Manila: Philippine News Agency’s business reporter Kris Crismundo has been selected to take part in the prestigious three-week International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) of the US Department of State. Crismundo is the lone Filipino participant and media professional in the IVLP round titled ‘Renewable Energy as an Economic Driver,’ joining high-level officials from the energy sector from more than a dozen countries. Her batch will be traveling to Washington D.C., North Carolina, Nevada, Utah, and Louisiana from Nov. 2 to 23 to meet and confer with professional counterparts in the US. The program aims to give participants an overview of US policies at the federal, state and local levels that drive innovation in clean energy.

According to Philippines News Agency, Crismundo has been with the PNA for the past 12 years as a business reporter, covering energy, trade, industry, and investments. She is also the vice president for internal of the Economic Journalists Association of the Philippines, the country’s
premier organization of business reporters. Prior to joining the IVLP, she participated in exchange programs of China and South Korea, namely the China-Asia Pacific Press Center in 2019 and the Korea International Journalists Invitation Program in 2023.

The multi-regional IVLP gathers 22 other business leaders and government officials from Albania, Argentina, Australia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Finland, Hong Kong SAR, Hungary, Italy, Kyrgyz Republic, Malaysia, Maldives, Moldova, Montenegro, Morocco, Nigeria, Slovak Republic, and Slovenia. Each year over 4,500 participants from all over the world are selected by US embassies to travel to the US under the IVLP. Over 320 current and former heads of government and state and many other distinguished leaders in the public and private sectors have since participated in the program.