Japan Confers Imperial Award On Former PM Cesar Virata

Photo from The Japan Information and Culture Center (JICC)

Japan Confers Imperial Award On Former PM Cesar Virata

December 15, 2016by Philip Sanvictores in PJS tagged Cesar Enrique Aguinaldo Virata, Imperial Decoration of the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun, PM Virata

The Government of Japan conferred on former Philippine Prime Minister Cesar Enrique Aguinaldo Virata the Imperial Decoration of the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun at fitting ceremonies held on November 24, 2016 at the official residence of Japan’s Ambassador to the Philippines, H.E. Kazuhide Ishikawa. The Award was given in recognition of PM Virata’s contributions in promoting friendly relations and strengthening economic cooperation between Japan and the Philippines.

As the Philippine Finance Secretary, Mr. Virata helped ratify the Philippines-Japan Treaty of Amity, Commerce and Navigation, the landmark agreement that normalized postwar trade relations between the two countries in 1960 although it only took effect in 1973. PM Virata also had an active role in channeling Japanese official development assistance (ODA) into the Philippines.

After a distinguished government career, he encouraged Japanese direct investments to the Philippines and extended consultancy services for Japanese companies and undertook policy studies for government institutions alike as lead consultant of C. Virata & Associates.

The award also recognized PM Virata’s guidance in Japan’s policy implementations through his 10-year chairmanship of the Advisory Committee of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Philippines Office. Finally, the Japanese Government expressed hope that PM Virata would continue to have an active role in strengthening ties between Japan and the Philippines.

Life, Career, and Government Service

PM Virata served as Secretary of Finance of the Philippines from 1970 to 1986 and as Prime Minister from 1981 to 1986. He is the eponym of the University of the Philippines Cesar Virata School of Business.

PM Virata was the 23rd recipient of the Philippines Japan Society Medal of Merit in 2001.

Order of the Rising Sun

The Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun was established by Emperor Meiji in 1875. It is awarded to those who have distinguished achievements in international relations, promotion of Japanese culture, notable advancements in their field, development in welfare, or preservation of the environment.

Resources:
Photo from The Japan Information and Culture Center (JICC)
Speech of former Philippine Prime Minister Cesar Enrique Aguinaldo Virata

An Imperial Encounter

November 9, 2016by Philip Sanvictores in PJS tagged Emperor Akihito, Empress Michiko

Amb. Manuel Lopez Receives Medal of Merit at 38th Phil-Japan Friendship Dinner

September 28, 2016by Philip Sanvictores in PJS tagged Manuel Lopez, Medal of Merit

Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Philippines to Japan, Manuel Moreno Lopez, received the Medal of Merit from the Philippines-Japan Society (PJS) during a 38th Philippines-Japan Friendship Dinner and Awards Night held at the New World Hotel, Makati last July 29, 2016. As the highest award the Society can confer, the Medal of Merit recognized Ambassador Lopez’ outstanding achievements in the promotion of Philippines-Japan relations citing his major accomplishments as Philippine Ambassador to Japan.

PJS President, Francis C. Laurel, and Vice-President, Gerard B. Sanvictores, presented the award to Ambassador Lopez after the reading of the Citation by Atty. Jose Vicente Jimenez, PJS Corporate Secretary.

In his acceptance speech, Ambassador Lopez expressed his deepest gratitude and respect to PJS and its Japanese counterpart, The Philippine Society of Japan (Hiripin Kyokai) for the work that these organizations have been doing in promoting deeper understanding and genuine friendship between the two countries.

“With great honor and deep appreciation, I humbly accept this Medal of Merit from the Philippines-Japan Society. This recognition of my work as the Philippine Ambassador to Japan is very special to me, coming from an organization whose ideals, beliefs, and goals are totally congruent with mine,” said the Ambassador.

He also thanked the people who have worked with him and supported him during his 5-year posting and shared the award to the estimated 220,000 Filipinos residing in Japan. “Our Kababayans in Japan are our real ambassadors of our country. This realization defined my work the past 5 1/2 years as Ambassador and made me work even harder for them.”

The annual affair was graced by equally distinguished guests including the Ambassador of Japan to the Philippines, Kazuhide Ishikawa, and Ambassador Makoto Katsura, President of The Philippine Society of Japan, who himself was last year’s recipient of the PJS Medal of Merit.

Working Towards Strategic Partnership

Named ambassador to Japan in 2010 by President Benigno S. Aquino III, Ambassador Lopez worked towards elevating the two countries’ relations to the level of a strong strategic partnership for which he was conferred the Order of the Sikatuna.

One of Ambassador Lopez’ major accomplishments was his management of a close working relationship with Japan towards the peaceful resolution of the West Philippine Sea issue. He also secured Japanese support, assistance, and expertise in addressing the Philippines’ vital infrastructure needs, including the Mega Manila Transport Roadmap.

Moreover, Ambassador Lopez sustained the expansion of trade with Japan, oversaw the acceleration of direct investments of Japanese companies in the Philippines, and he shepherded the intake of Japan’s record-high Official Development Assistance to the Philippines.

Barely two months from assuming his post, the Great East Japan Earthquake struck on March 11, 2011. Very new to the job, Ambassador Lopez heroically marshalled the Philippine Embassy staff in locating, assisting and safely evacuating Filipinos affected by the disaster, not only in the Tohoku region but the entire country as well. It was a dramatic start of his fledgling diplomatic career – steeped with unprecedented challenges – which fortuitously turned into a blessing as it served to weld the strong and solid relationship of his Philippine Embassy team that would serve the large Filipino community in Japan for the next five years.

Ambassador Lopez’ tour of duty was highlighted by not just a few high-level visits between the Philippines and Japan, including the State Visit to the Philippines of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in 2013, the State Visit to Japan of President Benigno S. Aquino III in 2015, and more recently, the historic visit to the Philippines of their Majesties, the Emperor and Empress of Japan last January 2016 – wherein he played significant central roles that resulted in major diplomatic milestones.

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References:

PJS Citation for Amb. Lopez, Medal of Merit
Acceptance Speech of Amb. Lopez
Program, 38th Phil-Japan Friendship Dinner and Awards Night
38th Phil-Japan Friendship Dinner and Awards Night Photo Album

Japanese Emperor and Empress to visit Philippines from Jan 26, 2016

January 12, 2016by Philip Sanvictores in Featured, PJS

Japanese Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko will make a five-day trip to the Philippines from Jan 26 on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the normalization of bilateral ties between Japan and the Philippines.

It will be the first official visit by a Japanese emperor to the Southeast Asian country, where around 1.1 million Filipinos and some 518,000 Japanese soldiers and civilians perished during World War II.

The emperor and empress last visited the Philippines in 1962 when they were crown prince and princess. Their return after more than half a century comes on the invitation of President Benigno Aquino, extended during his state visit to Japan last June.

The couple’s trip to the Philippines is to be part of a tour where they will pay respects to war dead and pray for peace. The emperor’s father, Emperor Hirohito, posthumously known as Emperor Showa, was commander in chief of the Japanese military before and during the war and Japanese soldiers at the time fought and died in his name.

While the emperor and empress have traveled to war-affected China and other Southeast Asian countries since they ascended to the throne in 1989, the Philippines has been one of a few war-linked nations not visited by the imperial couple.

Besides domestic locations such as Hiroshima, Nagasaki and Okinawa, which were devastated during the war, the couple visited Saipan, one of the Northern Mariana Islands, in 2005 and Palau last year in commemoration of the 60th and 70th anniversaries of the end of the war in 1945.

Reflecting the imperial couple’s strong desire to mourn war dead, the two are scheduled to visit a monument to Japanese soldiers set up in 1973 by the Japanese government in Caliraya, southeast of Manila, and a cemetery for Filipino victims in the capital where they will lay flowers in respect.

During the war, the Philippines, then a U.S. colony, was occupied by Japan in 1942, and then became a major battlefield when fighting between Japan and the United States occurred in 1944.

In the capital city of Manila alone, about 100,000 citizens were killed in about the space of a month after a fierce battle between Japanese and U.S. forces broke out in early February 1945.

According to historians, indiscriminate massacres of local residents by Japanese soldiers also took place in areas where anti-Japan guerilla fighters, who strongly resisted Japanese occupation, were operating.

Despite the strong anti-Japan sentiment that prevailed immediately after the war, the Philippines has developed close economic, political and cultural ties with Japan in the postwar era.

Japan became the Southeast Asian nation’s largest trading partner in 2014 and largest source of official development assistance. More than 200,000 Filipino people now live in Japan, with many working to support their family in the Philippines. Some experts put the gradual easing in anti-Japan sentiment down to these economic links and the benefits gained from remittances from expat Filipinos.

During their stay in Luzon, the Philippines’ main island, the imperial couple are expected to attend a welcoming ceremony and a banquet at the Malacanang Palace to be attended by Aquino. They will also meet with Japanese people living in the country.

Credits: Japan.com

SANVICTORES and MAHIWO receive Gaimusho Commendation (Sept. 16, 2015)

September 16, 2015by Philip Sanvictores in PJS

On behalf of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan外務省, Ambassador Kazuhide Ishikawa conferred the Foreign Minister’s Commendation on two Filipinos closely associated with the Philippines-Japan Society in simple yet appropriate conferment ceremonies held on September 16, 2015 at the Ambassador’s residence in Makati.

The Commendations were presented to Mr. Gerard B. Sanvictores, Vice-President of the Philippines-Japan Society, concurrently co-Chairman of the Philippines-Japan Economic Cooperation Committee (PHILJEC); and to the late Dr. Silvano Dong-E Mahiwo of the Asian Center, University of the Philippines Diliman, and a stalwart of the Philippine Federation of Japan Alumni (PHILFEJA).

Mr. Sanvictores was cited for his long and outstanding service in promoting Philippines-Japan relations, notably as Vice-President of the Philippines-Japan Society and, more recently, as co-Chairman of PHILJEC. As PHILJEC Secretary-General for many years, he spearheaded preparations for the annual joint meetings of the Economic Cooperation Committees of the Philippines and Japan. The 2015 PHILJEC Joint Meeting was held in Tokyo in April 2015 which was followed by a highly successful Philippine investment seminar. PHILJEC also assists in state and working visits to Japan of Philippine Presidents, the latest of which was the State Visit of President Benigno S. Aquino III in June 2015.

Mr. Sanvictores was a Partner of SGV & Company (Ernst & Young) for 36 years where he had assisted many Japanese investors set up operations in the Philippines. He was also a ranking member of the Philippine Institute of Certified Public Accountants (PICPA) and is currently a Member of the Board of Accountancy by way of a Presidential appointment.

Dr. Mahiwo, on the other hand, was a regular fixture of Japan alumni activities, serving for many years as Secretary-General of the Philippine Federation of Japan Alumni (PHILFEJA) and working closely with counterpart officials of the ASEAN Council of Japan Alumni (ASCOJA) and their member Japan alumni associations in ASEAN. Dr. Mahiwo earned his masters and doctorate degrees from Tokyo University in 1991 and has served at the University of the Philippines as a Full Professor. He was also a consultant of the Embassy of Japan in Manila on various matters and assisted in the selection of Japan Government scholars under various programs. As a Professor on International Relations of the Asian Center in UP Diliman, Dr. Mahiwo published numerous research papers and studies on Philippines-Japan, intra-ASEAN and ASEAN-Japan relations and was thus recognized as one of the country’s eminent Japanolgists. He died in July 2015 and this award was presented posthumously to his widow, Atty. Teresa Mahiwo.

: Ambassador Kazuhide Ishikawa of Japan welcoming the awardees during the conferment rites for the presentation of the Foreign Minister’s Commendation held 16 September 2015 at the residence of the Japanese Ambassador in Forbes Park, Makati

: Mr. Gerard Sanvictores (R) receiving the Certificate of Commendation from Ambassador Kazuhide Ishikawa (L)

: Atty. Teresa Mahiwo, widow of Dr. Sylvano Dong-E Mahiwo, received the Commendation Certificate from Ambassador Ishikawa which was posthumously conferred.

: The family and friends of Dr. Mahowo who attended the conferment ceremony pose with Ambassador Ishikawa. To the left of Atty. Tet Mahiwo is their only son, Asa Mahiwo who is now a freshman at the University of the Philippines.

: Family and associates of Mr. Gerry Sanvictores (L-R, front row): Mrs. Marilen Laurel-Loinaz, Mr. Philip Sanvictores, Mrs. Patricia Maribel Sanvictores, Ms. Anna Dominique Sanvictores, Amb. Ishikawa, the Awardee, Mrs. Bea Sanvictores, Mdme. Ishikawa, Ambassador Benjamin F. Sanvictores, Mrs. Gen Soledad-Sanvictores, Mr. Gerard Anthony A. Sanvictores II, Ms. Christine Joyce A. Sanvictores. (L-R, back row): Mr. Itos Cruz, Mrs. gene Ferma, Atty. Eusebio Tan, Mr. Roberto Castillo, Mr. Eddie Jose, Mr. Feliciano Torres, Mr. Francis Laurel, Atty. Aniceto Saludo (partly hidden) and Prime Minister Cesar EA Virata.

: The Sanvictores Family with Ambassador and Mrs. Kazuhide Ishikawa, from L-R: Mr. Philip B. Sanvictores, Mrs. Patricia Maribel C. Sanvictores, Ms. Anna Dominique A. Sanvictores, Mrs. Ishikawa, Ambassador Kazuhide Ishikawa, Mrs. Josefina B. Sanvictores, Ambassador Benjamin F. Sanvictores, Mr. Gerard B. Sanvictores (awardee), Mrs. Bea A. Sanvictores, Ms. Christine Joyce A. Sanvictores, Mrs. Gen S. Sanvictores and Mr. Gerard Anthony A. Sanvictores II.

Families and associates of the awardees were present during the conferment ceremonies, which was also attended by ranking officials of the Embassy of Japan, the Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry in the Philippines and the Japanese Association Manila.

平成27年度外務大臣表彰 : http://www.mofa.go.jp/mofaj/press/release/press3_000115.html;

2015 Foreign Minister’s Commendation: http://www.mofa.go.jp/press/release/press3e_000039.html

Mr. Gerard Sanvictores Acceptance Speech at the Conferment of the Foreign Ministries’ Commendation: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BweKoSxnhLdhdEN6YUtSSTEzSGc/view?usp=sharing

Atty. Teresa Mahiwo’s Acceptance Speech at the Conferment of the Foreign Ministries’ Commendation upon the late Dr. Sylvano Dong-E Mahiwo: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BweKoSxnhLdhTnljNHYzNkRqeTQ/view?usp=sharing

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