VICE PRESIDENT DE CASTRO MEETS FILIPINO COMMUNITY OF NORTHEAST USA

16 October 2007—The Philippine Consulate General in New York reported to the Department of Foreign Affairs that Vice President Noli de Castro met with the Filipino community in Northeastern United States, during a cocktail reception hosted by the Consulate General on 3 October 2007. The Vice President  was visiting New York as Head of the Philippine Delegation to the United Nations (UN) High Level Dialogue On Inter-religious and Inter-cultural Understanding and Cooperation for Peace and Development.

After a brief meeting with the members of the Mindorenos Association, Consul General Cecilia Rebong and Ambassador Hilario Davide led the Honoree to Kalayaan Hall. Over 200 members of the Filipino community were eager to meet and have photos taken with Vice President de Castro. Also present were members of the media, and the Officers and Staff of the Philippine Mission, Philippine Trade and Investment Center of New York, and the Philippine Consulate General.

In his speech, the Vice-President focused on several issues in the Philippines, including the “Hello Garci” controversy, the NBN ZTE deal with China, and the cases of Former President Joseph Estrada. He said that tackling these issues sincerely would lead to Filipinos growing in political maturity and building a stronger democracy.

The Vice President enumerated some of the achievements emanating from the strong political will of President Arroyo’s administration, includes: 1) the steady growth of the economy; 2) the budget surplus of P13.9 billion as of August 2007 which resulted in lower interest rates; 3) improved peso-dollar exchange rate; 4) a healthier business climate due to continuous dollar inflows from overseas Filipinos and investors; 5) the infrastructure program of the Government directed toward the super-regions, and 6) moves to improve the delivery of basic services such as housing and other anti-poverty initiatives.

Vice President  de Castro appealed to the Filipino community to continue helping the country through investment, tourism promotion, and support for projects that uplift the lives of the Filipinos. END.

/Allan