the 2015 ynu field study trip · the 2015 ynu field study ... , jica staffs gave us some basic...

THE2015YNUFIELDSTUDY‐TRIP

InthePhilippines

AgroupofeightstudentsandthreeprofessorsfromtheGraduate

schoolofInternationalSocialScienceswentonafield‐studyvisitto

thePhilippinesfromFebruary19toFebruary28,2015

ThestudytriptothePhilippinessinceitsinception2005hasproducedfruitfulforthe

student’sresearch.After10years,weagainparticipatedinourIBLAWfieldstudy‐trip

with the theme “In Quests for a Sustainable, Prosperous and PeacefulWorld”. Our

team,consistingofeightstudents fromJapan,Haiti,KoreaandVietnam,accompany

with twoprofessor, visitedmany agencies, authorities located inMetroManila and

LeyteIsland.

ListofParticipants

ProfessorsandStaff

Surname Givenname M/F Nationality

1 Kobayashi Takaaki M Japan Assoc.Prof

2 Kakee Tomoko F Japan Assoc.Prof

Students

Surname Givenname M/F Nationality

1 Tran VanLong M Vietnam D2

(Groupleader)

2 Kimura Kayo F Japan M1

AssistantG.Leader

3 Pontius Erskine F Haiti M2

4 Uto Takayuki M Japan M2

5 Tada Katsunari M Japan M2

6 Choi Inchul M Korea M1

7 Nozaki Taira M Japan U2

8 Kuwabara Yohei M Japan U1

Reportsfromstudentsinourstudytripareasfollows:

REPORTSBYSTUDENTS

GROUPREPORTS

TheJapanInternationalCooperateAgency(JICA)

DateandTime:February20,09:00–11:00H

Meeting place: 40/F Yuchengo Tower, RCBC Plaza, 6819, Alaya Ave,MakatiCity

TheJapanInternationalCooperateAgency(JICA)isanagencyofthegovernmentofJapanresponsibleforimplementingJapan’sOfficialDevelopmentAssistance(ODA)to developing countries. In the Philippines, JICA has been one of key developmentpartners since 1960s. JICA contributes to the Philippines by sharing Japan’stechnologyandknowledgewiththeFilipinos.

At first in this session, JICA staffs gave us some basic information about JICA’scooperationtothePhilippines.Table1belowstandsforthebilateralassistancetothePhilippinesandTable2isabouttechnicalcooperationtothePhilippines.

Table1:BilateralAssistancetothePhilippines(CY2011)

SchemeNetDisbursements

(USDMillion)

GrantAid 32.76

TCP 61.16

LoanAid 663.51

Source:Handoutinthesession.

Table2:JICA’sTechnicalCooperationtothePhilippines1asof2012

TrainingParticipantsinJapan 34,873people

ExpertsDispatched 7,111people

JOCV 1,521people

Source:Handoutinthesession.

ThegovernmentofJapanhasthefollowingthreepriorityissues/areasonitsODA

tothePhilippines.

1)AchievingSustainableEconomicGrowththroughFurtherPromotionofInvestment

⇒suchastransportation,energy,infrastructure,governance,etc

2)OvercomingVulnerabilityandStabilizingBasesforHumanLifeandProductionActivity

⇒suchasdisaster,environment,health,agriculture,etc

1ThePhilippinesisthethirdlargestrecipientcountriesoftechnicalcooperationbyJICA.

3)PeaceandDevelopmentinMindanao

⇒governance/humanresourcedevelopment,povertyreduction,etc

Among them, we heard an explanationabout ongoing projects focusing onrehabilitation and recovery from typhoon“Yolanda”(regardingpillar2)andthePasig‐MarikinaRiver channel improvement (pillar1and2).

In the project on rehabilitation andrecovery from typhoon Yolanda, thegovernmentof thePhilippinesemphasizes a

concept of “Build Back Better, Faster and Safer” as a national policy. The conceptmeansthatitisimportantfortyphoonaffectedareasnottoberestoredtoitsformerstate but to be revived “better” and “safer” thanpreviously. Based on this concept,variousprojectsarebeingimplemented.

Regarding the Pasig‐Marikina River channel improvement project, we received

anexplanationof itsoverview.Theprojectobjective is tomitigate flooddamage inMetroManilacausedbychanneloverflowof theriver,and thereby tocontribute tothe sustainable economic development in this area. The project components aredivided into twomeasures. One is structural measures including improvements ofriverwall, dike, and steel sheet pile. The other isNon‐structuralmeasures such asawarenesscampaign.Wewatchedavideoaboutthiscampaign.

Writer:TakayukiUTO

DepartmentofForeignAffairs(DFA)

TechnicalCooperationCouncilofthePhilippines(TCCP)


Meetingplace:6/FDepartmentofForeignAffairsBuilding,2330,RoxasBuilding,PasayCity

WevisitedtwoorganizationssuchasDFAandTCCPinordertogetinformationabout

diplomacy of Philippines, and DFA ambassador, Mr. JoseMa. A. Cariñor, gave us a

useful presentation about how the Philippines thinks of their diplomacy andwhat

goaltheyhave.Thepointsoftheexplanationareasfollows:

AboutDFA

1. DFAisfocusedonthesoftpowerdiplomacybecauselikeJapan,thePhilippines

doesnothave thebigpower suchusUnitedAmericahas, so they found the

waywhichissoftpowerdiplomacytodeveloptheireconomicandmaketheir

initiativesintheinternationalsociety.

2. SinceDFAisdoingthesoftpowerdiplomacythePhilippineswouldliketoget

alongwiththecountrieswhichhavethesamepolicyastheirs:thesoftpower

diplomacy.Especially,itistheimportantpointthatthePhilippinesandJapan

havethesamepolicyondiplomacy.

AboutTCCP

Executive Order No. 16 (September 1, 1992) created the Technical

CooperationCouncilof thePhilippines (TCCP),with theSecretaryofForeign

AffairsasChair and theDFAasSecretariat to theCouncil, to coordinateand

implement various cooperation schemes between the Philippines and other

developingcountries.

The Technical Cooperation Council of the Philippines (TCCP) acts as the

national focal point for Technical Cooperation among Developing Countries

(TCDC)andas such implements a technical cooperationprogram in favorof

developingandleastdevelopedcountries(DCsandLDCs),coordinatesrelated

projects and activities implemented by government and non‐government

organizations, and undertakes research on the technical assistance

requirementsofDCsandLDCs.

TCCP will be tasked to play a pivotal role in the country’s soft power

diplomacy initiatives. TCCP has recommended changing its nomenclature to

the Philippines International Cooperation Agency (PICA) like Japan

International Cooperation Agency. Therefore, JICA is kind of the model for

theirpolicy.

Writer:KatsunariTADA

OfficeoftheUndersecretaryforMigrantWorkersAffairs(OUMWA)


Meetingplace:6/FDepartmentofForeignAffairsBuilding,2330,RoxasBuilding,PasayCity

ThemigrationteamhadtovisitintotalsixplacesinthePhilippines:Officeofthe

Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs (OUMWA), International Labor

Organization (ILO), Commission of the Filipinos Overseas (CFO), Department Of

Labor and Employment (DOLE) , Philippine Overseas Employment Administration

(POEA) and OverseasWorkersWelfare Administration (OWWA). OUMWAwas the

firstdestination,thefirststepofwhatwasinfactagreatadventureinoursearchof

migrationrelateddiscoveries.Whenwearrivedtherewehadageneralpresentation

about OUMWA by the Ambassador Eric Andaya, after the welcome words of the

UndersecretaryJesusYabes.Wehadtheopportunitytoaccessthelegalsectionwhich

communicates with the embassies in the countries where the Philippines sent

migrant workers. We could have a short talk with the officers. There is one legal

officer for each country where there are Filipino workers. They are also in good

communicationandcoordinationwith theembassies.Wehadanotherpresentation

byanotherstaffmemberMr.Lorenzorwhohasbeenmanytimestoriskycountriesto

help,amongotherthings,rescueFilipinoindifficulties.HewasassistedbyMrsHazel,

alegalofficer.

ThegeneralpresentationbytheAmbassadorEricAndaya,theExecutiveDirectorof

OUMWA

Theofficeofthelegalofficers:oneforeachcountry

ThepresentationofMr.LorenzorjointlywithMrsHazel

Themeetingcouldbesummarizedasfollows.

OUMWAislocatedinthedepartmentofforeignaffairs.Itistheunitinchargeof

theoverallassistancetonationalsoperationsofthedepartmentof foreignaffairs. It

coordinates the activities regarding assistance to nationals provided by various

agencies.ItprovidesassistanceandlegalservicestoFilipinosoverseasindistress.It

formulates the relevant policies and makes recommendations. When there is a

problem they take over to resolve it. The office was created to provide strong

mechanismtohelptheFilipinooverseas. As for2013,US$1millionwerespenton

lawyers’expenditures.Theyhavealegalmandatewhichistomakesuretherightsof

the workers are respected during the judgments. They provide two kinds of

assistance:

1‐ Legal:theytakecareofcriminal,laborcase,appealofdeathpenalty

2‐ Consular: they deal withmaltreatment, repatriation, unpaid salaries, contract

distribution,andshipmentofremains.

OUMWA works in good cooperation with IOM (International Organization for

migration), theygiveandget feedback fromeachother.Theycooperate tohelp the

Filipinosoverseas.Itisimportanttonotethatinmostoftheplaceswehavebeento,

they keep saying that they don’t encourage or develop foreign employment; they

wanttomakeitachoice.Ifworkingabroadisthechoicetheymake,thegovernment

wantstomakesurethattheyareprotected.Theyalsohelpthemwhenasaresultof

this choice they are in trouble. As Mr Lorenzor said, they try to get them “out of

trouble”whethertheyareregularornot,eveniftheyareincountriesincrisis.

Writer:PontiusERSKINE

YokohamaNationalUniversityandUniversityofSantoTomas

JointSeminar2015

TheYNU‐UST Joint seminarwasheld on February21, 2015 at theGraduate

School–UniversityofSantoTomas.Thesessionbeginat8:30inthemorning.

The seminar opened with Philippines National Anthem. Professor Marilu R.

Madrunio,PhD.Dean,USTGraduateSchool,performedthewelcomeremarks.

The first presentation on “Spratly Island and International Law” was

performedbyProfessorKakeeTomoko.Shepresentedoneofahottopicrelatingto

International law, conflicts between China and Japan, China and the Philippines as

wellasotherSouthEastAsiancountriesregardingtheLawofsea.

“Entrepreneurial Education” was the second presentation, presented by Professor

Conrado Montemayor, PhD from University of Santo Tomas. He divided his

presentationintotwomodules:PrinciplesofEntrepreneurialeducationandApplied

entrepreneurialeducation.

YNUandUSTstudentsattheseminar

ProfessorIchiroArakiaskedProfessorKakeeTomokoafterherpresentation

GroupPhoto‐YNUandUSTteam

Pasig–MarikinaRiverChannelImprovementProject


Meetingplace:PasigRiver,Manila

ThePhilippines isknowntobeoneof thecountries thataremostvulnerable tonatural disasters.MetroManila has a population ofmore than 10million, but thisarea is subject to typhoon. Particularly, The Pasig – Marikina River flows throughurbanizedareawhichiseconomic/administrativecenterofthePhilippines,soafloodoftheriverhasaconsiderablynegativeimpactonPilipinosociety.

Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has been implementing “Pasig –MarikinaRiver Channel Improvement Project” since 1999. This project is aimed toreduce flooddamage inMetroManilaby improvingPasig–Marikina river channel.TheprojectiscarriedoutbyajointventurebetweenTOYOCONSTRUCTIONCO.,LTD.andSHIMIZUCORPORATION,bothareJapanesecompanies.

WevisitedtheprojectsiteinordertounderstandhowJICA’sprojectisimplemented in the Philippines asdevelopingcountry.

The engineering representativeallowed us to inspect the projectsitefromontheboats,sowewereable to look around the sitecomfortably.

While inspecting, we observedthat there were many residencesnear to the river.According to theexplanation, some people have nochoice but to live there for avariety of reasons despite it isillegal. The companies (TOYO –SHIMIZU JV) said they tried tonegotiate with them for theirmoving, but they have manydifficulties. It is important for the“inclusive” development of thePhilippines to eliminate thisdilemma.

Ontheotherhand,wealsoobservedfromontheboatsthattherearemanyhighrisebuildingsneartotheriver.WecouldcatchaglimpseoftwoaspectsofthePilipinosociety.

We learnt a lot through visiting one of Japan’s Official Development Assistance(ODA) project site and seeing workers involved with it. We appreciate TOYO –SHIMIZU JV so much. We couldn’t have such a great opportunity without theircooperation.

Writer:TakayukiUTO

GrandspanDevelopmentCorporation(GDC)


Meetingplace:PasigRiver,Manila

Grandspan Development

Corporation (GDC) is an

internationally recognized steel

fabrication company established in

1979.GDCdealswithsteelfabrication,

tubularsection,trailermanufacturing,

hauling equipment and general

construction. Its steel products have

passedrigorousqualitystandards2.

We visited its factory because GDC makes the steel piles for the “Pasig‐

MarikinaRiverChannelImprovementProject”wealsovisitedinthisstudyprogram.

Althoughtheoperationonthatdaywasfinished,wewereabletoobservehuge

factory.WeappreciateMr.AlfredS.Tiu(theCEOofGDC)somuch.Wehadavaluable

experience.

2 Grandspan Development Corporation: http://www.grandspan.ph/ (accessed 14/03/2015)

Writer:TakayukiUTO

TheCityMayorofGuiuan


Meetingplace:TheCityhallofGuiuan

Wevisited the city hall of Guiuan inorder to get some information abouthow they are recovering from badsituationmadeby typhoonYolanda.Wehad a chance to ask some questions tothemayor of Guiuan. The points of theexplanationareasfollows:

Guiuanisasecond‐classmunicipality

in the province of Eastern Samar,

Philippines.Asofthe2010census,ithad

a population of 47,037 people. However, a lot of people died due to the typhoon

Yolanda.

Atthetimeoftyphoonhit,thebigproblemwasthattheycouldnotcontactwith

other governments because the infrastructure on communication was damaged.

However, as soon as the typhoon hit, many assistance came to Guiuan city from

organizationslikeinternationalNGOsandothercitiesthatdidnotaffecteddespiteof

unabletocontactwithoutsideofGuiuan.

ThecityhallofGuiuanwasbadlydamagedbytyphoon, thereforethecityhall is

still located in the temporally houses. However, some houses are actually perment

housesbecausetheycannotaffordtohavenewfacilities.

In the Guiuan city, there are some buildings like day care center under the

construction by JICA. JICA projects created some opportunities for local people to

workforJICAprojects.TheyappreciateforeigncountriesassistancelikeJICAdoes.


TheProvincialGovernorofLeyte


Meetingplace:TheProvincialGovernorofLeyte

WevisitedtheprovincialgovernorofLeyte inordertograsptheinformationabout

howprovincial government didwhen typhoonYolandahit the Leyte Islandsbadly.

Wehad anopportunity to interviewwithHon.Ranulfo "BOB" S.Abellanosawho is

one of the board members Leyte province. The points of the explanation are as

follows:

1. Leyte is aprovince thePhilippines located in theEasternVisayas region. Its

capitalisTaclobanCityandoccupiesthenorthernthree‐quartersoftheisland

of Leyte. The province

ofLeyteislocatedwest

of Samar Island, north

of Southern Leyte and

southofBiliran.To the

westofLeyteacrossthe

Camotes Sea is Cebu

province. On 8

November 2013, the

province was largely

destroyed by Super Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan), killing a reported 10,000

people,havingpreviouslysufferedsimilardestructionandlossoflifein1991

duringtyphoonThelma.

2. There was no

communication problem

between the Provincial

GovernorofLeyteandother

governments in the

Philippines, but some

people living in Tacloban

city,whoIinterviewed,said

that there was a problem

because The Provincial

GovernorofLeytecouldnot

inform the correct number of dead persons to national government so that

peoplewhoaffectedbytyphooncouldnotgetenoughsupportsoonafterthe

typhoonhit.


Watching the recovery of rural public health centre from the damage oftyphoon


We visited at one of

thevillagenearTacloban

on the afternoon

February23rd. Iwas just

impressed the situation

in which many peoples

even now live in

temporaryhouse. In that

area, JICA have been

constructing public

health care centre. I

learned that JICA also

running these business first. They also try to construct community hall and high

school. Theywould like to enhance vibrancy of that region. Their keyword is that

“buildbackbetter”.Wejusthopethatconstructiongoessuccessfullyandthevillage

buildbackbetter.

Writer:YOHEIKuwabara

TheTaclobanCityHall


Meetingplace:TaclobanCity

We visited Tacloban City in the Leyte Island. This area suffered seriousdamageinthetyphoon“Yolanda”in2013.Thecityisontheroadtorestorationfromit.WemetMrs.CristinaGonzales‐Romualdez,thewifeofthecitymayorofTacloban(atthesametimesheisaCityCouncilor)inordertohearofthesituationatthattimeYolandahitthereandpresentissues.

She kindly told us thatthe city was confronted withmany difficulties includingrecover and restoration. Themost impressive story to mewas about the distribution ofthe relief supplies. Sheexplained that it was difficultfor the municipal to decide“Where” “What” “How” todeliver the huge amounts ofsupport commodities. Thisstory means that it isimportant that recipients of

assistance also should make elaborate preparations against cases of emergency.Howevershethankeddonorsfortheirsupport.Therewasa listoforganizationsonthe blackboard meaning these organizations including international organizationsandNGOswereverycooperativewiththemunicipal.

At the session,wetalked unexpectedlyabout the relationshipbetween Tacloban Cityand Fukuyama city inHiroshima prefecture,Japan. They have had aspecial treaty offriendship since 1980. Infact, we found sometrucks which the word“Fukuyama” was writtenon the body of them. Ithappened that professorKakee came fromFukuyamaCity,sowegotexcitedovertalkingaboutit(Actually,Ialsohavelivedinthecity).

WerealizedTaclobanCityandJapanhaveacloseties,soweshouldmaintaintherelationsbycooperatingeachother.

Weappreciatewhatshehasgivenusthisopportunityinspiteofherconditionofbeingbusy.

Writer:TakayukiUTO

WatchingtherecoveryoftheCathedral,Tacloban


WevisitedthecathedralthatawaythananhourfrommyTaclobanAirport.The

Cathedral, take a lot of damage for super typhoon, was now in progress the new

construction.Itwasthesitewherewecanfeelthesupertyphoonofpowerin2013.

Cathedral of roofmadeof concrete, andmanyof thebuildingsweredestroyed in a

hugewind.Fatherof thiscathedralwasexplainedtousthedamagesituationofthe

typhoon, Father told us to guide the current construction site. After you visit the

damagedsite,theyprovideduswithFilipinofood.Thefoodwasuniqueandwasvery

delicious.Araki,Kobayashi,ProfessorKakee,donatedforthecathedralofrepair.

Thephotoaboveiscathedralsthatweredamagedbythetyphoon.

Reporter:CHOIInchul

InternationalLabourOrganization(ILO)CountryOfficeforthePhilippines


Meetingplace:19FYuchengcoTower,RCBCPlaza,6819AyalaAvenue,MakatiCity

The migration team visited International Labour Organization Country Office

(ILO) for the Philippines in themorning on February 25. ILO is one of the United

Nations’specializedagenciesthatdealswithlaborproblems.ThestaffofILO,Ms.Ma

ConcepcionSardañaandMs.CatherineCalalayLaws,welcomedusandgaveus two

presentations about information of migrant workers, ILO’s general works and its

programstosupportmigrationworkers.

First, Ms. Sardaña

explained the basic

informationandworksofILO.

The points of the explanation

areasfollows:

1.ILOwasestablishedin1919

to promote social justice

and internationally

recognized human and

labor rights through

“Rights at work”, “Social

protection”, “Employment

opportunities” and “Social

dialog”.

2. Its uniqueness is “tripartite” structure. This structure consists of governments,

employersandworkersorganizationsandILOencouragesthemtopromotesocial

dialogbetweenthemtosolvesocial,economicandmanyotherissues.

3. ILO aims to promote “decent work” that means a productive work. However,

“decentwork”doesn’tmean“justworking”,but“theworkthatprotectstherights

ofworkersandgeneratesenoughincome”.

4. To achieve the four points that are mentioned in 1, ILO has conducted many

programs with other organizations such as International Organization for

Migration(IOM),FoodandAgricultureOrganizationoftheUnitedNations(FAO),

Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS) and many NGOs.

Implementing partners also include national and local governments, employers

andworkers.

Next,Ms.Lawsgaveusthepresentationaboutgeneralinformationaboutmigrant

workersandILO’sprogramsforthem.Thedetailsofitareasfollows:

1.Thereare105.5millionmigrantworkers in theworld.30%of themare inAsia

and14millionmigrantworkersarestayinginASEANcountries.

2. Regarding the Philippines, 10% of its population (10.5 million) are working

abroadand10%ofitsGDP(26.9billionUSD)comesfromtheirremittances.The

mostofthetop10destinationsofOverseasFilipinoWorkers(OFWs)areMiddle

EastcountriesandAsiancountries.

3. The drives of migration are economic disparities, demographic changes, labor

shortages and wage differentials among developing countries and developed

countries. There aremany issues and challengeswithmigrantworkers such as

healthproblems,employmentconditionsandirregularmigrationflows.

4. ILO is a specialized organization of United Nations that deals with migration

workers. It supports them by strengthening the efforts of social partners who

provide direct services to migrant workers. Also, ILO has been promoting

standardsofmigrationpolicyandtherightsofmigrantworkers.

5. Currently, ILO Manila implements ASEAN TRIANGLE Projects, which aims to

strengthen regional legal and policy framework to more effectively govern

migration and protect the rights of migrant workers in a gender responsive

manner.ILOalsoestablishedAsia‐PacificKnowledgeNetworkonMigration(AP‐

MagNet) in which professionals and practitioners can share, debate on and

leverage technical and practical knowledge on labor migration and human

trafficking.

Writer:KAYOKimura

BoardofInvestment(BOI)


Meetingplace:GroundFour,IndustryandInvestmentBuilding,385Sen,GilPuyatAve,MakatiCity

OurpurposeofvisitingBOIwasresearchofactivitiesofBOI,Philippineeconomy

and investment environment of the Philippines. BOI is the national investment

promotionagencyofthegovernment.

Their activities are based on the governments set goals of encouraging more

economic activities that will take the country to a higher level of global

competitiveness and opening more opportunities that will generate more gainful

employment for thepeople.Forexample, theyhave suchactivitiesasduediligence

assistance, business registration facilitation and aftercare service. And they make

competitiveinvestmentincentives.

Accordingtotheirpresentation,thereare“Magical10IndicationsofaGrowing

Philippine Economy”. They are stable and resilient economic growth, continuous

inflow of OFW remittances, steady export growth, steady investment flows, robust

domestic financial sector coupled with credit growth, efficient revenue collection,

improvingglobalcompetitivenessranking,dynamicpeople,strengthenedgovernance

andanti‐corruptionmeasures,creditratings.Moreover thereare fiveadvantagesof

businessinPhilippines.Theyarerichtalentpool,infrastructuredevelopment,critical

marketaccess,first‐classlifestyleandcompetitiveinvestmentincentives.

I thought Philippines have a lot of advantages of business after their

presentation.However,Philippineswilldevelopmoreandmore.Philippinesmustbe

moreimportantpartnerforJapaninthefuture.

Writer:TAIRANozaki

MitsubishiCorporation


Meetingplace:14/FLVLocsinBuilding,6752AlayaAve,MakatiCity

On 25th February, we visited Mitsubishi Corporation Manila branch. Mitsubishi

Corporation is oneof largestgeneral trading companies in Japanas youknow.The

purpose of visiting this Manila branch is research of international business and

Japanesecompanywhichismovingoverseas.MitsubishiCorp.wasestablishin1870

as “Tsukumo Shokai”. And the name was changed later. In 1947, after WWⅡ,

Mitsubishi and other conglomerates were forced to dissolve. Mitsubishi Corp. has

over 200 offices or subsidiaries in over 90 countries. Manila branch is one of the

oldestinthem.Mitsubishihasalotofkindsofbusiness,forexample, infrastructure,

energy, chemicals, industrial finance and so on.Mitsubishi Corp. began to trade in

Philippinesmore than60years ago and they gotpartnershipwithAyalaCorp.The

reasonwhytheygotthepartnershipwassheeraccident.AyalaCorp.waslookingfor

Japanese company in theMarcos administration to get business know‐how. At the

time,Mitsubishi corp.hadalreadyabranch in thePhilippines soAyalaCorp. chose

Mitsubishiasapartner.MitsubishiCorp. isdevelopingseveralbusinessallover the

Philippines.Forexample,inDavaothereisDavaoCentralChemicalCorp.asapartner

and in Laguna they develop electric plant. In Philippines there is unique culture,

custom and demand. To success business in the Philippines, you should consider

them.

Writer:TAIRANozaki

CommissionForFilipinoOverseas(CFO)


Meeting place: 1345 Pres, Quirino Avenue Corner, Osmena Highway,Manila

Themigrationteam,composedofmembersoftheYokohamaNationalUniversity

(YNU) delegation and of University of Santo Thomas (UST), visited the CFO on

Wednesday,February25th2015.Wemettworesponsible:Mr.ElfredUlyssesG.del

Rosario ,Mr. GregorioM. Jabal. They showedus a video andmadepresentationabout theCFOactivitiesandprojects.After thatwehada “QuestionsandAnswers”

session.

Whatistobenotedfromourmeetingisthat:

CFOwascreatedbytheBatasPambasaBlg79to:

‐ Provideassistance to thePresidentandthecongressof thePhilippines in the

formulationofpoliciesandmeasuresconcerningoraffectingFilipinosoverseas.

‐ Developandimplementprogramsinordertopromotetheirinterestsandfavor

theirwell‐being.

‐ Serve as a forum for the preservation and the enhancement of the cultural,

socialandeconomictiesoftheFilipinosabroadwiththeirhomecountry.

Itsclientsaremorespecifically:

‐ theFilipinospermanentresidents

‐ thenaturalizedFilipinosorwhohavedualcitizenship

‐ Filipinosspousesorpartnerofforeignnationals

‐ DescendantsofoverseasFilipinos

‐ Participantsofexchangevisitorsprograms

‐ YouthFilipinosoverseas

For2012,theyestimatedtheFilipinosoverseasat10.5millionsinmorethan200

countries. Among this number 47% are permanent, 40% temporary workers and

13% irregular. The CFO is taking care of the Filipinos pertaining to the permanent

residents’categoryexclusively.Thetemporaryworkersareundertheresponsibility

ofPOEAandOWWAandtheirfamilymembersundertheOWWA.Allthoseagencies

workaccordingtoacountryteamapproachandcoordinateverywellwitheachother.

Its frontline services include PDOS (Pre‐Departure Orientation Seminar) for

permanentvisasholdersfrom20to59yearsold.Forthoseof60,onlyregistrationis

requiredsimilarlytothechildrenfrom12andunder.Theyprovidepeercounseling

tothem.

Writer:KAYOKimura

AyalaCorporation


Meetingplace:25/FRomuloLounge,TowerOne,AyalaTriangle,AlayaAve,MakatiCity

TherearealotofconglomerateinthePhilippines.AyalaCorporationisoneof

the oldest conglomerate. In Japan, there are few conglomerate, somainpurpose of

thisvisitwastoresearchmechanism,advantage,anddisadvantageofconglomerate.

Conglomerate is a large company formed by joining together different firms. Ayala

Corp. is formedbyAyalaLand(realestate),Bankof thePhilippine Island(financial

services), Globe (telecommunications), MANILA WATER (water utility) and IMI

(manufacturing) as listed businesses, and ac energy (power generation), AC INFRA

(transport infrastructure), Live it (BPO and education), Ayala Automotive

(automotive)asnon‐listedbusinesses.AmidstthePhilippineseconomicgrowth,their

unique portfolio of businesses provides various engines for growth and

diversification. Advantage of conglomerate is that they can adapt to changing

Philippineeconomybychanging theirportfolioofbusinesses. Important factor that

couldmakeadifferencetooperationofcompanyincludeothereconomicconditions

affectingdemand,supplyandpriceconditionsinthedomesticandoverseasmarkets

in which the company operates, changes in government regulations, tax laws, and

other statutes and incidental factors. On the other hand, disadvantage of

conglomerate is that it takes long time to learn the business very well when they

advanceintoanewbusiness.AyalaCorp.alsocontributetosocietyofPhilippines.For

example,theydevelopedMakati,whichisoneofthemostimportantcitiesinbusiness

ofPhilippines.Thelandwasownedbythemforalongtime,sotheycoulddo.Ayala

Corp.havestrongconnectionwithJapan.Forexample,AyalaLand,MANILAWATER

and ac energy have developed strategic, long‐term partnership with Mitsubishi to

ensuresuccess.

Writer:TAIRANozaki

DepartmentofLaborandEmployment(DOLE)


Meetingplace:DOLEBuilding,MurralaWingCorner,GenmeralLunaSt.

ThemigrationteamvisitedtheDepartmentofLaborandEmployment(DOLE)in

themorningonFebruary26.DOLEisagovernmentagencythathassomespecialized

organization such as Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), National

Reintegration Center for OFWs (NRCO), and Philippine Overseas Employment

Administration(POEA).

Atthebeginningofthemeeting,UndersecretaryMr.CiriacoA.LagunzadⅢgaveus

warmwelcome remarks. After that, the staff fromOWWAandNRCO explained the

worksofeachorganization.Aftertheintroductoryremarksoftheundersecretary,Ms.

CarmelinaF.Velasquez,DirectorofOWWA,gaveuspresentation.Thedetailsareas

follows:

1.SomeofthetrusteesofOWWAcomefromotherrelatedagenciessuchasPOEAand

OfficeoftheUndersecretaryofMigrantWorkersAffaires(OUMWA).Themandates

ofOWWAareasbelow:

a)Developmentanddeliveryofwelfareprogramsandservices.

b)Ensurethecapitalbuilt‐upandthevalidityofthefund.

2.ItisoperatedbythesinglefundwhichOFWspay.EachOFWshastopayUS$25for

membershipbefore leaving thePhilippines. If anOFWgets injuredordies in the

host countries, certain amount of money will be paid from the fund. The

membershipcontractisvalidfortwoyears.

3. OWWAalso offers education and training programsbefore and afterworking to

OFWs such as pre‐departure education programs, scholarships and training and

inventiveprograms.Inadditiontotheseprograms,itofferswelfareprogramsand

repatriation programs for distressed OFWs. (For further information, please see

theOWWApagesofthisreport.)

4. OWWA has 17 regional welfare offices in the Philippines and 32 overseas field

officesin24countriestosupportOFWsandtheirfamilies.

Next,Mr.LouieChaneco,thestaffofNRCO,gaveustheotherpresentationwhichis

aboutNRCO.

1. Reintegration programs started in 1980s through OWWA and NRCO was

established in 2007. It aims to OFWs reintegrating into the Philippine society,

enjoying thegainsofoverseasemploymentandcontributing to theattainmentof

nationalgoals.Toachieve thisvision, ithelpsOFWsand their familiesworkwith

entrepreneurialmindsetandempowersthemtoplanforinvestment,businessand

localemployment.

2. Reintegration program consists of three parts: on‐site, upon‐return and pre‐

departure programs. On‐site program provides information of investments and

livelihood opportunities. Upon‐return program encourages OFWs to venture

productive and sustainable undertakings. Pre‐departure program offers OWFs

languageandculturaltrainingsandhelpsthemsetcommongoals.

3.Thecoreideasoftheprogramareasbelow.

a)TheprogramdoesnotaskOFWstoreturnthePhilippinesnow.

b)Theprogramisnotonlyforworkersbutalsofortheirfamilies.

c)Theprogramencouragessaving,notborrowing.

d)Theprogramhasentrepreneurshipcomponent.

e)Implementationoftheprogramisamulti‐sectorconcern.

4.Specifically,NRCOoffersseminars that intendtoserveOFWstoachieve financial

planningandmanagement,toofferspecialloaninterventionstosupportenterprises

andtogivetoolinterventionstobringaboutimprovedsocio‐economicwell‐beingof

undocumented OFWs. It also has a special program, BALIK PINAY!BALIKHANAP

BUHAY!,forreturningwomen

Writer:KAYOKimura

DepartmentofJustice(DOJ)


Meetingplace:PadreFauraStreet,Erimita,Manila1000

InthemorningofFebruary26,wevisitedTheDepartmentofJustice(DOJ)which

isthegovernment'sprincipallawagency.Assuch,theDOJservesasthegovernment's

prosecution arm and administers the government's criminal justice system by

investigating crimes, prosecutingoffenders andoverseeing the correctional system.

The DOJ, through its offices and constituent/attached agencies, is also the

government's legal counsel and representative in litigations and proceedings

requiringtheservicesofalawyer;implementsthePhilippines'lawsontheadmission

andstayofalienswithinitsterritory;andprovidesfreelegalservicestoindigentand

otherqualifiedcitizens.

OurresearchmissionatDOJisto

understand the Philippines

legislative and institutional attempts

to comply with Article X of the

General Agreement on Tariffs and

Trade (GATT 1994) in the

administration of their laws,

regulations, and to findout common

challenges, shared goals and

innovative solutions to enhance

transparency in governance .

Therefore, our discussion

concentrated on observation and

evaluation of the Transparency

norm’s compliance inTransparency andPublicParticipation in rulemakingprocess

relatedtotradeinthePhilippines.

At first, Senior State CounselMarlyn Laurino Angeles gave a brief presentation

aboutthestructure, functioningofDOJ.Subsequently,AssistantSecretaryGeronimo

SydiscussedvariousmattersincludingTransparencynorm,Publicparticipation,anti‐

corruptionefforts,andthebalancebetweenprivacyandtransparencywithProfessor

IchiroAraki,studentsfromYNUandUST.

Through considerably

discussing, Mr Geronimo

Sy deliberately clarified

followingconcerns’

1. Theprocessoflaw‐

making related to

trade and

investment in

compliance with

the Transparency

norm.

2. The DOJ and other

agencies in legislature and executive branches regularly facilitate the public

participation.Citizens,nongovernmentalorganizations,businesses,andothers

outside thegovernmentareable tocontribute toandcommentonproposed

rulesrelatedtotrade.

3. DOJ’s anti‐corruptionefforts towarda just andpeaceful societyanchoredon

theprinciplesoftransparency,accountability,fairnessandtruth.

Writer:TRANVanLong

BureauofInternalRevenue(BIR)


Meetingplace:BIRNationalOfficeBuilding,Diliman,QuezonCity

IntheafternoonofFebruary26,wecametotheBureauofInternalRevenue(BIR).

TheBureauof InternalRevenue(Filipino:KawanihanngRentasInternas,orBIR) is

anattachedagencyofDepartmentofFinance.BIRcollectsmorethanone‐halfofthe

total revenuesof thegovernment.Thepowersanddutiesof theBureauof Internal

Revenue are: (1) Assessment and collection of all internal revenue taxes, fees and

charges; and (2) enforcement of all forfeitures, penalties, and fines connected

therewith,includingtheexecutionofjudgmentsinallcasesdecidedinitsfavorbythe

CourtofTaxAppealsandtheordinarycourts.

OurresearchtargetatBIRistointensivelyunderstandthePhilippineslegislative

and institutional attempts to comply with Article X of the General Agreement on

TariffsandTrade(GATT1994) in theadministrationof their laws,regulations,and

governmentordersgoverningtradeingoodsinthecontextoftheirlocalcultureand

practices. Moreover, we try to examine common challenges, shared goals and

innovative solutions to enhance transparency in governance of the Philippines

regardingpublicationoftaxregulations.

Prior to the main meeting with

Commissioner, we had a short

conversation with Assistant

CommissionerMarissaCabreros.She

kindly introduced some general

information about BIR, organization

andofficials.

After that, we had a valuable

meetingwithCommissioner,MsKim

S. Jacinto‐Henares. She elaborately

answered all of our questions and

concerns regarding Transparency,

Accountability, and Integrity of the

agency.

Related to the role of public participation and public hearings in Tax regulation

making process, Ms Kim defined that the law requires that public hearings be

conducted upon each proposal for a uniform tax regulation. Public notice of such

hearings is required and will be submitted for publication to publications dealing

withStateandlocaltaxationandbythepostingofsuchinformationonaCommission

web site when it is established. Within available resources, the Commission will

conduct two or more public hearings at geographically diverse sites on such

proposals. Provisionwillbemade,wheneverpossible, forparticipation inhearings

through telephonic

means.

Regarding anti‐

corruption efforts, Ms

Kim emphasized the

high degree of legal

compliance with Anti‐

CorruptionLawatBIR.

Like other agencies

and authorities in the

Philippines, every

official and employee,

exceptthosewhoserve

in an official honorary

capacity, without

service credit or pay,

temporary laborers

andcasualortemporaryorcontractualworkers,shallfileunderoaththeirstatement

ofassets,liabilitiesandnetworthandadisclosureofbusinessinterestsandfinancial

connectionsincludingthoseoftheirspousesandunmarriedchildrenundereighteen

(18)yearsofagelivingintheirhouseholds.

Commissioner Kim S. Jacinto‐Henares also discussed with professors and students

from the Graduate School of International Social Sciences of Yokohama National

University (YNU)andGraduateStudents fromtheUniversityofSantoTomas (UST)

on BIR’s transparency policy in connectionwith confidentiality restriction and the

BIR’spublicparticipationingoodgovernanceAlsopresentwereDCIREstelaV.Sales,

ACIR Marissa O. Cabreros and ITAD OIC‐Asst. Chief Liza Lorelie S. Levardo‐Cruz.

Thereafter, the visitorswerepresentedwith theBIR’s organizational structure and

the role of Public Information and Education Division (PIED) in the promotion of

publictransparencybyPIEDOIC‐Asst.ChiefMa.LourdesD.Narvaez.

Writer:TRANVanLong

CourtofTaxAppeals(CTA)


Meetingplace:BIRNationalOfficeBuilding,Diliman,QuezonCity

FollowingourvisitatBureauofInternalRevenueonFebruary26,wecametothe

CourtofTaxAppeals(Filipino:HukumanngPaghahabolsaBuwisngPilipinas).This

is thespecial courtof limited jurisdiction,andhas thesame levelwith theCourtof

Appeals.Thecourtconsistsof8AssociateJusticesand1PresidingJustice.TheCourt

ofTaxAppealsislocatedatAghamRoad,NationalGovernmentCenter,NorthTriangle,

Diliman,QuezonCityinMetroManila.

OurresearchtargetatCATistounderstandthePhilippinesCourtofTaxAppeals

attempts to comply with Article X of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade

(GATT1994) in the administration of their activities, functioning, organization and

procedures, and to find out common challenges, shared goals and innovative

solutions to enhance transparency, anti‐corruption and promote judicial

independenceamongstVietnamandthePhilippinesregardingTransparencyreform

towardanopensociety.

At first, Ms. Ecca Sudla, the Secretary of CTA and Presiding Justice Roman del

Rosario warmly welcomed us at the lobby 3:00 PM After that, we had a fruitful

experiments in discussion with Sir Roman del Rosario. He clearly clarified our

questionnairesregardingTransparency,Accountability,andJudicialindepenceofthe

CourtofTaxAppeals,suchas:

RegardingtheroleofThePhilippinesJudicialandBarCouncil,heemphasized

that theCouncilhashelped strengthen judicial independenceat theCourtof

TaxAppeals.Itisinvolvednotonlyinthejudicialselectionprocess,butalsoin

theevaluation, traininganddisciplineof judges,and in theadministrationof

thecourtsystemintheCourtofTaxAppealssystemwithasignificantlevel.

To prevent from corrupting, at the CTA, the judicial salaries, benefits and

pensionsareadequatetoattractandretainqualifiedcandidates.Also,groups

from outside the judiciary cannot provide funds to judges. The information

regarding the salaries, benefits and pensions of judges are available to the

public.

The civil society organizations – such as the media, human rights groups,

womenorganizations, labourunions,businessgroupsorany judicialor legal

association – have been active in promoting judicial independence. They

maintainmonitoringtheJudiciary,doingresearchontheJudiciary.Themedia

iscontinuouslyfacilitatedtobeinvolvedinthejudicialprocessattheCTA.

TheCTAdecisionsarewrittenandrecorded.Similarly,allcourtdecisionsand

casesarepublishedandavailabletothepublic.Wecaneasilyaccessthiskind

ofinformationthroughtheinternet.

Afterthediscussion,Ms.EccaSudlaguidedustoexaminetheCourt’sorganization

and facilities. She particularly explained themeaning of each symbol or notice, the

usingmethodofinformationsystemwherewecanaccessanylegalcasepublished.

Writer:TRANVanLong

PhilippineOverseasEmploymentAdministration(POEA)


Meetingplace:EDSAcornerOrtigasAvenue,MandaluyongCity

In the afternoon on 26 February, the

migration team visited Philippine Overseas

Employment Administration (POEA). POEA is

one of the government administrations that

belongs to the Department of Labor and

Employment (DOLE)and itplaysan important

roleintheoverseasemploymentprogram.The

meeting was consists of watching DVD about

POEA and discussion between the staff,

DirectorMr.LevinsonC.Alcantara,DirectorMs.

Laura S. Timonera and Mr. Alfredo Robels Jr.,

and students. The main points of the meeting

areasfollows:

1. POEA’s vision is “Excellence in governance

for world‐class Filipino migrant workers”. In

order to achieve it, POEA connects all stakeholders, promotes giving jobs to

OverseasFilipinoWorkers,protecttheirrightsandtriestoreintegratetheminto

Philippinesociety.

2.Onaverage,3,000clientscometoPOEAofficeeveryday.Therearetwokindsof

peoplewhovisitthere.Oneispeoplewhoareseekingjobsandtheotherispeople

whohavealreadyjobcontracts.Peoplewhoareworkingabroadhavetoregister

at POEA and POEA offers them to immigration programs including industry

regulations,employmentfacilitationandworker’sprotection.

3. Violation and exploitation are the problems that OFWs are faced with. POEA

conducts pre‐employment orientation and anti‐illegal recruitment seminars

against these problems. Also, it handles on‐site welfare services such as

counseling,legalassistanceandrepatriation.

4.POEAandOWWAofferpre‐departureorientationseminar(PDOS)thatarecountry

specific.NotonlyOFWsbutalsotheirfamilyareadmittedtojointhemsothatthey

canprepareforworkingandlivingabroad.

5. There are two reasons why the Philippines sends its people abroad. One is

“constitutional” reason that moving to other places is the right of people. The

otheris“economic”reasonthattheoverseasemploymentprogramwastakenas

an economic strategy to gain money when it started in 1970s. The number of

OFWshasbeenincreasingbutitisnotregulatedmainlybecausethegovernment

thinksthattheyshouldnotpreventanybodyfromaccessingtojobs.

6.ManytalentedworkersareworkingasOFWsandthisphenomenaiscalled“brain

drain”.ThepresentgovernmentandPOEAdonotencouragepeopletoworkabroad

andtheyputapremiumoncreatinglocalemploymentinthePhilippines.

Writer:KAYOKimura

OverseasWorkersWelfareAdministration(OWWA)


Meetingplace:7thStreetCornerF.B.HarrisonStreet,PasayCity

OWWAisanattachedagencyofthedepartmentofLaborandEmployment(DOLE).

Itpromotesthewell‐fareandwell‐beingofoverseasFilipinosandtheirdependents.

AtDOLEonFebruary26thwehadafirstintroductiontotheOWWA,itsmission,

objectives,programsandservices.Onourvisitattheagencyitself,wecouldgetmore

details and see the different sections and offices. The persons in charge presented

their roles and activities briefly. There again they told us that when it comes to

migration issues, all theagenciesand the relevantministriesanddepartmentwork

together.Theydon’toverlap.

It is important toremindthat theagencyhasa twinmandate tostrengthenand

expand the package of services offered to Overseas Foreign Workers (OFWs)

membersandtheirdependents.Italsoensurescapitalbuildupandfundviability.

ThemembershipguaranteedbyafeeofUS$25,givesrightsto:

1‐ Socialbenefits

2‐ Educationandtrainingbenefitsorassistance

3‐ WorkersWelfareAssistanceProgram

4‐ Repatriationprogram

5‐ ReintegrationProgram

ThevisitattheOWWAinPictures

a) Thelanguagetrainingprogram

During our visit we could assist some activities of the education and training

program.A groupof people,mainlywomen, destined tohousehold in SaudiArabia

were receiving language training in Arabic. This training was part of the pre‐

departureeducationprogram,CountrySpecificOrientationSeminar(PDOS).

b) Entrepreneurshipclassforthereturnee

At the PDOS (Pre‐

Departure Orientation

Seminar) training room,

some Filipino returnees

fromseveralcountriesand

different sectors were

receiving

entrepreneurship lessons

to manage their business

and contribute to the

developmentoftheircountryafterspendingtimeandgainingsomemoneyabroad.

It is tobenotedthatsincetherearecasesweretheFilipinoworkerscomeback

withzeromoney;theyhavebeensendingremittancestotheirfamilieswhomdidnot

save anything; there is also a program to teach them and their families, financial

literacy. So that when they return home they can invest and that the families can

managethemoneybetter.

c) AttheITcenter

After our visit to the class of

entrepreneurship class for returnees,

wemadeashortstopattheITtraining

class. It is the result of a Bill Gates

program which began in 2005 with a

partnership with Microsoft. It offers

basiccomputerskills inoneweek.The

goal is to help the dependent of the

OFWstobeableamongotherthingstomanagethenetwork,inordertocommunicate

with their family members overseas. They have the possibility to join advanced

programoutsidetheOWWAafterthetrainingperiod.

d) Thesectionofcasemanagement

After the training class wewent to the section of casemanagement. There,

they receive complaints. Some people wait until their return to complain for bad

treatment, nonpayment or payment or job non conform to previous arrangements.

Theresponsibletoldusthatalthoughtheyhavethiscasemanagementprogramthey

don’t overlap with any other agencies. They work together following the country

teamapproach.Theonewhoreceivethecasecansendittotheappropriateagencyor

section.Generally,iftheworkerscommitcrime,DFA(DepartmentofForeignAffairs)

holdsthecase.Ifitismoreworkissue,thenPOEA(PhilippinesOverseasEmployment

Administration), OWWA (Overseas Workers Welfare Administration) or DOLE

(DepartmentofLaborandEmployment)dothefollowup.Sofar,thebestwaysthey

havefoundtosolvetheconflictshasbeenthroughmediation,tosolvetheproblems

betweenemployeesandemployersoragencies.

Cases come from Saudi Arabia more than any other countries; it concerns

mainly household workers for bad treatment. There are also cases of people who

overstayed without regularization of their situation and then when they need to

return to the Philippines they cannot leave Saudi Arabia because the law there is

particular. They need the exit visa which is given by the sponsor. The maximum

periodof stay is two (2)years, if aworkerwants toextend their stay theyneed to

undertake the legal process otherwise they encounter many difficulties which can

delaytheirdeparture.

To resolve their conflicts with this particular country as well as others

regardingtheprotectionofworkerstheytalktothecountriesinverydiplomaticways

totrytoreachanagreement.NowtheyareworkingontheAbudabidialogue.

Repatriation issues and demand come also from other countries such as

Nigeria,Lybiaandsoon.Theymanageandundertakealltheappropriateprocedures

cooperatingwith the relevant agencies or organizations.When the people arrived,

theyhaveaspecialsectiontotakecareoftheworkersindistress.Itiscalled:halfway

home,itwasourlaststop.

e) AttheHalfwayHome

The halfway home is a section at OWWAwhich takes care of the workers in

distress,whohavementalillnessorwhohavebeenvictimsofabuses.Theystaythere

withboardandlodging,usuallyfor3or5days,untiltheygetthetickettogohome.At

thehalfwayhome,theycanreceivecounseling,assistanceandhelp.Theydon’thave

to pay anything for the services. The fees are already covered by the US$ 25

membershipfees.

Writer:PontiusERSKINE

PhilippineNationalPolice(PNP)


Meetingplace:CampCrame,NationalHeadquarters

Q:PleaseexplainaboutCrimesagainstandbyforeigners.Many crimes against Koreanssuch as abduction andmurderin the Philippines arereported,whatisthemainreasonforthat?WhatisthePhilippinepolice'sresponsetothe crimes againstKoreans?Crimes conducted byKorean are also very interesting.PleasetelluscomparativeexplanationsoftheCrimesagainstandbyKorean.A:Currently,KoreanresidentsaremostincreaseinforeignersinthePhilippines.Unfortunately, it is true thatKorean in thePhilippineshas increased theassociatedcrime.However, recently inSouthKoreapolice,hasworkedbeendispatched to thePhilippines,becausethePhilippinespolicearealsowatching,IexpectthepreventionofcrimeQ:The impressionwe have about domestic security is not so good.What do youthinkaboutthat?Ifthisimpressioniswrong,pleaseadviseusthecurrentsituationofthePhilippines?A:IntheviewoftouriststovisitthePhilippines,TheyareconsideredtobedangerousinthePhilippinessecuritysituation.But,Philippinespolicetomaintainlawandorderonthebasisofthelaw,thepersonwhoviolatesthelaw,gotojailbasedonthelaw.Foreachcountrythewrongsecuritysituationandpurpose,wearedoingthebest.

Q:We heard you emphasize a lot about the improvement of the human rightscondition. Please explain about how youmake an effort to improve human rightsconditions.Couldyou showus themost impressiveexampleof the improvementofhumanrightsinthePhilippines?A:Criminals,asvictims, regardlessof thepresenceorabsenceofcrime,Philippinespolicetorespectthehumanrightsofallpeople.HumanrightsinthePhilippineshavebeenalotofimprovedin25years.Thispointofview,thePhilippinespolice,hasbeenforalongtime,alotofefforttoimprovehumanrightsofcriminalsandvictimsinthecountry.Q:Howdoyourespondtothecomputercrimeorcyber‐crime?Whatkindsofcomputercrimesorcyber‐crimesaremostlyreportedtothePolice?A: Likemany other countries, cyber‐crime has increased in the Philippines. Illegalaccount transactions, takeover of illegal personal information, infringement ofprivacy,areincreasinglysituationworse.

Q:Philippinessuffer froma lotof typhoonseveryyear.Todealwith thedisastersresulted from the typhoons,whatkindofmeasuresdoyouhave?What is themainroleofthePoliceindealingwithnaturaldisasters?

A:Thetyphoonaffectedareas,militaryandpoliceIhelptherecoverybeendispatched.

Especiallythepolice,itisnecessarytotheroleofthepoliceformaintainingsecurity

in the affected areas by typhoon. Philippines police, plays grasp of deaths, injured

transport,andtherolewithanemphasisonmaintainingorderon‐siteforrecovery.

Writer:CHOIInchul

PhilippineEconomicZoneAuthority(PEZA)


Meetingplace:CampCrame,EDSA,QuezonCity

OnFeb28th,wevisitedthePhilippine

Economic Zone Authority, called PEZA.

This government agency is attached to

the Department of Trade and Industry.

The task of this organization is to

promote investments, extend assistance,

register,grant incentivestoandfacilitate

the business operations of investors in

export‐oriented manufacturing and

service facilities inside selected areas

throughoutthecountryproclaimedbythe

organization. Our mission was to learn

thePhilippineeconomicdevelopmentand

prospective.

The session was very fruitful. I had

asked some questions via email in

advance.Thepresenter,Mr.Elemerkindlyexplainedtheoverviewoftheorganization

andansweredmyquestionsrespectively.Iwillgiveyousomeexamples.First,Iasked

toPEZAwhatistheadvantageofdoingbusinessinthePhilippines.Heexplainedthat

PhilippinehavetheabundantofgoodhumanresourcethatcanspeakEnglishfluently,

whichisoneofthemostimportantabilityinglobalizedbusinesssituation,andhave

friendlymind.AsIsaidbefore,PEZAaimstopromoteinvestments,employmentand

export, so these quality advantages as well as the number will push Philippine

economyforward.Therearethepoolsofhumanresource inthiscountry. Actually,

they have abundant of international school in the nation. I was so surprised that

peopleeven in the ruralareacanspeakEnglish.Plus, theywill givean incentive to

eachcompany,suchasreducingtaxandgivingconsultingservice,althoughtheyare

forced tobuild their company in thedesignated area andhire theFilipino to some

extent.Second,hewillexplainaboutmyquestion in theemail‐which industriesare

growing and receiving themost investment? He indicated that now Philippine are

famousforbusinessoutsourcing,butinthenearfuturetheywouldliketocreatenew

knowledge‐basedindustries.

Aftersession,wehadQsandAstimes.

EverymemberincludingFilipinostudents

isveryinterestedinthisorganizationand

has many questions. I asked about the

Filipino foreign exchange reserves. Mr.

Elmer point out that investment from

foreign country is the easiest way to get

foreign exchange reserve. Filipino

government has enough that can survive

for 11months in the any sanctions from

othercountryorinthedepression.

Overall, the session was very

meaningfulforeverystudent.TheFilipino

GDP grows at 6.1%, which is the second

highest in the Asia after China. In this

session,wegottoknowonlyalittleabout

Filipino economy and its situation. We have to constantly watch the economic

situationinPhilippinefromnowon.

Writer:YOHEIKuwabara

MESSAGESFROMPARTICIPANTS

TheYNUfieldtriptothePhilippinesturnsto

be10yearsold.In2006Ijoinedthistripas

adoctoralstudent.Sincethen,thefieldtrip

hasbecome increasinglysophisticated.This

time I was very pleased to see students

discoveredagreatdealofpleasuretoknow

about Filipino society and become more

proactivedaybydayduringtheirstayinthe

Philippines. In this regard, Iwould like to

express our sincere appreciation to the

professorsand studentsof theUST,especially toProfessorTommyTiu, for theirwell‐

thought‐outarrangementsaswellasfortheirwarm‐heartedandgeneroussupports.As

fortheYNUpart,ImustsaythattheoutcomeofthisfieldtripowesmuchtoProfessor

Kabashima’sprolongeddedication.

AssociateProfessor

KakeeTomoko

InthisfieldtripprograminthePhilippines,IlearntalotaboutthediversityofFilipino

societythrough interactionwithpeople livingthere.Our interestsweremainlydivided

into three categories: “Economic and Low”, “Oversea Filipino Worker (OFW)”, and

“Recovery from disaster/Development cooperation”, sowewere able to visit various

places. We visited political institutions, Japanese/Filipino corporations, and met

fishermen.Ineachsession,welearntvarioussystems,livingconditionsandconnections

with Japan, from their respective positions. As a student measuring Development

Cooperation, the fact that Ihadmany

opportunities to communicate with

local people in the Philippines was

actuallyhelpfultomystudy.NowIcan

combine theory with practice easier

thanbefore.

Regardingdaily life inthePhilippines,

each communication with students

fromUniversityofSantoTomas (UST)

wasalsogoodexperience tome. Iwas

surprisedmanytimesthateveryUSTstudentspeaksknowledgeablyonawidevarietyof

topicsabouttheirowncounty:history,culture,customsandsocial/economicalsystems,

etc.Theyansweredanyquestionsaccurately.Ontheotherhand,however,Isometimes

couldn’tanswer thequestionsabout Japanwhenasked. I fully realized I stillneed to

studymoreaboutJAPAN.IwilltrytodeepenunderstandingofnotonlythePhilippines

butalsoJapan.

Inthisprogram,wealsohadmanyopportunitiestomeetactiveJapanesepeopleinthe

Philippines.Ihadsometimesimaginedmyselftoworkabroad,butithadnotbeenclear.

In regards to that point, I’m sure this experience helps me make my imagination

stronger.Althoughourschedulewaslimited,itwasverymeaningfulthatwecouldvisit

manyplacesandhavesessionswithpeoplewecannotusuallymeet.

Finally, I would like to appreciate all people involved in this program. Thanks to

countlesssupportsfromprofessorsandstudentsofUST,wecouldperformourprogram

smoothly, thank you very much. And I also appreciate YNU participants. It is my

pleasurethatIhavestayed10daysinthePhilippineswithallofyou.IwishIcanvisit

thePhilippineswithyouagaininthefuture.

GraduateStudent

TakayukiUto

the 2015 ynu field study trip · the 2015 ynu field study ... , jica staffs gave us some basic...

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