The impacts of the US Global economic crisis on the UAE Businesses

The global financial crisis hit the UAE economy when it was enjoying above average growth rate. The market in the UAE was in boom due to the easy and cheap accessibility of capital that resulted in high degree of lending and borrowing and high level of investment and consumption. Commodity prices, such as that of crude oil were high, leading to increased level of capital accumulation. This boom time in UAE coincided with the US sub-prime recession that began in 2005.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on The impacts of the US Global economic crisis on the UAE Businesses specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The financial market was crippled completely when in 2008 Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy. 2008 marked a turbulent year for the Arab countries, even though they began the year with high oil prices, buoyant real estate sector, and thriving banking sector (Ravichandran Maloain, 2010). The only problem that was immi nent during the period was increasing inflation due to the depreciation of the US dollars. Therefore the banks that earlier had easy access to international market, were now grappling for finances. This crisis has led to dramatic changes in the growth process of the Arab world and GCC countries (Brach Loewe, 2010; Ravichandran Maloain, 2010). Therefore, the pertinent question that arises is that the degree to which the global financial crisis has affected the economy of UAE, especially its business sector, and the effect it will continue to have on businesses. The aim of the paper is to discuss the global financial crisis and the impact it had on the UAE economy and businesses. The economy of UAE was in boom until 2008, with positive conditions in its financial market, investments, capital accumulation, and growth. The economic growth of UAE when compared with other regions like European Union, the world economy, and the US economy from 2004 through 2009 (see figure 1), it can be observed the UAE economy had a higher growth rate than the other regions through 2004 to 2009. However, the growth rate followed a similar pattern of declining growth rate since 2006. UAE has been one of the fastest growing economies of the world and its GDP had crossed $270 billion mark, even when the construction industry has been in recession but the growth rate of the economy fell to -0.7 percent in 2009 (World Bank, 2010). The economy had a very high growth rate, and the per capita income of the country since 2005 had been higher than European Union countries. The service sector of the economy has been the highest contributor to the GDO with its share at 44 percent in 2009 (World Bank, 2010). Advertising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Figure 1: Comparison of GDP growth (in percentage), Source – World Bank (World Bank, 2010) The economy was doing very well until the real e state industry showed signs of downfall in mid 2008. The boom market had created excess supply of realty. However, property prices crashed by 15 to 25 percent in 2008 (Hartley, 2009) and fell further by 43 percent in 2009 (Global Property Guide, 2010). This resulted in further crash of the business with profit margin shrinking, and sales declining. The financial market crumbled with the share market crashing (Ravichandran Maloain, 2010). The question that arose according to many is that the financial crisis that arose in UAE was due to the â€Å"mistakes in decisions taken prior to the crisis rather than the global financial crisis itself.† (Brach Loewe, 2010, p. 46) Was the crisis in the UAE really related to the problem associated with the mistakes in financial decision making prior to the setting of the global recession? This question requires further deliberations. With the UAE financial market tumbling down, the Central Bank of UAE and the government of Abu Dhabi came to the rescue with a bailout of $10 billion to the state run enterprise, Dubai World that had found it stuck in the crisis. 41 percent of the bailout was meant to take care of the debt obligations of the company related to Islamic bonds (sukuk) of the property related sect of the company. Therefore, the bailout was an imminent measure in order to help the UAE economy hold its position. Though Dubai World had abruptly asked its creditors to repay back their loans, it had created uncertainty among the UAE financial market, and had crashed the stock market. However, the government bailout helped in stabilizing the financial market anxiety both in UAE and globally. The reason for the global shock to the fall of Dubai World was due to the heavy investment of western companies in UAE businesses. Therefore, a recession in the UAE market would affect their already depleting bottom line. Many believe that Islamic bonds were the main reason for the UAE recession and not consider it as an afte r effect of the global recession. Actually, the reason for such an apparent belief is probably due to the bond’s central presence in the negotiations for the bail out. Therefore, many started believing it was the Islamic bonds that were the root cause of the recession. However, sukuk was not the main reason for the recession in the UAE. Therefore were other factors that helped in the recession to set in. in the following paragraphs, these reasons are discussed.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on The impacts of the US Global economic crisis on the UAE Businesses specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The first effect that UAE faced may be characterized as the wealth effect of the global recession. In this case the state and the private business players lost a lot of their accumulated savings as they had heavily invested in the industrialized western world where they lost their wealth as the recession hit the west ern world. In case of UAE, it is believed that the country’s â€Å"sovereign funds were by far the largest worldwide with a total sum that was more almost 400 percent of the country’s GDP† and it is believed that 30 percent of these accumulated savings of were lost during the global recession (Brach Loewe, 2010, p. 49). UAE had its sovereign funds savings invested in emerging market stocks and bonds that crashed with the global recession, in which they too faced heavy losses. Therefore, the main problem of the UAE financial crisis was that the accumulated savings of the country was not invested in the domestic production, but rather was diverted in western countries that were worst affected due to the recent global recession. The financial affect that was faced by the country was related to the stock market of UAE. On an average the stock market indices of the UAE crashed by 50 percent from middle of 2008 through early 2009. This caused a loss of around 40 perc ent of GDP during the crisis in UAE. UAE was hit the worst, as it was a major oil producing country. The reason for the effect was the direct exposure of the country to the western economy. Further, the country was facing a high level of inflation, much higher than the western world, with price for consumer goods and necessities rising. Other research has shown that the global financial crisis has made the economy of UAE for vulnerable to external shocks thus, the global financial market affected the domestic market by crashing the stock market in 2008 (Ravichandran Maloain, 2010). Further, UAE had many help of external financial support that made it more vulnerable to the financial crisis. For instance, many foreign companies invested in development projects in Dubai and therefore the bond market in the whole Arab world was affected due to the west dependent development investments. Further the increased dependency of the UAE on its oild exports also affected it during the financi al crisis. The growth of the UAE economy has been due to the steady increase in the oil prices, however, once the recession hit, the oil prices underwent a correction, and this resulted in decline of the prices by almost 60 percent:Advertising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The decline of oil prices was no good news for the UAE, for the oil sector accounted for about 35.9 percent of the country’s GDP in 2007. Local newspaper Gulf News estimated in July that the oil revenue of Abu Dhabi whose production accounts for nearly 94 percent of the UAE’s crude oil output, would reach 100 billion dollars if the price remained on high level. But the figure seems impossible now. (Jian, 2008) Further there was a bust in the property market, with the property prices declining sharply. However, the boom in the property market reversed as the property prices fell by almost 40 to 50 percent of their previous rent in UAE (Brach Loewe, 2010). The property prices in UAE dropped by 25 percent in 2008 and further by 43 percent in 2009 (Global Property Guide, 2010). The main reason for the crash in the property prices in UAE has been a rise in foreign buyers of property in Dubai that had led to the drastic increase in property prices in the country. However, w ith the recession, foreign investors in the property market vanished, leading to a high price, and no buyers, therefore, crashing the market miserably. Further, there was a rise of short-term speculative buying of property and it crashed as the property market went bust. This led to a recession of the construction industry as â€Å"half of all the construction projects in the UAE, worth †¦ US$582 billion †¦ have been †¦ cancelled in response to falling demand and deteriorating market conditions† (Global Property Guide, 2010). However, certain domestic problem in case of UAE cannot be overlooked. The Dubai World and its fall due to the increased debt in form of Islamic bonds is supposed to be one of the major reasons for the crisis in UAE. With the vision of making Dubai the hub of tourism for the region, there were grand plans for the city that were thwarted due to the drying up of the foreign investments in development projects of the city. Therefore, with the stagnation in property prices in Dubai, the investors became suspicion, and with the global recession, the property market declined heavily, leading to the financial crisis in UAE. The financial crisis in the UAE was caused due to two fold reasons – global financial crisis and the internal development plans that heavily dependent on foreign investment. This made the development project, and thereby the economy vulnerable to external shocks. Thus, with the global financial crisis, there was an instant affect on the stock and real estate market in UAE, and thereby hampering development of the businesses in the economy. However, presently, the economy is slowly recovering from the crisis, and is expected to regain its past galore. References Brach, J., Loewe, M. (2010). The global financial crisis and the Arab world: Impact, reactions, and consequences. Mediteranean Policies, 15(1) , 45-71. Global Property Guide. (2010). UAE house prices go up, but more price falls forecast. W eb. Hartley, J. (2009). Abu Dhabi property prices fall by up to 25%. Web. Jian, P. (2008). Global financial crisis takes toll on UAE. Web. Ravichandran, K., Maloain, A. M. (2010). The Global Financial Crisis and Stock Market Linkages: Further Evidence on GCC Market. Journal of Money, Investment and Banking, 16 , 46-56. World Bank. (2010). World Bank Databank. Web. This report on The impacts of the US Global economic crisis on the UAE Businesses was written and submitted by user Aal1yah to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

The History of Air Conditioning essays

The History of Air Conditioning essays A brief history of heating and cooling gives you an appreciation of the depth and importance this industry has played in the evolution of society. It will also dispel the popular myth that central heating, central air conditioning, and refrigeration are recent developments. (Carter Stanfield, 2010) The history of air conditioning goes way back before this civilization even existed. Thousands years ago, ancient Egyptians had methods or cooling the air temperature. The Romans also had a few methods that they used. As for the civilized world, in the early 1900 the journey began where air conditions first introduced by Dr. Willis Carrier. There are numerous of companies that brand air condition systems in a various different forms. In todays modern world the air condition industry is one of the biggest industries. One of the greatest inventions is Air conditioning; which was introduced in the early 1900s by Dr. Willis Carrier. It has become a life necessity in our every days life. Not only its needed to keep humans in a living comfort zone, but for other reasons such as keeping computer servers at a certain cooling temperature to operate efficiently and safe keep data. It is a standard in commercial and residential structures in most countries around the world. It is also found in automobiles, mobile homes, airplanes, and trains. Long before air conditioning was introduced, there were a few methods used by the ancients Egyptians and Romans. The basic concept behind air conditioning is known to have been applied in ancient Egypt where reeds hung in windows had water trickling down. The evaporation of water cooled the air blowing through the window, though this process also made the air more humid (contributors, Air conditioning, 2012). Ancients Egyptians also used clay as a method to cool the air. The Romans had a great method to cool air by circulating water. In Ancient Rome, water from aqueducts w ...

Introduction to Evergreen Bagworm Moths

Introduction to Evergreen Bagworm Moths If you are unfamiliar with bagworm, you might never notice it on the evergreens in your yard. Cleverly disguised in their bags made from the foliage of the host tree, Thyridopteryx ephemeraeformis larvae feed on cedars, arborvitae, junipers, and other favorite landscape trees. Description Despite its nickname, Thyridopteryx ephemeraeformis is not a worm, but a moth. The bagworm lives its entire life cycle inside the safety of its bag, which it constructs with silk and interwoven bits of foliage. The larval form appears worm-like, hence the name bagworm. Identifying bagworm in the landscape requires a good eye capable of recognizing their excellent camouflage. Because bagworm usually infests evergreen trees, the brown bags may be overlooked at first, appearing like seed cones. Look for suspicious cone-shaped bundles of dried brown foliage, up to 2 inches long, that match the trees needles or leaves. Only the adult male moth leaves the protection of its bag when ready to mate. The moth is black, with clear wings that span roughly an inch across. Classification Kingdom - Animalia Phylum - Arthropoda Class – Insecta Order – Lepidoptera Family - Psychidae Genus - Thyridopteryx Species - ephemeraeformis Bagworm Diet Bagworm larvae feed on the foliage of both evergreen and deciduous trees, especially these favorite host plants: cedar, arborvitae, juniper, and false cypress. In the absence of these preferred hosts, bagworm will eat the foliage of just about any tree: fir, spruce, pine, hemlock, sweetgum, sycamore, honey locust, and black locust. Adult moths do not feed, living just long enough to mate. Life Cycle Bagworm, like all moths, undergoes complete metamorphosis with four stages. Egg:Â  In late summer and fall, the female lays up to 1,000 eggs in her case. She then leaves her bag and drops to the ground; the eggs overwinter.Larva:Â  In late spring, larvae hatch and disperse on silken threads. They immediately begin feeding and constructing their own bags. As they grow, the larvae enlarge their bags by adding more foliage. They stay within the safety of their bags, sticking their heads out to feed and carrying the bags from branch to branch. Frass falls out of the bottom end of the cone-shaped bag through an opening. Pupa:Â  When the larvae reach maturity in late summer and prepare to pupate, they attach their bags to the underside of a branch. The bag is sealed shut, and the larvae turn to head down inside the bag. The pupal stage lasts four weeks.Adult:Â  In September, adults emerge from their pupal cases. Males leave their bags to fly in search of mates. Females have no wings, legs, or mouthparts, and remain within their bags. Special Adaptations and Defenses The bagworms best defense is its camouflage bag, worn throughout its life cycle. The bag allows otherwise vulnerable larvae to move freely from place to place. Female moths, though confined to their bags, attract mates by releasing strong sex pheromones. Males leave their bags to find partners when they sense the chemical alert from females. Habitat Bagworms live anywhere suitable host plants are available, especially forests or landscapes with cedar, juniper, or arborvitae. In the U.S., bagworms range from Massachusetts south to Florida, and west to Texas and Nebraska. This pest is native to North America.

Economic Globalization Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Economic Globalization - Essay Example In general terms, economic globalization can be considered as an objective trend that features allotment of factors of production as well as transnational flow which have emerged as social productive forces have gained more strengthen. The need of the mature market to have constant expansion in both the international and the domestic markets lays basis for the economic globalization as a phenomenon. Economic globalization has caused a co-existence of challenges and opportunities and has resulted into many losses along with gains as will be shortly looked into in the following sections. Economic globalization is fairly much like the first industrial revolution. The first industrial revolution came as a precursor of the material prosperity. The first and foremost similarity between economic globalization and the first industrial revolution is that both have resulted into an immense and abrupt new era of social productive forces along with the opportunity to re-establish the global economy. Today, the world economy is becoming integrated as more and more state boundaries are losing their significance as a result of the expansion of trade and material exchange. Economic globalization will have profound impacts on the international environment. The promotion of international trade directly signifies the spread of economic globalization. One gets an instant sense of connectedness with the globe when one living in US sees Chinese tag on the T-shirt, Pakistani tag on the football, and South Korean sticker on the car standing in the porch. But on the other side, there are many negative impacts of economic globalization on the international environment. From a general perspective of microeconomics, the world is not at an acceptable level of equilibrium, but rather is experiencing sharp fluctuation, aggressive speculation, and controlled monopoly or polygopoly. Statistics and quantitative analysis are geared for the short term and often yield wrong and unpredictable

Branding Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Branding - Essay Example The primary thing is that branding is not a straight jacketed, isolated and sterile activity that is totally severed from the nature of the product being branded, but is rather an aspect of the overall process of product designing, manufacturing and marketing (LePla & Parker 2). The primary purpose of branding is to educate the consumers regarding how a high quality and innovative product stands apart and is way ahead of the substitutes being offered by other competitors. The popular belief is that it takes loads of money to create a successful brand. Yet, the fact is that brands are built in the minds of the actual consumers. Hence, there is no consumer who does not want a product to be bereft of the time tested attributes like quality, utility, usability, durability, credibility, reliability and reputation. Therefore, if a company has a viable product that meets all these attributes and possibly a little extra, the concerned marketing experts can easily push that product into the c onsumer consciousness, within an affordable budget and some productive effort. Thereby, the primary purpose of branding is to bring to fore the key attributes that differentiate a successful product from its competitors, to be consistent about the claims it tends to make regarding a particular product and to make sure that the products stands by these claims when actually bought and used by the consumers, to identify and target the particular audience who have a need for that particular product and to educate and convince them regarding the product (LePla & Parker 5). Products like people have a character and a personality. However, in the recent times, marketing experts have been so entangled in the personality ethic that they have simply lost sight of the relevance of the overall character of a product. A branding approach based on personality ethic is more about believing that success of product is solely dependent on its public image and the mass perceptions associated with it ( Covey 19). In contrast a branding approach based on character ethics holds that if a product like a person is supported by a quintessential solidity of quality, character and integrity, it will definitely be able to hold on to and justify the image and perceptions being created about it, thereby leading to a successful brand (Covey 22). This is my essential belief about professional branding. Certainly, creating and managing consumer perceptions is important, but such perceptions are bound to fizzle out in the short term, if not backed by a product that is about quality, technology, utility, durability and reliability. Many apt examples do support this essential belief about branding. For instance, the success of many famous brands created by Apple like iPod and iPhone owe it to the fact that Apple places the consumer needs and requirements at the center of its closely integrated effort at product designing, manufacturing and marketing (Greg 1). The crux of Apple’s branding a pproach is to identify the consumer needs, to design and manufacture a quality product that fulfills those needs much better as compared to other competitors, and to eventually educate the consumers and highlight the key attributes of that product in a consistent and planned manner, thereby leading to a successful brand that is able to withstand the challenges posed by time and altering technologies. Take another

Free College Essays - The Effects of Sin on Hester in Hawthornes The Scarlet Letter :: Scarlet Letter essays

The Scarlet Letter  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The Effects of Sin on Hester Prynne Nathaniel Hawthorne believed his task was to analyze the effects of sin, whether thought or committed, on the human heart and mind. Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, deals with many themes, the most powerful being sin. In this novel, Hester Prynne becomes a highly respected person in a Puritan society by overcoming a constant reminder of her sin, a Scarlet letter A which she wears on her chest at all times. This object on "her bosom"; however, does the exact opposite of the initial purpose. Eventually, Hester reverses all the odds that are against here due to her courage, pride and effort. Hester went beyond the letter of the law and did everything asked of her in order to prove that she is "able." She comes from an impoverished but genteel English family, having lived in a "decayed house of gray stone, with a poverty stricken aspect, but retaining a half-obliterated sheild of arms over the portal, in token of antique gentility." But even without that specific indication of her high birth, the reader would know that Hester is a lady, from her bearing and pride. Especially in Chapter two, when she bravely faces the humiliation of the scaffold: "And never had Hester Prynne appeared more lady-like, in the antique interpretation of the term, than as she issued from the prison,"   Hester's daughter, Pearl, is "a blessing and is a reminder of her sin." As if the scarlet A were not enough punishment there "was a brat of that hellish breed" which would remind Hester of what had happened in the past. The "brat" could have been given away to Governor Bellingham yet Hester proclaimed that Pearl "is my happiness!...Ye shall not take her! I will die first!" Not a person in Boston, nor Hester herself thought highly of the little child and yet Hester still refused to let Pearl go. Hester carried the child around only because it was a direct reflection of her sin and to cast away her sin as freely as that to give it away would be unjust and unfair to Hester and Pearl. From now on Hester would continually and proudly be near Pearl. Hester would go against the grain in everything she did. Very rarely did she ever give up hope; never did she complete a job poorly.

Gardenia Bread Philippines

1. Francisco Alonso Liongson  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ Outstanding Philippine playwright in Spanish and founding president of Circulo Escenico, Pampanga's Spanish theatrical group that became nationally renowned. 2. Aurelio Tolentino  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ one of the mystics of the  Katipunan, a compadre of  Andres Bonifacio, a nationalist writer in both Kapampangan and Tagalog. He coined the worddula  for drama and ironically became known in history as the Father of Tagalog Drama for his anti-US colonial masterpiece  Kahapon, Ngayon at Bukas.A theatre at the Cultural Center of the Philippines is named  Tanghalang Aurelio Tolentino  in his honor. 3. Jose Abad Santos  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ First Kapampangan to become Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines. After Pres. Manuel L. Quezon and Vice-President Sergio Osmena left Philippine soil for the safety in America, Justice Abad Santos was the highest ranking official of the Philippine government until his execution on May 2, 1942 by the Japanes e Imperial Army for his refusal to cooperate. 4.Sotero Baluyot- Provincial governor during the Commonwealth, he formed an organization known as â€Å"Cawal ning Capayan,† described as â€Å"the largest amd most powerful provincial organization† of its time (Sturtevant, Popular Uprisings in the Philippines: 1840-1949). Although it claimed to be a â€Å"conservative labor union,† it was, in fact, a strike-breaking group of â€Å"Fascist thugs,† as the communists called them. (Pol Kekai Manansala). 5. Rosalina Icban Castro  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ Married to Jose Luna Castro, and while born in Rosales, Pangasinan, both her parents are from Pampanga and she speaks Kapampangan fluently.Obtained an   M. A. in English at Syracuse University , was a professor in English   at U. E. for several decades. During all her years as an educator, she was sought by researchers in Kapampangan literature for her intimate knowledge of Kapampangan writing. She is the author of â€Å"T he Literature of the Pampangos – an anthology and at the same time a political literary history. (ref. E. H. Lacson) (Ernie Turla) 6. Jose Luna Castro  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ Born on March 4, l9l5 in Manila to Faustino Castro and Claudia Luna – both of Lubao, Pampanga.Finished High school at Pampanga High. Finished his M. A. in Journalism and political science at Syracuse University. He became president of the Asian Institute of Journalism and has held such high positions as press counselor of the Phil. Embassy in Peking, editor of the Manila Times (l959 – l972), editor-in-chief of the Times-Journal. He was a lecturer in   Journalism at U. P. and an Eisenhower Fellow in l970. He participated in international meetings in the U. S. , Korea,   Thailand, Singapore and Japan.He authored â€Å"Journalism Handbook†. (ref. E. H. Lacson) (Ernie Turla). 7. Virgilio David  of Bacolor, PMA graduate, retired Philippine Army general and former Anti-Drug chief during the pres idency of Cory Aquino, business executive and government agency director (by Alejandro S. Camiling). 8. Lito Lapid  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ a famous star turned politician. He became governor of Pampanga and later became a member of the Philippine senate. 9. Lorna Tolentino  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ is an actress, host, executive producer and wife of fellow Kapampangan actor  Rudy Fernandez.She was born in Concepcion, Tarlac and was raised in Manila. 10. Lea Salonga  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ is a Tony Award-winning singer and actress who is best known for her portrayal of Kim in the musical Miss Saigon. She spent the first six years of her childhood in Angeles City before moving to Manila. 11. Melanie Marquez  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ is a popular beauty queen-turned-actress who hails from Mabalacat. She was Miss International 1979 and was voted as the Most Beautiful Miss International in 2000. She's also a sister of another local actor,  Joey Marquez. 12.Efren â€Å"Bata† Reyes  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ is referred to as â€Å"The Magici an† and a very popular Filipino billiards player who hails from Angeles City. He is considered to be one of history's greatest practitioners of billiards. 13. Artemio Panganiban  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ 21st Supreme Court Chief Justice of the Philippines. His ancestors originated from Pampanga and then later generations migrated to Manila. 14. Herminia â€Å"Minang† Dizon. Girlfriend of Ray Hunt (author of Behind Japanese Lines), who wrote: â€Å"Minang was a schoolteacher before the war and a most remarkable individual.The only word to describe her would be ‘fierce. ‘ She had taken up with Maj. Claude Thorpe before the fall of Bataan †¦ and she had been captured with Thorpe. .. some of her captors were quite taken with her. One high ranking Japanese officer even offered to take her with him when his countrymen conquered Australia †¦ One day Minang got a chance to escape and did so, but her life was precarious in the extreme because she was pursued not only by the Japanese but by the communist guerrillas (Huks), who hated her, and by her uncle who wanted her killed †¦ tough and resourceful woman. She was not especially pretty, though she did have flashing eyes, but she was intelligent, well organized, and articulate. †¦ I soon became smitten with her and she with me. †¦ Though she was just a slip of a girl who weighed no more than 90 pounds and could stand under my outstretched arm, no lion ever had a stouter heart. Near the end of the war †¦ she was commissioned a lieutenant in recognition of her wartime services. † [source: â€Å"Behind Japanese Lines† by Ray C. Hunt and Bernard Norling, 1986, 333 pages] (by Pol Kekai Manansala) 5. Armando Q. Madamba  of San Fernando, PMA graduate, Philippine Navy commodore, a staunch advocate of the modernization of the Philippine Navy, senior staff member, Armed Forces of the Philippines Joint Chiefs of Staff and served as military attache in the Middle East (by Ale jandro S. Camiling). 16. Marco G. Palo. A resident of Angeles City, was arrested in Feb. 1982 with other trade union organizers; severely tortured and was hospitalized as a result of this. Detained at the Bicutan Rehabilitation Center for two years and charged with conspiracy to commit subversion.Re-arrested in 1988 with alleged leaders of the CPP-NPA. and detained at the Camp Crame PC stockade. Charged with rebellion and released after two years (Dave Nepomuceno). 17. Senator Gil Puyat. Son of the pioneer Pampangan industrialist, Don Gonzalo Puyat. Graduated in l929 in Business Administration (cum laude) from U. P. where he became a dean in its department of economics. First elected senator in l955, he was consistently named â€Å"One of the Five Most Outstanding Senators† every year. He became the President of the Senate in l967.Very popular and well-known, and a notable economist Senator Puyat became Majority Floor Leader in the Senate. He hails from Guagua — he lov ed the people of Guagua such that he was instrumental in constructing several public works such as the bridges leading to Barrio Santa Filomena and the plaza in front of the town church . Buendia   Ave. in Makati is now renamed after him. (Andro Camiilng) (E. H. Lacson) (Ernie   Turla) 18. Rosa Danon Rosal  . More popularly known by her screen name of Rosa Rosal, born in Manila 16 October 1931 to Julio Danon and Gloria Lansang (from which town of Pampanga? , lived in garage for 16 years, sold sweepstakes tickets starting at six years old, studied at Antonio Regidor Elementary School. secondary schooling at Arellano High School. Worked at National Coconut Corporation as weaver, moved to soap factory where she pounded and shaped soap cakes under the sun, promoted to wrapping department, learned typing on old typewriter and worked as secretary. â€Å"Discovered† while watching shooting of a film and starred in film â€Å"Kamagong† (I remember this film–weren' t parts of it shot at the Don Pepe Henson house in Angeles.I seem to remember being aware of the shooting when I was a little girl. ). Finished secondary schooling between movies. Won best actress for Sonny Boy (1956), won highest award in Southeast Asian film festival in HK in 1956 for Anak Dalita, leading to presidential award from Magsaysay. Refused to start in bomba films and instead devoted energies to social work and rearing of daughter (didn't she become famous too? ). Gave up weekly TV show for lesser paying daily show called Damayan to help socially disadvantaged. Active in innumerable socio-civic areas ranging from promotional activities for Red Cross to relief work.Recipient of countless awards and citations from movie, civic, and religious organizations for humanitarian work, including the Outstanding Pampanguena Award in 1979. When asked why she's so dedicated to the poor, she replied: â€Å"I have been poor and I know how it feels to be pushed around. † (Pat Sut ter) 19. Lilia Garcia â€Å"Baby† Pineda  Ã¢â‚¬â€ Lubao town mayor who was elected president of the Pampanga Mayors League and more recently, as vice president for Luzon in the League of Municipalities, the umbrella organization of 1,540 towns in the Philippines.She does a great deal of humanitarian work, including helping in the resettlement of people in lahar-devasted areas. A well-known philantropist, she financially helps the poor in Pampanga especially families who cannot afford to send their children to college. Way back in the 60's, she was among the outstanding students in this author's class. (Ernie Turla) 20. Sixto V. Torres, Sr. of Apalit, former regional director and deputy commisioner of the Land Transportation Commision of the Philippines and founder of the Gonzales Memorial College (by Alejandro S. Camiling).