As element of the commemoration and celebration of the 47th Anniversary of the founding of official diplomatic ties among the Philippines and China, and the 21st Anniversary of the institution of Philippines-China Friendship Working day, the official Award Ceremony of the Award for Philippines-China Comprehension (APPCU) this yr (2022) was held on 10 June.
It was attended by not only the Board Members of the Affiliation for Philippines-China Knowing (APCU) led by its Chairman Emeritus, Previous President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo who sent a recorded video clip message for the momentous event, APCU Chairman Secretary Raul Lambino, and APCU President Jeffrey Ng the officers of the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in the Philippines led by the Ambassador of China to the Philippines, Ambassador Huang Xilian the 10 APPCU 2021 Awardees, the 11 APPCU 2022 Awardees, including former President Joseph Ejercito Estrada, a single of the two Hall of Fame Awardees this calendar year, but by no less than President-elect Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., other dignitaries and each incoming and outgoing federal government officials.
The Affiliation for Philippines-China Comprehending (APCU), a non-governing administration organization (NGO) centered in the Philippines, is a pioneer and major NGO in the Philippines for advertising persons-to-folks diplomacy, bilateral/mutual understanding, and friendship between the Philippines and China.
In 2021, the APCU introduced two important jobs which additional aid encourage mutual comprehension, friendship, and cooperation among the two international locations and peoples. These jobs are the Manila Discussion board for the Philippines-China Relations and the Award for Promoting Philippines-China Understanding (APPCU).
The APPCU pays special tribute to Filipinos who have produced initiatives by means of time to improve pleasant ties and encourage mutual knowing concerning the Philippines and China making use of their respective advocacies and know-how in the several fields and disciplines of Mass Media and Public Service Trade and Commerce and Arts, Culture, and the Sciences.
The most important rationale guiding launching these two initiatives is to actively advertise friendship concerning the Philippines and China and enrich people-to-people exchanges, noting that amity in between folks retains the crucial to seem condition-to-condition relations.
APPCU 2022 Awardees
Soon after the effective launch of APPCU, the APCU and the Chinese Embassy in the Philippines released the second calendar year of APPCU in January 2022. Customers of the board and the committee driving APPCU have endeavoured to streamline its search for well-deserving people today for recognition of their initiatives and contributions in fostering and advertising knowledge, appreciation, and the reinforcement of amity involving the Philippines and China.
This yr, 10 community and private sector individuals passed the three-stage collection and judging system from a checklist of nominees commencing the early quarter of this yr. Their works’ prestige, nature, and extent are primarily the foundation for determining their respective award group.
The arranging committee of the APPCU also extended a Unique Award, the Gawad Sultan Paduka Pahala, to the late Philippine Ambassador to China, His Excellency Jose Santiago “Chito” Sta. Romana.
This year’s APPCU Corridor of Fame awardees are Previous Philippine President Joseph Ejercito Estrada and former Ambassador Incredible and Plenipotentiary to the People’s Republic of China, Ambassador Francisco Benedicto. The awardees for the APPCU Superb Contributions are the Honorary Chairman of Anvil Small business Club, Board Member and Chairman of FFCCCII Public Facts & Media Committee, and Moderator of Pandesal Forum at 83-yr-aged Kamuning Bakery Café, Wilson Lee Flores, Manila Regular Columnist and Contributor of China Every day International Edition, and World-wide Moments, Rodrigo “Rod” P Kapunan, Manila Times Columnist and reserve writer, Mauro Gia Samonte, and the President of Philsilat Athletics Association, and the Co-Founder & President of the Intercontinental Middle for Peace, Reconciliation and Enhancement (ICPRD), Princess Jacel H Kiram of the Sultanate of Sulu.
The awardees for the Major Contributions group are previous President and now the Secretary of the Countrywide Press Club (NPC), Columnist/Reporter for the Philippine Journalists, Inc. (PJI), publisher of ‘People’s Journal,’ People’s Journal Tonight, and the Proprietor & Publisher of Pinoy Exposé, Paul Gutierrez, the Philippine Director of Confucius Institute at Angeles College Basis, Professor Cavin Franco Pamintuan, the Senior Lecturer at the University of the Philippines Visayas, Professor Celso L Cainglet, and the former metropolis councillor who served for three phrases and is now the chief of the Davao City Financial investment and Marketing Heart (DCIPC), April Marie C Dayap.
All awardees received a trophy, a recognition plaque, and a certificate. Just about every awardee has been provided prize income for Fantastic Contributions and Major Contributions classes.
BBM And Impartial Overseas Plan
Certainly, the party was both equally legendary and historic mainly because at that momentous celebration, President-elect Bongbong Marcos re-affirmed 1 of the numerous legacies of outgoing Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte and that of his father, President Ferdinand Marcos Sr., of the country’s pursuit of an impartial overseas policy.
He also shared his sights on the long run of Philippines-China relations in the yrs to occur. On the identical situation, President-elect Marcos also re-affirmed the deepening ties and bilateral relations in between the Philippines and China and acknowledged that the country’s marriage with China is indeed crucial and that China is one of its strongest associates.
He even went further as to recall the historical ties that bind Filipinos and the Chinese people. In his speech, he stated, “In my look at, it is a extremely essential connection (Philippines-China Relations) that we have to keep on to evolve as the many years go by and as the improvements we have found close to the globe are affecting our own position within just the region. And with that cooperation and communication, I believe that we have been in a position to locate a way to improve and strengthen the associations between our two nations around the world, the People’s Republic of China and the Republic of the Philippines.”
“In quite a few means, the signing of the diplomatic arrangement between the People’s Republic of China and the Republic of the Philippines in 1975 was just a formalization or a normalization of an casual connection that has been proven to go back again at least to the Tang Dynasty. And that is how very long the relationship amongst the Philippines and China has been heading on at numerous distinctive ranges. And with the addition now of the decision in 1975 of the signing and normalization of the diplomatic relations among our two nations around the world, we formalized that informal marriage and included one more side to our dealings in that we added federal government-to-governing administration, and that has been some thing I think has been very advantageous to both of those our countries.”
“So how do I see the potential in between China and the Philippines? I see the foreseeable future of China and the Philippines developing in several ways that possibly we do not see now. I will stimulate our partnership to not only be in the extremely demanding and official senses of organization, govt-to-authorities, or private-general public partnerships – all of those we will really encourage. But I’ve realized a time period in one particular of the conferences I was invited to in China, and it is a excellent phrase mainly because it, I think, offers us an additional option to improve closer. And the phrase that I figured out from the Chinese is folks-to-people. And I believe that is a further put, one more space, one more course we can discover to bolster the foundations of our partnership and friendship so that we move forward together into the upcoming. The difficulties and the discrepancies we may perhaps have will be aided in each individual way as extended as we keep on making an attempt, we proceed to connect, and carry on to be forthright in the interests of each individual of our international locations.”
“I firmly feel that as we try out to make our way into the submit-pandemic entire world, every state will not be in a position to endure and prosper by alone. We have produced this sort of a near world wide local community in politics, diplomacy, and company that it is no for a longer period probable for a one state to make its possess way and say it will triumph. I definitely think that the partnerships and alliances that we as a region will make with our pals, allies, and companions throughout the world will continue to keep the stability of our economic recovery. I consider that, yet again, the synergy that will occur from that cooperation is what I imagine will bring us ahead to a shiny long term. And there will occur a working day when we can say we are beyond the pandemic disaster. We are past the financial disaster introduced on by the pandemic. We can only do it – undoubtedly in the Philippines – with our associates. And our strongest partner has always been, in that regard, our close neighbour and our superior buddy, the People’s Republic of China.”
“So, I congratulate all of us. We, in the Philippines, are celebrating our 124th Independence Day, and with each other with that, we celebrate the 47th commemoration of the signing of diplomatic relations among [the Philippines] and the People’s Republic of China. And it was a sort of independence in the two our signing with the People’s Republic of China it was our independence as properly. Probably, we will keep on what President Duterte has began, what has been described as an “Independent Foreign Plan,” and this is what we truly feel is ideal in the national desire. And I feel it is beneficial not only to our close friends in China but to all our friends all over the world.”
Summary
In retrospect, in strengthening bilateral relations among the Philippines and China, diplomatic pursuits and cultural exchanges involving the two nations at the state-to-state and men and women-to-persons amounts are pivotal components in enhancing mutual comprehension, cooperation, friendships, and resolving dissimilarities and conflicts of interests.
In the very same method that the inter-condition relations between the two nations are fundamental, people today-to-persons ties are consequently much just one of the creating blocks that strongly bind the bilateral relations of the Philippines and China.
Definitely, the stories of APPCU 2022 Laureates in promoting and strengthening Philippines-China friendship and comprehending in lots of methods opened up avenues for a greater appreciation of Filipino and Chinese cultures, historical roots, and ties, which are precisely what APCU and APPCU endeavour to pursue and triumph.
