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| Philippines-India relations |
During my brief visit to New Delhi in late March, I was delighted to learn of two significant events which augur well for the strengthening of bilateral relations. Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario, despite his hectic schedule, travelled to India for an inaugural Joint Commission on Bilateral Cooperation (JBIC). His 24-hour visit was a clear manifestation of his strong desire to enhance relations.
One week after the del Rosario visit, Philippine Airlines (PAL) inaugurated flights to Delhi on a regular basis. Judging from the number of Indians applying for Philippine visas (as much as 200 per day) as well as India’s visa-on-arrival facility for Filipinos, the number of passengers is expected to increase considerably by next year. At the moment, there are less than 40,000 visitors. I understand they can easily double that next year. PAL management should be commended for their business foresight. Perhaps another airline should also look at Mumbai, India’s business capital as another destination because the bulk of visitors come from that region. Philippine embassy staff in Delhi led by Ambassador Ronald Allarey was able to secure landing authorization despite the last minute request of PAL. I hope that PAL management and staff appreciate the efforts of the Delhi DFA personnel.
As the readership knows, I have been a strong proponent of Philippines-India relations. Now, I look forward to India reciprocating by demonstrating similar sentiments in Manila.
Deranged move in sports
You would think that given our dismal record in sports, our government officials would strive to help those sports in which we have excelled and have found success.But horror of horrors, there are actually some government agencies that spend their time to thwart and bleed dry our more successful sports programs.
A case in point is what the Games and Amusement Board (GAB) is doing to billiards in the country.
Yesterday, on the eve of the opening of the Philippine Open Pool Championships at the SM Megamall, GAB tried to stop the competition from taking place. With over 200 players from 31 countries already set to go, GAB issued a cease-and-desist order to everyone involved in the event – from the organizer, to the venue management, to the TV broadcast network, even to the referees and utility people in the tournament.
In support of its action, GAB invokes presidential decree PD871, issued in 1974 during martial law. Not content to just police the PBA, horseracing and bingo games, GAB wants to expand its turf to include sports – all for the sake of lining its pockets.
Remarkably, according to the Billiards and Snooker Congress of the Philippines, the Marcos decree does not even contain the word “sport” throughout its text. Marcos had no intent to make the decree cover sports. But GAB under the new chairman wants to go farther than FM. He wants to include every sport that can remotely be described as a game or amusement.
Yesterday, the designs of GAB on billiards became even more alarming. Word went out that GAB plans to send its agents to the tournament to demand from all the competing players – foreign and Filipino – to secure a GAB license as a condition for playing in the tournament. They will also require all the referees, scorers, timekeepers, gofers, and assemblers of the billiard tables to get a GAB license. This is as counterproductive as jailing the GSIS board members.
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