News and Events

Asian Institute of Management, Makati City

The Asia Pacific Pathways to Progress Foundation, Inc. (APPFI) in partnership with the Asian Institute of Management (AIM) ASEAN 2015 Project, organized the first of a series of High-Level Consultation Workshops on the theme “Economic and Development Outlook for the Asian Century:  The China Factor & Implications for the Philippines and ASEAN”. This was held on March 6, 2015 at the AIM.

The participants were a highly select group of Filipino thought leaders, including Dr. Jesus Estanislao (former Secretary of Finance and now with the Institute of Corporate Directors), Dr. Dante Canlas (former NEDA Secretary and professor at the UP School of Economics), Dr. Joseph Anthony Lim (Department of Economics, Ateneo de Manila University), Dr. Tereso Tullao (School of Economics, De La Salle University), Mr. Eduardo Pedrosa (Pacific Economic Cooperation Council- PECC), former Philippine Permanent Representative to ASEAN Dr. Wilfrido Villacorta, and Dr. Antoinette Raquiza, VP of APPFI. Dr. Federico Macaranas, Project Co-Director of the AIM ASEAN 2015 Project, facilitated the discussions.

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January 13-14, 2015

APPFI had the honor of hosting four delegates from the Chinese Institutes of Contemporary International Relations (CICIR) to a dinner at the Romulo Café (Tomas Morato) on January 13 and bringing them to an informal roundtable co-organized with KAISA and the Philippine Association for Chinese Studies (PACS) at the KAISA Heritage Center (Intramuros) on January 14. The visit was the first from a prestigious Chinese think tank to the Philippines this year. CICIR came upon the invitation of the Asian Center, University of the Philippines. There were both friendly as well as lively exchanges as both sides engaged the other with questions with the ultimate aim of building understanding.

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Board of Trustees member and former Philippine Ambassador to ASEAN Dr Wilfrido Villacorta was invited by Xinhua News Agency of China to a conference titled "ASEAN Development Forum 2014", held in Hong Kong last December 2014. A copy of his speech is attached. Related news on the Forum may be viewed at xinhuanet.com.

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Profitable Partnerships, a workshop on business and human rights in select countries in Asia, was conducted by RAFI-SHIFT - New York and Economic, Social and Cultural Rights-Asia (ESCR-Asia), in cooperation with the Makati Business Club (MBC), the Commission on Human Rights of the Philippines (CHRP), the Asia Pacific Pathways to Progress Foundation (APPFI) and the Asian Consortium on Human Rights-based Access to Justice (HRBA2J-Asia).

Held at the Asian Institute of Management on November 4, 2014, the workshop endeavored to attain an increased understanding of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, learn and appreciate emerging practices in the Philippines, Korea, Japan, China, and Mongolia, and to listen to a presentation on a proposed Reporting and Assurance Framework Initiative (RAFI).

The speakers include Caroline Rees, president of SHIFT, Hon. Loretta Ann Rosales of the CHRP, Dr. Marina Durano of the University of the Philippines (UP), Mr. Peter Perfecto, Executive Director of the Makati Business Club and representatives from human rights organizations from Mongolia, China, and Japan. Representing APPFI, Dr. Baviera chaired the session on East Asian cases. Representatives from the CHRP, peoples’ organizations, CSOs, NGOs, academe, business groups, embassies, government and media attended.

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