VISIT OF AMBASSADOR CUISIA TO SAN FRANCISCO

San Francisco Mayor Edwin Lee with Ambassador Jose L. Cuisia, Jr. at the City Hall. Also in the photo are Consul General Marciano A. Paynor, Jr., Board of Supervisors President David Chiu, Board Member Hydra Mendoza of the San Francisco Unified School District, Commissioner Dennis Normandy of the San Francisco-Manila Sister City Committee, and Ms. Lisa Ang of the Office of the Mayor of San Francisco.

Netsuite representative James Dantow receiving a certificate of appreciation from Ambassador Jose L. Cuisia, Jr. during the welcome reception at Mark Hopkins Intercontinental Hotel.

San Francisco, California – Philippine Ambassador to the United States Jose L. Cuisia, Jr. made an official visit to San Francisco on 12-13 May 2011 to meet with city government officials, business executives, Filipino American community leaders and youth representatives, as well as attend the turnover ceremony of the USCGC Hamilton to the Philippine Navy in Alameda. The visit of Ambassador Cuisia is his first to the Bay Area and outside of Washington DC.

Upon his arrival on 12 May, Ambassador Cuisia together with Consul General Marciano A. Paynor, Jr. and Trade Commissioner Josephine Romero motored to Silicon Valley, where they were given a site tour and briefing on the Plug and Play Tech Center. Later, they met with members of the Science and Technology Advisory Council-Silicon Valley (STAC-SV) to discuss the group’s priority projects with the Philippine Government.

At the Mark Hopkins Intercontinental Hotel in the evening, Ambassador Cuisia was formally welcomed by the Filipino American Community. The reception which was organized by the Philippine Consulate General was attended by more than 200 guests, including San Francisco Board of Supervisors President David Chiu, California State Senator Leland Yee, and a number of elected and appointed Filipino American officials. A presentation on the SAVE Our Industries Act prepared by Trade Commissioner Josephine Romero preceded the main program, where Ambassador Cuisia talked to the community and discussed, among others, the role they can play in advancing the country’s interests. One of the highlights of the program was the presentation of certificates of appreciation to the groups and individuals who helped in the promotion of the SAVE Act, like Netsuite which sponsored the software for the proposed bill’s viral campaign and the Filipino American youth members who served as volunteers in this effort.

The following day, 13 May, Ambassador Cuisia met with San Francisco Mayor Edwin Lee and Board of Supervisors President David Chiu at City Hall. The Ambassador was accompanied to the meeting by Consul General Paynor. Ambassador Cuisia and the city executives discussed the contributions made by Filipino Americans to the political, economic, and social growth of the City and County of San Francisco. They also agreed to undertake more exchanges in the fields of trade, business, education and culture. Later, a reception was hosted for Ambassador Cuisia by Board of Supervisors President David Chiu inside his office in City Hall. The reception was attended by Filipino American city government officials as well as members of the San Francisco-Manila Sister City Committee.

Following his meetings at City Hall, Ambassador Cuisia proceeded to Alameda, where he attended the turnover ceremony of the USCGC Hamilton to the Philippine Navy. The vessel was acquired by the Philippine Government under the Foreign Sales military program of the U.S. Government and will be used for search and rescue operations and protection of the country’s maritime areas and exclusive economic zone. The transfer documents were signed by Ambassador Cuisia and Vice Admiral Manson K. Brown, Commander of the Pacific Area and Coast Guard Defense West of the United States Coast Guard.

Ambassador Cuisia concluded his successful visit to San Francisco by meeting with Filipino American youth representatives, who are working as executives in firms such as Genentech, Electronic Arts, CISCO, Facebook, PG&E, Google, Nvidia and representing organizations like PICPA-USA, Young Filipino Professionals Association, KAYA Filipino Americans for Progress, Filipino Entrepreneurs Network (FEN), and the SF Fil-Am Chamber of Commerce. As the youth leaders are third and fourth generation Filipino Americans, Ambassador Cuisia encouraged them to give something back to the Philippines by utilizing their entrepreneurial and technical skills in support of the country’s development. To continually engage the younger generation of Filipino American business professionals, Ambassador Cuisia agreed to their suggestion to hold regular monthly meetings at the Philippine Center in San Francisco, where a lounge will be reserved for them for this purpose.