How Swiss it is

There are oceans, mountains and 10,530 kilometers between the Philippines and Switzerland. But in the blink of an eye, Filipinos can easily rattle off what comes to mind when you say “Swiss:” Swiss knife, Swiss chocolates, Swiss watches, Swiss banks, Swiss cheese, Swiss Guards, Swiss Alps.

Generations of Filipinos grew up with food products made by the Swiss food giant Nestle and still rely on medicines from Swiss drug companies for everyday ailments as well as more serious ones.

It is perhaps because the Swiss have had official relations with the Philippines since March 28, 1862 — when the Philippines was still a Spanish colony and Jose Rizal just a baby genius. In fact, the Swiss Consulate in the Philippines was its very first consulate in Asia. And through the different phases of the Philippines growth — from the Spanish to the American Occupation, World War II, EDSA 1 and 2, typhoons Ondoy and Sendong, the Swiss have been around.

“The Swiss presence in the Philippines has never been interrupted. And with 150 years of permanent occupation in the Philippines, the Swiss consulate is the longest serving consular representation in the Philippines,” stressed Swiss Ambassador Ivo Sieber at a press conference yesterday in his residence.

 Sieber has a sentimental reason for celebrating Swiss-Philippine relations. He has been married for 20 years now to a statuesque Filipina named Gracita and they are the proud parents of two teenaged girls. “And today, the Philippines hosts the second largest Swiss community in all of Asia, with 3,000 registered Swiss nationals,” Sieber adds.

Many Swiss companies, like Nestle, have established their presence in the Philippines over a century ago. Switzerland remains one of the Philippines’ foremost investors, employing thousands of Filipinos. Aside from Nestle, other Swiss firms include Holcim, SGS, Novartis, Roche.

As part of the celebration of the 150 years of Swiss-Philippine ties, the Swiss government will donate a Swiss Rock Ball Fountain to the Philippines. The Rock Ball, weighing perhaps a ton, is cradled by a rock pool where it undulates. The rock ball and the pool are a perfect fit, symbolizing Swiss-Philippine relations, says Sieber.

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There are some 60 companies with varying degrees of Swiss equity present in the Philippines, employing some 12,000 people. According to the Swiss Embassy, Nestle Philippines’ revenues for 2010 hit CHF 2.12 billion. Nestle celebrated its centennial in the Philippines in 2011 and expects completion of its new P4.3 billion powdered milk and creamer factory in Batangas this year.

Holcim Philippines is the leading cement manufacturer in the Philippines. In 2009, revenues reached CHF 488.36 million. SGS is among the first foreign-owned companies to benefit from the business outsourcing capacities of the Philippines by setting up its 24/7 back office operation in Manila in 2003.

Sieber attributes the growing Swiss investments in the country to the economic dynamism in the Asian region, and also to President Aquino’s effort to “promote efficiency, transparency and the fight against corruption in the Philippines.”

The Swiss Banks UBS and Credit Suisse have branch offices in Manila. The CEOs of all major Swiss companies in the Philippines are non-Swiss nationals, two of them Filipino women (DKSH and SGS, headed by Rosario Cajucom Bradbury.)

Bradbury is the chairperson of the Philippine Swiss Business Council, whose CSR projects include ALPS, an acronym for Aid Line Philippine-Swiss.

Philippine exports to Switzerland have increased 180 percent from 2010 to 2011, Bradbury said.

She added that the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry has named the PSBC the best business council under its wing.

The press conference was followed by a sumptuous lunch buffet that celebrated Swiss-Philippine ties indeed — adobo and bistek Tagalog were side by side popular Swiss dishes like Kaese Salat (sausage and cheese salad); Basler Art (salmon fillet), sliced veal Zurich style and homemade Spaetzle. For dessert, we had Swiss chocolate roulade and Swiss apple tart. The ambassador had adobo.

Switzerland holds a special place in my heart because it was the very first country I travelled to, the very first stamp on my very first passport. I travelled to Swtizerland in 1988 to cover the official visit of then President Cory Aquino, who also addressed the ILO.

 I remember how accommodating the Swiss were to our entourage. During one lunch, I was seated beside a lady named Beatriz Cabazar from the Swiss Foreign Ministry and she noticed my lips were dry as they were not used to the cold weather. The promdi to foreign travel that I was then, I casually told her I brought no lip balm from Manila. She disappeared in the middle of lunch — I assumed it was to attend to other matters. But when she returned she had in her hands a stick of lip balm for me, fresh from a nearby drugstore.

How sweet she was! How Swiss!

Happy 150th anniversary to Swiss-Philippine ties. I have a fairly good idea why they have lasted this long!

(You may e-mail me at [email protected].)