VZCZCXRO0903
OO RUEHCHI RUEHCN RUEHDT RUEHHM
DE RUEHML #2559/01 3190924
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 140924Z NOV 08
FM AMEMBASSY MANILA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 2421
INFO RUEHZS/ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS
RHHMUNA/CDR USPACOM HONOLULU HI

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MANILA 002559 
 
SIPDIS 
 
PLEASE PASS TO PEACE CORPS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV KISL KPAO EAID RP
SUBJECT: VISIT TO PROVINCIAL CAPITAL SHOWCASES U.S. ROLE IN A 
RAPIDLY-DEVELOPING PHILIPPINES 
 
¶1. SUMMARY.  Ambassador Kenney's November 7 visit to Bacolod, the 
provincial capital of Negros Occidental, showcased the continuing 
U.S. commitment to the economic and social development of the 
Philippines.  The Ambassador presided at the swearing-in ceremony of 
65 new Peace Corps Volunteers, visited two large U.S. businesses 
operating in the area, and toured a power plant that was moved from 
the U.S. and reconstructed in the Philippines with the assistance of 
U.S. Embassy Manila.  The Ambassador also spoke with national and 
local media about U.S. interests in the region and American 
democracy in the wake of the recent presidential election.  END 
SUMMARY. 
 
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BACKGROUND: BACOLOD AND NEGROS OCCIDENTAL 
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¶2. Bacolod City is located on the northwestern coast of the Province 
of Negros Occidental.  It is the capital and largest highly 
urbanized city in the province.  Bacolod is also the most populous 
city in the Western Visayas Region, with 499,497 inhabitants as of 
the 2007 census.  The local government has been aggressively 
promoting Bacolod as an outsourcing venue and is one of the 
Philippine government's certified next-wave cities for Business 
Process Outsourcing (BPO) investments.  It is now the BPO hub of the 
Western Visayas Region, with Convergys, Teleperformance, and 
TeleTech already operating in the city.  According to the Philippine 
Cities Competitiveness Ranking Project 2005 of the Asian Institute 
of Management (AIM), Bacolod tops the list in terms of 
infrastructure and quality of life, ahead of other mid-size cities 
in the Philippines. 
 
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65 VOLUNTEERS READY TO 'MAKE THAT DIFFERENCE' 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
¶3. The Governor of Negros Occidental hosted the Swearing-In of 65 
new Peace Corps Volunteers at the Provincial Capitol Building, which 
was also attended by the Secretary of Education, the Undersecretary 
of Social Welfare and Development, and the Mayor of Bacolod.  The 
Ambassador administered the oath of duty to the volunteers and 
charged them to make that difference.  The Philippines has had the 
most Peace Corps volunteers serve of any other Peace Corps country. 
These 65 new volunteers will join 66 already in country in various 
educational, environmental, and youth-related programs across the 
country. Several volunteers gave speeches in local languages (to the 
delight of the audience), expressing their commitment to service and 
to assist in the development of the Philippines. 
 
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SERVING U.S. CUSTOMERS, STRENGTHENING THE LOCAL ECONOMY 
--------------------------------------------- ---------- 
 
¶4. The Ambassador's visit to two large U.S. companies operating in 
Bacolod, highlighted the positive economic and social impact they 
are making in the Philippines. She toured Convergys' newest contact 
center, which opened in October 2008 and created over 1,000 
desirable, well-paying, and upwardly mobile jobs.  The Bacolod 
site's clients include two large U.S. cable companies.  Convergys 
executives told the Ambassador that the Philippines offers an 
attractive investment climate because of its large pool of skilled 
English-speaking labor.  They added that the company is in the 
process of completing several more sites in the Philippines to add 
to the 13 already established in the country.  Company executives 
also shared stories about their corporate social responsibility 
programs, including The Oral Communications in English program. 
This program was organized in 2005 to provide public school teachers 
with training they need to teach children proficiency in the English 
language.  Convergys provides program funding, the curriculum 
module, and the company volunteers lead the training sessions.  Over 
the past three years, more than 500 teachers have participated in 
the program free of charge in regions nationwide. 
 
¶5. Ambassador Kenney's visit to the local Coca-Cola bottling plant 
showcased the U.S. company's importance to the region's economy. 
The plant serves the Western Visayas Region and bottles several 
hundred thousand units of Coca-Cola products in returnable glass 
containers every month.  The company's Visayas Region Operating 
Manager also briefed the Ambassador on the company's extensive 
corporate social responsibility programs, including the Little Red 
Schoolhouse program which provides rural communities with public 
school buildings, classroom equipment, and ongoing training for 
educators.  To celebrate Coca-Cola's 80th anniversary in the 
Philippines, the company just turned over the 80th Little Red 
Schoolhouse, four of which are in the immediate Bacolod area. 
 
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SWEET ENERGY EFFICIENCY 
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MANILA 00002559  002 OF 002 
 
 
¶6. The Ambassador also toured a local sugarcane cooperative to view 
its newly rebuilt power plant that uses sugarcane byproducts to 
produce energy for local businesses and residents.  The cooperative 
bought the plant in Kauai, Hawaii, and U.S. Embassy Manila granted 
visas to a team of Philippine workers who traveled to Kauai to 
dismantle and ship the plant's machinery back to the Philippines. 
The cooperative's innovative plan to re-use a once defunct plant is 
a creative cost-effective solution that increases its energy 
efficiency and provides a much-needed source of power on an island 
with growing electricity needs. 
 
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REGIONAL MEDIA, INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVES 
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¶7. In a host of regional television, radio, and print interviews 
conducted during the trip, the Ambassador underscored the continuing 
U.S. commitment to Philippine economic and social development, 
underlined the importance of the Peace Corps program, and explained 
the role of U.S. businesses as responsible economic partners.  The 
station manager for a local radio station noted that the Ambassador 
was the first U.S. official of note to directly address an audience 
in the Western Visayas region.  In the wake of the recent U.S. 
election, the Ambassador explained the importance in U.S. democracy 
of open, transparent elections; gracious speeches by both the winner 
and the loser and their example of putting the nation's interests 
ahead of their own; and the importance of the U.S. system that 
provides for a smooth and peaceful transfer of power and transition 
to a new administration.  In all interaction with the media, she 
underscored that the close ties and excellent relations between the 
U.S. and the Philippines will remain that way with the new 
Administration. 
 
KENNEY