philippines

The Santa Clarita Sister Cities Program is a proud member of Sister Cities International (SCI), a nonprofit citizen diplomacy network creating and strengthening partnerships between U.S. and international communities in an effort to increase global cooperation at the municipal level, to promote cultural understanding and to stimulate economic development. Currently, the City of Santa Clarita has international Sister Cities in Tena, Ecuador and Sariaya, Philippines.

An official from Manila’s Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said the performances of the Philippines’ premier ballet company, Ballet Philippines (BP), in the UAE and three other countries in the Middle East, were only a prelude to a series of cultural productions from the Southeast Asian nation to the region.

Bringing this widely toured show to select countries in the Middle East presents a tapestry of culture and friendship, from which both nations can find commonalities and understanding through dance, according to the embassy.

The 36-member team, which included members of the Phil-Chinese community, paid a courtesy call on Philippine Ambassador to China Erlinda Basillo, who referred to the dual meet as “ping pong diplomacy”, which is what both sides need in the face of tensions gripping the Philippines and China.

Formal diplomacy and tiptoeing around protocols are not going to help the Philippines thwart a bristling giant encroaching on its waters and islands, according to former senator and veteran diplomat Leticia Ramos-Shahani. Shahani, who is ailing, delivered a fiery speech at the launch of P1NAS, a new alliance to defend Philippine sovereignty and territorial integrity, and strengthen efforts to forge an independent foreign policy.“We need a mass movement,” she said. “Citizen diplomacy is needed to thwart the power play in the West Philippine Sea.”

At age 21, Cris Comerford dropped out of college in the Philippines to move to the United States with her family. A decade later, she was hired by then-White House Executive Chef Walter Scheib III, and a decade after that, she herself was appointed executive chef by first lady Laura Bush.

The U.S. military and Philippines armed forces kicked off their biggest joint exercises in 15 years on Monday, at a time of distress in Manila over China’s island-building program in the South China Sea.

“China is aware it has to engage in a battle of public opinion and shape the narrative in its favor given the weak legal case it is standing on,” Del Rosario said, adding that the Philippines chose to pursue international arbitration “to preserve a valued friendship” with China.

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