On 27 and 28 March, more than 400 delegates gathered in Manila for Publish Asia 2007 – an annual event organized by Ifra-Asia that focuses on trends in journalism and the publishing industry. The venue for this year’s show was The Manila Hotel, situated along Manila's main boulevard and surrounded by lush greenery on the shores of Manila Bay.

This landmark hotel was built in 1912 and played a key role in the country’s history over the past 95 years. In addition to serving as the residence of General MacArthur towards and after the end of WW II, the hotel has over the years welcomed an impressive list of guests from monarch and presidents to internationally renowned artists and entertainers.

Publish Asia was opened by none other than the president of the Philippines, Mrs. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. President Arroyo arrived at the venue on opening day and addressed the delegates in a speech that stressed the all-important central role of the media in a free society.

“Your conference is so important that you will see me twice today,” President Arroyo stated. “Here in the welcome ceremonies and again at dinner tonight. Why is Publish Asia so important that the head of a country would be with you twice in one day? It is our message; it is a way of saying that we Filipinos believe in the freedom of speech.”

At the conclusion of her welcoming address, President Arroyo then toured the exhibition area of the event, where Mitsubishi and 29 other exhibitors were standing by to greet the president.

The welcome dinner on the evening of the first night was hosted by The Manila Bulletin at the company’s headquarter facility located in the historic area of Intramuros. Upon arrival at The Manila Bulletin, the several hundred guests were provided a plant tour that included a glimpse of the two Mitsubishi newspaper press lines in operation.

The Manila Bulletin – a daily publication that was started 107 years ago – boasts the Philippine’s largest newspaper circulation and has been printing the paper on Mitsubishi presses since 1998.

In addition to hosting the welcome dinner, The Manila Bulletin also ran “Publish Asia 2007 opens today” as the front-page headline in its 27 March morning edition. Mitsubishi teamed up with The Manila Bulletin as sponsors to support Ifra-Asia in conducting the two-day conference.

Publish Asia 2007, conducted for the very first time in the Philippines, proved to be the most widely attended newspaper publishing event ever held in the Asia-Pacific region with more than 400 registered delegates. Publish Asia 2008 is scheduled to take place next spring in Macao.

President Arroyo with Dr. Emilio T. Yap, Manila Bulletin Chairman of the Board (left) and Pichai Chuensuksawadi, Ifra Asia Pacific Regional Committee Chairman (right)