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NEWS AUGUST 2019

500,000 Filipino tourists expected to visit Taiwan in 2019 Another Filipino nun closer to sainthood

hilippine tourism arrivals in Taiwan at the Makati Shangri-la Hotel in Makati City. Wang said the Taiwanese government’s Filipino nun, Mother Francisca del
increased 44 percent in 2018 from Top players from Taiwan’s Meetings, official announcement on the possible Espiritu Santo, is now a step closer
Pa year ago, according to data on the Incentive Travel, Conferences, Exhibitions extension of the Philippines’ current visa- A to sainthood after Pope Francis
top 10 countries visiting Taiwan released industry travels, including travel agencies, free status might be expected by the public recognized her heroic virtues, the Vatican
recently by the Taiwan Tourism Bureau. venues, hotels, city government and public in about two weeks, after a process of re- announced on July 5.
Taiwan received 13,000 more tourists relations agencies introduced the country’s evaluation. Taiwan’s MICE program also Del Espiritu Santo is now “venerable” or
from the Philippines in the first quarter of many incentive provisions to local travel received a large boost from the Filipinos’ two steps away from being declared a saint.
2019 from the same period last year because groups and businesses. visa-free privilege. The Vatican said that Pope Francis authorized
of the extension of the visa-free entry offered As a result of the steady growth According to data of the Philippine the Congregation for the Causes of Saints to
by Taiwan to select countries. of Filipino tourists flocking to Taiwan, Statistics Authority, Taiwan was the promulgate the decree on “the heroic virtues
“We’ve found that more and more TECO hopes to continue strengthening Philippines’ eighth largest trading partner, of the Servant of God Francisca del Espiritu
Filipino friends are visiting Taiwan. Last year relations between the Philippines and 10th largest export market, eighth biggest Santo (born Francisca de Fuentes), founder of
we had 420,000 Filipino tourists come to our Taiwan through a possible extension of source of imports in 2017, as well as, the the Congregation of the Dominican Sisters of
country. This year our target is 500,000,” said the visa-free policy for Filipinos that was eighth biggest foreign direct investor in Abe Chou, Taiwan Tourism Bureau-Kuala Saint Catherine of Siena.”
Taipei Economic & Cultural Office economic first implemented on a trial basis from 2018. Lumpur Office director, says the visa-free Del Espiritu Santo was born in
division director Alfred Wang during the November 2017 to July 2018. The policy —Manila Standard extension reflects the healthy relationship Intramuros, Manila in 1647 and died on
Meet Taiwan Networking Event held Friday was extended until July 31, 2019. between Taiwan and the Philippines. August 24, 1711. She is buried at the Colegio
de San Juan de Letran in Manila.
Taiwan to include said that she was a “woman of unwavering faith
A website dedicated to Del Espiritu Santo
7 Southeast Asian who carried out her mission with dauntless
courage and trust.” A biography written by
Letran rector and president Fr Clarence
languages in basic

education

total of seven Southeast Asian languages will be
included in the curriculum of schools at primary
A and secondary education levels in Taiwan coming
August, as part of the island’s effort to promote cultural
diversity and inclusiveness.
The language training will be provided as mandatory
courses once a week starting the first year at elementary
schools. Students are allowed to select languages
they prefer, including Vietnamese, Indonesian, Thai,
Burmese, Cambodian, Malay, and Filipino. The courses
will become elective for junior high and senior high
school students, said the Ministry of Education (MOE) in
a press conference on Tuesday (June 25).
The policy is implemented to accommodate the
increasing number of descendants --estimated to be
153,987 -- of new immigrant families. Around 2,328
teachers will be put in place for the language program,
reported Liberty Times.
While the program is aimed to equip Taiwan’s
youngsters with more skills, it also seeks to acquaint
them with Southeast Asian cultures. For example,
students will learn about the cultural connotation
associated with the hijab worn by Islamic women, said
a teacher in the press event.
MOE is also teaming up with National Central
University and Institute for Information Industry for the
development of digital learning materials regarding the
language program. This will allow for distance education
and increase efficiency of learning, the report said.
—Taiwan News

EARNERS
Continued from Page 2
Pag-IBIG Fund subsidizes this low-interest rate,
being a tax-exempt agency as specified under Republic
Act No. 9679.
“Our charter allows Pag-IBIG Fund to offer the
lowest rates for home loans of minimum and low-wage
workers. And aside from keeping our interest rates low,
we also reduced the insurance premiums of our home
loans.
As a result, qualified borrowers under this program
will pay an affordable monthly amortization of only
PHP2,445.30 for a socialized housing loan worth
PHP580,000.00. All these are part of our efforts to provide
the best home financing program for our members. That’s
what Lingkod Pag-IBIG is all about,” Pag-IBIG Fund Chief
Executive Officer Acmad Rizaldy Moti said. —PNA