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Travel and Tourism
PHILIPPINES
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Philippines Featured As “Grand Destination Country” in Washington DC Benefit Gala |
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Philippine Ambassador to the United States Willy C. Gaa
and his wife Linda were the honorary hosts to one of
Washington’s well-known benefit gala events, the “Heartsongs
Gala,” sponsored by the Muscular Dystrophy Association
(MDA), one of America’s largest health-oriented
non-profit organizations.
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With the theme “Passport to a Cure,” the MDA selected
the Philippines to be this year’s “Grand Destination”
country. On its fifth year, among past “Grand
Destination” countries included Turkey and Chile. “The
Philippines was the clear choice for us since we were
impressed by the Philippine Embassy’s Centennial Tribute
Gala held in June last |
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Held at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel on 10 March
2007, MDA’s corporate sponsors transported the 800
guests to a ballroom decorated with elements of
Philippine culture and heritage. The Pilipino American
Culture and Arts Society (PACAS) impressed the audience
with its first-class performances of “Singkil/Asik” and
“La Jota Manilena.” The evening’s menu included
Philippine fresh “lumpia” (soft vegetable spring
roll) and Filipino “halo-halo” (Philippine dessert). The
hallway featured an exhibit of |
The Pilipino American Culture Arts Society (PACAS) performed to the applause guests and visitors.
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high-end fashion and furniture from the Philippines,
dubbed “Manila on 5th Avenue.”
A video on the Philippines was also specially produced
for the occasion by CNN Senior Producer Michael Watts.
The video showed footages of Gen. Douglas McArthur’s
landing on Leyte Gulf, the late President Gerald Ford
dancing the “tinikling” and President George Bush and
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo inspecting the troops
during the 2003 state visit. Additional publicity for
the Philippines is being planned when the famous
comedian Jerry Lewis, MDA’s Honorary National Chair,
conducts his yearly telethon on Labor Day weekend.
In his remarks, Ambassador Gaa commended MDA for “its
commitment to engage foreign countries in their global
mission to fight neuromuscular diseases that affect a
million Americans of all ages.” He added, “as the
honorary host, we are deeply appreciative of the
opportunity to once again align ourselves with our
American friends to take on another noble mission and
find a cure to neuromuscular diseases as we showcase the
beauty of the Philippines and its cultural heritage.” He
pointed out that the Gala provided a boost to Philippine
tourism promotion and cultural diplomacy.
The $750 per person black-tie affair was able to raise a
million dollars that night that will go towards finding
a cure to the debilitating effects of muscular dystrophy
and its 63 related diseases. The Heartsongs Gala got its
inspiration from Mattie Stepanek, its national
Ambassador of Goodwill who became popular when he
appeared on the Oprah Winfrey Show. He succumbed to the
disease at age 14 but declared before he died that it
was his dream to travel around the world. (PE)
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