FOR SALE: Thai Porcelain Chafing Dish

Genuine Porcelain Chafing Dish From Thailand.

Set of 5 beautifully, hand-made porcelain chafing dishes with artistic and elaborate designs. With stand and candle holders. Very good for special occasions. Zamboanga City. Can ship to anywhere in the Philippines. Buyer pays for crate and freight.

P25,000 (Call: 0917 7103642)

Classified Ads Zamboanga Office October 15-30, 2010
9925480

Genuine Porcelain Chafing Dish From Thailand.

Genuine Porcelain Chafing Dish From Thailand.

Set of 5 beautifully, hand-made porcelain chafing dishes with artistic and elaborate designs. With stand and candle holders. Very good for special occasions. P25,000 Can ship anywhere. Buyer pays for packing, courier service.

Sold by: zamboangatrade online (0917) 7103642

Sulu To Become Like RP's Boracay Resorts Or Thailand's Phuket

One of the many white sands beach in Sulu province. Sulu is embarking on an ambitious tourism program that will make it like world-famous resorts similar to Phuket in Thailand. (Mindanao Examiner Photo Service)

SULU, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / 16 Sept) – Sulu province in the southern Philippines may soon become an island resort similar to Boracay in central Philippines or even Phuket in Thailand as part of a new tourism plan to lure Filipino and foreign visitors.

Governor Sakur Tan said they would convert some of Sulu’s islands and pristine beaches into resorts, complete with amenities and business centers and land and water vessels to transport holiday-makers.

“We wanted to develop Sulu into one of the most beautiful places in the Philippines and we are pursuing an ambitious program to promote tourism and also trade and investments,” Tan told reporters.

Tan said the plan to put up world-class resorts in Sulu would probably begin in 2008 and would take between one to two years to finish. “We are now working on this project,” he said.

Aside from Sulu’s white-sands beaches, Tan said the province also boasts of dive sites and is rich in marine resources.

Tan said Sulu would also begin shipping live marine products, such as groupers and lobsters and abalone to buyers in Manila and Hong Kong, Japan and Taiwan.

He said that there is plan to put up an air cargo and passenger airlines in Sulu to further help local fishermen and cooperatives sell their products, from coffee beans to live marine animals.

“This is a long-term plan that will help many people and cooperatives in Sulu and eventually the province will become a center of marine trade in the southern Philippines. We can supply huge marine products to buyers,” Tan said.

He said the province is also abundant in copra and exotic fruits, such as durian and mangosteen berries and has a steady supply of high-grade abaca ropes.

Just this month, Sulu shipped out about six tons of durian and mangosteen to markets in Manila as part of the so-called “Invest in Peace and Prosperity - Fruits of Hope program.”

The international nongovernmental organization, Asia-America Initiative, headed by Albert Santoli, has supported the program and promised to help even more by tapping other NGOs to help support the peace and development in Sulu.

Sen. Richard Gordon said the government is putting more efforts in Sulu and other areas in Mindanao to help farmers sell their products.

President Gloria Arroyo in August ordered a "humanitarian and development offensive" in Jolo island.

Sen. Loren Legarda has filed a bill proposing the creation of a special economic zone and free port in Jolo island to promote and hasten the industrial and economic development of the area.

The SSEZA shall be provided with transportation, telecommunication, and other facilities needed to attract legitimate and productive foreign investments, generates linkage with industries and create employment opportunities for the people of the province, she said. (Mindanao Examiner)

Thai PM Declares Victory In Referendum: AFP

BANGKOK - Thailand's army-installed government declared victory Sunday in a referendum on a new constitution and vowed to hold general elections by year's end to restore democracy following last September's coup.

Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont claimed victory after exit polls showed that nearly 68 percent of Thai voters had approved the charter, with at least two-thirds of the nation's 45 million eligible voters casting ballots.

"We consider that this constitution has been approved by the people, and by the end of August the constitution will be submitted to the king for endorsement," Surayud said on national television.

"Overall, the turnout was more than 50 percent. I thank the Thai people for coming out to exercise their vote," he said.

Sunday's vote was the first test at the ballot box for the ruling junta, which ousted elected premier Thaksin Shinawatra in a bloodless coup last September.

Surayud, who had said the country's first-ever referendum would help put the nation back on track after more than a year of turmoil, reaffirmed that with the approval of the charter, general elections would be held by year's end.

"I reaffirm that the election will be held late this year. The exact date is still under consideration, but I believe the most suitable date is after the king's birthday" on December 5, he said.

"What the public has to do next is to learn about the political parties' platforms, and the public must participate in the next general election late this year," he said.

The prime minister was speaking about 30 minutes after polling stations had closed, and before any early returns had been released by election officials. Preliminary results were due later Sunday.

Although the military has insisted the charter will clear a path to elections, the new constitution also outlines amnesty for the generals who toppled Thaksin.

Even when elections are held, critics say the new charter will return control of government to traditional power centres in the military, the bureaucracy and the royal palace.

All three institutions have played key roles in most of Thailand's turbulent political history, which has seen 24 prime ministers and 18 coups over the last 75 years.

Thaksin, who since the coup has lived in exile in Britain where he has bought the Manchester City football club, has called the draft "fruit from a poisoned tree."

His youngest daughter Paethongtan was the only member of his immediate family still in Thailand and able to vote. She cast her ballot dressed entirely in black, telling reporters only that her father "misses Thailand a lot."

Opponents, including Thaksin supporters and democracy advocates, have been campaigning against the charter, warning it will trim the powers of elected leaders.

They say the new constitution rolls back reforms included in the previous 1997 charter, and could set the stage for fragile coalition governments that would fall under the military's sway.

Campaigning has been tilted heavily in the direction of the government, with half the country still under martial law and a new law threatening prison for anyone convicted of obstructing the referendum.(AFP)