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Recent Visitors
Philippine Organizing Committee Previews RP Participation
2010. 9 April
(dfa.gov.ph) The Department of Tourism held today a preview of the Philippine participation in the 2010 World Expo in Shanghai, China which will start on May 1.
Attending the preview at the Coconut Palace, CCP Complex were members of the Philippine Organizing Committee (POC), major sponsors, and representatives from the media.
With the theme, "Better City, Better Life", the 2010 World Expo is the first to be held in a developing country, the biggest in terms of the number of participants, and the longest in terms of duration. Some 192 countries and 50 international organizations will set up their pavilions in the Expo which will run for six months. Expo organizers are expecting at least 70 million visitors to the Expo site.
During the preview, Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto G. Romulo, who sits as POC Vice Chairman, was represented by DFA Assistant Secretary Leslie B. Gatan of the Office of the United Nations and Other International Organizations.
In his remarks, Assistant Secretary Gatan expressed the Philippines' appreciation for the Chinese government's support for the country's participation, including the selection of Vice President Noli de Castro and former Gawad Kalinga Executive Director Antonio Meloto as speakers in Expo-organized forums.
He also noted that the DFA has been in the forefront in preparing for the 35th anniversary of Philippines-China relations, including coordination with the Office of the President for President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's participation at the Philippine Day scheduled on 9 June 2010 in Shanghai.
For his part, DOT Secretary Joseph Ace Durano, POC Chair and Commissioner General, stressed that Philippine participation is not only for tourism promotion but for the enhancement of trade and other relations with China as well.
With a solid and competent team, he expressed confidence that the Philippines will garner another gold prize in Expo Shanghai just as it did in Expos Aichi (2005) and Zaragoza (2008). The team includes Architect Ed Calma, curator Marian Roces, and the POC Secretariat headed by PCVC Executive Director Daniel Corpuz, who also serves as POC Secretary General.
The POC is composed of heads of 16 government agencies and representatives from the private sector. Aside from Secretaries Durano and Romulo, other POC officials include Ambassador Rosario G. Manalo, who serves as Deputy Commissioner General, and two Deputy Secretaries General namely, former tourism attaché Imelda Sarmiento and former PTA trustee Jose Capistrano, Jr.
The POC for the country's participation at the 2010 World Expo in Shanghai was created by President Macapagal Arroyo by virtue of Administrative Order 246 signed on 1 December 2008.
During the event, a 20-minute preview of Philippine daily performances was presented. Ms. Marian Roces, Philippine Pavilion curator, presented the design of the Philippine Pavilion. She noted that the Pavilion would be the vehicle for Philippine tourism, as well as city building.
The Philippines is set to inaugurate its pavilion, whose own special theme will be "Performing Cities", on April 23. The opening will be attended by Expo organizers and representatives of the Philippine Government, with cultural presentations by the pavilion's designated performance artists.
The pavilion will occupy 2,000 square meters in the Asia Zone, Southeast Asia and Pacific cluster. The facade of the rectangular pavilion is a complete wrap-around photographic montage depicting variations of a single iconic image: the hand. This will communicate to the public the Philippine theme by showing Filipino hands in the many skilled activities and performances that exemplify the dynamism of Philippine cities.
The Pavilion will have several exhibition and performance areas, with video projections on walls. The exhibits will focus on three major themes associated with Philippine cities: live performance, artifacts of celebration, and digital media.
The eleven cities represented in the Philippine pavilion are clustered into three categories: Cities with a Past (Iloilo, Naga, Cebu and Manila); Cities on the Edge (Malaybalay, Puerto Princesa, and Davao); and Emergent Cities (Makati, Taguig, Calbayog, and San Fernando, La Union).
Aside from the daily performances and shifting exhibits, the Philippine Pavilion will also have other features, such as Travel Café Philippines, a health and wellness area, the Pavilion boutique, and an expanded trade zone.
The Philippines' major sponsors which graced the preview include Philippine Airlines; SM Prime Holdings; the Federation of Filipino-Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Inc.; Dai-ichi Electronics; Metrobank Foundation; Benguet Mining Corporation; among others.