Pinoy tourists can now work in New Zealand for a year

(Updated 8:25 p.m.) Filipino tourists can now work in New Zealand for up to a year following an agreement signed by the two countries on Tuesday, the second day of President Benigno Aquino III’s two-day visit there.

The agreement was just one of the three that were signed and witnessed by Aquino and New Zealand Prime Minister John Key.

Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte, at a press briefing in Manila, said Aquino and Key witnessed the signing after a joint press conference at 11:05 Manila time. New Zealand is five hours ahead of Manila.

“The President attended a press conference together with the Prime Minister of New Zealand wherein he delivered a statement and witnessed the signing of the following bilateral agreements: first, the geothermal energy cooperation agreement; second, the working holiday scheme; and third, the memorandum of agreement concerning defense cooperation,” said Valte.

Under the working holiday scheme, tourists aged 18 to 30 years old from both countries will be allowed to work in the host country.

Valte said the “participant may engage in work for the entire 12 months of stay but no longer than any three months for any given employer, or may study for up to three months.”

New Zealand has inked similar agreements with 36 other countries, including three of the Philippines’ neighbors in Southeast Asia — Thailand, Singapore, and Malaysia.

Geothermal energy, defense

Meanwhile, the geothermal agreement provides for “knowledge transfer and training” on techniques to better harness geothermal energy.

The Philippines is one of the biggest producers of geothermal energy in the world, Communications Secretary Ricky Carandang said at a briefing in New Zealand.

The third agreement — the defense agreement — calls for closer cooperation between the two countries.

“[The defense agreement] is an important step to codify current practices, and the Government is looking forward to working more closely with the Philippines in the years to come,” Key was quoted as saying in a state-run Radio NZ report.

In the same article, Key said the agreement formalizes cooperation efforts already taking place between the two countries.

According to the agreement, the Philippines and New Zealand will cooperate on issues of military training and exercises, and information exchange.

Open for business

Also on Tuesday, Aquino met with New Zealand businessmen and encouraged them to invest in the Philippines.

In a speech before the Philippine-New Zealand Business Forum, Aquino highlighted the “great strides” achieved by his administration over the past two years in battling corruption, cleaning house, reforming the system of budgeting, tightening the rules of procurement, and leveling the playing field.

“These are exciting times in the Philippines, and now is the time to invest,” he said.

“What we are bringing to the table today—that we believe administrations in the recent past have not been able to offer—is a business climate characterized by fairness and integrity: where rules are clear-cut, where all are given the opportunity to profit, and where your success is determined by your strengths, adaptability, and ability to innovate,” he added.

In response, Key announced that New Zealand will invest $5 million for the expansion of the Philippine dairy industry.

According to Key, the dairy investment includes sharing of New Zealand’s dairy expertise with the Philippine industry over a period of five years to enable the latter to meet the demands of the domestic market.

“As I understand it, 99 percent of your dairy consumption is imported, so you’re a very small domestic producer. But like all countries in Asia that we see who are undergoing significant economic growth and significant wealth… the likely demand for dairy products and for protein in general is rising quite rapidly,” he said.

Radio interview

While in New Zealand, Aquino also gave a radio interview where he answered questions regarding alleged human rights violations under his administration.

During the interview, he said the lackluster survey ratings of a senatorial candidate fielded by the “leftist community” in next year’s elections indicate that such groups in the Philippines are getting little support from the public.

“We have a very vocal leftist community, but if the surveys are any indication, they have a senatorial candidate—our senators are elected at large throughout the nation—and this person currently has 2.6 percent of the population voting for him, which is very, very little,” he told Radio New Zealand.

Bayan Muna Rep. Teodoro Casiño, who felt alluded to by the President’s remarks, quickly responded that Aquino only relied on his “political pedigree” to win elective posts. Aquino, son of the martyred ex-Senator Benigno Aquino Jr. and the late President Corazon Aquino, was elected to the presidency in 2010 a few months after his mother passed away.

On Monday, the first day of Aquino’s first ever state visit in New Zealand, he met with the Filipino community there and updated them on his administration’s campaign against corruption.

Aquino flew to Australia early afternoon Tuesday, Manila time.

“At 5:10 p.m. later, Manila time, the President will depart for Canberra, Australia and he will arrive in Australia at 9:30 p.m. Manila time,” Valte said. — Patricia Denise Chiu/KBK/YA, GMA News