The road to globalization

By Johanne Margarette R. Macob

THE proposal to drop ‘Filipino’ subjects in the college level has gone controversial.

Well, yes there’s a need to be more globally competitive, and being fluent in English is but a great way to do that. Yet, to just trash out our subjects being taught in Filipino is too much.

Despite the widespread call for English- and English alone- as medium, personally, I would still like to read on Filipino literature and still be able to promote my mother tongue. Filipino pa rin ang pangunahing wika natin. We can still be globally competitive and do well in English without necessarily forgetting our very own lovely language. We should find a balance between the modern and the traditional- as with agriculture, business and commerce, and even values, etc.

The seminar on the internationalization of education held in the province hosted by the provincial government and the Pangasinan State University is one such effort to achieve excellence. The significance of exchange students program and sharing of curriculum were tackled. The education sector has realized the need to go beyond our limits- literally- and strengthen our links with the rest of the world. That call for improvement and reaching for more…
Then, there was the Pangasinan Brotherhood- United States of America, Inc. (PBUSA) an organization of Pangasinenses who now based in the United States, along with some representatives from the US Department of Defense that paid a visit to the province to help the Philippines, particularly Pangasinan, in the area of international trade and commerce. PB-USA has organized this international trade exposition to be held in Los Angeles, California on October 3-4, 2014. And the great thing is, the products of the province have been eyed to be part of such trade fair. If things proceed as planned, our authentic Pangasinan products will be displayed with the best products of other countries. This will definitely give our local manufacturers vast business opportunities, not to mention, a global one. Plus, it will allow them to link up with foreign businessmen from whom they may learn a lot.

And here’s the big chance for export.

Citing the fact that  only our bangus (milkfish), mango, and a few handicrafts have penetrated the international market, Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) provincial director Peter Mangabat urged our fellows to export more. Pangasinan boasts of many raw materials, which, if developed and packaged well, can very well compete in the global market. We have our native delicacies as fish paste and sauce and our engineered bamboo which the DTI is really looking as good potentials for export. The producers joining the international trade expo are now being assisted by the Technical Working Group for Product Development and Export Promotion organized by Governor Amado Espino Jr. The opportunity to make our treasures being known and appreciated overseas is getting better and clearer.

Also, the participation of the province in the said trade fair will not only boost the businesses of the concerned producers but could very well lead to more foreign investments in the province. With the development of the province’s seaport and airport  soon becoming a reality, we can expect our international network to grow faster. There are a lot of dreams. There are a lot of opportunities.

Our province has been doing well so far but we need to build on them.  We need to take the next step- slowly and surely- to reach the rest of the world. Besides, this is but a great showcase of balance between getting international and keeping local.

Strike!

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