US - USS McCampbell Warship Patrolling Spratly Islands rescued Filipino Fishermen Sinking boat in the West Philippine Sea

USS McCampbell (DDG-85) is an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer in the United States Navy, named for Captain David McCampbell (1910–1996), the Navy's leading ace in World War II. She was built at the Bath Iron Works in Maine. USS McCampbell patrolling the West Philippine Sea (South CHina  Sea) when Filipino Fishermen rescued. 

US warship rescues Filipino fishermen from sinking boat in midnight operation

USS McCampbel a- U.S. Navy warship rescued five Filipino fishermen Wednesday after helicopter pilots spotted them flashing a lighter in the middle of the night while standing on the roof of their sinking boat, officials said.

A Navy helicopter discovered the fishermen in international waters just after midnight; hours after the fishing boat started taking on water, said Tina Malone, a U.S. Embassy spokeswoman in Manila.

The guided-missile destroyer USS McCampbell, which was closest to the scene, launched two boats to rescue them.

Malone said the fishermen were given a checkup and found to be in good health. They will be brought ashore when the USS McCampbell arrives in Manila on Wednesday as part of a five-day goodwill visit by the USS George Washington aircraft carrier strike group.

The carrier and accompanying warships are patrolling the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) in a show of American power in waters where China has been squabbling with neighbors such as Vietnam and the Philippines over who has the control of a string of tiny islands.

The U.S. says it wants to keep the strategic waters, believed to be rich in gas and oil deposits, open to international navigation and has urged China and other claimants to settle territorial disputes peacefully. Washington also has a defense treaty with the Philippines and has been helping to modernize the poorly equipped Philippine navy to defend Manila's claims. ( http://goo.gl/eABPq )

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German firms set their sights to flow investments to the Philippines

(Left photo) Philippine Ambassador to Germany Maria Cleofe Natividad delivers the welcome remarks at the Philippine business forum in Berlin. (Right photo) PEZA 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.

German firms set their sights on the Philippines

An information session on the Philippines as a business location for German enterprises took place at the PricewaterhouseCoopers Conference Center in Potsdamer Platz, Berlin on September 28.

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

Thirty-eight (38) 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 five to six percent in 2012.

PEZA Director General Dr. Lilia de Lima delivered the key note presentation on opportunities for foreign investors in Philippine economic zones. Dr. de Lima also gave a presentation in Stuttgart on September 27 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 European Union (EU) member countries. Thirty-six (36) of these firms are German companies that specialize in the areas of air transport, electronics, garments and manufacturing.

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 - Lufthansa Technik Philippines President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Gerald Frielinghaus and CS Garments President and CEO Claus Sudhoff - also shared their extensive experiences in the country and why they have chosen the Philippines for their operations.

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, referring to the upcoming closure of the Department of Trade and Industry's representation in Berlin.

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 generate more jobs and export earnings for the country in the process.

(www.dfa.gov.ph)

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Mindanao’s Bangsamoro State would be patterned in Navarra Region Kingdom of Spain

GPH to study police setup in Spain's Navarra region

An October 23, 2012, press release from the Office of the Presidential Adviser of the Peace Process

The Government of the Philippines (GPH) is set to visit Spain in an effort to learn about governance mechanisms in the "chartered community" setup in Navarra, including a study on its Policia Foral, its local autonomous police force.

Led by Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Teresita Quintos Deles, the GPH delegation is composed of Secretary of Budget and Management Butch Abad, GPH peace panel chair for talks with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) Marvic Leonen; panel members Prof. Miriam Coronel Ferrer, Dr. Hamid Barra, former Secretary of Agriculture Senen Bacani, Undersecretary Yasmin Busran Lao, and Mayor Ramon Piang of Upi, Maguindanao.

Also joining are Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao Governor in-charge Mujiv Hataman, the five ARMM provincial governors, representatives from the Senate, Congress, Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), and the Philippine Army.

The GPH delegation hopes to gain insights on how Navarra's police works in an autonomous setup, by which said insights can be useful in the implementation of Article 8 of the recently signed Framework Agreement between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). Article 8 provides for the creation of an independent commission to recommend appropriate policing within Bangsamoro communities as part of the process of normalization.

In an interview with Rappler, Dean Marvic Leonen, chief negotiator for the peace talks with the MILF, defined normalization as "(bringing) into the areas a normal situation of peace where it is not dominated by guns or the old politics but rather by a democratic inclusive setting which will include a process of MILF's decommissioning as well as the transfer of law enforcement activities of the Armed Forces of the Philippines in that area to a reformed police force."

Deles said that the study visit aims to provide participants first-hand experiences on the organizational and territorial government of Spain. "It also hopes to draw lessons and insights relevant as reference in drafting the Basic Law of the Bangsamoro, particularly in how states and regions work with the national government," she said.

The Bangsamoro Basic Law will be drafted by a 15-member Transition Commission, which will be formed through an Executive Order issued by the President. The law provides for a transitory period for the creation of the Bangsamoro region, which will replace the current ARMM.

"We also hope that we can get inspiration from the Navarra model as our government panel begins to work on the annexes of the Framework Agreement with their counterparts in the MILF next month," she said.

The delegation will leave for Madrid on October 23 and from there will travel to Navarra on October 24. They will return to Manila on November 2.

Unlike most other communities of Spain, Navarra is the only region that does not have a Statute of Autonomy per se. Its autonomy is instead granted by the reinstitution and improvement of its medieval charter (fuero), dating back and in recognition of its history as Kingdom of Navarre. This was completed in 1982 when the Parliament of Navarra passed the Law for the Reintegration and Improvement of the Régimen Foral (Regional System).

Spain is known as the State of Autonomies whereby power is highly devolved into its 17 autonomous communities and two autonomous cities. As part of Spain's transition to democracy, its 1978 Constitution "recognizes and guarantees the right to self-government of the nationalities and regions of which it is composed," (Preliminary Title, Section 2).

It can be recalled that representatives of the MILF undertook a similar study visit in March of this year. MILF visited Spain's autonomous region of Catalan and observed the autonomous community's experiences.

Official Gazette PH

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