Ambassador as tour guide: 112 Malaysians discover PH

MANILA, Philippines – Captain Manuel Vergara is Filipino. However, he admits that he doesn’t really know the country where his father came from.

HIs father migrated to Malaysia before World War II, but made sure Manuel – although born and raised in a foreign country – would grow up aware of his roots.

Manuel eventually became a seafarer who would often come to Manila during the 1980s. He was only here for work, though, and admits he never had the time to get to know his father’s city.

And then one day, Manuel saw an advertisement in a Malaysian newspaper about a tour organized by the Philippine ambassador himself, J Eduardo Malaya.

Manuel thought it would be a perfect opportunity for his whole family to get to know his father’s homeland. He ended up bringing not only his wife and children but his siblings as well – all 9 of them.

The Vergaras are among the 112 who are on the 1st Ambassador’s Tour to the Philippines for Malaysia.

“We are killing two birds with one stone in this tour,” Manuel said at the dinner reception hosted for the tour participants by Ambassador Malaya in a posh casino hotel in Parañaque on November 21.

“Come Monday, when we have our free day, we are meeting up with our long lost cousins and relatives here,” Manuel said.

Manuel said Ambasador Malaya’s initiative is a “fantastic” way for people from Malaysia to get to know the Philippines. His family, who is of Filipino descent, has never seen Manila despite its proximity to Malaysia. The trip provides them the time to update their knowledge of the Philippines.

“Malaysia is a very close neighbor. It’s surprising that many Malaysians probably have an outdated image of the Philippines. On the basis of the impressions we received today, most of them are ‘Wow, we did not expect this,'” the ambassador said.

Malaya added, “Most of them did not expect to see Manila as a cosmopolitan city, that it is full of life.”

Ambassador Malaya said he was pleasantly surprised with the great response to the tour. After the ad came out in Malaysia’s top newspapers, the Embassy received hundreds of requests to join the tour. The tour will take them to the walled city of Intramuros and give them a day at Villa Escudero, Tagaytay, and Corregidor.

“A lot of them are first-timers. They are very happy to note that it is not only very nice to visit and that there are so many sites to see – it’s also very peaceful,” Malaya said.

PH’s 10 largest tourist market

During the reception, the Asia’s Most Tourist-Friendly Country award was bestowed by the Top 10 of Asia magazine to the Philippines. It was presented to Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Rafael Seguis and Tourism Assistant Secretary Benito Bengzon by Tan Sri Othman Merican and Ambassador Dato Mohd Zamri bin Mohd Kassim on behalf of RHA Media Sdn Bhd Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Dato R. Rajendran.

Top 10 of Asia is an English language magazine in Malaysia which showcases Asia’s excellence in all its diversity, and has a reach of about 100,000 readers each month, both online and in print.

In his remarks during the dinner, Seguis expressed the country’s deep appreciation for the confidence that the tour participants have shown by coming to the Philippines at this time, despite recent calamities. 

“Please know that your visit will help spur much-needed economic recovery in the affected areas. We can also show the world that the Filipino spirit is indomitable and unbreakable,” the undersecretary said. 

Despite recent insurgencies in the southern part of the Philippines and conflict between members of the Sulu Sultanate and Malaysian forces in Sabah, the Philippines and Malaysia still share harmonious bilateral ties with tourism and economic exchanges.

In 2012, 114,513 Malaysians visited the Philippines, an increase of 24.81% from 2011, making Malaysia its 10^th largest tourist market.  

Meanwhile, Tourism Malaysia reported that 508,744 Filipinos visited Malaysia in 2012, representing a 40.5% growth from the previous year, and is the seventh-largest tourist market for Malaysia.

Investments

Ambassador Malaya told reporters that Philippine businesses are also starting to expand by setting up shop in Malaysia. Petron has invested over $1 billion in Malaysia and already has over 500 gas stations there. PLDT and Yellow Cab have also followed suit.

Malaysia’s Resorts World, Maybank, Berjaya Hotels, Air Asia, and Tune Hotels are now operating in the Philippines as well, bringing in profit for both countries and jobs for the locals.

“I think this economic relationship is still underserved. There is still a lot of potential and I think it’s high time we get our two people closer,” Ambassador Malaya said.

This special tour of the Philippines – led by the highest-ranking official overseas – was conceptualized by Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario when he was Ambassador to the United States, about 8 years ago. it has been an ongoing activity for Philippine envoys in the US and Canada.

This is the first ambassador’s tour for a country in Southeast Asia. Ambassador Malaya said the response has been nothing short of overwhelming.

“We got a lot of requests. At first, we only made reservations for 100 seats in the plane and we ended up having 112. We even had to turn down around 30 more requests.” – Rappler.com