VZCZCXYZ0011
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHML #0850/01 0740841
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 150841Z MAR 07
FM AMEMBASSY MANILA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 5684
RHHMUNA/CDRUSPACOM HONOLULU HI IMMEDIATE

UNCLAS MANILA 000850 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL EAGR OEXC SCUL KPAO RP
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR VISITS NORTHERN LUZON TO DEEPEN US PHILIPPINE 
RELATIONS AND HIGHLIGHT INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY 
 
 
¶1.  SUMMARY.  Ambassador Kristie Kenney visited Cabanatuan, Tarlac, 
and Baguio in the northern Luzon provinces of Nueva Ecija, Tarlac 
and Benguet March 8-9. Ambassador Kenney focused on deepening 
relations with northern Luzon interlocutors and highlighting 
historical and cultural ties between the Philippines and the U.S. 
The trip commemorated International Women's Day with a visit to 
former president Corazon Aquino at her presidential library/museum, 
and representational events gathering prominent women leaders from 
education, government and NGOs. Events in the summer capital of 
Baguio demonstrated the continuing value of the Embassy Residence 
there as a forward base for regional outreach. END SUMMARY. 
 
¶2. Ambassador Kenney began her trip in Cabanatuan, at the site of a 
World War Two Prisoner Of War camp. Over 3,000 U.S. servicemen died 
at the hands of Japanese captors at this camp. US Rangers, in 
partnership with Filipino units, conducted a successful raid in 1945 
to free the remaining 500 prisoners; an operation depicted in the 
recent movie, "The Great Raid." Little remains of the actual 
facility, but plaques have been erected in memory of the dead, and 
the American Battlefield Monuments Commission ensures that the 
memorials and grounds are maintained. 
 
¶3. Ambassador Kenney also visited the International Broadcasting 
Bureau's Philippines Transmitting Station in Tinang, Tarlac. 
Eighty-seven foreign nationals and 5 American staff together 
maintain a USD 5.4 million operation that broadcasts to the South 
East Asian region in multiple languages. The 2,300 acre facility has 
opened unused land adjacent to the transmitting antennae to local 
farmers for cultivation, and its community action program comprises 
a number of innovative initiatives aimed at supporting the mostly 
poor neighboring communities with education and daycare, medical and 
emergency aid, and potable water. These innovative programs build 
goodwill with neighbors and have helped create a network of eyes and 
ears that informally provide security for the station against 
robbers and insurgents. 
 
¶4. Ambassador Kenney paid a courtesy call on former President of the 
Philippines, Corazon Aquino, and toured the Aquino Center museum in 
Tarlac City. The center is modeled on the Kennedy presidential 
library in Boston, the city where Mrs. Aquino and her martyred 
husband had sought asylum for several years from the regime of 
Ferdinand Marcos. Mrs. Aquino served as president from 1986 to 1992, 
succeeding Marcos. She had previously led a three-year campaign for 
greater political freedom following the assassination of her late 
husband and former Senator Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino, Jr. Mrs. Aquino 
confirmed that she and her family were almost fully engaged in 
supporting the bid by her son, Congressman Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino 
III for a seat in the Philippines Senate. 
 
¶5. On the evening of March 8, Ambassador Kenney hosted the first of 
several events at the U.S. Embassy Residence in Baguio City. Baguio 
was established in the early 1900s as the highland summer capital of 
the Philippines. The residence was opened in 1940 for what was then 
the U.S. High Commissioner for the Philippines Commonwealth, and was 
later the site of the surrender of Japanese forces in the 
Philippines at the end of World War II. 
 
¶6. Baguio remains the official "summer capital" of the Philippines, 
but is better known as a major regional educational center, boasting 
five major universities and the joint-services Philippine Military 
Academy. The city has built on the highly-educated population to 
become a burgeoning high-tech hub, home to U.S. companies Texas 
Instruments and aviation supplier Moog Instruments, as well as 
numerous call centers and back-room processing operations for U.S. 
and international firms. Today the residence is a valuable 
programming venue in Baguio, and is also available on a cost basis 
to USG employees for official and personal use. 
 
¶7. The evening reception was an opportunity to deepen relations with 
over 100 Mission contacts from Baguio and the region. Guests 
included university administrators and faculty, a large contingent 
from the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) led by their 
Superintendent, and representatives from local NGO leaders. Also 
present were alumni of various State Department-funded programs, 
including the International Visitor Leadership Program, Fulbright, 
the Humphrey Fellowship program, and State/ECA American Studies 
institutes. A number of reporters, both local correspondents of 
Philippines national media and journalists from Baguio and northern 
Luzon news outlets also attended. 
 
¶8. The following morning, March 9, as part of the Mission's 
celebration of International Women's Day, the Ambassador hosted a 
coffee for 25 women leaders from the Baguio area.  Guests included 
presidents of local universities, local government officials, 
cultural figures, and NGO activists. Ferah Decano, a member of the 
city council of Dagupan (a medium-sized town in a neighboring 
province), provided a case study of the effectiveness of the 
International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP).  Ms. Decano 
participated in a FY-2006 program on local governance, focused on 
how cities can respond to challenges of crime and corruption.  In 
the six months since her return she has drafted and - in the face of 
bitter opposition and threats of violence - secured enactment of an 
 
ordinance that fights prostitution by focusing on the male customer. 
 The ordinance is modeled on a local law that Ms. Decano learned 
about during her IVLP stop in St. Louis. Ms. Decano has drafted a 
second ordinance she hopes to see enacted that will increase 
government transparency in her city. 
 
¶9. Ambassador Kenney was interviewed March 9 at the Residence by 
ABS-CBN TV's northern and central Luzon station, and the taped 
segment appeared that night on "TV Patrol Northern Luzon." 
Questions focused on the Ambassador's International Women's Day 
visit to northern Luzon, on the Department's recently released 
Report on human rights practices in the Philippines, and on 
prospects for increased U.S. investment in the Baguio area. 
 
¶10. These events demonstrated the continuing dynamism of Baguio and 
the surrounding regions, and the value of the Baguio Residence as a 
forward venue for Mission outreach to northern Luzon. Guests were 
deeply impressed by the attractiveness and historic significance of 
the building. Feedback received during and after the reception and 
coffee indicates that the events had a positive impact on the 
attendees and generated a significant reservoir of goodwill that 
will be useful for future Mission outreach in Baguio and the region. 
 
 
 
KENNEY