The exhibit, Entre España y Filipinas: José Rizal, Escritor (Between Spain and the Philippines: Jose Rizal, Writer), was organized within the framework of the 150th birth anniversary of the hero, who was born on June 19, 1861 in the town of Calamba, Laguna, south of Manila. The works will be viewed until February 12, 2012, according to an announcement from the embassy of Spain in Manila.

The Directorate of Cultural and Scientific Relations of Spain’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation and the National Library of Spain spearheaded the event.

Organizers said the exhibit “aims to deepen in his work as a writer of Spanish letters, considering him as a Galdós in the tropics and contextualizing him in the intellectual environment of the enlightened Philippines of the nineteenth century.”

The exhibition shows various personal items which aim to show Spanish visitors the world and the society that surrounded Jose Rizal and inspired his works. The Philippines was a Spanish colony in those times.

Some items in the exhibit were loaned from the Philippines through efforts of the embassy of Spain here. These include two original letters addressed to Rizal’s best friend, Ferdinand Blumentritt, and his family (written between 1886 and 1887), lent by the National Library of the Philippines. Organizers said these letters have never been shown outside the Philippines.

Also displayed are two epaulettes worn by General Emilio Aguinaldo provided by the Philippine National Historical Commission and an edition of “La Solidaridad” of May 15, 1989 which published Rizal’s article “La verdad para todos” (The truth for all) provided by the historian and acknowledged Rizal expert, Dr. Ambeth R. Ocampo.

The embassy describes Rizal as “one of the great heroes of the Philippines and one of the most charismatic figures in its history; social and political leader, he was the promoter of the modernization of his country and shaped the Filipino identity and nationhood.”

With a degree of Bachelor of Medicine and Philosophy and Letters, “he practised ophthalmology. He was also a history and grammar researcher. A tireless traveller and a polyglot, he spoke more than 10 languages and was interested in their origin and development,” the embassy continued.

Noli me Tangere and El Filibusterismo are required reading in Philippine schools. “Excellent poet, author of numerous essays and newspaper articles, he was the editor of several newspapers and travel books as well as correspondent of a large collection of letters. However, his political and social importance has overshadowed the relevance of his literary work.”

Rizal’s famous last poem, “Mi Ultimo Adios (My Last Farewell) was written while in exile in the Mindanao city of Dapitan (now part of Zamboanga del Norte). The “Noli” has more than 20 international translations.

He was shot to death by a mix firing squad of Spanish and Filipinos, accused of insurrection, on December 30, 1896.

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The International School of Sustainable Tourism (ISST), which is founded by former tourism Secretary Mina Gabor, now occupies the former Subic Bay Arts Center (SuBAC), a venue for cultural presentations, conferences and other programs.

Gabor said the ISST would offer various tourism courses to help boost the tourism industry in Subic and other parts of the Asia-Pacific.

In the next five days, she added, the school will start running courses like ecology lodge planning and eco-design with top quality lecturers and resource speakers from tourism establishments and related industries in the region.

Guests during the ISST recent opening rites included former President Fidel V. Ramos, Tourism Secretary Alberto Lim, Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz, Tourism Region III director Ronaldo Tiutico, Zambales Gov. Hermogenes Ebdane Jr. and Olongapo City first lady Anne Gordon.

They were welcomed by Gabor, Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) chairman Feliciano Salonga and SBMA administrator Armand Arreza.

In his message, Ramos stressed that sustainable tourism is the key to ensuring an adequate supply of quality tourism products and services while avoiding the negative impact of the influx of visitors to the natural environment and cultural assets.

For his part, Arreza noted that the ISST now occupies the former Lowry Hall, a theater during the U.S. Navy days in Subic, that was later turned into an arts center under the SBMA.

“The seats you are sitting on are probably Korean War vintage seats, so they do have some historical value,” he said.

He also said the ISST is “a labor of love that shows a lot of potentials.”

With five million domestic tourists that visited Subic last year, he added, tourism is now a key growth engine in the free port zone.

The local tourism industry now ranks second in terms of investments here, with total commitments of $ 1.48 billion from 2005 to 2010 alone.

It now employs close to 7,500 workers in the Subic Bay Freeport.

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Dumaguete City — The country’s potential as a premier alternative educational destination for students from foreign countries is already felt in the small yet vibrant academic environment in Dumaguete City.

The Commission on Higher Education (CHED) has recently announced its initiative to position the Philippines as a premier alternative educational destination where neighboring countries could send their overflow student populations.

CHED Chair Lito Puno has come up with what is termed as “education tourism” strategy, a program that will position the country as an alternative educational destination to China or Russia.

Dumaguete City is a prime example of how Philippine education is a promising factor in drawing in international students.

Touted as a university town, Dumaguete’s bustling academic environment has attracted several foreign students to pursue their education in the city, especially at Silliman University, the oldest American university in the country, which has lured a growing number of foreign students to study here.

SU currently has 251 foreign students from 19 countries enrolled in various courses for school year 2007 to 2008.

Of the total, 199 are enrolled in the college level and 52 in the School of Basic Education comprised of early childhood, elementary and high school levels.

Koreans top the number of foreign students on campus with 105, followed by Iranians, 49 and Americans, 44.

Other nationalities on campus include Indonesians, Germans, Tanzanians, Canadians, Japanese, and British, to name a few.

According to Mark Raygan E. Garcia, director of the SU Office of Information and Publication, majority of the Korean students are enrolled in business and language courses while Iranians are mostly taking up engineering and information technology studies.

Most of the American students are studying in the Nursing and Allied Health Sciences department.

The university’s Masters in Business Administration course have likewise attracted foreign graduate students.

Data from SU shows a steady rise in the university’s enrollment of international students. “The trend has been increasing. For example, at the college level, there were 123 foreign students enrolled in the 2002 to 2003 school year. And five years after, we now have 199 foreign students,” said Garcia.

Garcia attributes the trend to the university’s affordable yet high quality education. “The cost of education here is lower compared to the countries where our international students come from. Plus, with the university’s quality education, it is an investment for these students who after four years, get to earn a degree that make them competitive enough to land lucrative jobs abroad,” he explained.

The university likewise offers Filipino classes for foreign students in an effort to offer a holistic development for them, and help them break through the barriers of language and culture differences. “These classes are specially designed to cater to the needs of our international students, so they can learn the local language and culture as well,” added Garcia.

Garcia said the presence of foreign students in the university have benefited the city’s tourism industry. “It is benefiting not only the academic institution but the city as well as these foreign students have also other needs that only the larger community of Dumaguete can provide,” he said.

He added that for now, SU relies on tie-ups with foreign universities such as those under the student exchange programs, its consortia with universities in Asia and the United States, and by “word of mouth” in pulling in foreign students.

CHED’s ‘education tourism’ strategy has already earned the support of Malacañang after Puno discussed the program’s blueprint during a weekly program aired over government channel NBN-4.

Puno said the strategy complements the government’s tourist promotion program.

Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye explained that the country is an attractive alternative destination for Korean students because of three main factors: the short distance between Manila and Seoul, the affordability of Philippine education, and the Filipinos’ fluency in English.

The Philippine government and China’s Ministry of Education have signed recently a memorandum of agreement “allowing Chinese students who could not be accommodated in China’s universities to study in the Philippines.” (PIA)

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