ShareThisSpecial to Fil-Am Megascene
HOUSTON, Texas/MANILA (PhilAmPress) – Responding to President Aquino’s clarion call to Filipino-Americans to visit the “new Philippines” under his administration and to bring American investors and tourists, the Philippine-American Chamber of Commerce of Texas did not hesitate to organize the first Trade, Tourism and Humanitarian Mission to the Philippines under the new President’s administration on October 11 to 16, 2010.
Gus Mercado
Head of Mission Gus Mercado, Chairman & CEO of Dallas-based Datalogix International and former Consul General in Houston, announced that 40 business leaders from Texas, California, New Jersey, Arkansas, Michigan, Georgia and Canada will converge in Manila this week to join the Mission, defying warnings from friends and relatives about security concerns and determined to counter the negative image of Philippine tourism wrought by the unfortunate incident involving Chinese tourists last month which was broadcast live worldwide on CNN.
“Although our Trade Missions are non-partisan, we are going to the Philippines to respond to President Aquino’s appeal for support to shore up the economy and offset whatever negative fallout may have come from the isolated hostage incident”, proclaimed Mercado.
“We have been bringing investors and tourists to this country for a long time, even under much worse circumstances,” he said.
There was a couple of business consortiums that reportedly were ready to join the Mission and invest heavily in the Philippines and backed out after the hostage incident, but by and large, Mercado explained that members of the delegation, especially the Fil-Ams, are impervious to political and social upheavals in the country.
“We just want to visit and give something back to the home country… Our fervent desire to help the Filipino people transcends politics, personalities, ideology and time” Mercado added.
The trade mission will focus on joint venture opportunities, as well as pursue business partnerships in finance, legal services, import/export, IT/Telecom outsourcing, real estate and logistics, ecotourism, medical tourism and retirement.
The mission’s activities will consist of high-level business forums on investment and joint venture opportunities as well as feature top tourist attractions in the Philippines, focusing on the CALABARZON region, with visits to Clark and Subic.
Ethel Mercado, State President of the sponsoring Philippine-American Chamber of Commerce of Texas, reported that “unlike previous Trade Missions which were focused on indoor conferences and presentations, the 2010 Mission will be heavy on Tourism – visiting some of the best tourist attractions in southern Luzon, including the 4-star Vivere Azure beach resort in Anilao, Batangas, the healing Kamay ni Hesus in Lucban, Quezon – the Filipino version of the giant Christ statue in Rio de Janeiro – the tourist-friendly Villa Escudero in Laguna, and the countrysides of Subic in Zambales and Clark in Pampanga.”
She concludes: “We want to show the world that the Philippines is still one of the most attractive and safest places to visit.”
Companies represented by the delegation include: Verizon, Bank of America, Datalogix, American Airlines, Progressive Funders, Valhalla Corp., Lotus Marketing USA, Nuclear Logistics, Somiscrest, Silver Lining Corp., DesJardins Law Offices, Benchmark Logic LLC, Approved Capital LLC, Good Life Secrets Investment Co., Adriatico Investments Corp., Global Dynasty Corp., Uniworld Travel, FBC Group of Companies, Good Live Secrets Investments, as well as several U.S.-based non-profit humanitarian organizations – Fil-Aid, Our Barangay Inc. and Living Waters Ministries.
As a week-long “all-in-one” mission which includes a “Humanitarian Day”, the delegates will also spend a day with 60 medical volunteers in a medical and dental mission to Ibaan, Batangas to provide free clinics, cash, medicine and new wheelchairs to about 1,000 indigent patients from 26 barangays.
Asked why Texas is in the forefront of Investment missions to the Philippines, overall Mission Coordinator Gus Mercado said: “It is natural for us Texans to initiate these trade promotions between the two countries, as Texas continues to stand out as the Philippines’ most robust trading partner among all the states, with oil, electronics, computers, aircraft and technical services as the leading exports to the country.”
“IT and contact center outsourcing continues to be a frontier industry that U.S. companies like IBM, Sprint, Convergsys, Verizon, Microsoft, Texas Instruments, DELL Computers, US Airways and a host of other U.S. companies are finding to be very worthwhile and appealing in the Philippines from cost and work quality standpoints. As a former colony and long-time ally of the U.S. the Philippines enjoys tremendous advantages over other countries that also provide outsourced services. Unlike other countries that have British orientation like India, the Philippine educational system, legal and political system, accounting practices and business protocols are patterned after the U.S. making the country a more intelligent choice as an outsourcing partner country, ” Mercado explained.
Highlights of the first U.S. Trade Mission under the administration of President Aquino include: Tours of tourist attractions and industrial parks in Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon; tours and presentations at Clark and Subic by their respective Development Authority officials; Business matching with potential global partners, suppliers/clients all prepared to meet with the delegates; high-powered conferences with top government and industry leaders arranged by the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI/PBC); a private audience with President Noynoy Aquino; and an evening with the Calabarzon Governors led by Batangas Governor Vilma Santos-Recto.
In a rousing send-off to the Texas delegation, Texas Governor Rick Perry said that he is “proud to endorse and support the 2010 Trade Mission as this will help preserve our State’s excellent historical, cultural and business relations with the United States’ revered former colony and perennial ally.” According to L.A. Consul-General Mary Jo Aragon, this Trade Mission is very timely as the Philippines is beginning to experience a robust economic growth. CALABARZON RDC Vice Chairman Severino Santos said that the visit provides an opportunity to further strengthen the link between the Filipino-American community in the U.S., particularly from Texas and California, and CALABARZON.
“It will also have the dual objectives of scouting for business ventures and extending humanitarian assistance to debilitated communities in the region.” In her strong endorsement of the Trade Mission, Dr. Mina Gabor who is arranging the Subic and Clark legs of the tour, expressed her full confidence in the group with whom she had been successfully working with over the years as President of Texas’ sister Chamber, the Pasay City Chamber of Commerce, on many joint economic and humanitarian projects in the Philippines. “We warmly welcome the delegates as we encourage foreign investments, and both our government and the private sector can mount a custom-fit presentation for these trade missions on what the business environment and incentives here look like.”
Development partners of the Trade Mission include: NEDA Region IV, the Calabarzon RDC, International School of Sustainable Tourism, Pasay City Chamber of Commerce, the Subic Bay Metropolitcan Authority, the Greater Subic Bay Tourism Bureau and Chamber of Commerce. Sponsors include: the Department of Tourism, Philippine Airlines, Datalogix, Vivere Suites, Century Properties, Ayala Land and Megaworld .
For more info on the Trade Mission, contact Gus Mercado, Head of Mission at (940) 728-0152 in the U.S., or 771-777, Local 3001 in the Philippines, or email gusmercado@verizon.net orermercado@verizon.net.