The Republic

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Part of The Republic

Title: The Republic
Issue Date: The Republic No. 19 (28 July 1973)
Year: 1973
Language: English
Rights
extracted text: NO. 19 28 JULY 1973 MANILA Challenge, opportunity for domestic industries Domestic industries today are faced with a challenge. Resides giving them all the incentives and opportunities for growth, government has placed industries high in the list of priorities for development. “In some respects,” observes Gerar do P. Sicat, director general of the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA), “domestic indus try is really the most important component of our economy. The expected expansion and progress of our economy 'at a rate reasonable enough to sustain development would come only from the develop ment of domestic industry. This statement, of course, has to be connected with the fact that domestic industry to be successful, must be related . ?w iruporta t sectoral Mr. Sica* rttad-' this observation during the 20th National Convention of Manufacturers and Producers in Manila recently under the sponsorship of the Philippine Chamber of Indus tries. The general theme was “Indus try and the New Society: An Oppor tunity and a Challenge.” The industrial sector, which covers mining, manufacturing and cons truction, has contributed a substantial share in the overall economic growth last year. To date, despite inauspicious developments during the four-year period FY 1969 to FY 1972, capped by the devastating July-August floods of 1972, domestic industries, parti cularly manufacturing, have perform ed quite satisfactorily. In FY 1972, the industrial sector contributed P7.344 million to the Net Domestic Product, some 25.6 percent of the total. In terms of growth rates, the sector registered an increase of 9.2 percent, an improvement over the FY 1971 growth rate of 6.7 percent. For the four-year period FY 1969-FY 1972, the annual growth rate reached 7.1 percent, way above those posted by the major sectors of the economy. For the manufacturing sector alone, the Seventh Survey of the Manufac turing Outlook conducted by the Private Development Corporation of the Philippines (PDCP) revealed that tlQp majority — 71.4 percent of the participating firms — revealed higher peso sales in 1972 over 1971. About three-eights of the firms posted increases ranging from 5 percent to 19 percent. Almost one-fifth reported increases in sales of 20 percent to 40 percent. In addition to higher sales, the year 1972 saw a higher capacity utilization of manufacturing firms over the Ir,i'"Jiiei>lax.^orne,6? 1 percent of the respondents reported greater utilization for 1972: most firms reported increases within the 5 percent to 19 percent range while a few others disclosed a more than 40 percent increase. Despite these, however, most firms reported a decline in net profit. Last year’s profit figures fell short of 1971 for 48 out of the 84 firms which participated in the survey. The unfavorable outcome was ef fected largely by the series of typhoons and floods during the midyear period of 1972. Of the 84 respondent firms, 71.4 percent suffer ed physical damage to plant, equip ment and property, lowered efficiency in operation and substantial losses in manhours as a result of transportation breakdown. During the July-August floods alone, the average loss was 17,031 manhours per firm. To offset this, the government has offered various incentives to industry and a well-conceived industrial deve lopment plan. Expectations for the coming years are rather bright. Indus trial output is projected to increase at 9.8 percent for FY 1973 and there after to accelerate and maintain an annual average growth rate of 10.3 percent for the period FY 1974-77. Under these projections, the share of industrial output in the expected total Net Domestic Product will increase to 26.8 percent in FY 1973 and 31.1 percent by FY 1977. Cons truction growth will accelerate from a low 3.8 percent in FY 1972 to 41.6 percent in FY 1973. Mining will improve its growth rate from 10.8 percent in FY 1972 to 14.3 percent in FY 1973 and thereon at a rate of 18 percent per yeai up to FY 1977. Manufacturing growth is expected to increase by 5 percent in FY 1973, 9 percent in FY 1974 and 10 percent per year following up to FY 1977. But there are still some problems besetting industry. In his speech before the 20th Convention of Manu facturers and Producers, Mr. Sicat pointed out some of the “structural problems” of domestic ijjdttstries. One major problem is the lack of greater linkages between the various industries of the economy. Sicat points out that in any economy nowadays, there is an increasing interrelation between the different components. The Four-Year Development Plan provides for the growth of linkage industries related to agriculture, mine-x ral resources and engineering talents. In particular, the development of agro-based industries is being pursued. For instance, agroindustrial deve lopment may include cotton for textile manufacturing, wheat for flour milling, feed grains and rice for grain mill products and com and leather industries for shoe-making. Among the most important programs for the agro-based industries are the rationali zation of the sugar industry and the development of the coconut oil industry. The second problem Mr. Sicat points out, is the pronounced domes tic market orientation of Philippine industries. He notes that “three years of development will show that- ttie progress in the expansion and redirec tion of industries is still insignificant in relation to the strengthening of our export trade through manufacturing.” The Four-Year Development Plan seeks to correct this by according export-oriented industries one of the highest priorities. During the past few months, the government has also offered considerable incentives to export-oriented industries. For the Plan period, (FY 1974 to FY 1977) the government will adopt a more integrated approach to developing and intensifying exports, especially of manufactured products. The approach includes picking out specific products, selecting particular export firms and identifying the right long-term buyers in promising international markets. “Another important problem,” Sicat notes, “involves the question of employment creation as well as an efficient configuration of domestic Local industries: More incentives industries.” The promotion of medium- and small-scale industries answers the problems. Medium- and small-scale industries contribute to the decentra lization and regional dispersal of industries and aid greatly in the creation of immediate and permanent employment opportunities. The FourYear Development Plan provides for these industries the following activi ties: surveys and studies pinpointing techno-economic possibilities for small-scale industries in specific areas, the preparation of a sub-contracting program both on the national and international level, the creation of a multi-purpose institute of technology for small-scale industries, the enlarge ment of the supply of institutional credit through a reorientation of government and commercial bank lending, the formation of specific organizations to look after the interest of small and medium units, the development of economically advan tageous ancillary units and an inten sive campaign for regional develop ment. The basic strategy of the industrial development plan is to answer the “structural problems” that have been besetting domestic industries. The Nation Teaching the barrios to help themselves When the Government Reorganiza tion Plan was implemented middle of last year, it gave birth to a hew office — the Department of Local Govern ment and Community Development (DLGCD). Its role is to help transform the barrios into fully developed and self-reliant communities. The department, says DLGCD Sec retary Jose A. Rono, “provides the management machinery and the leadership through which improve ment of local government administra tion may be achieved so that with local government participation, the people may increasingly avail of self-help techniques and cooperative association in developing local com munities and transforming them into viable instruments of progress.” Its other functions are to help the President exercise supervision over local governments, encourage them to govern and carry out development programs and to assist them in drawing up programs for urban and rural community development and organizing cooperatives. With the creation of the DLGCD, the Presidential Arm on Community Development (PACD) and the Local Government and Civil Affairs Office under Malacanang were abolished and their functions absorbed by the new office. The DLGCD has three bureaus, namely community development, lo cal government and cooperatives deve lopment. The work of the three bureaus are interrelated. Once the local govern ments are trained to manage their affairs effectively and efficiently, they can later undertake and carry out their own programs for community and cooperatives development. The DLGCD has fielded 4,000 experts through its 11 regional offices to attain these objectives. These experts train local government offi cials how to develop the barrios into functional, active and viable govern ment units. They teach them how to prepare development plans and raise the needed funds to implement than. But the most important role of the DLGCD is the creation of coopera tives and the organization ofbarangays or citizens* assemblies. The cooperatives movement assumed greater importance with the imple mentation of the land reform act. Organization of Samahang Nayon or Barrio Associations, the forerunners of cooperatives, is one of the pre conditions for the distribution of land to the tillers. Some 96,000 volunteers are working under the Bureau of Cooperatives Development to help supervise the organizational phase of cooperatives. Another major role of the DLGCD is the organization of the barangays or citizens’ assemblies. A prototype of the barangays was the barrio assem blies formed under the provisions of the old Barrio Charter. The formation of the barangays led to the successful holding of the first national referen dum that saw the ratification of the new Constitution last January and the second referendum by secret ballot yesterday. One problem now being tackled by the DLGCD is the restructuring of local government units. Discussions are being held as to what form these barrio governments would assume. One proposal is for the government to be run by professional administrators or managers. Another pl^n is to retain the present setup and instead work for the upgrading of the skills and adjustment of the attitude of local officials through intensive in-service training. Clerks, collectors, policemen and other employes of the barrio governments will also undergo the same exhaustive training. While the first proposal is drastic, the second seems to be the more acceptable plan. Secretary Rono with staff: A strategy of self-reliance Assisting the DLGCD in the search for a realistic solution is the UP Local Government Center headed by Dr. Raul P. de Guzman who is also the assistant secretary of DLGCD. Al ready, the DLGCD, the UP Center and the Provincial Development Assistance Program (PDAP) are starting to hold orientation seminars for provincial governors, vice governors, treasurers, health officers and assistants. A local government code is also being prepared to comply with the constitutional requirements. The new Constitution authorizes the National Assembly to enact a code defining a “more responsive and accountable local government structure with an effective .system of^ recall* •allocetiag-w- c among the different local government units their powers, responsibilities and resources and providing for the qualifications, election and removal, term, salaries, powers, functions and duties of local officials and other matters relating to the organization and operation of local units . . The new charter also stops the practice of gerrymandering whereby barrios are subdivided for political expediency and empowers local gov ernments to create their own sources of revenue and to levy taxes. So far the Department of Finance has started implementing its plan of distributing internal revenue allotments to local governments. Under this program, the local governments are automatically given their share of funds periodically. The department, for instance, recently released P518,197,723 in internal revenue allotments for local govern ments to be spent for labor-intensive projects like construction of roads, bridges, public markets and school buildings. Ml® other agencies of the government are geared toward implementation of Section 10, Article 11 of the Declara tion of Principles and State Policies in The New Constitution which states: “The State shall guarantee and pro mote the autonomy of local govern ment units, especially the barrio, to ensure their fiillest development as self-reliant communities.” CEBU TOWNFOLK Portrait of a new breed of Filipinos Manoy Janding was once a commachine operator at the General Milling in Lapulapu City. He was earning P48 a week. Deductions for his contributions to the Social Security System, transportation expenses bet ween work and home in a govern ment-donated piece of land, plus his snacks and lunch allowances, bit deeply into his weekly wage. Manoy would always end up with a measly P20, barely enough to feed nine children, much less send one to high school and three to the grades. He would go home to Pasil, a slum district in Cebu City — with its narrow streets and dark alleys littered with lounger, rape, petty thievery, murder. Page 2 Manoy Janding: New life He would go home to a paradise — for smugglers, hoodlums and delinquents. Only too often, in Pasil, lawbreakers did not surrender. Enforcers almost always did. Martial law has since brought changes to Manoy*s Pasil. The changes haye meant much to a people long in disquiet. Unemployment has not com pletely disappeared but has reached a new low with the industries, small and large, beginning to hum with workers and machines. Illiteracy did not die away. Peace and order have not reached a perfect rating. But each has improved enough to allow children some degree of a future and commu ters some amount of ease when passing through alleyways. Manoy Janding still had his financial worries. But at this point in Pasil’s history, the people had begun to live new lives, to search and discover a native wealth: fish in Pasil waters. Manoy gave up his job in the com-machine, woke in the early dawn and worked until 10 in the morning, sliced fish, tended a stall in the market and earned at least P8 on ordinary days and Pl 5 to P18 on others. For his customers, he had the town and city folk who paid 30 to 50 centavos for each sliced fish and restaurant owners who paid Pl to P2. His wife, Yaya, rented a small “turo-turo” (eatery) and cooked, with wood-lighted fire on clay-fashioned stove, for customers who kept coming back. Their children washed dishes and attended to customers. He spld fish intestines. They raised pigs in a corral underneath the house. With the income, Manoy’s daughter will likely finish high school and go to college. His sons are given decent food and clothes and may likely go to school, too. With a little more money, Manoy may rent a better stall for a better eatery for Yaya. Today, in Pasil, one goes to the marketplace and meets fishermen, restaurateurs, buyers and sellers, housewives and plain fish aficionados out to get a dose of morning “sinugba” (broiled fish), “tinola” and “kinilaw.” Over curses and haggles, one hears the thud of knives striking on fish-flesh and wood. All the sounds and movements seem to say: Manoy and Pasil have found a new lease. 28 July 1973 THE REPUBLIC The Nation ELECTRIFICATION Light for the rural areas “Let there be light" may wll be the cry of some 30 million Filipinos who have never been served by the magic of electricity. At present, only 10.8 million or 28.5 percent of the country’s 40 million population are served, by electricity. It used to be only 22.5 percent in 1969 when the National Electrification Administration was organized. Of these, 3.5 million or roughly 35 percent reside in the Greater Manila area and 2.7 million live in other urban communities. This means only about 4.6 million living in the rural areas have electric services or 13 out of every 15 families of the 70 percent of the population who reside in the barrios do not epjoy these services. While the figures seem to be insurmountable, the situation is not that gloomy. Light is beginning to emerge from the tunnel. The NEA, which replaced the defunct Electrifi cation Administration (EA), is now making major strides toward emanci pating the rural folk from age-old darkness. Its three-year program of establishing 98 electric cooperatives in the barrios amounting to P600 million is about to be met. Recently, 43 municipalities in five provinces-in eastern and central Visayas were provided with light. Installa tion of power plants of thermal and internal combustion types have al ready been completed. The 43 new power plants are located in Culaba, Naval, K a way an, Almoria, Cabucgayan, Biliran, Caibiran, Tolosa, Dulag, La Paz, Julita, Mayorga, Burauen, Tabon-Tabon, Pas trana and »ta Fe, all in Leyte, and Maasin, Malitbog, Macrohon, Padre Burgos and Bonto in Southern Leyte. In Central Visayas, the areas electri fied are Barili, Dumanjug, Ronda, Malboal, Badian, Alegeria and Alcan tara, all in Cebu; Antiqueras, Balihan, Calape, Catigbian, Clarin, Leon, Sagbayan, San Isidro and Tubigan in Bohol; Mabinay, Manjuyod, Sindoy, Ayungan, Tayasan and Jimalalod in Negros Oriental. Other Project feasibility studies — including site selection, preliminary design, plant costs, revenue and expenses — have already been under taken in 17 municipalities of the three Samar provinces. Similar studies are also being undertaken in other parts of the country. During its eight-year existence (1962-69) the EA only put up 108 physical plants with an aggregate capacity of 17,000 kilowatts, mostly of the 30-60 KW types that hardly encouraged the establishment of in dustries. The EA program called for the electrification of at least 40 percent of the country at an estimated cost of P750 for a 20-year period, or at the rate of P36 million a year. But during the entire period of its existence, it got only P36 million for the eight-year period. Even before the advent of the New Society, President Marcos placed the electrification program high on the list of priority projects and emphasis on an area coverage basis. Instead of each barrio or town establishing their own independent power plants, the NEA encouraged the establishment of plants on an area coverage basis. This means an electric cooperative should be set up to service five to 10 munici palities with 100,000 to 200,000 peo ple on a 24-hour basis. After the broad based cooperatives are formed, the government steps in to provide technical assistance and loans. Of the P600 million allotted for the three-year program, $60 million repre sents foreign loans and P240 million as peso components. This excludes the $40 million earmarked by Japanese reparations payments for the NEA. Today, there are 1,012 plants with a combined total power of 2.7 million kilowatts derived from thermal, hydro and internal combustion engine types. About 75.3 percent of this are provided by privately-owned power systems and 24.7 percent by govern ment-owned plants. Despite these increases much re mains to be done to achieve the goal of total electrification of the country by 1989. While 63 chartered cities have their own plants only 750 out of the 1,421 towns in the country have electric service. Of the 15,647 barrios, only 2,790 enjoy its blessings. But the major aim of this all-out government effort is not so much to afford the rural populace with light as to spur their economic development. NEA planners foresee the establish ment of major industries in the rural areas once the electrification program goes into high gear. .Among the other benefits to be derived are the cheap operation of irrigation systems and processing of farm products, expan sion of electrical, electronics and appliances market, effective dissemi nation of information and faster promotion of educational growth. The long-range effects of all these chain reactions will be the rise of the middle class and, consequently, the narrowing of the gap between the rich and the poor. With tears that blurred the air-con ditioned limousine, the ermine coat, the appliances and the $10,000 in cash that go with the title, Maria Margarita Moran of tJte Philippines reigned over 61 international beauties to become the 1973 Miss Universe. Maria Margarita or “Margie.” could only say, “I feel like crying,” and after crying “I feel wonderful. They have _ maae me the most beautiful. But I feel everyone is beautiful . . Let* just say I was lucky.” Meanwhile, 1966 Miss Universe Margaretta Arvidson of Swede was saying, “I think Miss Philippines is a beautiful Miss Universe. She has got poise and personality.” Ginger Rogers, Horst Bucholz and Pierre Aumont, looking for beauty, poise and intelli gence, saw these in Margie. A Greek jeweller, losing himself to the new world beauty, gifted her with a turquoise white and gold necklace and a number of small diamonds. Margie, still half-dazed, could not give any of the “immediate plans” reporters were asking for. She said, “I have to go to bed with the thought and I’ll dream about it. Now the only thing I know is that I will travel.” Back home, Mr. Francis Moran, 44, vice president of Bancom Philippines and, last July 22, father to Miss Universe, was entertaining newsmen with a cool “I knew she’d make it.” In another part of the Moran house in Mandaluyong, daughter Lulette was on the. phone telling newsmen her father “never gave his permission" in the first place. Rushing to doorbells that buzzed the whole day after the wire services announced “Maria Mo ran’s victory,” the other Moran children — Franchot, Mikey, Eggy, Sebastian, Martin and Paul — took turns with the thank-yous to wellwishers, known and anonymous. Mrs. Rosario Roxas-Moran, who had al ways called eldest child Margie “sweetheart,” was keeping kitchen stoves hot and rooms warm for the MISS UNIVERSE The second time around for RP Miss Moran: ‘Most attractive asset, greatest attraction’ relatives and friends who thought a ring was not enough. “Sweetheart,” the family tells, is a normal girl of 19, a Business Adminis tration student at Maryknoll College, a pelota buff, a jazz fanatic, a siopao and siomai addict and all Chinese dishes besides. Well-tempered, gutsy, mild-mannered and responsible, Margie hates “hypocrites” in any language — whether in her fluent Spanish, English and Tagalog or in her smattering of French. Of her $10,000 prize money, Margie said, and must have given father Francis a few soft moments, “T like counting money. My father is a banker. I would buy a house with a garden and live by myself.” Although the next words from his daughter must have given Mr. Moran a few uncomfortable moments of com petition, “I will invest it. I also want to become a banker, maybe the Onassis of the Philippines.” In an interview in Athens, Greece, the new Miss Universe was saying, “I believe women are equal to men everywhere in the world and the Philippines is not an exception. As a matter of fact, we in the Philippines have always given women a special place of importance.” Margarita’s answers were doing the Philippines proud. Secretary Jose Aspiras of the Department of Tourism cabled her in Athens, “(Your) victory confirms yet again our feeling that the people are the Philippines’ most attractive assets and greatest attrac tion. (You have) helped place the Philippines on the map far more indelibly than our breathtaking sunset and spectacular scenery can hope to and faster than our attractive invest ment climate can ever do. The Secretary must have been thinking of Margie and predecessors: Gloria Diaz, 1969 Miss Universe; Gemma Cruz-Araneta, 1964 Miss International; Aurora Pijuan-Manotoc, 1970 Miss International; Maria Rita “Baby” Santiago, 1968 Queen of the Pacific; Nelia $ancho, 1971 Queen of the Pacific. One international news agency was auditing, for every 35.6 square miles (57.06 square kilometers) and 528,Q00 inhabitants in the Philip pines, there was one international beauty queen. It recalled: Armi Kuesela of Finland, 1953 and the first Miss Universe who married Filipino businessman Virgilio Hilario; Stella Marquez of Columbia, 1962 Miss International who married busi nessman Jorge Araneta; and Angela Filmer of Malaysia, 1965 Miss Asia who married businessman Jose Fausti no. But for Margarita Moran, the highest tribute was a message from the President of the Philippines and the First Lady: “You bring honor to your country and we are genuinely proud of you. Our warmest congratula tions.” Margie herself had said, “I am happy. This is a great moment for my country and myself.” THE REPUBLIC 28 July 1973 Page 3 Education YOUTH TRADE Putting theories into actual practice Since the second week of July, 22-year-old Romeo Balanon, a dark and lean commerce senior of the Far Eastern University (FEU) has been religiously going to the Quezon City offices of the Bureau of Commerce. Five days a week, from 8 a.m. to lunchtime, he assists the bureau personnel in ordinary office chores or in research data gathering. Sometimes he sits in on lectures and group discus sions with fellow students and lec turers, also employes of the bureau. Occasionally, he attends to visiting businessmen and commercial agents. Going to the bureau, Balanon spends his own allowance for bus fare, snacks and, many times, for lunch. Commerce students at work: Ticket to high-paying jobs Neither the bureau nor the FEU underwrites his expenses. The reward may be a job waiting for him after graduation. ‘‘Getting a job then will not be difficult,” Balanon explains. “In the past, a fresh graduate was usually given the run-around by business firms. But now, a fresh graduate armed with a certificate of work experience from the Bureau of Com merce will be entertained.” A classmate of his, Nelia Origen who is herself an economics major, adds: “What we are doing now is one way of improving the economic well-being of the Filipinos. Our services may be modest but definitely we are being considered as partners of the government, the schools and the business world in pushing forward trade, tourism and price control in the country.” Both Balanon and Origen are among some 1,600 commerce stu dents now participating in the Youth Trade Promotion and Price Stabili zation Program (YTPPSP),. a joint venture of the Bureau of Commerce and all local colleges and universities offering courses in commerce, busi ness administration, economics and the like. Endorsed by Secretary of Edu cation and Culture Juan Manuel to supplement the Youth Civic Action Program (YCAP), the YTPPSP was first implemented this year at the FEU Institute of Accounts. Explaining the appeal of YTPPSP to students, Dean Pascasio Banaria of the Institute of Accounts said: “In the YTPPSP, the student of commerce or economics is in a community work that is relevant to what he knows. I believe that if every commerce stu dent in the country participates in the program, he would indeed be doing a great service to the national socio economic development.” .. YTPPSP work experience primarily is the compilation of fresh prices of basic commodities from all parts of the country. These daily price surveys serve as basis for price indices and as a guide for imposition of price controls. Through YTPPSP, the government can pinpoint irregular pricing methods, end the dearth of price statistics and simultaneously curb anomalous registration of fly-by-night retailers. To survey prices from as far north as the Batanes and down south to Jolo, the students employ a code system which they learn . during lectures and workshops at the bureau. Daily price messages are sent to the central office through the communications-electronics network ‘of the Philippine Constabulary. This month, a well-equipped daily price monitoring room will be inaugu rated at the second floor of the bureau. Aimed as an apprenticeship center where student-participants can feel the pulse of prices hour-by-hour, it will also be a businessman’s oasis. In general the YTPPSP’s objectives include orienting the students and the community to “the ideals, goals and activities related to trade promotion and price stabilization in the coun try”; involving them in advancing trade and price control in their respective communities; and making meaningful their classroom theories “through actual application of Know ledge in the solution of trade and price problems.” Senior and junior students who choose YTPPSP instead of YCAP should earn a minimum of 120 hours of participation for graduation re quirement. Their specific activities include orientation and office work, gaining an overview of trade pro motion and price trends in the Philippines, daily decoding of prices and compiling a business and trade directory in local key trade areas. Students, will also promote trade and tourism in seminars for Filipino businessmen, assist in consumer edu cation and disseminate business in formation to retailers. Export poten tials and trade connections will be surveyed in assigned towns and provinces. Upon completion of the 120minimum hours the student receives the certificate of participation from the Bureau of Commerce. Those who complete 200 hours will get Special certificate B while those completing 300 hours Special Certificate A. These special certificates are ex pected to guarantee jobs for YTPPSP participants in the future. Says Commerce Director Epifanio Castil lejos: “Armed with the special cer tificate, one need not worry anymore about his employment. We will try our best to help the students find work as soon as they graduate. And sfiice THe bureau is currently under manned, we will welcome special certificate holders into our ranks provided their other qualifications for vacant jobs are acceptable.” RETAILERS* FUND Drive to reeducate Filipino retailers Lolita Tinampakan, a 23-year-old orphan residing in an apartment on Solis Street, Tondo is a secretarial graduate and former employe of an advertising firm. Recently she sub mitted to the Bureau of Commerce a project proposal that was turned down last March by the Department of Social Work not for lack of merits but for lack of funds. The project? A P2,500 mini-diver sified (sari-sari) store to be set up in Lolita's small apartment. The sari-sari store is intended to serve as “place ment market” for the handicrafts made by the students of the 11 public schools located in the vicinity. It will cater to the thousands of students who bring their baons (lunch boxes) to school every day, to jeepney drivers who usually stop for a cold drink at comer stores and to residents of nearby streets. i In her proposal, Lolita said the store would serve as a “social conscience and model to other small businessmen in the area.” Director Epifanio Castillejos of the Bureau of Commerce, impressed by the independent proposal, paid Lolita a surprise visit to find out more about her project, a gesture which is rarely done by the bureau. In the past, it was the retailer applying for the loan who had to go to the director, not the other way around. After the visit, Mr. Castillejos said: “Given the proper financing a retail project such as her's could succeed and serve as a fine example for retailers in Manila. Willing to coope rate with the government and the student participants of the Youth Trade Promotion and Price Stabiliza tion Program (YTPPSP), and to pay the amortization of a bank loan, if she gets one, Lolita has the making of the successful retailer we want to have.” Lolita may yet be one of the 10 model retailers to be chosen for a new retailer assistance program of the Bureau of Commerce. A similar project is being implemented in Dagupan City. The objectives of the program are to educate the Filipino retailer in retail procedures, interpre tation of the retail trade law and other courses such as bookkeeping and accounting, promotions and edu cating the consumer to patronize the Filipino retailer instead of alien-own ed stores. Other pilot projects are planned for various key cities in the Visayas and Mindanao. Invited to participate in the pro gram are established retailers, busi nessmen, bankers and government commercial experts. This group will select the 10 retailers who will serve as models for the entire community. Then they will be given a maximum character loan of P5.000 by local private banks with the govern ment serving as guarantor. Those chosen retailers will be assisted by students of the YTPPSP program. The students will take care of booking, paying the amortization and the setting up of a pricing system. Private banks are enthusiastically supporting the program. And except for the government guarantee, the retailers will be treated like any other legitimate borrower. “The pri vate bank will make them pay the loan punctually,” Mr. Castillejos said. The government has had a sad experience in its retailer’s loan pro gram last year. From August 1972 to March this year, some Pl.4 million had been loaned out directly to about 368 retailers from all over the country by the bureau. But these virtual doleouts resulted in haphazard handling of the funds and did not achieve the objectives sought. By harnessing the private banks, Mr. Castillejos said, the government “can help actively in curbing these pernicious values of our retailers” and at the same time make them into better retailers. Complementing this assistance pro gram is the reeducation of Filipino retailers through the bureau’s open air lectures to vendors and market stall owners which will start in Manila soon. The program, among others, will explain the meaning of the retail trade law and local rules and regulations affecting.the retailer. Commenting on the significance of the retailer’s reeducation, Director Castillejos said: “We cannot ignore the local Filipino retailer. In the past, the Chinese retailer proved to be a better retailer than he was. The Chinese didn’t violate regulations, he had a good policy of attracting consumers. We want to succeed in our project to improve the Filipino retailer. It is in his value-system that we must start our task of educating him.” Page 4 28 July 1973 THE REPUBLIC The Economy Where the bulls continue to reign The day begihs at the Manila Stock Exchange with a spurt and ends as trade orders thin down. For as orders start bulging, telephone lines get clogged, briefcase-toting traders inch their way through colleagues to execute order for their clients, cars crowd parking lots bumper-to-bumper and stockbrokers swarm the galleries or rush for the telephones to contact their clients. This harried activity is re jected, at the Makat? Stock Exchange. Week after week, the stock tradings in both the Manila and Makati stock exchanges register whooping turn overs. Two weeks ago, both exchanges put up a total turnover of P147 million the third new high since October 1972. Stock trading has remarkably im proved during fiscal year 1972-1973. After almost two years of bearish market activity, the stock exchanges traded a total of 64,317,159.014 shares amounting to P2,303,956,852.15 last year. The Securities and Exchange Commission noted in its report that compared to the previous fiscal year’s record of 17,219,461,045 shares with an aggre gate value of P432,695.930.98, the stock markets registered a total turn over of 47,097,697.969 shares last year or a 247 percent increase in volume and Pl,870,260,921.17 or 432 percent increase in value. The highest point was reached on February 26, 1973 when 2.6 billion shares worth over Pl 00 million were traded in one day. February’s stock trading rampage was accurately traced to the incentives offered by the government and the infusion of capital into the stock exchanges from investors in Singapore and Hongkong. It was likewise gene rated by oil exploration contracts signed between American-based Chevron-Texaco-Jinico and the Phil ippine Petroleum Board and the on-going operation of Triton consor tium in the Sulu-Palawan area which is considered to be the most probable site for an oil strike. The 10 percent dollar devaluation last February also caused the weaken ing of the Hongkong money market where stock returns never went lower than HK$600 million. This was the result of the increase in prices of gold, silver and copper which are found in the Philippines in abundance. Stock trading actually gained momentum on October 1,1972. That > day, the Manila and Makati stock exchanges accounted for 138,919,540 shares valued at P2,183,507.50. “Fan tastic, fantastic! ” Makati’s Irving I. Ackerman exclaimed. “Between 1:30 p.m. and 3 p.m., we were so busy at the boards that I was sweating all over and I could not attend to anything else.” For October, shares in both exchanges totalled 5,769,055,434 worth P87,626,000.09. With price corrections marking the trading, Feb ruary recorded 15,829,332,676 shares valued at P503,325,974.00. These unprecedented surges of stock trading are expected to continue as investment opportunities continue to improve. In the domestic front, infrastructure projects are pushing up the money supply as well as foreign exchange receipts to a record level, resulting in substantial liquidity. Cash availability brought in soft interest rates at the money market, especially for inter-bank call loans. Several Central Bank circulars allowing foreign investors to deposit dollars in domestic banks and dollar holders to buy or sell Philippine shares and the marked improvement in the balance of payments all contributed to this liquidity. But the bullishness in the stock market was directly spurred by several presidential decrees and rules and regu lations issued by the SEC to spur trading and protect the investing public. Among the new SEC rules are: • the disclosure of material facts of corporations whose securities are listed in any stock exchange or registered/licensed under the Securi ties Act; • suspension of trading of a listed Security when its price moves up or down drastically without known cause or reason; • the prompt delivery by stock brokers to their customers of all cash or stock dividends received by them for securities held in trust by such brokers for the account of the customers; • the regulation of trading by a broker or dealer who is a director or officer of the issuer of a listed security which would allow the broker or dealer to trade in behalf of customers of such listed security within 6 months from date of acquisition. Related factors that fuelled heavy trading were easier credit, low interest rates and all-out government assis tance to industries. Given all these favorable condi tions, the Manila and Makati stock exchanges will see more telephone lines clogged and records broken. INSURANCE GSIS helps plug the dollar drain It is sometimes paradoxical that while there are over 140 domestic non-life insurance companies in the Philippines today, none of the bulk of insurable assets and properties of the government are insured against losses. The primary reason is that the combined net worth of all these firms amounting to about P200 million is only a fraction of the P4-billion worth of government properties that are still uninsured. This limited capability to absorb insurance of large volumes has also caused a heavy drain on the country’s dollar reserves. Local importers and exporters insure their shipments through foreign insurance companies whose premiums and policies are quoted in dollara. All these problems are sought to be corrected by Presidential Decree 245 (July 13) which amends R. A. 656 and converts the Property Insurance Fund of the Government Service Insu rance System into a General Insurance Fund. The decree will make it possible for the GSIS to insure all government properties as well as allow it to engage in full-scale domestic and foreign insurance operations. The decree also allows the GSIS to develop its own capacity to cede or receive reinsurance placements within the country and abroad. A large volume of insurance busi ness has been lost to foreign insurers due to the fact that foreign suppliers of Philippine imports or buyers of Philippine exports require local insu rance firms to denominate the corres ponding insurance policies in dollars or other foreign exchange. To correct this, the Office of Insurance Com mission issued circulars in 1970 to prevent or at least minimize the outflow of foreign exchange due to excessive recourse to foreign insurance and reinsurance facilities. The circu lars ordered local insurers to voluntari ly cede their excess risks to other companies authorized to do business in the Philippines before they entered into reinsurance arrangements with foreign insurance firms. The decree now empowers the GSIS, through its General Insurance Fund, to issue policies as well as surety bonds in any foreign currency provided such liabilities are suffi ciently matched by foreign exchange assets. This means that local insurance firms can now reinsure through the GSIS instead of through foreign insurance companies. The decree states that the GSIS has the power and authority to, among others, “issue policies denominated in any foreign currency, provided that a certain minimum percentage to be determined by the System in consulta tion with the Insurance Commission shall be reinsured abroad and provided that the Fund’s liability in any foreign currency shall be covered by a minimum amount of foreign exchange assets which may include forward purchases of foreign exchange from the Central Bank in accordance with rules and regulations to be formulated by the System in consultation with the Insurance Commission and subject to pertinent Central Bank rules, regulations and policies.” In issuing the decree, President Marcos said the authority given the GSIS to engage in wide-scale domestic and foreign insurance arrangements will not diminish the business of local insurers but will, instead, raise the total volume of insurance transac tions. Private insurers, in such transac tions, will participate through in creased reinsurance cessions through the GSIS. In other words, reinsurance accepted from abroad will in rapi be “retroceded” to local insurance firms. The decree is also expected to produce four major advantages to the government and country: 1. It will enable the GSIS to insure the vast assets, properties and installa tions of the government, such as the Manila International Airport, power and generation facilities and the Greater Manila Terminal Food Mar ket; 2. It will allow the GSIS to earn foreign exchange in the course of its international reinsurance operation; 3. It will “capture” for the coun try large amounts of insurance busi ness which are at present lost by default to foreign insurance com panies. 4. It will enhance the position of Manila as a growing Asian center for international finance. The expanded GSIS operation has been welcomed by major brokers, underwriters and reinsurers abroad. GSIS General Manager Roman Cruz reported that during his trips to London, Zurich, Munich and other world insurance centers to discuss possibilities of expanding the rein surance facilities of GSIS and the possiljgity of opening a two-way traffic in the'international reinsurance opera tion, major insurance firms welcomed the prospects of entering into a part nership with the GSIS. THE REPUBLIC 28 July 1973 1 he <Arts YEVTUSHENKO’S ‘SHOW* ‘A poet’s biography as spectacle’ Yevgeny Yevtushenko: Fiery and eloquent voice of young Russia Poet Yevgeny Yevtushenko, first c the Soviet “young lions” to speak on for literary freedom during the posi Stalin era, is still, after almost tw decades, the eloquent voice of youn Russia. The fiery Yevtushenko abhoi silence, just like fellow-Russian Maxii Gorki who once declared “Let ther be an outcry, let there be abuse, k there be confusion; anything rathe than silence, dead, icy silence.” In his continuing battle againf dead, icy silence, Yevtushenko ha revived the Russian tradition c poetry as protest, a tradition whic began with Alexander Blok and whic reached its agitated peak in th rentings of Mayakovsky. In the early 1950s, as leader of modernist movement of protestin youth, Yevtushenko read his poetr; anywhere and everywhere in th Soviet Union. During the past decade Yevtushenko has held public recita tions of his poetry (he calls ther “poetry concerts”) in other countrie as well. Since 1960, he has heli poetry concerts in 49 countries an< has been wildly acclaimed in all Yevtushenko’s eloquence is such tha audiences get frenzied just listening t< him. Last July 16, Filipino esthetes wen afforded the opportunity to see an< hear Yevtushenko in a poetry concer at the Cultural Center. For a full hou and a half, the audience, whicl included the First Lady, Mrs. Imeldi Marcos, sat mesmerized by the mys tique of one man—poet Yevgenj Yevtushenko. The concert began with the poem “I Fell Out of Love With You,” whicl was read in its English translation bj award-winning Filipino poet, Rolandc Tinio. (The evening’s program callee for the recitation of Yevtushenko’s poems in English, then in Russian.^ Tinio, thin, wiry, looking very much like the university professor that he is read the poems Incantations, Stolen JApples~and People as though they RECOGNITION Filipino songs in concert halls The Filipino song, it is generally conceded, has come into its own as concert hall music and much of the credit belongs to baritone Aurelio Estanislao. He has been called the “champion of Filipino song” — and rightly so. Estanislao has always believed that the Filipino song de serves more attention and recognition. In this connection, he has seized every opportunity to sing Filipino compo sitions. Back in 1956, fresh from the Conservatoire National du Musique de Paris (where he finished with a Premier Prix du chant) and the Mozarteum Academy of Music in Salzburg, Estanislao insisted on sing ing an all-Filipino program, “Himig ng Pag-ibig.” Presently, he is the main stay of the award-winning “Aawitan Kita,” the Pilipino musical program shown weekly on television. Last July 17, Aurelio Estanislao held a solo recital, “Awitan” (from the Pilipino word awit, meaning song) of Tagalog songs at the Phil-Am Life auditorium on United Nations Ave nue. Assisted by Professor Regalado Jose, Estanislao sang the old familiar kundimans (love songs) of Nicanor Abelardo, the new songs of Rodolfo de Leon and the avant-garde compo sition of Ramon P. Santos, Tagulaylay. Estanislao sang the songs with an artist’s sensitivity to the demands of the Filipino language. Pilipino, he has declared in an interview (Woman’s, July 26) is an affectionate language and so the tone of its songs must be endearing. The Filipino song is inti mate, full of feeling — the Pilipino word for it is malambing — and does not lend itself well to “vibrato.” Estanislao is also ever-aware of the fact that song has its roots in poetry which is why he insists on bringing out the right stresses in the lyrics. This insistence on fidelity to the character and nuances of language has earned him as much brickbats as praises. Some critics have accused him of taking liberties with the phrasing of the songs. Estanislao defends his obsession with diction by pointing out that some composers, even emi nent ones, are not always careful to fit the notes to the accents within the words. He adds, rather wryly, that the taking of these “liberties” is his prerogative as interpreter. As interpreter, Estanislao has not fallen into the common pitfail of European-trained Filipino singers — that of applying European opera techniques to the local musical stage. At Tuesday night’s Awitan, Estanislao’s renditions were devoid of the histrionics usually associated with Italian and German opera. This is not to say that Estanislao sang without feeling. He sang the Pilipino songs with all the lambing of a lover serenading his beloved — which was quite fitting since most of the songs in the repertoire were addressed to the fair sex. Aurelio Estanislao is the country’s sole exponent of the French chanson and the German lieder and, as someone has observed, he sings French songs like a Frenchman and German songs like a German. Perhaps Estanislao’s real talent lies in being able to accord a song with the feeling and quality of the language in which it was written. This particular kind of virtuosity is what has earned him the role of soloist in the Ritterssaal and Mirabell series of the Salzburg festival. He has participated in various other musical festivals both in Europe and the United States and has recorded for the leading record companies on the continent. For these and many more outstanding achievements, Estanislao has won the honor of being the first TOYM (Ten Outstanding Young Men) awardee in music. Estanislao: A champion 28 July 1973 THE REPUBLIC The ^Arts Rolando S. Tinio, winner of the 1967 TOYM (Ten Outstanding Young Men) award in the field of drama, the Maynila Patnubay ng Kalinangan Award and the 1972 Palanca Award for his book of Tagalog poems “Sitsit sa Kuliglig, ” has trans lated several foreign plays and some Western poetry into Pilipino. Following are his transla tions of three of Yevgeny Yevtushenko’s poems - Incantations, Stolen Apples and People: PANAWAGAN Isaisip mo ako gabi-gabi sa tagsibol, Isaisip mo ako gabi-gabi sa tag-araw. Isaisip mo ako gabi-gabi sa taglagas, Isaisip mo ako gabi-gabi sa taglamig. Wala man ako roon kung saan naglalakbay, malayo sa tabi mo, wari’y nangibang-bayan, iunat ang sarili sa kumot na malamig, bayaang lumutang ka, animo’y nasa dagat, napapadalang lubos sa malambot na alon. sa akin, ang dagat mo, sa iyong pag-iisa. Ibig kong ang isip mo 'y malaya buong araw. Bayaan mong ang lahat ay mangagbaligtaran, marungisan ng aso, pagbahaan ng alak. mulibang ang isip mo hanggang mawala ako. Oo nga, isispin mo kahit ano kung araw, Nguni’t sa gabi — ako ay tanging ako lamang. Sa kabila ng tili ng bumubusinang tr^n, sa kabila ng hanging gumugutay sa ulap, makinig ka sa akin, sa awa mo at habag: ihayag mong muli, sa makitid na silid, ang matang halos-pikit sa pighati at lugod. noo y diniriinan hanggang iyo ’y manghapdi. Nagsusumamo ako - pag sukdulang tahimik, o kapag tumitiktik sa bubong mo ang ulan, o kumikislap-kislap sa bin tana ang niyebe, at nakahimlay ka man ay di pa naiidlip, isaisip mo ako gabi-gabi sa tagsibol. isaisip mo ako gabi-gabi sa tag-araw, TsaiStp mo ako gabi-gabi sa taglagas. isaisip mo ako gabi-gabi sa taglamig. ANGMGA TAO Walang mga taong hindi kawiliwili. Parang kasaysayan ng mga planeta ang kapalaran nila. Walang hindi bukod-tangi sa kanila, at planeta at planeta ’y walang pagkakawangki. At kung tao’y mabuhay nang malayo sa marami, nakikipagkaibigan lang sa sariling lipunan, pagkakalinggid niya ’y kawiliwili pa rin. Bawa ’t tao ’y may sariling daigdig, at sa daigdig na iyon, may isang dakilang sandali. At sa daigdig na iyon, may isang trahikong sandali. Sariling-sarili ang mga ito. Sa bawat mamatay, kasamang namamatay ang una niyang niyebe at halik at pakikipaglaban. Kasama niyang pumapanaw. Ang mga libro at mga tulav at pinin tang retrato at makinarya: Kapalaran nila ang maiwanan. Ngunit ang pumanaw ay di bale wala lamang: Sang-ayon sa mga patakaran, may kung-anong naglalaho. Hindi tao ang namamatay, kundi ang daigdig na kanilang nilalaman. Ang nakilala noting may kakulangan, bilang anak ng lupa. Na kung tutuusin, ano nga ba ang nakilala? Kapatid ng isang kapatid? Kaibigan ng mga kaibigan? Mangingibig ng mangingibig? Tayong nakakilala sa ating mga ama sa lahat ng bagay, sa walang kahit anuman. Nagsasawa sila. Hindi na na panunumbalik. Ang mga lihim na daigdig ay hindi mapananauli. At sa tuwi-tuwina, sa muli at muli, Mga pagkawala ’y aking dinadalamhati. NAKAW NA MANSAN AS Gumigiray sa bagyo lahat ng mga bakod: bigla kaming pumuslit sa aninong makirot, tulad ng mga batang damit ay nag-iinit. sa hakot na mansanas na kanilang naismit. At ang mga mansanas ay ibig sumambulat; kay taking eskandalo kapag iyong kinagat. Nguni’t kaming dalawa nama’y nagmamahalan. at ang mga bagay na iyan ang tanging katubusan. Habang ikinukubli ang kambal na kriminal sa isang sanlibutang panay along masukal, bumulong iyong tsalet na maginhawa’t kulob, ‘Huwag matakot umibig. . . sige at huwag matakot. At mula sa retratong di halos maaninag sa ‘taas ng apuyang dumilim-lumiwanag. ang may-ari na dating putbolista’y nag-udyok, 'Dapat kayong mangahas. . . pikit-matang lumusob. Kaya’t paikot-ikot at papili-pilipit, nakahulagpos kami sa lahat ng balakid, nakalusot sa huling guwardiyang nakalingat. naitaob ang bola, ang lambat ay nahiklat. Namahinga sandali. Sa itaas, kumislap ang mga alikabok; para kaming nangarap: nangangatal sa isang kampong di-nakikita, mga munting sapatos ng mga putbolista. 'Tira, ’ giit ng bawat butil ng alikabok, 'Tira, ’ basta't pagtira > inyong isasaloob. Di ba't kung tutuusin, ang mabigat na bilog ng mundo ’y tulad lamang namin na isang tuldok? ' Tumira kaming muli; muli kaming sumipa Malaking kagaguhan ang lahat, marahil nga. nguni’t kaming dalawa nama’y nag-iibigan at pagkasarap-sarap ng aming pakiramdam. Naglango sa sariling kaaatu-atungal, dagat ay may malalim na tila inuusal, ngunit sa iyong noo, bigla na lang sumalpok ang gininttiang isda ng pinutol mong buhok. at hindi ko naalamang inalintana muna na minsang humupa na ang bagyong binababa. kagila-gilalas man ang aking kaululan, kasabay di ng alon akong mapupatimbuwang. E ano kung ngalan ko "y siraan ng siraan; ang pag-ibig ay hindi para sa walang-laban. Ang bango ng pag-ibig ay iyong halimuyak ng mansanas na hindi bili kundi kinawat. Bayaang magsisigaw ang mamang nagbabantay. basta’t sitsit ng-dagat ay umaalimbukay. at naiuunan ko ang ulo sa pagitan ng dalawang mansanas na rnaalat at nakaw. Page 7 Travel & leisure JAI-ALAI Game of wits, speed and skill In a hall gray with smoke people eagerly watched a game that promises both thrill and fortune while players inside the long, rectangular court sustained an exciting display of wits — a matching of speed against savvy, a lively show of grace and skill. The attraction — or distraction — is the game “Jai-Alai,” a Basque version of handball played on a three-walled court (“cancha”), more than half the size of a football field. Jai-Alai is played in Manila “cesta a punta” style. Played in a court that measures 178 feet long and 35 feet wide, the game gets started with the first player (“pelotari”) throwing a two-pound, tennis-sized ball at the front wall with a crescent-shaped contraption called “cesta.” Often, the ball reaches speeds better than 100 miles per hour, justifying the claim that Jai-Alai is the fastest sport. On the return,,the opposing player catches the ball before or after the first bounce and hurls it back at the front wall or via the side wall (“double-twall” in Jai-Alai jargon). A “pelotari” who fails to retrieve the ball concedes a point, whereupon the winner proceeds to play against the next player. A single event is over when one player earns five points in the regular six-player event, or nine points in the case of the “llave” (a game played by 10 players). The game is as exciting as it is beautiful — the skill, grace and strength of the players combining to fulfill the “game of a thousand thrills.” Perhaps, it is the only sport where grace combines with strength, wit can contest skill, and speed can be pitted against size with none having a decided advantage over the other. To the initiated, betting heightens the excitement of the game. Bets run along the “quinella,” or first-andsecond principle. All that one has to do is to pick a forecast combination of winners for a single event or of two succeeding events. Tickets cost P5 each for a single event and P2 for the double-entry event. A further attraction is the “Special Llave,” an innovation introduced at the fronton every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. For only P2, bettors get a chance to win huge dividends with the correct winning combination in the order of Win, Second and Third. The crowd that flock to the fronton at 4:30 p.m. daily, except on Sundays, attests to the popularity of the game. In a manner of speaking, Jai-Alai has come a long way. It is said that Jai-Alai originated in Mexico, where the Aztecs played it fairly well, long before Hernando Cortes “won” the Aztecs and the whole of Mexico. Pelota, or a version of the game, was believed to have been brought to Spain by Senor Cortes. Jai-Alai — which has come to mean both the game as well as the place itself — was first played in Manila long before other sports of foreign origin — basketball, soccer, football and baseball — were introduced in the country. It was brought to the Philippines by Spain toward the latter part of the 19th century. There is a saying in Spain that wherever you find a group of basques, natives of the north-eastern Pyrenees, you will find a “fronton,” a pelota court. It was quite natural then that the Elizaldes, natives of that region, were instrumental in putting up the first “fronton.” It was built for Ynchausti y Cia, predecessor of the present Elizalde y Cia. At first, only a small group of pelota enthusiasts, mostly employes of Ynchausti y Cia, patronized the sport. Later, a Jai-Alai club, aptly named “Club de Pelota Vasca,” was organized and included not only Spaniards but also Filipinos, AmeriJai-Alai building on Taft Avenue: Only rivalled by basketball cans, Britons and French. Commonwealth Act 485 dated June 18, 1939, otherwise known as the Jai-Alai Franchise, legalized bet ting in the game. At gn original cost-of ^ehv and still er* Pl.5 million a huge four-story build ing was built along Taft Avenue. Equipped with modern facilities — air-conditioning in all floors, elevators, bars and restaurants and a spacious dancehall — the “fronton” not only became the center of the pelota sport but also the scene of many a social whirl. The present edifice, is a tribute to hardcore pelota afficionados wh o restored the fronton, soon after it was razed by the war, at a far greater cost. A smaller fronton has been built in been put up by private persons. But the sudden surge of enthusiasm in a less strenuous version (the pelota has 14 versions) of the sport propelled management of subdivisions, banks and other commercial corporations to erect more courts. To date, pelota (played with a racket, instead of the “cesta”) is only rivalled by basketball in its following among the young. PEOPLE Webster defines a technocrat as “an expert,” a rather plain word to contain the complex qualities of a man of special skills, particularly if the man spoken of is Rafael Salas, one-time Executive Secretary in the Cabinet of President Marcos. Last month, he moved to the highest UN administrative position ever held by a Filipino when the governing council of the United Nations decided on his promotion to undersecretary general of the Uni ted Nations Development Program. Salas joined the UN in 1969 as executive director of the then newly created United Nations Fund for Population Activities (UNFPA) and is credited for developing the Fund from a shoestring operation to one of the largest single enter prises of the United Nations. He was further put into the limelight Salas: Deserved promotion when he was appointed overall coordinator of the UN’s world population year in 1974. He will take charge of the year’s activities and functions which will culminate in a UN-sponsored conference at Bucharest in August 1974. After almost two months in the Philippines, Tara Anne Fonseca, Miss Asia 1973, left for her home in Bombay. Arriving at the airport 20 minutes before departure time, she told a reporter of the “Philippine News Agency” in an interview: “I hate to leave. Everyone I met here was warm, wonderful and hospi table.” She said she really wanted to stay longer in the Philippines because “everyone I met was so nice to me.” After a tour of Asia, part of her prize in the “Miss Asia Quest” held in Manila last May, Miss Fonseca had returned to the Philip pines and toured several cities, including Bacolod, Legazpi, Olongapo and Baguio. Amidst the distinguished compa ny of Philippine men of letters who congregated in this to-do (Jose Garcia Villa was there in a favorite multi-colored quilt-patterned plaid jacket), there he was at the center conspicuously absent. The affair was Yevgeny Yevtushenko’s birth day celebrated by him and friends; the absentee was the fictionist-poetdramatist and recently winner of the SEATO Literary Award for 1972-73 Nick Joaquin. As if to say, “I’m still around.” And with reason: Nick Joaquin’s prize winning work “Tropical Gothic” is an impressive collection of some of his best short stories which, says Nick Joaquin is still a name (if not a legend) to reckon with. The col lection includes three of his latest works — Candido’s Apocalypse, Dona Jeronima and The Order of Melkizedek. Secretary of Foreign Affairs Carlos P. Romulo presented Joaquin the prize of US $1,000 Monday, July 23, at the Depart ment of Foreign Affairs. Page 8 28 July 1973 THE REPUBLIC