DEPARTMENT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS 
P R E S S  R E L E A S E
www.dfa.gov.ph                                                                             2330 Roxas Blvd., Pasay City, Philippines                                                                        Tel. No. 834-4000 
SFA-AGR-174-07                                                                                                                                                           20 March 2007

Philippine Embassy, Paris hosts reception for Philippine-bound French scholars  

20 March 2007 – Philippine Ambassador to France and Permanent Delegate to UNESCO Jose Abeto Zaide reported to the Department of Foreign Affairs that as part of the celebration of the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the Philippines and France this year, the Embassy hosted on 26 February a reception for French scholars who will be visiting the Philippines for an archaeological re-excavation of Tabon Cave in Palawan and other sites.  

The visit is part of the Hominid Fossil Project of the Human Origins Patrimony of Southeast Asia (HopSea) Program, which is being funded by the Erasmus Mundus Action 3 Programs.

The National Museum of the Philippines in coordination with the Archaeological Studies Program of the University of the Philippines is pursuing this project in partnership with the Institut de Paléontologie Humaine of France ’s Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle (MNHN-IPH), the Università di Ferrara in Italy , Frankfurt University , and Institut Teknologi Bandung in Indonesia .  

“Academic exchange has always been a significant aspect in the relations between the Philippines and France in the last sixty years, anchored on the Agreement on Scientific and Technical Cooperation signed by the two countries in 1978,” Ambassador Zaide remarked.  

Ambassador Zaide added, “Removed from the usual bureaucratic constraints of official relations, academic exchange provides fertile ground for generating greater scientific knowledge and cultural   understanding between our countries and peoples.”  

Led by Dr. François Semah, Director of MNHN-IPH, the French team includes two other professors and four students. They will be in the Philippines for up to three months, and they will be joined by the Italian and Philippine teams led by Dr. Marta Azarello of Università di Ferrara and Dr. Eusebio Dizon of UP-ASP, leaders of the Italian and Philippine teams, respectively.  

Aside from Tabon Cave , the team would be conducting excavations in Cagayan Valley and visit sites in Novaliches, the La Mesa Dam area, and others.  

The team plans to publish the initial results of their research this December.  

Present at the reception were Consuls Rosalita Prospero, Angela Ponce and Igor Bailen. Also in attendance was Ms. Deanna Ongpin-Recto, Vice President of Alliance Française de Manille. END

/jay

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