OPENING REMARKS
IKAPI-REX EDITORS FORUM
By
ATTY. DOMINADOR D. BUHAIN
ABPA President
(September 15, 2009, Tuesday, 8:42 – 8:52 AM, Ambassador Sala – Traders Hotel, Pasay City)
To the organizers, participants, and observers of this forum Magandang Umaga Po sa Inyong Lahat, Selamat Pagi, Aroon-Sawass, Good Morning!
The Ikatan Penerbit Indonesia (IKAPI)-REX Editors Forum evolved starting October last year when Mr. JB Sudarmanto of Indonesia attended the ABPA Strategic Planning Workshop in Baguio City in September 2008. After the successful workshop in the City of Pines, the delegates visited the Rex Printing Company and had the opportunity to witness the development and production of books in the Philippines.
In November 2008, Mr Sudarmanto in behalf of IKAPI proposed an editorial exchange between Indonesian publishers and Filipinos under the auspices of ABPA’s standing Committee on Training and Development chaired by Brunei Darussalam.
A suggestion was made to involve as well other members of ABPA to act as observers to include Brunei Darussalam, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore and Vietnam. There appears to have commonality of the public schools textbooks situation between the Philippines and Indonesia.
In the Philippines, we have the non-observance of RA 8047 or the Book Publishing Industry Development Act which mandates privatization and democratization in the publishing of textbooks for the public schools.
In Indonesia, there is the alleged deprivation of the participation of private publishers on the supply of public school textbooks by opening the contents of the textbooks online direct to the students.
For the record, we wish to inform you that ABPA has sent a communication appealing to Indonesian President Yudhoyono to lift Ministry of Education Decree No. 2 of 2008 for the survival of the local book publishing industry.
We have solicited likewise the assistance of Asia Pacific Publishers Association (APPA) and International Publishers Association (IPA) and that they have similarly presented position papers containing the same subject matter.
Another concern by both countries is the pivotal role of the loan accommodation by the World Bank.
Thus, a meeting was initiated by ABPA Secretariat through its Secretary General, Atty. Rodelio T. Dascil and by Dr. Juanita Guerrero who used to be the Director of the Bureau of Elementary Education and laid down the working paper for the editorial exchange.
Initially, the proposal was for the involvement of IKAPI and Philippine Educational Publishers Association (PEPA) which would be comprised of ten (10) representatives from IKAPI and ten (10) from PEPA. The working paper was presented to PEPA Board for its consideration.
Likewise, the concept paper was calendared for discussion by ABPA during its meetings on March 26, 2009 at Bangkok, Thailand and on April 18, 2009 at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, respectively. The program was adopted in principle by ABPA with the recommendations that other member-countries would be invited as observers.
However, sometime in July 2009, we were saddened to note that the proposed PEPA-IKAPI Educational Exchange was temporarily shelved by the Board of Directors of PEPA as it might have jived with the projected program of the forthcoming PEPA General Assembly.
In view of the importance of the program, ABPA’s Committee on Training and Development together with ABPA Secretariat inquired on the possibility on whether or not it could be done on a low-budget scheme.
This suggestion was given realization in the light of the attendance of the ABPA to the forthcoming Manila International Book Fair with the the suggestion of the Committee to include it as part of the Program. The same was conveyed to me by the ABPA Secretariat in my capacity as ABPA President and President of REX Book Store, Incorporated. After presenting the situation, the Rex Group of Companies yielded to the program.
Hence, our Chairman Mr. Juanito Fontelera, approved the partnership of the IKAPI-REX Editors’ Forum. The program was re-structured by the Head of the REX Basic Education Division in the person of Ms. Danda Crimelda B. Garcia giving due consideration to the initial concept paper prepared by ABPA Secretariat and that of Dr. Juanita Guerrero.
Premised on such developments, may I, in my capacity as ABPA President upon the recommendation of the Committee on Training and Development now officially open this IKAPI-REX Editors’ Forum with the hope of realizing the following objectives:
1.Be updated and acquainted in the practices and procedures in producing quality books in the Asean region;
2.To serve as a model for succeeding editorial, printing or publishing exchanges among the other Asean member-countries;
3.To be informed on the stumbling blocks that impede the growth of local book publishing to serve as a basis for the formulation of position papers to respective authorities to make the necessary steps to remove these obstacles;
4.To develop camaraderie among the stakeholders in the Asean Region.
May today’s program bring forth success that would redound to the benefit of the Asean BookPublishers Association.
Terima Kasih, Khop Khun Mak, Ca’m on, Salamat and Thank you very much.
