DFA OFFICIALS PARTICIPATE IN SYMPOSIUM ON STRATEGIC PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT 05 August 2013 - The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) kick-started efforts aimed at developing and instituting a strategic performance management system for its organization and employees with the participation of DFA officials at the Human Resources Symposium 2013 sponsored by the Civil Service Commission (CSC) from July 17 to 18 in Cebu City. With the theme, “Performance Management in the Philippines: Strategies and Breakthroughs,” the two-day Symposium brought together human resources and organizational development practitioners from government and private organizations to help them understand and appreciate the different performance management systems, and share best practices of its implementation. Guest speakers were Budget and Management Secretary Florencio “Butch” Abad and CSC Chairman Francisco T. Duque. The event was initiated by the Civil Service Commission pursuant to its Memorandum Circular MC No. 6, s. 2012, which directed all government agencies to introduce a Strategic Performance Management System (SPMS) – a system that aims to strengthen the culture of performance and accountability in the bureaucracy by ensuring that individual employees are achieving the strategic goals, mission, and vision of their organization. The DFA has recently completed the formulation of its SPMS and is now awaiting the approval of the CSC prior to its implementation. END Kontra-Gapi successfully ends 30-day SPRING/SUMMER tour across Belgium and Luxembourg, receives support from phl embassy and filipino community 05 August 2013 - Philippine Ambassador to Belgium, Luxembourg and the European Union Victoria Bataclan, along with the officers and staff of the Philippine Embassy in Brussels, lent their full support to the staging of multiple performances in Belgium and Luxembourg of the Philippine cultural group Kontra-GaPi, starting early May 2013 until the end of July. Kontra GaPi, short for Kontemporaryong Gamelan Pilipino, is a resident ethnic music and dance ensemble of the University of the Philippines, established in 1989 that has been able to tour all around the Philippines, as well as in various parts of the world to share the distinct sound of the gamelan – considered the “orchestra” of Southeast Asian instruments – and the beautifully intricate choreography inspired by Philippine and other Asian traditional dances. The Embassy was ever-present in all major concerts of Kontra-GaPi in Belgium, successfully reaching out to all three of its communities, namely the Flemish-speaking, French-speaking and German-speaking communities which are spread across the three Belgian regions: the Brussels Capital region, Flanders and Wallonia. In the Flanders region, the group rendered performances in the historic Gent St. Pieters railway station, the Parnassus cultural centre of Gent, and at the Pikkeling Harvest Folkloric Festival in Aalst. In the Walloon region, Kontra GaPi participated in the annual music festival Francofolies de Spa, had a concert in Spa’s Notre Dame and St. Remacle Church and at its renowned monument Pouhon-Pierre-Le Grand. The group had the opportunity as well to perform at the opening ceremony of the week-long Philippine painting exhibition entitled, “Mabini Art,” at the German-speaking community’s headquarters in its capital town, Eupen. Apart from this series of performances and other smaller scale outreach programs/demonstrations, Konta-GaPi had also successfully staged a concert at Moutfourt’s Cultural Center in Luxembourg. Ambassador Bataclan, Kontra-GaPi founder and leader Pedro “Edru” Abraham, Jr., and the counterpart Filipino community organizers received praises for the group’s splendid performance from key government officials including the Belgian Minister of Culture of the German-speaking community, Mrs. Isabelle Weykmans, the Mayor of the Municipality of Spa, Mr. Joseph Houssa, Alderman of the City of Aalst, Mr. Karim Van Overmeire and East Flanders’ Provincial Government representative Mrs. Agnes Verspreet. Ambassador Bataclan shared her sentiments about the tour by saying, “I consider Kontra-GaPi’s Belgium/Luxembourg tour as a perfectly harmonious melody created by the extreme dedication of the talented Kontra-GaPi, the perseverance of the Filipino community organization partners and the sustained support of the Embassy.” “The success of this project could have only been due to the hard work of our partners Kaangayan Vriendenkring vzw of Gent, the Philippine-Luxembourg Society, the Filipino community in Wallonia, the Transwing Kunst Gallery of Darmstadt in Germany, the Erato Singers of Ans and the governments of East Flanders, Gent and Spa, who have remained steadfast in their promotion of all things Filipino. Our concerted efforts have been able to generate great enthusiasm among the Belgian and Luxembourgish people for Philippine culture and the arts,” the Ambassador added. Kontra-GaPi flew back to Manila from Brussels on July 31 after its three-month concert tour that brought the 17-member group to France, Belgium, Switzerland, Germany, Czech Republic, the Netherlands and Luxembourg. END PHL EMBASSIES IN DAMASCUS AND BEIRUT, IOM REPATRIATE 44 OFWs FROM SYRIA 05 August 2013 – The Philippine Embassies in Damascus and Beirut successfully implemented the 25th cross-border repatriation of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) from Syria on July 31, with the assistance and funding support of the International Organization for Migration (IOM). The Philippine Embassy in Beirut’s Border Team, composed of Vice Consul Rona Beth Goce, Property Officer and Administrative Assistant Chloe Silverio, Assistance-to-Nationals (ATN) and Legal Officer Junaid Ali, together with two IOM personnel, traveled to the Masna’a border in the morning of July 31 to receive the 44 OFWs from the Philippine Embassy in Damascus and the Rapid Response Team (RRT). After securing entry clearance from the Lebanese immigration at the Masna’a border, the Border Team escorted the two buses as they traveled from the border direct to Rafik Hariri International Airport in Beirut for their 7:50 p.m. Emirates flight to Dubai en route to Manila. Upon arrival, the Border Team turned over the OFWs to Vice Consul Dennis John Briones and his two Airport Team members, Consular Assistant Armand Dimaranan and Protocol Officer Antonio Cruz. They assisted the repatriates in completing the security, airline and immigration procedures. Philippine Ambassador to Lebanon Leah M. Basinang-Ruiz and her spouse, Mr. Ricardo Ruiz, were also present at the airport to wish the 44 OFWs a safe journey home and a happy reunion with their respective families. To date, a total of 1,449 OFWs have been repatriated from Syria via Lebanon since the cross-border operation commenced on 12 December 2012. END
Posted on: Mon, 05 Aug 2013 06:53:22 +0000
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