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| 13 NOVEMBER 2007 | ||
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| 13 NOVEMBER 2007 | ||
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PGMA's Statement National Anti-Poverty Commission -
Cabinet Group Meeting Aguinaldo State Dining Room, Malacañang November 13, 2007 |
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Maraming idadahilan sa mga trahedyang sinapit
nina Mariannet at Dalaig, at isa ang ibig natin tutukan: ang mga kalabisan
ng politika. Maraming naghihirap dahil may mga pinuno na pamumulitika at pansariling hangarin ang binibigyang-halaga, higit sa pag-angat ng bayan. Samantala, may mga politiko at grupo na walang puso at budhi, at handang gumamit ng dahas upang makamit ang ambisyon at layunin. The preoccupation with politics, past and present, does not promote the stability, policy continuity, security and peace and order that we will need to continue to move our country forward. The people want results, not rhetoric, action not political posturing. Let us get on with the people’s work. The people of the Philippines are tired of negative political rhetoric that does nothing to bring about legislation that will create a new future for our people. We call on legislators to stop political wrangling and start legislating. Congress has demonstrated that when it sets aside self interest it can produce legislation that improves the quality of life of all Filipinos. The most notable recent example is the bill that reduces the cost of medicines commonly needed by the poor and the 2008 budget especially for healthcare and education. But much more needs to be done to improve human rights, invest more in peace and order and to advance our national interests with other nations on trade, economy and security issues. Kailangang pagtulungan ng buong sambayanan, simula sa ating liderato, na malabanan ang mga kalabisan ng politika: ang karahasan, katiwalian, at pagbale-wala sa karaingan ng maralita. Hindi ito madali, subalit dapat nating pagsikapan ito upang hindi mas lumala ang kahirapan, karahasan at hidwaan sa ating bansa. It is time for the nation to move on and focus on the issues that are important to our future: creating more jobs, lowering prices, providing affordable housing, and providing access to education for all our children. Sa araw na ito, magpupulong ang Gabinete upang isulong ang kapayapaan, at maghatid ng serbisyo sa mahihirap, lalo na ang malinis na tubig, mahusay na edukasyon, at isang bilyong piso para sa mga programang kontra sa gutom. At sa mga linggong darating, makikipag-ugnay tayo sa iba’t-ibang pinuno ng politika, relihiyon, at iba pang sector upang labanan nating lahat ang karahasan sa politika, at isulong ang kapayapaan at mas masigasig na pagsaklolo sa maralita. Mapalad tayong patuloy ang paglago ng ekonomiya. Sabi ng Standard and Poors, na tinitingalang tagasuri ng mga ekonomiya sa buong mundo: “The Philippines (is) apparently shifting to higher growth trajectories. Political stability, microeconomic reforms, and a dramatic improvement in the fiscal position, are now translating into better growth prospects, underpinned by increased infrastructure spending.” Ngayon naituwid na natin ang ekonomiya, panahon namang isulong ang reporma sa politika. Bawasan ang hidwaan, labanan ang katiwalian, itigil ang karahasan, at unahin ang kapakanan ng karaniwang mamamayan. Alang-alang sa bayan, ipagdasal at pagtulungan natin ito. |
| PGMA's "water for all" program reaches 130,000 households in 188 towns |
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President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s thrust to
provide every Filipino household with potable water has gained significant
milestones with more than 130,000 households in 188 municipalities outside
Metro Manila now enjoying adequate access to clean water. The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) in coordination with the National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC), reported to the President in today’s NAPC-Cabinet Group meeting in Malacañang that 43 percent of the 432 municipalities identified in the President’s inaugural address in 2004 have been covered by the President’s Priority Program on Water. Also included in the President’s Priority Program on Water were 210 communities or sitios identified by the Metropolitan Water and Sewerage System (MWSS) as not connected to existing water concessionaires—the Manila Water and Maynilad. The report said that in 2005, the DPWH managed to complete a total of 778 water facilities as against a target of 782 in the prioritized municipalities. Almost 99 percent of the P500-million funds were spent for these facilities. Last year, 539 out of the targeted 595 facilities with a cost of roughly 91 percent of the allocated funding of P500 million were completed. For the identified 210 sitios in Metro Manila, the MWSS, through its concessionaires, has covered more than 37,000 households in 55 communities and spent some P1.2 billion. The DPWH said the MWSS targets to service 118,667 households in Metro Manila with an estimated budget of P2.87 billion. The DPWH said that there is still much to be done as there are areas not included in the priority list waiting for government’s initiative, aside from the areas covered by peace agreements which are being undertaken by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP). “The water supply program can be fully realized when we partner with the local government units (LGUs), with adequate and timely funding,” Ebdane said. He said the program could be fully attained in the next three years but a total of P3.75 billion or P1.25 billion a year is needed. The President’s 10-point agenda include the provision of clean and potable water to some 42,000 barangays all over the country. The project, dubbed as “Patubig ni Pangulong Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo” became operational in December 2003, but was officially included in the President’s 10-point pro-poor agenda in 2004. |
| PGMA says politics one of causes of Marianet, Dalaig tragedies |
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President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo said today
that of the causes behind the tragedy that had befallen 12-year-old Marianet
Amper and lawyer Alioden Dalaig, politics is a leading culprit. Many Filipinos are experiencing economic deprivation because some of the country’s leaders are obsessed with advancing their political agenda and self-interest over and above the interests of the poor, the President said in her opening statement at the National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC)-Cabinet Group meeting in Malacanang this morning. A sixth-grader at the Ma-a Central School in Davao, Marianet committed suicide by hanging on Nov. 2, All Soul’s Day. She left a note saying, in effect, that she decided to end it all because of poverty. On the other hand, Dalaig, the chief legal officer of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) was gunned down early Saturday morning in front of the Hyatt Hotel and Casino Manila on M.H. del Pilar and Pedro Gil streets in Malate. “There are so many reasons for the tragedy that had befallen Marianet and Dalaig and one of these is too much politicking,” the President said in Filipino. She warned that the “preoccupation with politics, past and present, does not promote the stability, policy continuity, security and peace and order that we will need to continue to move our country forward.” Filipinos, she added, “want results, not rhetoric, action not political posturing. Let us get on with the people’s work.” Instead of political wrangling, lawmakers should buckle down to work on pending legislations urgently needed to move the country forward. “Congress has demonstrated that when it sets aside self-interest, it can produce legislation that improves the quality of life of all Filipinos. The most notable recent example is the bill that reduces the cost of medicines commonly needed by the poor and the 2008 budget especially for healthcare and education,” the President said. That the Philippine economy is on the uptake is accepted, even by one of the world’s foremost providers of index credit rating, Standard and Poors, she said. What the country needs is for its leaders to work together to put an end to the nationally-destructive politicking, which has served as an albatross on the country’s progress. She lamented that some politicians and political groups “without heart and soul” show no scruple in resorting to violent means to achieve their selfish goals. “It is time for the nation to move on and focus on the issues that are important to our future: creating more jobs, lowering prices, providing affordable housing, and providing access to education for all our children,” the President said. The Chief Executive convened the NAPC-Cabinet group meeting in order to come up with measures that would bolster the country’s peace and stability, enhance the delivery of basic services notably clean water, quality education, and speed up the implementation of the P1 billion additional outlay for the government’s anti-poverty program. She has also scheduled a series of meetings with other stakeholders, including leaders of political, religious and other groups, to map out strategies against political violence, adopt peace initiatives, and intensify programs to uplift the lives of the poor. The President stressed that it is high time that the country’s leaders come together in a common cause to fight poverty, intensify the fight against corruption, and put the interest of ordinary Filipinos over and above that of individual self-interest. “For the sake of the nation, let us pray and work together for the good of the nation,” she said. |
| Low-income public transport workers to benefit from rice subsidy program |
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Some 95,000 low-income drivers and other public
transport workers will benefit from the Arroyo administration’s rice subsidy
program, Malacanang said today. Under the government’s Accelerated Hunger Mitigation Program (AHMP), P30 million of the P1 billion that President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo ordered released last Nov. 7 was earmarked for the hunger mitigation program for low-income public transport drivers/workers in the form of rice subsidies. The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) will implement the program that will benefit some 475,000 family members of drivers and other public transport workers. Of the P1-billion outlay, P900 million will fund the Department of Agriculture’s (DA) rice buying program to ensure the availability of the staple at affordable prices during the Christmas and New Year holidays. The President has ordered the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) to release the additional funds to supplement the on-going AHMP component programs and projects in a move to mitigate hunger for the remainder of 2007. The government has come up with rice subsidy program for the public transport sector drivers and other workers to head off an increase in transport fares following the latest increase in the prices of gasoline and diesel fuel in the global market. The President stressed that rice is “symbolic of our ability to deliver on our promise to feed the less fortunate.” |
| PGMA sets series of meetings with political, religious leaders to firm up anti-poverty plans |
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President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has set a
series of meetings with leaders of various sectors, including political and
religious groups, in a move to forge a national consensus on ending
political violence and poverty. The President made the announcement of her forthcoming meetings in her opening statement during the National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC)-Cabinet Group meeting at Malacanang today. “In the next few weeks, I will be meeting with the leaders of different political and religious groups, and other sectors to discuss ways and means to stop political violence, push peace initiatives and intensify measures to help the poor,” she said in Filipino. Stressing the need for unity to move the country forward, the President said that for the “sake of the nation, let us all unite and pray.” The President bewailed that too much politicking was undermining the government’s gains in the fight against poverty and the delivery of enhanced socio-economic services to the poor. She called anew on the legislators to stop politicking and political bickerings and instead buckle down to work on legislations that would benefit the poor. She said it was important that the country’s leaders and other stakeholders work together to push for political reforms and move the nation workward. “The preoccupation with politics, past and present, does not promote the stability, policy continuity, security and peace and order that we will need to continue to move the country forward,” the President said. |
| Dureza confident of moving forward peace talks with MILF |
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Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Jesus
Dureza expressed confidence today that the peace talks between the
government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) which resumes
tomorrow (Nov. 14) in Kuala Lumpur will move forward once the contentious
ancestral domain issue has been settled. In an interview after the National Security Council (NSC)-Cabinet Group meeting in Malacanang this afternoon, Dureza said that if the agreement on territory could be finalized in Kuala Lumpur, the two panels are looking at the early months of 2008 to tackle the possible signing of an ancestral domain agreement. “Everything, of course, would depend on the outcome of the Nov. 14 meeting. I’m confident we can already move forward beyond the ancestral domain issue,” he explained. Dureza said he had already briefed President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on the ongoing government initiatives in local peace assembly and the forthcoming resumption of the talks. The President had earlier instructed the government panel to conduct more studies and consultations anent a new MILF demand to include the entire Sultan Kudarat province as part of a new Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM). Secretary Rodolfo Garcia will head the government panel in the negotiations. The peace talks being sponsored by the Malaysian government were temporarily shelved in September last year after both parties failed to agree over ancestral domain issues. Meanwhile, on the ceasefire issue with the National Democratic Front (NDF), Dureza said the President is now awaiting the final recommendation of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) on when they can announce the exact date of the truce. Armed Forces Chief of Staff Gen. Hermogenes Esperon Jr. said that he is now completing some documents related to the ceasefire with the NDF’s armed wing New People’s Army (NPA). He said that once completed, he will personally submit the documents to the President. |
| Hunger mitigation program, strong peso soften blow of continuing rise in oil prices |
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Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap said today the
hunger mitigation program of the government, coupled with the strong peso,
has softened the blow of the continuing rise of oil prices in the world
market particularly on prices of basic commodities. Yap made the statement during the taping this afternoon of “The Cabinet Speaks” television program hosted by Press Undersecretary Martin Crisostomo with DZMM radio reporter Ruby Bernardo-Tayag and top rice farmer Jojo Garcia from Nueva Ecija. “Maganda po ang appreciation ng peso, so kahit na umaakyat ang presyo ng langis naso-soften iyong impact dahil malakas talaga yung peso,” Yap said. He said that with the continuing appreciation of the peso against the US dollar, the possibility that the exchange rate would hit P40-$1 was not farfetched. Yap said aggressive government support programs have increased the production of farmers, and ensured the continuous supply of prime commodities such as rice, meats, fish, and vegetables at stable prices. The DA official said that rice, fish and vegetable prices have been stable, while the existing inventory of chicken in storage facilities is higher compared to that of last year’s. President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has ordered the release of P1 billion for the government’s hunger mitigation program. She also directed the National Food Authority (NFA) to increase its buying price for palay from P10 to P11 per kilo to help the farmers. Aside from the increased buying price of palay, Garcia said farmers like him can avail of the “buy-back” option within six months if they opt to “re-sell” their harvest at higher prices than the NFA buying price. The President also ordered the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (Pagcor) to set aside P100 million palay buying program to ensure that the less fortunate Filipinos will have access to affordable rice during the Christmas season. Yap said the government has been aggressively pushing its program to increase the output of farmers, lessen production costs, and ensure that they able to sell their produce at a good price. Included in the government’s package of assistance to farmers are the distribution of certified rice seeds to increase production, and the provision of some 2,000 flatbed dryers to farmers’ and irrigators’ associations to lessen palay wastage during drying by as much as 50 percent. Yap said the President has ordered the establishment of Bagsakan Centers to help mitigate hunger in strategic areas in Metro Manila, where farmers sell their produce. The President has also ordered the establishment of Tindahan Natin outlets in priority areas throughout the country to ensure that low-priced basic commodities, including rice at P18 per kilo, are always available. The government is continuously focusing on various efforts to increase farmers’ produce in the face of the projected “constriction in world supply” next year. |
| Forfeiture case vs Estrada's assets a job of Sandiganbayan -- Devanadera |
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The Department of Justice (DOJ) today washed its
hands of the forfeiture case involving the assets of former President Joseph
Estrada, saying it’s the job of the Sandiganbayan, and beyond the control of
the Executive department. “The matter is beyond the Executive department already,” acting Justice Secretary Agnes Devanadera pointed out. “We are concerned only with the grant of pardon. What comes after that is to be addressed by the Sandiganbayan.” The anti-graft court has announced that it will implement starting today (Tuesday) the writ of execution it had issued for the forfeiture of Estrada’s assets in a bid to recover some P735 million in bank deposits plus “interest and income earned.” The writ covers the P545-million deposit under the controversial Jose Velarde account and another P200-million account under the Erap Muslim Youth Foundation. The writ of execution, issued Nov. 6, also orders the forfeiture of the Boracay Mansion in New Manila, Quezon City. Devanadera said the Sandiganbayan would have to comply with the conditional pardon President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo had granted to Estrada, specifically the forfeiture of properties listed in the latest statement of assets and liabilities of the former president. The Sandiganbayan was forced to implement the writ of execution after the Estrada camp failed to voluntarily turn over the bank deposits and the Boracay Mansion despite a five-day deadline it had given to the former president. The deadline lapsed last Monday. Subject of the forfeiture are properties listed in the former president’s latest statements of assets and liabilities, including expensive houses, cars and furnitures. On Nov. 9, Estrada’s lawyers filed a motion with the Supreme Court to quash the writ of execution and prevent the anti-graft court from seizing Estrada’s assets that were not in question during his six-year plunder trial. In a radio interview, Sandiganbayan sheriff Eduardo Urieta said that as long as the Sandiganbayan has not received a temporary restraining order from the Supreme Court, the anti-graft court will implement the forfeiture order against Estrada. |
