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WORLD EXPO: RP WINNING LIKE DAVID OVER GOLIATH 

That was how delegates to the Bureau International des Expositions general assembly here described the stunning win of the Philippines over Australia for the right to host World Expo 2002. 

The victory came on the second balloting after the first ended in a draw. 

In the second vote, the Philippines got 43 votes against Australia's 35. The assembly has 84 members. 

It was the first time in the 90-year history of the BIE, the United Nations body that  supervises and regulates world expositions and exhibitions, that the bid for the World Expo had gone beyond the first balloting. 

''BIE rules didn't foresee this situation,'' admitted Ole Philipson, BIE president. ''Thus, we have no solution but to have a second vote.''

Tourism Secretary Mina Gabor, Philippine delegation head, said the voting could have gone either way right on the first balloting.

Had there been a rule that the BIE president could break a tie, the Philippines could not have won.

This was very likely, Gabor said, because Philipson was vehemently opposed to the Philippine aspiration to host a World Expo and could have voted for Australia.

Or the Philippines could have won by one vote had the Colombian delegate, who had promised to support the Philippine bid, not gone to the toilet during the first balloting and failed to cast his ballot.

The Colombian vote could have broken the tie at 38 all. 

'We Made History'
In any case, after the final vote was announced, an emotional Gabor exulted: ''We made history!''

It was sweet victory for Gabor, who, for the last five years, had been batting for a ''recognized exposition'' that is smaller, affordable and within the resources of developing nations.

From Manila, President Ramos sent a message saying: ''I hail and commend our team under Secretary Gabor for this victory and grand opportunity for the Philippines.''

The Philippines chalked up a number of ''firsts'' with its victory. The exposition it will host will be the world's first ''recognized expo.''

It is the first time that a developing country will host a World Expo supervised by the BIE. Since 1851, international expositions had been hosted by developed countries.

And the exposition, to be held in the first quarter of the year 2002 at the 25-hectare Quezon Memorial Circle in Quezon City, will be the first after the turn of the century.

''The alternative expo is undoubtedly the logical path for all of us to showcase our achievements, dreams and aspirations to the world,'' Gabor said.

Breakthrough
The breakthrough came when the BIE ratified the 1988 amendment to its Constitution that allowed a smaller, ''recognized world expo.''

''Without the amendment, there would have been no way for us to ever host a world expo,'' said Gabor, commissioner-general of the Philippines' World Expo 2002 Commission.

A recognized expo is by no means an inferior expo, said Vicente Loscertales, BIE secretary-general.

''A recognized expo is more affordable and doesn't require a huge investment,'' he explained. ''It is held for three months. The theme is more specialized and more concrete. People go there because they are interested in the theme.''

A major expo, such as the ones held every five years, has no limit in terms of funding and size of the site. It can last up to six months and the theme can be more general and broad.

Hannover, Germany, will host the expo in 2000 and Seto, Japan, in 2005. 

Expo Theme
For World Expo 2002, the Philippines has chosen ''Ecotourism: Growing with nature'' as its theme.

''We are determined to draw more ecotourists,'' Gabor said. ''They are more appreciative of the historical, cultural and natural values and traits of a country, and its people are willing to spend more to enjoy their expedition and be acquainted with other places in the world.''

She said World Expo 2002 would focus on the preservation of the environment and recognize global market opportunities for environmental goods and services.

She said world economies were teeming with perfect sites for ecotourism, broadening the market for equipment producers like US, Japan, Australia, Europe and Asia.

''In 1996 alone, these countries sold $17.4 billion worth of air pollution control equipment and $11.8 billion of waste management equipment,'' she said.

Global environment revenue is expected to grow by 33 percent by the turn of  the century to $600 billion in 2010, she predicted.

Expo Site
The Quezon Memorial Circle was chosen site of World Expo 2002 because it already has features that need only to be enhanced, according to Jean Luc Kebers, Belgian consultant of the World Expo Philippines Commission.

Kebers said the expo budget of $153 million could be used exclusively for the development of the exposition's content and substance.

He said there would be no cost for land rental and new infrastructure because basic utilities such as hotels and restaurants, as well as the land and transportation facilities are already in place or are being built.

An Expo Village or Nayong Expo will be built on a four-hectare lot at the University of the Philippines campus to serve as ''a home away from home'' for participating countries' personnel before and during the expo.

The Philippine offer was filed by the Ramos administration and backed up by a videotaped message from President-elect Joseph Ejercito Estrada who promised to give his full support to the exposition.

RP Stability Cited
Former Foreign Secretary Raul S. Manglapus, co-chair of the Philippine expo commission, told the assembly delegates that the Philippine bid was justified by ''three eloquent products of the political development which began with our People Power Revolution of 1986--stability, continuity, reasonable certainty of the future.''

As an example, he cited the forthcoming peaceful transition of presidential power from Ramos to Estrada, who pledged ''to build on the spectacular gains achieved by the Ramos administration.''

In his message, Estrada told the assembly delegates: ''As early as Jan. 25 this year, your inquiry mission visited my office while I was an aspirant for the presidency and I remember distinctly my answer: 'I hope you will vote for the Philippines'.''

Window to the World
Manuel Quezon III, grandson of the President after whom Quezon City was named, recalled to delegates that his grandfather had dreamed that the city would provide a window to the world.

He said his family was proud that that dream would become a reality with the selection of Quezon City as the site of World Expo 2002.

Alberto Fenix, president of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, voiced the full support of Filipino businessmen for the exposition, predicting it would enhance not only tourism but investment and trade.

The Paris-based section of the Philippine campaign was promoted by Ambassador to France Hector Villaruel.

Also in the Philippine delegation to the assembly are former Ambassador to the United Nations Sedfrey Ordoñez and Undersecretary for Trade and Industry Alfredo Luchico.

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