VISIT TO PROVINCIAL CAPITAL SHOWCASES U.S. ROLE IN A

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MANILA 002559 SIPDIS PLEASE PASS TO PEACE CORPS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PGOV KISL KPAO EAID RP SUBJECT: VISIT TO PROVINCIAL CAPITAL SHOWCASES U.S. ROLE IN A RAPIDLY-DEVELOPING PHILIPPINES ¶1. SUMMARY. Ambassador Kenney's November 7 visit to Bacolod, the provincial capital of Negros Occidental, showcased the continuing U.S. commitment to the economic and social development of the Philippines. The Ambassador presided at the swearing-in ceremony of 65 new Peace Corps Volunteers, visited two large U.S. businesses operating in the area, and toured a power plant that was moved from the U.S. and reconstructed in the Philippines with the assistance of U.S. Embassy Manila. The Ambassador also spoke with national and local media about U.S. interests in the region and American democracy in the wake of the recent presidential election. END SUMMARY. -------------- BACKGROUND: BACOLOD AND NEGROS OCCIDENTAL -------------- ¶2. Bacolod City is located on the northwestern coast of the Province of Negros Occidental. It is the capital and largest highly urbanized city in the province. Bacolod is also the most populous city in the Western Visayas Region, with 499,497 inhabitants as of the 2007 census. The local government has been aggressively promoting Bacolod as an outsourcing venue and is one of the Philippine government's certified next-wave cities for Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) investments. It is now the BPO hub of the Western Visayas Region, with Convergys, Teleperformance, and TeleTech already operating in the city. According to the Philippine Cities Competitiveness Ranking Project 2005 of the Asian Institute of Management (AIM),Bacolod tops the list in terms of infrastructure and quality of life, ahead of other mid-size cities in the Philippines. -------------- 65 VOLUNTEERS READY TO 'MAKE THAT DIFFERENCE' -------------- ¶3. The Governor of Negros Occidental hosted the Swearing-In of 65 new Peace Corps Volunteers at the Provincial Capitol Building, which was also attended by the Secretary of Education, the Undersecretary of Social Welfare and Development, and the Mayor of Bacolod. The Ambassador administered the oath of duty to the volunteers and charged them to make that difference. The Philippines has had the most Peace Corps volunteers serve of any other Peace Corps country. These 65 new volunteers will join 66 already in country in various educational, environmental, and youth-related programs across the country. Several volunteers gave speeches in local languages (to the delight of the audience),expressing their commitment to service and to assist in the development of the Philippines. -------------- -------------- SERVING U.S. CUSTOMERS, STRENGTHENING THE LOCAL ECONOMY -------------- -------------- ¶4. The Ambassador's visit to two large U.S. companies operating in Bacolod, highlighted the positive economic and social impact they are making in the Philippines. She toured Convergys' newest contact center, which opened in October 2008 and created over 1,000 desirable, well-paying, and upwardly mobile jobs. The Bacolod site's clients include two large U.S. cable companies. Convergys executives told the Ambassador that the Philippines offers an attractive investment climate because of its large pool of skilled English-speaking labor. They added that the company is in the process of completing several more sites in the Philippines to add to the 13 already established in the country. Company executives also shared stories about their corporate social responsibility programs, including The Oral Communications in English program. This program was organized in 2005 to provide public school teachers with training they need to teach children proficiency in the English language. Convergys provides program funding, the curriculum module, and the company volunteers lead the training sessions. Over the past three years, more than 500 teachers have participated in the program free of charge in regions nationwide. ¶5. Ambassador Kenney's visit to the local Coca-Cola bottling plant showcased the U.S. company's importance to the region's economy. The plant serves the Western Visayas Region and bottles several hundred thousand units of Coca-Cola products in returnable glass containers every month. The company's Visayas Region Operating Manager also briefed the Ambassador on the company's extensive corporate social responsibility programs, including the Little Red Schoolhouse program which provides rural communities with public school buildings, classroom equipment, and ongoing training for educators. To celebrate Coca-Cola's 80th anniversary in the Philippines, the company just turned over the 80th Little Red Schoolhouse, four of which are in the immediate Bacolod area. -------------- SWEET ENERGY EFFICIENCY -------------- MANILA 00002559 002 OF 002 ¶6. The Ambassador also toured a local sugarcane cooperative to view its newly rebuilt power plant that uses sugarcane byproducts to produce energy for local businesses and residents. The cooperative bought the plant in Kauai, Hawaii, and U.S. Embassy Manila granted visas to a team of Philippine workers who traveled to Kauai to dismantle and ship the plant's machinery back to the Philippines. The cooperative's innovative plan to re-use a once defunct plant is a creative cost-effective solution that increases its energy efficiency and provides a much-needed source of power on an island with growing electricity needs. -------------- REGIONAL MEDIA, INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVES -------------- ¶7. In a host of regional television, radio, and print interviews conducted during the trip, the Ambassador underscored the continuing U.S. commitment to Philippine economic and social development, underlined the importance of the Peace Corps program, and explained the role of U.S. businesses as responsible economic partners. The station manager for a local radio station noted that the Ambassador was the first U.S. official of note to directly address an audience in the Western Visayas region. In the wake of the recent U.S. election, the Ambassador explained the importance in U.S. democracy of open, transparent elections; gracious speeches by both the winner and the loser and their example of putting the nation's interests ahead of their own; and the importance of the U.S. system that provides for a smooth and peaceful transfer of power and transition to a new administration. In all interaction with the media, she underscored that the close ties and excellent relations between the U.S. and the Philippines will remain that way with the new Administration. KENNEY