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| 22 AUGUST 2007 | ||
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| 22 AUGUST 2007 | ||
| PGMA pays tribute to slain soldiers |
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President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo personally
offered her condolences last night to the bereaved families of the 15
members of the Philippine Marines (PM) who were killed during an encounter
with Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) terrorists in Basilan last Saturday. The President, clad in a black dress, visited the wake of the slain soldiers at the Philippine Marines Gymnasium in Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City, where she offered prayers for the heroic soldiers and interacted with the bereaved families and other relatives. Joining the President in the wake visit were Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro, Armed Forces Chief of Staff Gen. Hermogenes Esperon Jr., Philippine Air Force (PAF) Chief Lt. Gen. Horacio Tolentino, Philippine Army (PA) Chief Lt. Gen. Romeo Tolentino and Philippine Navy (PN) Vice Admiral Rogelio Calunsag. The Marine soldiers killed in action were: 2nd Lieutenants Ludwig D. Salvador, Ermin B. Soloren, Jifrey M. Leoveras, Eugene Machiste R. Pinera, and Roldan C. Samera; Privates First Class Michael M. Aoigan, Roldan Baroy, Julius P. Jove, Eril N. Labares, Renaldo F. Pedroso, Peary M. Simeros, Manuel L. Tayaban Jr., Ursulo D. Torres Jr., Danilo E. Vergara; and Private Virgilio C. Domingo III. Also killed in the same encounter was 1st Lt. Claudio Udaundo Jr. of the Philippine Air Force (PAF). Their remains were airlifted to Manila from Zamboanga City Monday night. The bodies of the slain Marines were brought to the Marines headquarters in tribute to their heroism and as part of the military’s tradition. The body of Lt. Udaundo was taken to the PAF Chapel. During the brief interaction, the President gave P100,000 financial assistance to each of the grieving families as she told them that the “Filipino people are very proud of their loved ones,” who died as heroes. Philippine Marines Spokesman Ariel Caculitan said the relatives of the victims will also receive the following: P15,000 burial assistance from the Philippine Navy; P50,000 in checks from Philippine Marines Mutual Special Financial Assistance; six months’ basic pay in cash benefits, scholarships from the Marines Educational Benefits System Office, lifetime pensions for the wife and parents (for the single soldier), and P5,000 financial assistance from the Philippine Veterans Affairs Office (PVAO). |
| President Arroyo supports DSWD's education program for 350 high school students |
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President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has
allocated P5.5 million from the President’s Social Fund (PSF) to finance the
PGMA Educational Assistance Program (PGMA-EAP) being undertaken by the
Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD). Social Welfare and Development Secretary Esperanza I. Cabral said there are 350 high school students who are beneficiaries of the educational assistance which will continue until 2010. Of the student-beneficiaries, 100 are from Payatas, Quezon City while 250 come from Regions V (Bicol), VI (Western Visayas), VIII (Eastern Visayas) and IX (Western Mindanao or Zamboanga Peninsula). Meanwhile, DSWD Assistant Secretary Ruel G. Lucentales received recently the amount of P2.25 million from Undersecretary Charito Eliger, Deputy Director General of the Presidential Management Staff (PMS). The amount represents the PSF assistance for the 350 students for school year 2007-2008. “I thank the President for her support to this educational assistance program. With this funding support, poor but deserving youth are given the opportunity to continue their education,” Secretary Cabral said. Under the PGMA-EAP, each high school student is given P1,000 monthly allowance for the 10-month school year. The amount covers school fees, transportation, books and other miscellaneous expenses. The allowances will be released in four tranches at P2,500 each tranche. Secretary Cabral said that the beneficiaries from Regions VI, VIII and IX were chosen because they come from areas with the highest reported number of out-of-school youth. She added that those from Region V were selected because they were the most affected by the typhoons that hit the Bicol Region last year. The educational assistance for the Payatas children, on the other hand, is part of the continuing commitment of the President to help the victims of the trashslide tragedy on July 10, 2001. The Department of Education (DepEd) and concerned local government units are also involved in the implementation of the program. The DSWD said the parents of the children also play important roles in the program by ensuring the daily attendance of the children, providing moral and academic support, values formation and attending meetings and other activities related to the project. |
| PGMA wants to ensure brighter future for Pinoys |
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While she may be busy fighting terrorists,
winning peace and improving the economy, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
still finds time securing a bright and healthy future for Filipino children.
This, she demonstrated again today as she visited another five barangays in Quezon City’s first district as part of her efforts to make the gains made under her administration trickle down to the grassroots. During the visit, the President approved the release of funds for various barangay projects which form the collective concerns of residents from Barangays Teresita, San Isidro Labrador, Salvacion, Paang Bundok and Lourdes. Issues such as perennial flooding due to clogged drainage systems and faulty canals, lots for barangay's hall and informal settlers topped the list of concerns the residents, through their respective barangay chairmen, presented to the President. President Arroyo instructed the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) to release P78 million to fund the proposal of Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chairman Bayani Fernando to build a pumping station so that floods in the affected areas will immediately subside. Fernando, for his part, vowed that his agency would continue its drainage declogging activities with damaged canals prioritized for repair. The President instructed the barangay chairmen to coordinate with the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) for the relocation of barangay halls. She also approved the release of P70 million for fogging operations to combat the proliferation of dengue-carrying mosquitoes. The President also graced the immunization ceremonies signaling the increase in budget for the Department of Health's Expanded Immunization Project from P455 million this year to P485 million next year. The increase will allow a greater number of mothers and their children aged two to five years access to immunization of BCG (for childhood tuberculosis), Oral Polio Vaccine, DPT (Diptheria, Petusis and Tetanus), measles and Hepatitis B. The President personally administered polio
immunization vaccine drops (patak) to four babies aged six to 18 months to
show her support for the DoH's immunization project. "Pagtulungan nating bigyan ng kumpletong bakuna ang lahat ng mga ina at mga bata sa inyong lugar. Pagibayuhin nating muli ngayon ang pangangalaga sa susunod na henerayson sa araw na ito at sa mga taong darating," the President said. "Ayon sa mga kasabihan, katumbas ng isang kaban ng paggamot ang isang kusing ng pag-iingat. Kumpletong bakuna, DOH it now," the President added, quoting the famous tagline of the Department of Health invoking the call to immediate action. Prior to the immunization ceremonies, the President distributed Certificates to Operate Tindahan Natin convenience stores, 100 PGMA Training for Work Scholarships, and 208 PhilHealth cards to each barangay through their respective chairmen. The President has been visiting barangays around Metro Manila to stress the positive effects of the strengthening economy and to bring to the people its benefits. This particular visit saw the inclusion of various government agencies such as the National Food Authority (NFA), Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) and the DoH which brought their own staff to help the residents of the barangays. This is an integral move in the government's People's Government Mobile Action (PGMA) program which aims to bring basic services closer and to more people. |
| PGMA to concentrate on work and leave monopoly on politics of destruction to titans of hate |
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President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo vowed today to
concentrate on working to achieve peace, prosperity and a bright future for
the nation that would be free from political noise of her detractors whom
she called "titans of hate." In her closing remarks at the Pulong Bayan (town hall meeting) she presided over this morning at the Barangay Sta. Teresita covered court in Quezon City, the President said she would rather work for the good of the people, especially the children, whom she said have a bright future, than to engage on politicking like her political opponents. "I have a country to run. I have terrorists to fight. I have a peace to win and a bright future to secure for these children," the President said. "I embrace work and will just let the titans of hate have their monopoly on the politics of destruction," she added. The President came out with the statement after opposition Sen. Panfilo Lacson released a video testimony of former Technical Sergeant Vidal Doble Jr. on alleged cheating activities in the May 2004 elections. The President also said surveys showed that in 2005 and this year, the country has the least number of poor among all administrations. “Our economic reform is the frontline in our campaign to reduce poverty which is our main goal to pursue during the remaining years of our term. A balance budget is the first step in the next three years that we would translate into positive results of our reforms for the benefit of the people,” the President said. |
| PGMA opens RP's first NCLEX Center |
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Filipino nurses hoping to fulfill their dream of
working in the United States will now have an easier time applying for
accreditation after the Philippines' first-ever National Council Licensure
Examination (NCLEX) Center opened its doors to the public this morning. With the opening of the newly-constructed Pearson Professional Center (PPC) at the Trident Tower in Makati City, Filipino nurses no longer have to travel to either Hong Kong or South Korea to take the NCLEX, an important prerequisite needed by all nurses aspiring to work in the US. No less than President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo inaugurated the Center which, she said, "will make NCLEX testing more accessible and affordable to thousands of Filipino nurses intending to practice in the United States." She thanked the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) for bringing the NCLEX to the Philippines, saying "the move was a demonstration of the NCSBN's faith in the Filipino as well as the integrity of the local nurses' licensure examination.” Joining the President on the inaugural rites was Dante Ang, chairman of the National Council of Licensure Examination, and Casey Marks of the NCSBN. After cutting the ribbon at the entrance of the Center, the President was given a tour of its facilities and met its officers and employees who came out to meet and greet her. She then had a closed-door meeting with PPC officials before returning to Malacañang. |
| PGMA to preside over AFP command conference in Zambo; then will fly to Basilan to meet with troops |
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ZAMBOANGA CITY – Taking a hands-on approach
towards attaining peace and security in Mindanao, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
will fly here tomorrow morning to preside over a command conference of the
Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) at Camp General Navarro; and then fly
to Basilan to touch base with troops in the area. The command conference at The Mansion, the headquarters of the West Mindanao Command (WestMinCom), will have the commanders of WestMinCom and the Eastern Mindanao Command (EastMinCom) report to the President on the situation in their areas; afterwhich President Arroyo is expected to share her “command guidance” on how her administration would want the peace efforts to continue. President Arroyo, as commander-in-chief of the AFP, will call the meeting to order, kicking off the “commanders’ briefing” on the Jolo-Basilan situation update by Lt. Gen. Eugenio Cedo, WestMinCom head; to be followed by the EastMinCom situation update by EastMinCom chief, Gen. Rodolfo Obaniana. The President will fly in from Villamor Air Base in Pasay City, with Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro and Secretary Jesus Dureza, head of the Office of the Presidential Adviser for the Peace Process (OPAPP). The Presidential party will be met at the E. Andrews Air Force Base here by top AFP officials led by the chief of staff, Gen. Hermogenes Esperon Jr., and regional and local officials of the Philippine National Police (PNP), aside from Zamboanga’s local officials. An informal interaction with media will follow; afterwhich the President will hand out mass cards and financial assistance to the families of two soldiers killed-in-action (KIA) during the Aug. 18-19 encounter at Ungkaya, Pukan, Basilan. The fatalities were 2nd Lt. Roldan Somera of Blk 3, Armor Village, San Roque, Zamboanga City; and Pfc. Renaldo Pedroso of Blk 7, Lot 47, Brgy. Tabak, Busbus, Jolo, Sulu, whose body was brought home to Jolo last Tuesday. Last night, the President viewed the remains of the Marine soldiers – four of them officers -- whose bodies were brought to Fort Bonifacio and to the Philippine Air Force Chapel at Villamor Air Base. President Arroyo may also visit the soldiers wounded-in-action (WIA) during the same encounter over the weekend. Twelve of the wounded were earlier brought to the hospital inside the camp where they are now recuperating. Those who were hurt during the encounter were: Corporals Hobito Manalili and Gregorio Bucol Jr., both with “major injuries;” and Cpl. Darwin dela Rama; Pfc. Reno Oren, Sulficio Dagatan Jr., Joel Changiwan and Hermes Orel; Pvts. Redenta Acosta, Arnel Claro, Hanzel Bravante and Jennifer Jamog; and CAFGU member Melger Villalobos, all with “minor injuries.” The command conference here follows closely on the heels of the National Security Council (NSC)-Cabinet Cluster meeting called by the President in Malacanang last Tuesday. The NSC meeting immediately followed the “full meeting” of the NSC which the President had convened the week before on Aug. 14. Earlier on July 21, the President had bidden farewell to two companies of her own presidential guards to help quell terrorism in Basilan. The President will be flying to Basilan after the command conference to talk to men in the field, and get a first-hand view of the situation on the ground. |
| Ecozone administrator leads new PGMA appointments |
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Malacanang announced today the appointment by
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo of Jose Mari B. Ponce as administrator and
chief executive officer of the Cagayan Special Economic Zone Authority which
is under the jurisdiction of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA).
Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita announced during his weekly press briefing in Malacanang that aside from Ponce, who will hold a Cabinet rank,10 other individuals were named to various government posts. The newly appointed officials are Miguel Imbing S. Apostol as Commissioner representing Northern and Western Mindanao of the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) under the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR);Aladdin Ampatuan as Assistant Secretary for Muslim Concerns of the Office of External Affairs; Delfin Samson as Assistant Secretary under the DAR; Danilo L. Encinas as Undersecretary and Sarah Buena S. Mirasol as Assistant Secretary, both of the Office of the Presidential Adviser for the New Government Centers under the Office of the President; Vilma L. Labrador as Chairman of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts; Jorge M. Judan as President of the Philippine International Trading Corporation (PTIC) replacing Roberto Pagdanganan who ran as governor of Bulacan in the last May 2007 election; Ray Anthony Roxas-Chua III as chairman of the Commission on Information and Communications Technology (CICT); Augusto B. Santos as Officer-In-Charge, Office of the Director-General of the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA);Anthony Rolando T. Golez, Jr. as Executive Director, Bicol Calamity Assistance and Rehabilitation Effort Committee (B CARE C). |
| Malacañang submits to Congress proposed P1.227 trillion '08 national budget, P90 B more than last year's |
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Malacañang announced that Budget Secretary
Rolando Andaya Jr. submitted to Congress today the proposed P1.227 trillion
2008 national budget, about P90 billion more than the P1.136 trillion budget
in 2007. Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita made the announcement during his regular weekly press briefing held this afternoon in Malacanang’s New Executive Building Briefing Room. Ermita said the bulk of the proposed budget will be spent for infrastructure projects such as construction and maintenance of national roads, bridges, school buildings, and mass housing, etc.; and for education, health services, and standard salary increase for all government employees. He said the government is asking Congress for an appropriation of additional P10 billion for salary increases of government employees effective 2008. In his remarks during the presentation of the 2008 budget, Secretary Andaya told his former colleagues in Congress that the proposed appropriation is based on revenues of P1.236 trillion, P1.108 billion in tax revenues and P127 billion in non-tax revenues. “It will be an outlay that will be totally supported by internal revenues. By proposing a budget which would not be propped up by a single borrowed peso, we are taking a bold step towards an era of balanced budgets,” Andaya said. Andaya said with the implementation of fiscal reforms and the putting of the fiscal house in order, the budget deficit has been tamed and the debt services considerably trimmed. “The 2008 budget is a catalogue of reimbursements for the taxes that the Filipino people had paid and by next year the dividends will be bigger,” he noted. Of this, Andaya said, the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) will contribute P885 million to the coffers while the Bureau of Customs (BoC) will marshal P254 billion more. He added that the economic upturn is premised on the other macro-economic assumptions, where the national budget is anchored. It is premised on a gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 6.1 percent to 6.8 percent; low inflation rate of between 3 and 4 percent; and a foreign exchange (forex) forecast band of 46-48 pesos against the US dollar, which hews on the conservative side. On sectoral allocation, the budget for economic services has been increased from this year’s P242 billion (21%) to P287 billion (23.4%); social services, which is the bellweather of any social payback drive, has increased from P320 billion (28 %) to P368 billion (30.06%); defense from 4.7 percent to 5 percent; while the general public services will remain at 16 percent. Andaya explained that the hike of defense share from P53 billion to P61 billion will be utilized mostly for additional payroll for the soldiers on the field and the purchase of modern weapons. By recipient, the top 10 agencies are led by the Department of Education (DepEd), with a budget of P146 billion to allow it to hire additional 10,000 teachers, build 12,000 classrooms, buy 35.5 million textbooks, purchase 1.67 million desks, train 171,617 Math, Science and English teachers, create 711,750 scholarship grants in private high schools among other initiatives that will redound to the benefit of the 17.6 million students who will troop to public schools in June 2008. The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) will get P94.5 billion; Department of National Defense (DND) P56.1 billion; Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) P52.6 billion; Department of Agriculture (DA) including Agriculture and Fisheries Modernization Act (AFMA) P23.8 billion; Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) P22.3 billion; Department of Health (DOH) P16.3 billion; Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) P13 billion; Judiciary P10.2 billion and the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) 10.1 billion. |
| PGMA declares Sept. 12 as Natinal Day of Prayer, reconciliation |
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President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has declared
Sept. 12 of this year as a National Day of Prayer and reconciliation to
promote peace and unity among Filipinos and thereby sustain national
development and progress. In Proclamation No. 1362 she signed last Aug. 15, the President cited the importance of the day in order to attain the national goals. The President noted it is time to make “a reaffirmation of our commitment to this goal through personal reflection, change in attitudes, and solidarity for the public welfare and the development of our country. “ She said the goal of peace and unity has, all too often, lost its relevance in a nation that is "beset by hostility, bitterness, constant conflict and too much politics." Last year, the President also issued Proclamation No. 910 declaring Sept.12 as a National Day of Prayer, Conversion, Reparation and Consecration for Our Nation in order to promote peace and unity among Filipinos. The President said that what is needed in a country facing several challenges is the steadfast devotion of every Filipino to work for the common good and for the betterment of the country. She also signed last week Proclamation No. 1357 declaring the month of September of every year as “Public Relations Month” in recognition of the public relations profession and industry as a major contributor to national development and the socioeconomic well-being of the country. The President also declared Friday, Aug. 24, 2007 as a special non-working day in Kidapawan City, which is celebrating its 6th Timpupo Festival from Aug. 8-24. The country will observe on Monday the National Heroes’ Day instead of Sunday. |
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PGMA arriving in Bohol for launch of local peace, security assembly |
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TAGBILARAN CITY, Bohol – President Gloria
Macapagal-Arroyo will address here on Friday the Local Peace and Security
Assembly (LPSA), a series of consultations among officials of the national
and local government units (LGUs), police, military and stakeholders on
various peace-building and conflict-resolution initiatives. The Chief Executive will plane in from Zamboanga City where she will preside over the National Security Council (NSC) command conference tomorrow morning. She is also expected to visit the soldiers wounded in the Basilan and Sulu clashes with Abu Sayyaf terrorists. The wounded soldiers are undergoing treatment at the Camp Navarro Hospital of the West Mindanao Command (Westmincom) in Zamboanga. The office of the National Security Council (NSC) said the initial LPSA gathering will discuss “approaches that would address issues and concerns affecting peace and security in the locality.” The Bohol launch of the LPSA will be followed by similar consultations in other parts of the country, in keeping with the government’s two-pronged approach to the resolution of insurgency problems: hard-fist policy while leaving the door ajar for peace negotiations. The consultations are geared toward identifying and resolving problems arising from insurgencies, determining the government action to be taken, and crafting the necessary interventions to restore normalcy in rebel-troubled areas. The NSC said that with the renewed outbreak of hostilities in Basilan and Sulu, the holding of the LPSA here affirms the importance given by the President to the preservation of the ceasefire in Mindanao while at the same time pushing ahead with the peace process. “The LPSA would also serve as a venue for the participants to present their regional models on conflict resolution, livelihood and development programs, social justice efforts and roles played by local leaders,” the NSC added. |
| Military force sans anti-poverty component won't solve insurgency problem -- Aumentado |
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TAGBILARAN CITY, Bohol – Take it from Gov. Erico
B. Aumentado: military force alone, without a strong anti-poverty component
and the full engagement of local government units (LGUs), is bound to fail
in any campaign to root out insurgency. If that isn’t enough, take it from the Bohol experience. Aumentado’s is not a patented prescription on how to confront the communist insurgency and wining the protracted war. A long list of armchair tacticians and kibitzers have said the same thing before. But the success thus far of Bohol’s campaign against the communist New People’s Army (NPA) has given a forceful resonance and credibility to the governor’s views on ending the decades-old Maoist rebellion. “Conflicts born out of poverty, deprivation of basic goods and services, lack of employment and livelihood opportunities, non-participation, injustice and human rights violations have to be addressed by the local government units and civil society,” Aumentado said last Aug. 10 during the 44th anniversary symposium of the National Defense College (NDC) at the EDSA Shangri-La Hotel in Mandaluyong City. In the case of Bohol, the governor said that the “alarming poverty situation and the disturbing threats of ideology-based conflicts to the economic potentials of the province prompted the local leaders and stakeholders to draft a peace and development framework that is centered on poverty reduction with the goals of not only removing Bohol from Club 20 (the country’s poorest provinces) but reducing poverty incidence by 50 percent under our Millennium Development Goals (MDG) commitment, and pushing the provinces to one of the Top 10 in 2010,” Aumentado said. Insurgency in Bohol is not in the coffin yet, all nailed down and sealed, but the provincial government is making a remarkable headway in the fight against the NPA rebels as can be gleaned from the governor’s pronouncements. How Bohol did it, or how this Central Visayas province is doing it, will be the focus of the two-day Local Peace and Security Assembly (LPSA) which opens here tomorrow (Thursday). No less than President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is expected to arrive here to preside over the assembly, the first of a series of consultations on peace and security to be conducted nationwide. The Public Information Agency (PIA) office here explained that the peace and security conference is in line with the Arroyo administration’s two-pronged approach to peace building: applying the hard-fist policy on hardened criminals and terrorists and at the same time calling on the rebels to end their uprising through peaceful means. |
