Philippine government confirms its president’s visit to Fresno

As we were the first to report last night, Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo will stop by Fresno between San Francisco and Washington, D.C. as part of a 10-day state visit.

PGMA sets 10 day visit to U.S.

From San Francisco, the President will proceed to Fresno, California, a four-hour drive from San Francisco, to hear mass and interact with the Filipino community before proceeding to Washington D.C.

Meeting members of Filipino communities in the countries that she visits is a standard feature of the President�s trips abroad in an effort to keep them posted on developments back home and to encourage them to invest in the country, as well as thank them for their remittances that had helped improve the economy.

 

World leader to visit Fresno this weekend

Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, president of the Philippines, plans a visit to the Central Valley Sunday morning

According to closely-hugged sources– Tatay and Nanay Valley Notebook– Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo will visit Fresno for a few hours Sunday morning, partaking in a Catholic ceremony at the Exhibit Hall in Downtown Fresno, and likely visiting with local leaders at Fresno’s Community Hospital. She’ll fly from the Bay Area and proceed to Washington, D.C., sources say.

Many Filipino expatriates (particularly Filipina nurses) work in the American health care profession, and our closely-hugged sources say she would like to see their working environments.

The Philippines, like the Central Valley, has a severe brain drain problem–an estimated 121 Filipinos leave the homeland every hour– and it helps fill our own shortage of health care workers.

Gloria’s second visit to Fresno

This will not be the first visit to Fresno for the diminuitive and controversial President, who is a former classmate of our former President Bill Clinton at Georgetown University.

She visited about eight years ago when she was Vice President of the Philippines. She slipped in and out without any media attention during that visit, but then-Miss Valley Notebook was in attendance.

Macapagal-Arroyo (who IS as cute as a button in person) spoke of the important ties between Filipinos and Filipino-Americans. She gave much credit to the Filipino-American community for sending money back home.

People are country’s most valuable export

Instead of cars or iPods, the Philippines’ main export for decades have been its professionals and not-so-professionals. The country relies heavily on money sent home.

Many Filipinos work abroad in the middle east in the oil industry. Although the country would like to shed this image, many Filipinas work in homes across Asia and Europe as nannys, domestic helpers, and entertainers.

This policy of exporting its best and brightest has caused a cascade of economic and social problems back home in the Philippines, including a generation of children raised by extended family in exchange for financial stability.

In America and the Central Valley, many Filipino immigrants are nurses and doctors due an immigration policy in the 1960 and 70s that encouraged foreign professionals to move to the United States. Nurses are still particularly recruited.

A few “famous” Filipino-Americans on the Internet?

Blogger David Lat of Above the Law and conservative Michelle Malkin, both children of Filipino-American doctors.

A few famous Filipinos in Fresno?

TV news broadcaster Dale Yurong and Fresno Bee writers Joan Obra, B.J. Anteloa and Tracy Correa.

Not so trivial trivia on the Philippines?

The US colonized, controlled, the Philippines for the first half of 19th century. Among other effects, the culture is very Americanized and American English is widely taught and spoken.

Recommended summer reading on Filipino culture and diaspora:

Dogeaters by Jessica Hagedorn