Consular Services Appointment System
"Tales of the Manuvu" special streaming, 16-18 July 2021
The Department of Foreign Affairs, in cooperation with the Cultural Center of the Philippines, invites everyone to the special streaming of the rock opera ballet “Tales of the Manuvu” featuring Ballet Philippines and Radioactive Sago Project. The classic presentation tells the story of creation of the Indigenous Peoples of Manobo. Choreography and libretto by National Artists Alice Reyes and Bienvenido Lumbera respectively.
Catch it for 72 hours starting 12:01 am on 16 July at https://tinyurl.com/DFA-Tales-of-the-Manuvu.
Ganyu District (Jiangsu) bats for expanded Cross-Border E-Commerce with PH
Shanghai, 9 July 2021 – Keen to ride the wave ridden by other booming Chinese e-commerce hubs, Ganyu District in Lianyugang city, Jiangsu Province, is exploring enhanced cross-border e-commerce (CBEC) links with the Philippines.
Calling on the Consulate General today, a government-business delegation led by Ganyu District Deputy Governor Mr. XU Bei, Zhewang Town Mayor Mme. ZHANG Lai Tao laid out plans for an app-based e-commerce platform to facilitate e-commerce with the Philippines. Also part of the blueprint is a fully-functional CBEC industrial park by 2025 that will host and incubate enterprises.
Consul General Ignacio, Economic Officer Consul Conrado B. Demdem, Jr., Commercial Vice Consul Mario Tani and Tourism Attaché Ireneo Reyes met the visitors. Rounding off the Ganyu side were Zhewang Town People’s Congress Vice Chairman Mr. LIU Shan Liang, Ben-Agriculture Industrial Group Chairman WANG Pei Chao, Philippine Uni-Steady Exim Corp. representative Mr. CHEN Si Jie, and , and businessman Mr. Paul Dean SHI, an importer of Philippine food products.
Consul General Ignacio welcomed Ganyu officials’ interest and the potential win-win for both the Philippines and Ganyu in terms of capitalizing on the economic rewards of CBEC. “If realized, the Philippine merchandise exports gain an important additional gateway into the Chinese market. Online platforms afford our goods better visibility, exposure and access.” Ganyu, for its part, gets to advance its stock as a rising e-commerce player among Chinese localities.
Ganyu is a port town strategically located along the Yellow Sea on the northernmost coast of Jiangsu. The province is second only to Guangdong in terms of provincial GDP and significantly, in terms of imports from the Philippines.
Located in Lianyungang City, Ganyu District, home to 1.2 million people, has for its main industries oil, iron and steel, processed seafood, and reused plastic materials.
With a GDP of RMB 15.3 billion (USD 2.35 billion) in 2020, it was one of the Top 100 districts in China. In 2020, Ganyu District’s CBEC industry recorded a retail value of RMB 3 billion (USD 461.5 million) mainly from trade in agricultural, apparel, and footwear products. Supported by the provincial government’s favorable policies on CBEC, it has bonded warehouses, professional cross-border e-commerce teams, and a vibrant live streaming economy. END
Cebu Pacific-Shanghai Execs call on Consulate General, express hopes for eventual travel rebound
Shanghai, 07 July 2021 – Officials of Cebu Pacific’s Shanghai Office paid a courtesy introductory call today on new Consul General Josel F. Ignacio.
Cebu Air, Inc. Sales Supervisor Kelly Tao and Account Executive Sam Ni apprised the Consulate General of Cebu Pacific’s China operations, the airline’s steady expansion of its Philippines-China route networks until COVID-19’s outbreak, and existing constraints due to necessary travel restrictions on both ends.
While acknowledging present challenges, the Consulate General nevertheless congratulated Cebu Pacific for its steady gains and inroads into the China market, pre-pandemic. The Consulate General took the opportunity to update Cebu Pacific about the existing regime of travel and entry guidelines into the Philippines.
Both sides see an eventual rebound as both countries make progress in pandemic control and vaccinations. The need to resume official and business travel, as well as pent-up touristic travel demand are seen as driving optimism. The meeting also touched on broadening options to enable Filipinos in China to fly to the Philippines amidst prevailing limitations.
Until the pandemic broke, Chinese tourism into the Philippines was seeing exponential growth, trailing only behind the Republic of Korea. From under half a million in 2015, it rose to over 1.2 million in 2018 before climbing to over 1.7 million in 2019. END