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| 20 AUGUST 2007 | ||
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| 20 AUGUST 2007 | ||
| PGMA orders DOE, DepEd to conduct 'humanitarian offensive' in Basilan and Sulu |
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President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo ordered the
Department of Energy (D0E) and the Department of Education (DepEd) today to
conduct a "humanitarian offensive" in Basilan and Sulu to assist civilians
affected by the ongoing military offensive against Muslim terrorists in
Mindanao’s two southernmost provinces. The President issued the order during the opening of the command conference she convened this morning with officials of the DOE, National Power Corporation (NPC), Power Sector Asset and Liabilities Management (PSALM), National Transmission Corporation (Transco), National Electrification Administration (NEA) and the Philippine National Oil Company (PNOC) at the DOE's main office in Taguig City. The “humanitarian offensive” includes the putting up of solar-powered science laboratories "in the hinterlands of Basilan and Sulu" to enable students to continue their studies despite the fighting. "We'd like to do a humanitarian offensive in Basilan and Sulu and the assignment of the DOE, together with the DepEd, would be to put up solar-powered science laboratories for students in the hinterlands of Sulu and Basilan," she said. Energy Secretary Angelo Reyes said his office will act immediately on the President’s instruction. Government troops are pursuing Muslim terrorists behind the July 10 ambush of a military contingent that resulted in death of 14 Marines, 10 of whom were beheaded by the ambushers. |
| Statement of the President |
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Economic development, which we draw from the
arsenal of democracy, remains our principal weapon against terrorism. Ongoing peacekeeping operations against rearguard actions of a despised and defeated group are meant to clear the path for these provinces’ journey to peace and progress which terror has delayed for so long. |
| Reyes vows fast-tracking of privatization of power assets, electricity rate cuts |
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Energy Secretary Angelo Reyes could not have
missed the drift of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s trip to his office
in Taguig City this morning -- and he did not. The President motored from Malacanang all the way to the head office of the Department of Energy (DOE) in Taguig City to find out for herself if the DOE was keeping in step with her twin marching orders to speed up the privatization of the government’s power assets and lowering electricity rates to affordable levels. In a press conference after the command conference on energy, which was also attended by other top DOE officials, Reyes said most of the government’s power assets would be privatized before the end of the year. “That’s what we want to accomplish.” Up for sale are the government's generating assets in different parts of the country, particularly the Calaca plant in Batangas; Palinpinon plant in Leyte and Binga-Ambuklao plant in Benguet. Two big-ticket state power assets also up for privatization are Transco (National Transmission Corporation) and Energy Development Corporation (EDC) shares. Reyes said the sale of the power assets would generate an estimated $6 billion for the government. The President also directed the DOE to find ways and means to cut electricity costs, noting that the Philippines has one of the highest powers rates in the region, Reyes said. He said his office is currently studying where the cost components in the generation, transmission and distribution systems could be cut to effect a down-the-line reduction of power rates. "The President's directive is to see to it that we are able to not only have sufficient energy and power but power at affordable levels," Reyes said. "We will have to disaggregate the cost components of power pricing: the generation costs, the transmission costs and the distributions costs. We have to find out how we can reduce the costs in each of those components by examining it in detail," he added. Reyes also squelched rumors of impending power shortages as he assured the people that supply of electricity is good up to the end of the year. "We are assured by Napocor of adequate supply or generated power up to the end of this year. There'll be no problems in terms of generation. Of course, we have taken care and ensure that there is transmission and distribution. We have to protect the transmission and distribution lines," he said. |
| PGMA says economic development remains her administration's weapon vs terrorism |
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President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo said today
economic development remains her administration’s principal weapon in the
fight against terrorism and the pursuit of peace and progress in Mindanao,
particularly Basilan and Sulu. In a two-paragraph statement, the President stressed, thus: “Economic development, which we draw from the arsenal of democracy, remains our principal weapon against terrorism.” The President added that the “ongoing peacekeeping operations against rearguard actions of a despised and defeated group are meant to clear the path for these provinces’ (Sulu’s and Basilan’s) journey to peace and progress which terror has delayed for so long.” Earlier last Tuesday (Aug. 14), at the “full meeting” of the National Security Council (NSC) which she reconvened, the President set the tone with her opening statement which mentioned her administration’s “unrelenting efforts to forge lasting peace with justice, harmony and security for all Mindanaoans and the rest of the Filipino people.” “These efforts shall include… fast-tracking of projects and programs for infrastructure, health, housing, livelihood, farming and fisheries upgrading, and Muslim education and culture in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao,” the President announced during the NSC meeting at Malacanang’s Aguinaldo State Dining Room. The above measures are over and above the protection of civilians in battle zones, strict adherence to ceasefire parameters, and the harnessing of all sectors and international support for peace and development initiatives. “It’s imperative that we all work together without selfish politicking to preserve the peace we have achieved so far and to advance it toward a final agreement and the massive development that will follow,” the President added. In his summation of the “highlights” of the NSC meeting, Press Secretary and Presidential Spokesperson Ignacio R. Bunye reported that “the NSC acknowledged the need for more intensive development efforts and affirmative action for Muslim communities, to settle the conflicts in Mindanao.” Even the Armed Forces Chief of Staff, Gen. Hermogenes Esperon Jr., stated right after the NSC meeting that the military is “a very small component” of the solution to peace in Mindanao. He clarified that the troops being sent to the two provinces are not necessarily for offensive “but for stability and to enforce the gun ban.” He also announced that a separate AFP engineering brigade will be dispatched to Basilan as was earlier stationed in Sulu. |
