Sec. Cusi Leads the Philippine Delegation for AMEM37

Wazzup Pilipinas!

AMEM STRONG: DOE Secretary Alfonso G. Cusi (fourth from left) joins the other Energy Ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)

for their signature solidarity pose during the opening of the 37th ASEAN Energy Ministers Meeting in Bangkok, Thailand.

Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Alfonso G. Cusi headed the Philippine Delegation for the 37th ASEAN Ministers on Energy Meeting (AMEM37) and Associated Meetings being held from 2 to 6 September 2019.

Slated for the event is a series of Ministerial Meetings, which includes the AMEM-International Energy Agency Dialogue, AMEM-International Renewable Energy Agency Dialogue, 13th East-Asia Summit Energy Ministers Meeting, and the 16th AMEM+3 Meeting. In addition, the Ministers-CEO Dialogue under the 2019 ASEAN Energy Business Forum, which highlights various energy-related concerns within the ASEAN region and its dialogue partners, would likewise take place.

"The annual AMEM is always a great opportunity for the Philippines to reach out to our ASEAN partners and showcase our most recent achievements in the energy sector. Moreover, we are able to explore potential energy cooperation endeavors to help us attain our energy goals, particularly energy security, equity, and resiliency," Secretary Alfonso G. Cusi said during the AMEM's Opening Ceremony.

With this year's theme "Advancing Energy Transition through Partnership and Innovation", AMEM 37 intends to further strengthen collaboration among ASEAN member countries, their regional partners, and international organizations through the formulation of sustainable solutions that would promote closer regional integration and establish the ASEAN as a major economic block.

At present, the ASEAN has achieved an energy intensity (EI) reduction level of 24.4%, consistent with the ASEAN Plan of Action for Energy Cooperation (APAEC) Strategy target to reduce EI by 20% in 2020. Meanwhile, the renewable energy (RE) share in ASEAN’s Total Primary Energy Supply reached 14.3% in 2017, with the APAEC Strategy calling to increase the RE component in the ASEAN’s Total Primary Energy Mix to 23% by 2025.

On the matter of promoting regional power integration, the ASEAN Energy Ministers noted the supplemental multi-lateral electricity trade among Lao PDR, Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore (LTMS) under the Energy Purchase and Wheeling Agreement (EPWA). The Supplementary EPWA upgrades the tradable capacity of Phase 1 of the LTMS Power Integration Project which was signed during the Philippine hosting of AMEM35 in 2017.

Secretary Cusi will also be holding bilateral meetings with the US-ASEAN Business Council, US State Department, and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan to advance the Philippines’ energy agenda.

Other members of the official Philippine Delegation to AMEM37 include DOE Senior Undersecretary Jesus Cristino P. Posadas, Assistant Secretary Gerardo D. Erguiza Jr., DOE-Energy Policy and Planning (EPPB) Bureau Director Jesus T. Tamang, and EPPB-Energy Cooperation and Coordination Division Chief Lilian C. Fernandez.


OTHER PHOTOS:

STRONGER TOGETHER: In Sec. Cusi's statement during the AMEM-International Energy Agency Dialogue, he called for ASEAN members to embrace a more active role in joint energy resource development within the region.

He stated that together, the ASEAN could further expand collaboration through its shared borders and common concerns over depleting oil and gas resources.

AMEM37 AND COUNTING: During the Opening Ceremony of AMEM37, Sec. Cusi outlined some of the strides made by the region relative to the targets set in the ASEAN Plan of Action on Energy Cooperation.

Emphasizing the benefits of energy efficiency and conservation, he also shared the recent passage of the Philippines' Energy Efficiency and Conservation Act, which was signed by President Rodrigo R. Duterte in May 2019. He also emphasized that the need for the country's energy efficiency goals to go hand-in-hand with the ASEAN’s energy sustainability mission.

DOE IN FULL FORCE: The members of the Official Philippine Delegation to AMEM37, DOE-Energy Policy and Planning Bureau (EPPB)'s Energy Cooperation and Coordination Division Chief Lilian C. Fernandez; EPPB Director Jesus T. Tamang; Senior Undersecretary Jesus Cristino P. Posadas; DOE Secretary Alfonso G. Cusi; and Assistant Secretary Gerardo D. Erguiza Jr., during a bilateral meeting held at the sidelines of the event.

The Ultimate Filipino Road Trip In An RV

Wazzup Pilipinas!

If the 120,000 miles of pristine coastlines don’t sell an epic road trip in the Philippines to you, then perhaps the misty mountains and tropical interior will. For travelers, booking a stay in a tropical paradise is one way to experience the lushness of this memorable destination. But there is another way to take it all in, and that is by taking on the long and winding roads in an RV. So pack the snacks and store away the breakables, the archipelago is waiting.


Explore Baguio City To Sagada

While there’s only 80km between these two cities, the scenery is well worth the effort. Consider camping midway to enjoy the undulating scenery as rustic scenery unfolds into a mountainous splendor. This is a road trip where camping on the side of the road to admire the scenery below is a must, and sunrises are worth the stop-over. While Mines View Park offers visitors a great vantage point from the lookout point, it’s just a few kilometers outside Baguio City and travelers are encouraged to explore a bit more. Once in Sagada, visitors can enjoy a day out traversing hilly terrain in a quest for the perfect photo opportunity or spelunking nearby caves.


Beach Resort Hopping On The East Coast

If you’re looking to start your journey in Manila and work your way down to Calatagan, the stops along the way are perfect for endless summer days spent on the beach. The distance is just under 100 kilometers, and along the way, travelers can expect lush tropical beach sites such as Canyon Cove Beach Club, La Primavera Beach Resort, and Stilts Calatagan Beach Resort. Those who don’t necessarily want to fork out the extra cash to stay over at the resorts and prefer to enjoy the amenities as day visitors can stock up their RVs at any of the little towns along the way. It is a good idea to equip RVs with onboard water treatment facilities and solar energy, as not all stops are as well equipped, which compels RV owners to live entirely off the grid.


A Gastronomical Delight

While sights and entertainment play an important part in planning the perfect road trip, another element worth exploring is satisfying those hunger pangs. The province of Pampanga is known as the belly of the Philippines and its quest to become the culinary epicenter of at least the Luzon Island is well underway. But food is not the only thing this province has to offer, as Mount Arayat also happens to be a delightful addition to an itinerary. Apart from providing the perfect backdrop to memorable photos, it also happens to provide lush trails for hikers. The location is quite remote, which makes an RV ideal accommodation.

It won’t take long to explore an entire Filipino island, but that doesn’t mean that travelers won’t have an amazing time doing so. With an RV, a scenic road trip becomes a sublime memory as travelers get to pause at each destination without worries about check-in times and public transport schedules.

Instituto Cervantes' Director General García Montero Arrives in Manila to Close an Exhibition and Present a Book on Spanish Poet Miguel Hernández

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Instituto Cervantes' Director General García Montero arrives in Manila to close an exhibition and present a book on Spanish poet Miguel Hernández

On 16 September 2019, The Undersecretary and Director General of Instituto Cervantes, Luis García Montero, will be arriving from Spain to grace the closing ceremony of the exhibit “Miguel Hernández: In Broad Daylight” at the Intramuros branch of Instituto Cervantes.

García Montero is a poet himself who has won several awards for his works (El jardín extranjero, Habitaciones separadas, La intimidad de la serpiente). He is also a Literature professor who has produced scholarly research and works on Miguel Hernández.

The exhibition, inaugurated last 25 July at the Exhibit Room of Instituto Cervantes, was organized by the Diputación de Jaén (Provincial Government of Jaén) in commemoration of the 75th anniversary of the poet’s death. In 2018, the exhibit began its international tour, visiting London, Manchester, New York, Chicago and Dublin. After Manila, the exhibit will be heading to Toulouse and Paris. Being the only Asian city in the international tour of the exhibit, Manila had already been marked as an obligatory destination since the library of Instituto Cervantes Manila is named after the famous Spanish writer.

Born in 1910 in the town of Orihuela in Alicante, Spain, Miguel Hernández was a self-taught poet highly influenced by the classics of the Spanish Golden Age. His book El rayo que no cesa (1936) made him famous in the poetry circles of Madrid, where he had moved to try his luck as a poet. In the capital of Spain he became a friend of Pablo Neruda and had contacts with some members of the literary movement "Generation of 1927", like García Lorca and Vicente Aleixandre. The Civil War did not disrupt his literary career and in fact, during this time, he published Viento del pueblo (1937) and El hombre acecha (1938). After the war, he was arrested and put in jail, where he died in 1942.

Centering on Hernández as an icon of poetry, the exhibit, curated by poet and literary critic Juan José Téllez, offers a glimpse of his life through photographs and digital copies of his works and various documents. The collection also contains original pieces, such as book editions, and facsimiles of manuscripts and letters from the legacy of Miguel Hernández --acquired by the Diputación de Jaén through the writer’s heirs.

Book launching

During the closing ceremony, Instituto Cervantes and De La Salle University will launch the book “Una querencia tengo por tu acento: Four Filipino Writers in Search of Miguel Hernández”. The book launching will be presented by its four authors, namely, Dr. Vicente Garcia Groyon, Dr. Marjorie Evasco, Mr. Joselito Zulueta and Ms. Jessica Zafra.

In this publication, the four Filipino writers recount their experiences in various places in Spain relevant to the prominent Spanish poet. Novelist Vicente Garcia Groyon composes a portrait of Miguel Hernández and highlights the significance of his work, through interviews and visits to the key places in the poet’s life. Marjorie Evasco, on the other hand, recalls aspects of the peculiar and intense journey in translating the poetry of Miguel Hernández into English. For his part, journalist and writer Lito Zulueta talks about Hernández’s works from a different angle, attempting to connect classical literary tradition which had inspired the poet, to the turbulent period in which he lived, and linking the events of that era to contemporary historical events of the Philippines. Lastly, Jessica Zafra’s essay dwells on the danger of oblivion and underlines the importance of preserving “places of memory”, enriching the panoply of Hernandian places by incorporating the city of Jaen, where the poet’s legacy is safeguarded, as well as Quesada, where his wife Josefina Manresa was born. Complementing the essays of the four Filipino writers are contributions from two Spanish authors, Guillermo Carnero and Jesucristo Riquelme.

This book is an initiative of Instituto Cervantes and is published by the De La Salle Publishing House, in collaboration with the Embassy of Spain in the Philippines, the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID), Fundación Miguel Hernández, Diputación de Jaén, Fundación Legado Miguel Hernández and Turespaña, with the support of Rotary Club Orihuela and Turkish Airlines.

The Exhibit Room of Instituto Cervantes de Manila is located in San Luis Complex, Intramuros, Manila. Entrance to the exhibit is for free. For further information, please visit the website of Instituto Cervantes at http://manila.cervantes.es and its Facebook page at www.facebook.com/InstitutoCervantesManila