 |
||
| 08 OCTOBER 2007 | ||
|
|
||
| 08 OCTOBER 2007 | ||
|
PGMA's Speech at the Launching of the "Go Negosyo
Caravan" Bren Guiao Convention Center, San Fernando, Pampanga October 8, 2007 |
|
In just over four months, “Go Negosyo” has
brought this great undertaking to five major locations in the country – Cebu,
Bacolod, Baguio, Manila and now in Pampanga. On behalf of my Kabalens, we
thank you. Iting caravan a ini munta munta ya naman Cagayan de Oro, Makati, Batangas ampong Pangasinan karing tutuking mapilan bulan. Atyu tamu king pamaglakbe nung nukarin pasibayu ta yang gigisingan ing entrepreneurial spirit o ing ilig king pamagnegosyo karing Pilipinu. We extol the recipients of the Most Inspiring Entrepreneur Awards to local businessmen whose success stories continue to inspire our people. At keti mismu king Pampanga, atin tamung sariling inspiring stories a malyaring ikuwentu. Ing kuwentu nang Jaime “Jack” Uy, Presidente at CEO ning Sentinel Development Corporation; i Dr. Emmanuel Y. Angeles, Chancellor ampong Chairman of the Board na ning Angeles University Foundation; deng Garcia brothers ning Mekeni Food Corporation; i Peter Nepomuceno ning Nepomuceno Group of Companies; i Lolita Hizon na ning Pampanga’s Best; i Ryan Razon ning Razon’s Restaurant; i Wilfredo Tan of Hausland Development Corporation; i Fatima del Rosario ning Sasmuan Delicacies; ampong i Teresa David-Carlos na ning Bank of Florida. Ila ngan matapang da’lang herapan ding pagsubuk king pamanalakad negosyu king tuktuk na ning pamana’kitan ampong responsibilidad king lipunan. We are glad that the Center for Entrepreneurship is giving them due recognition. We hope they will be role models to the rising generation of Filipino entrepreneurs. Congratulations! We can produce more entrepreneurs of their caliber – mapanyubuk karing bayung ba’ge, mapagpursigi at masikan lub. In my inaugural address in 2004, I said that when we step down in 2010, part of our legacy shall be that we will have supported three million entrepreneurs by giving them loans and helping them become good managers, thereby establishing a deep foundation for a broad middle class. In my State of the Nation Address last July, I said: Hangarin kong mapabilang ang Pilipinas sa mayayamang bansa sa loob ng dalawampung taon. By then poverty shall have been marginalized; and the marginalized raised to a robust middle class. We need a vibrant middle class if we are to be on the verge of First World in 20 years, which is our aspiration. The current benign, stable growth conditions are likely to spark a wave of entrepreneurial activity in the Philippines. We see signs of this happening already. In several key areas we have promoted a new entrepreneurial class. One is in microfinance. The microfinance system which we have empowered has extended more than P80 billion to four million low income men and women who want to start their own businesses. Kailangan da ding keketamung memalen ing empowerment, at iti yang kekatamung panikwanan king Small and Medium Enterprise Development Plan a ni-launch tamu inyang 2004. Since 2004 we have extended more than P100 billion worth of loans to 50,000 middle income men and women who want to start or put up their own businesses through the SME Unified Lending Opportunities for National Growth. In addition, through the Central Bank we have created a series of investment incentives and programs for overseas remittances to be invested into capital enterprises. And we are cutting red tape to simplify the requirements for small and medium investments. Alang nanu mang kainge political a malyaring makapigil kekatamu king pamapgpatupad na ning peka-importantent inisyatibo a magawang marakal a negosyong mana’kitan ampong milyun-milyon a trabaho para karing kekatamung memalen. We continue empowering our people so they may be able to grab these opportunities. And Go Negosyo will not only empower them, but inspire them to get into the exciting world of entrepreneurship. Thank you, Go Negosyo, for helping bring out the entrepreneurial spirit of our people. |
| Statement of Secretary Ignacio R. Bunye Re: Impeachment Saga |
|
The
latest impeachment saga is just another distraction that the President will
ignore. Every time the nation takes two steps forward on its path to economic growth and political stability, her detractors try to take us three steps back. The people of the nation are sick and tired of too much politics. The people want results and that is exactly what President Arroyo is doing every single day. |
| PGMA won't be distracted by political noise |
|
SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga -- President Gloria
Macapagal-Arroyo said today no amount of political noise will divert her
attention from her task of growing the economy and improving the lives of
the Filipino people. In a speech at the launching in Pampanga of the “Go Negosyo Caravan” at the Bren Guiao Convention Center here, the President said she is tightly focused on nation-building, including providing capital to small and medium-scale Filipino entrepreneurs and offering investment incentives to overseas Filipino workers and their families, to be distracted by politics. The President was referring to the third impeachment complaint filed against her last week before the House of Representatives following the controversy over the government’s national broadband network (NBN) project with ZTE Corp. of China. Malacañang has dismissed the complaint as “petty grandstanding” and a “waste of people’s time and money.” In a press statement, Press Secretary and Presidential Spokesman Ignacio R. Bunye shrugged off the latest impeachment complaint as “just another distraction that the President will ignore.” “Every time the nation takes two steps forward on its path to economic growth and political stability, her detractors try to take us three steps backward,” Bunye said. In her speech here, the President said in the Kapampangan dialect: “Alang nanu mang kainge political,a malyaring makapigil kekatamu, king pamagpatupad na ning peka-importantent inisyatibo a magawang marakal a negosyong mana’kitan ampong milyun-milyon a trabaho para karing kekatamung memalen (no political noise will distract me from pursuing important programs that would create new businesses and millions of jobs)” for Filipinos. She assured the nation that she would continue empowering the people to enable them to take advantage of the opportunities generated by the improving economy of the country. “And Go Negosyo will not only empower (Filipinos), but inspire them to get into the exciting world of entrepreneurship. Thank you, Go Negosyo, for helping bring out the entrepreneurial spirit of our people,” the President said. The Chief Executive pointed out that the continuing uptake of the stock market, strong peso, sustained rise of the gross domestic product (GDP) are clear signs that the Philippine economy is growing and that the country is well on its way to becoming a modernized nation in the next 20 years. Assisted by Presidential Consultant for Entrepreneurship Jose Concepcion III, the President handed out trophies to 11 most “inspiring Kapampangan entrepreneurs” who, through their example as entrepreneurs, have helped develop Pampanga as a new frontier for progress. The trophies were designed by world renowned designer and Cebu-based Kenneth Cobonpue. The awardees were Ryan Razon of Razon’s, Jose Bituin of Betis Crafts, Jaime Uy of Saver’s Mall, Garcia family of Mekeni, Lolita Hizon of Pampanga’s Best, Michael Escaler of PASUDECO, Willy Tan of Hausland, Peter Nepomuceno of Nepo Group of Companies, Teresa Carlos-David of Bank of Florida, Dr. Emmanuel Angeles of the Angeles Foundation University, and Fatima del Rosario of Sasmuan Delicacies. “We extol the recipients of the Most Inspiring Entrepreneur Awards to local businessmen whose success stories continue to inspire our people,” the President said. She expressed elation that the Center for Entrepreneurship has recognized the 11 awardees as “role models to the rising generation of Filipino entrepreneurs.” “We can produce more entrepreneurs of their caliber,” the President said, as she pointed out that the government has been giving its full support to the entrepreneurs. “In my inaugural address in 2004, I said that when we step down in 2010, part of our legacy shall be that we will have supported three million entrepreneurs by giving them loans and helping them become good managers, thereby establishing a deep foundation for a broad middle class,” she said. Since 2004, the government has extended more than P100 billion worth of loans to 50,000 middle income men and women who want to start or operate their own businesses through the SME Unified Lending Opportunities for National Growth. In addition, the Central Bank has adopted several investment incentive programs for overseas remittances to be invested in capital enterprises. The President also said the government is cutting red tape to simplify the requirements for small and medium investments. The government, she said, has promoted new entrepreneurial class in several key areas, one of which is the microfinance system. More than P80 billion have also been extended to four million low income men and women to start their own businesses. Before Pampanga, the Go Negosyo Caravan was held in the cities of Baguio, Manila, Iloilo, and Bacolod. The caravan seeks to bring out the entrepreneurial spirit of the Filipinos. |
| PGMA honors 4 navy men killed in action in Basilan |
|
CAVITE CITY - President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
honored today four Navy men who were killed in action (KIA) in an encounter
with the terrorist group Abu Sayyaf last Oct. 2 while providing security to
the civilian residents and protecting the peace and order in Basilan. Fresh from her visit in Pampanga where she led the “Go Negosyo” Caravan at the Bren Guiao Convention Center in San Fernando City, the President flew here by presidential chopper to personally comfort the families and relatives of the slain soldiers. Awarded the gold medal (posthumous) by the President were Navy men Michael M. Abrio, Ruel D. Peralta, Joe Vicente B. Sistosa, and Jay M. Zogutan. Wounded in the same encounter and presently confined at the Camp Navarro General Hospital at the Western Mindanao Command (WESTMINCOM) in Zamboanga City were LtJG Roderick G. Cayetano and Armando N. Labrador. Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro and Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Chief of Staff Gen. Hermogenes Esperon Jr. accompanied the President in her visit at the Our Lady of La Naval Chapel inside the Naval Base at Sangley Point here. Also present were Flag Officer in Command Admiral Rogelio Calunsag, Philippine Fleet Commander Rear Admiral Petrolino Magno and Naval Base Cavite Commander, Commodore Ramon Punzalan, among others. After the awarding ceremony, the President viewed the remains of each of the victims and made a brief interaction with their widows. Last July 14, the President also led the nation in giving a hero’s tribute to the 14 Philippine Marines who were killed and mutilated in an ambush also in Basilan. |
