia to petroleum refiners and producers, allowing for lower fuel prices that help industries and the Malaysian economy.

The “rockstar” that he is, people again eagerly sought to have their photo taken with The Boss, who seemed quite relaxed after officially putting in place a succession plan for the SMC conglomerate.

However, he was quick to point out that he really avoids late night outs because according to him “when you go out, you start drinking, you start staying up late.”

Instead, he said, “when I don’t go out, I just stay home...from the office I just go home. I go to sleep at 9 o’clock, 10’clock. Wake up in the morning at 6 o’clock...but when you start going out, all the bad habits start coming out again.

Sand shortage

One last snippet that I managed to get out of the SMC Boss after several interruptions of request for photo ops was the sand problem that his Bulacan International Airport is experiencing.

Apparently, construction of the new international airport is being affected by a sand supply shortage. He revealed that the province of San Nicolas is experiencing a shortage and they now have to look for an alternative source, but he denied the possibility of having to import sand.

I guess with all the reclamation taking place, including in Manila Bay, sand has now become a precious commodity for construction projects.