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| 11 AUGUST 2007 | ||
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| 11 AUGUST 2007 | ||
| NTC chief resignation accepted |
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President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has accepted
with deep regret the courtesy resignation of National Telecommunications
Commission (NTC) head Abraham Abesamis, Malacañang said today. The appointment of a new NTC commissioner is a result of the ever-changing requirement of technological advancement in the area of telecommunications which demand the expertise of a lawyer, Press Secretary and Presidential Spokesperson Ignacio R. Bunye said in a statement. The President commends Abesamis’ good performance at the NTC, “which resulted in major policy shift towards the protection of the consumers and at the same time provided the specific guidelines on the proper conduct of players in the broadcast and telecommunications industries,” the statement added. For a smooth transition in the operations of the Commission, Abesamis will assist the incoming NTC commissioner, lawyer Ruel V. Canobas, phasing him in the rigors, requirements and responsibilities of the office. Canobas is a former undersecretary at the Office of the Political Adviser. The National Telecommunications Commission is an attached agency of the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC). |
| Statement of the President Re: Abu Sayyaf terrorists |
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We commend the bravery of our soldiers even as
we grieve for those who offered their lives in the line of duty, while
pursuing our quest for peace and justice. There can be no let-up in our fight against terror. The Abu Sayyaf deserves condemnation for its acts of violence that have stalled peace and progress in the southern Philippines. |
| Statement of the President Re: Agenda of Mayhem |
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The military offensive against the Abu Sayyaf
must continue, not as an act of vengeance but as a strategy to win the
peace. We cannot allow terrorists to hold the South hostage to their agenda of mayhem and bloodsport. We seek peace with those with peaceful intentions. But we also seek justice for our soldiers, civilians, and communities affected by this conflict. Our troops will prevail because our intentions are just and noble. |
| Statement of the President Re: Gen. Romeo Tolentino |
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I have ordered Army Commanding General Romeo
Tolentino to the front lines, to help oversee the theatre of operations and
to be nearer my soldiers. The Army Headquarters will now be temporarily set up in Wescom (Western Command) in Zamboanga until the situation normalizes. I expect General Tolentino, considered as a soldier’s soldier, not just to orchestrate punitive actions against those who wantonly maim and kill but also to evaluate peaceful overtures of those who will demonstrate remorse. |
| PGMA offers relocation site for informal settlers in 4 QC barangays |
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President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo offered today
a relocation site in San Jose del Monte, Bulacan for the informal settler
families of four barangays in Quezon City – Ramon Magsaysay, Alicia, Sto.
Cristo and Bahay Toro. “So, ito ang magiging pinaka-output nitong pag-uusap natin ngayon. Tutulungan iyong mga constituents ninyo na lumipat doon sa Towerville. Maraming salamat sa inyong hospitality,” the President told the officials of the four barangays. At an eight-minute video presentation during the informal talks held at the Library of the Bago Bantay Elementary School, Barangay Ramon Magsaysay Chairman Ignacio Santiago raised his concerns on lack of power services in his barangay and housing locations for his informal settlers. Barangay Alicia Chairman Leonardo Flores asked for the establishment of daycare center, covered court and the provision of barangay service vehicle. For his part, Barangay Sto. Cristo Chairman Rodolfo Ubales asked for the cleaning of their drainage system, while Barangay Bahay Toro Chairman Dennis Caboboy cited the need for housing projects for his barangay’s informal settlers/squatters and livelihood programs for the unemployed and underemployed. The four barangays also raised the issues of rampant illegal drug activities such as the presence of rugby boys and drug addicts, and snatchings. They thanked the President for including their barangays in the so-called People’s Government Mobile Action (P.G.M.A.)-Serbisyo Muna Caravan. The President told the four barangay officials that for every barangay visit she makes, there is always a job fair set up by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) to provide employment for those who are out of job. The barangay officials asked the President to give relocation site for informal settlers consisting of 20 families living under the bridge along Congressional Avenue, EDSA and 40 families occupying spaces along the Nueva Ecija Street in Barangay Ramon Magsaysay, while in Santo Cristo, 200 families residing along Culiat River. The President made the relocation site offer after Mayor Feliciano Belmonte said QC has no funds to buy a one-hectare property in Barangay Ramon Magsaysay allegedly owned by a certain Vicente Ponce which the informal settlers want to occupy at P16,000 per square meter. The President said that land with dispute is rebuttable and offered 500 housing units combined for the four barangays in San Jose del Monte. “Kahit binigyan ng notice, ganoon pa rin. Mabuti ang 500 housing units combine na iyon sa inyo. P16,000 hindi kaya. Ang solusyon diyan ay iyong Towerville sa San Jose del Monte,” she said. Meanwhile, Belmonte promised to put up more streetlights in the four barangays. National Housing Authority Administrator Federico Laxa offered full support and coordination to the four barangays and told the informal settlers that the monthly amortization of P200/month in the Bulacan relocation site would be affordable for them. The Chief Executive ordered Belmonte to fasttrack the cleaning of drainage systems in the barangays. “Sa drainage, si Mayor na iyan, siya ang nag-aayos, in fact, may mga nakita ako dito sa Quezon City, inaayos na, kanya iyong construction,” she said. On the problems on lack of covered court and day care centers, Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chairman Bayani Fernando would rather prioritize the housing problems but assured the barangays he would give ample attention on the matter. “Kahit hindi basketball court, aayusin natin, iyong easement puwedeng maging bulwagan, maging park at lagyan ng chicken wires and prioritize widening Mindanao Avenue at kukunin ito sa Road User’s Tax,” the President told them. On the anti-drug campaign, Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) Director General Dionisio Santiago promised to work for police and barangay tanods’ visibility in their respective barangays The President earlier awarded four Certificates to Operate “Tindahan Natin” and 100 TESDA Scholarship Vouchers worth P5,000 each to the four barangays which were received respectively by their chair officials. The President was also accompanied by Social Welfare Secretary Esperanza Cabral, Quezon City Rep. Vincent Crisologo and PCUP Chairman Percival Chavez. |
| PGMA orders Army Chief to the front lines; transfers PA HQ to Zamboanga |
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Saying that terrorists should not be allowed to
hold the southern Philippines as their hostage, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
ordered today the chief of the Philippine Army to the front lines. “I have ordered Army Commanding General Romeo Tolentino to the front lines, to help oversee the theatre of operations and to be nearer my soldiers,” thus announced President Arroyo in her third statement of the day regarding the renewed fighting in Sulu between the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the terrorists Abu Sayyaf Group. The President also ordered the temporary transfer of the Philippine Army headquarters to Zamboanga while the battle rages. “The Army HQ will now be temporarily set up in Wescom (Western Command) in Zamboanga until the situation normalizes,” she said. “I expect General Tolentino, considered as a soldier’s soldier, not just to orchestrate punitive actions against those who wantonly maim and kill but also to evaluate peaceful overtures of those who will demonstrate remorse,” President Arroyo added. Earlier in the day, the President announced that the military “will continue its offensive against the Abu Sayyaf,” pointing out that “we cannot allow terrorists to hold the South hostage to their agenda of mayhem and bloodsport.” “The military offensive against the Abu Sayyaf must continue, not as an act of vengeance but as a strategy to win the peace,” President Arroyo said, adding that “We seek peace with those with peaceful intentions.” The Chief Executive, however, clarified that “we also seek justice for our soldiers, civilians, and communities affected by this conflict.” The President is hopeful that “our troops will prevail because our intentions are just and noble.” She commended the soldiers who are fighting it out with the enemy in Sulu, while condemning the violent Abu Sayyaf. “We commend the bravery of our soldiers even as we grieve for those who offered their lives in the line of duty, while pursuing our quest for peace and justice. The President stressed that “there can be no let-up in our fight against terror (as) the Abu Sayyaf deserves public condemnation for its acts of violence that have stalled peace and progress in the southern Philippines.” Meanwhile, Armed Forces Chief of Staff Gen. Hermogenes Esperon today identified four of the 10 “body count” on the enemy side from the Aug. 8 and Aug. 9 encounters. Two casualties were identified in each of the two encounter sites. The military said there was a total of 32 casualties on the enemy side – 10 body count and 22 based on troops’ accounts and civilian reports. The identified enemy casualties from the five body count in the Aug. 8 encounter in Lanao Dakula, Parang, Sulu were Jahili, a member of the rogue Moro National Liberation front (MNLF), and Parad Astig, aka Rambo, of the ASG under the Radulan Sahiron group. Parad was number 17 in the military’s order of battle. From the Aug. 9 encounter in Tambaking, Maimbung, Sulu, identified among the five body count were Salip Edimar aka Longhair, of the ASG, who served as security of Radulan Sahiron; and Mazdal Jumdail, also of the ASG, son of Dr. Abu (Pula), and right hand man of (Albader) Parad. Sahiron, Oula and Parad are among those believed to have initiated the encounters with the AFP elements who were then “not on battle mode,” according to Maj. Eugene Batara, spokesman of the Western Mindanao Command. Batara noted that like the earlier Basilan attack last month where 14 Marines were killed, 10 of them beheaded and mutilated, “they’ve (the enemy) been attacking our soldiers when they are not in battle mode.” While the number of enemy wounded in those encounters remains “undetermined,” troop accounts and civilian reports have it that “many (ASG members) were wounded.” So far, some 57 people have been killed in the three-day running gun battle between government troopers and members of the Abu Sayyaf and their rogue partners from the MNLF. |
