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| 12 OCTOBER 2007 | ||
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| 12 OCTOBER 2007 | ||
| Statement of Secretary Ignacio R. Bunye |
| If rumor mongering could only generate income, the Philippines would have the highest GDP (gross domestic product) in the world. |
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PGMA's Speech at the Inauguration of the Bohol
irrigation Project Phase 2 San Miguel, Bohol October 12, 2007 |
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Giabi-abi nato si Gobernador Erico Aumentado,
ang mga opisyales sa lokal nga pamunuan dinhi ug ang katawhan sa Bohol ining
pagkahuman sa Bohol Irrigation Project. We commend NIA and the consultants for a job well done. Gi-utang nato P3.6 billion sa Japan alang ni-ining proyekto nga naghulat ug pito ka tuig yuna nahuman. Karon mapun-an ug 5,300 ka ektarya ang mga uma nga makadawat ug irigasyon gikan sa Bayongan dam ug Capayas dam. Nagpahimo sab kita ug mga farm to market roads ug access roads nga 41 ka kilometro aron suportahon kining proyekto, ug aduna pa’y road improvement alang sa Ubay-San Jose-Cabulao road nga 16.7 ka kilometro. Tungod ni-ini, 42,500 ka toneladang palay ug uban pang produkto ang mapuno sa ani dinhi matag tuig. Tungod ni-ini, makahamdom kita nga ang sunod nga sentro sa agrikultura ug negosyo dinhi sa Bohol ani-a sa bahin sa norte ug sa tunga-tunga sa probinsiya – gikan sa Pilar hangtod sa mga lungsod sa Ubay, Trinidad ug San Miguel. We are committed to consolidating the gains in new revenue by making long overdue investments in human and physical infrastructure. This includes billions of pesos in education, healthcare and training along with billions in new bridges, roads, ports and irrigation to upgrade the competitiveness of the Philippines. We take great pride in the discipline of our administration to focus on the economy and our overall economic health. I am proud of the fact that we are pre-paying our external debt. We will balance the budget in 2008, two years ahead of schedule. We are making sure to use the gains to invest in vital social and economic needs. We will not sacrifice long term gains for short term political expediency. Kaniadtong tuig 2001, ang inyong probinsiya ika-pito sa “Club 20” nga listahan sa 20 ka labing pobreng probinsiya sa nasod. Sa tuig 2002, ang inyong na-aning humay 144, 781 metric tons lang, 895 lang ang mga narehistrong negosyante sa tibuok probinsya ug 774,000 lang ka turista ang mi-anhi bisan pa ug daghan kamo ug dapit nga angay du-awon. Niadtong panahona, mi-abot sa 30 porsyento sa katawhan ang mga rebelde o kun ga-suporta sa mga rebelde. Bohol was a classic case of a vicious cycle of poverty and hunger driving insurgency and unrest. Gigamit ni Gob. Aumentado ang kumprehensibong istratehiya kun diin nagkuyog ang mga programang anti-poverty ug ang mga operasyon sa militar, ug miduyog sab ang mga programa sa kalinaw nga gihimo sa simbahan, mga programa sa pagpalambo nga gipasugdan sa gobyerno nasyonal kauban ang mga gi-utang sa gawas ug gi-apilan sa pagsalig ug pakig-uban sa komunidad. Ang effectiveness sa istratehiya nagmatu-od nga dako gayod ang pagtu-o sa mga Bol-anon sa bisyon ni Gobernador. Sa tuig 2005, napildi na hapit tanang Commuist fronts. Ang usa ka nabilin nga front atu-a sa mga kalayo nga bukid sa tunga-tunga sa probinsiya. Sa tuig 2005 sab, nakagawas na sa Club 20 and 40 slots away from the poorest province. Sa tuig 2006, gi-recognize ang Bohol nga 2nd best performing province sa poverty reduction ug gi-ila kini nga usa sa nakakuha ug labing taas nga annual growth rate. Dili na insurgency hotbed, the province recorded in 2006 tourist arrivals triple that of 2001 figures; the number of business establishments doubled and the employment rate shot up to 92.3% from 87% in 2004. Kining proyekto sa irigasyon maoy magpadaghan sa abot sa mga uma sa bahin sa central ug northern Bohol, apil na ang mga lugar dapit sa Pilar nga maoy kuta sa nabilin nga communist front niadtong 2005. Ang mga dalang gipa-ayo maoy agi-an sa mga produkto gikan sa mga uma ug mao sab ang modala sa mga turista sa nagkalain-laing dapit sa probinsiya. Modaghan na sab ang mga investment ug gipakusgan ang mga social services. Kining tanan maoy mosiguro that the Boholanos will enjoy permanent stability and growth. Gipa-ila ko sa mga Peace Assemblies sa tibuok nasod ang maayong balita mahitungod sa Bohol ug ang inyong istratehiya sa convergence. Gitudlu-an sa Bohol ang tibuok katawhan nga: The way to peace isn’t through the barrel of a gun. Rather it begins with providing a person a job, food on the table and human dignity. And central to that success is to invest in the people – in education, healthcare, irrigation, roads, bridges and schools. Ipadayon nato kining atong panaghi-usa ug suportahan nato ang tanang katuyuan alang sa pagkab-ot sa kalinaw ug kauswagan para sa Bohol ug sa tibuok nasod. Daghang salamat sa inyong kanunay nga pagsuporta kanako. Mabuhi kitang tanan! |
| PGMA inaugurates P3.6 billion dam of Bohol Irrigation Project |
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TAGBILARAN CITY, Bohol -- President Gloria
Macapagal-Arroyo inaugurated today the P3.6-billion Bayongan Dam of the
Bohol Irrigation Project Stage 2 (BHIP 2), a legacy infrastructure project
that would boost Bohol’s dream of emerging as the rice basket in Central
Visayas. The President arrived at 10 a.m. in the municipality of San Miguel, some 100 kilometers away from this city, for the first leg of her two-province visit in the Visayas to inspect infrastructure projects vital to the development of Bohol and Cebu provinces. The President, assisted by Bohol Gov. Erico Aumentado and Japanese Ambassador to the Philippines Makoto Katsura, opened the main valves of the facility’s main dam to signal the commissioning of the Bayongan Dam and the operations of the three integrated irrigation systems of the province. The other two dams are the Capayan Dam which was built in 1994 and the Malinao Dam which was constructed in 1996. The President then unveiled the marker of the Japan Bank of International Cooperation (JBIC)-funded irrigation project. With the commissioning of the Bayongan Dam, wich is capable of irrigating some 5,300 hectares of ricelands, farmers in the area would have stable water supply for at least two cropping seasons a year. The project stands to improve the productivity of some 3,600 farmers in the towns of San Miguel, Ubay and Trinidad, increasing up to P574.7 million the annual net increment in rice production. Thus, it would translate to increased income of farmers in the area, and more employment opportunities. The Bayongan Dam was built by Hanjin Heavy Industries and Construction Co., Ltd. and Nippon Koie as the project consultant. The dam is part of the vital agricultural projects of Bohol and of the Bohol Tourism Master Plan and the Bohol Agricultural Master Plan, programs which are aimed at improving the lives of the Boholanons in a move to totally eradicate poverty and insurgency in the province. The President also witnessed the turnover of tilapia fingerlings by the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) to presidents of farmers-cooperatives in the area as livelihood support. |
| PGMA awards P.5 M incentive to top Cebu MSME propagator |
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CEBU CITY – In a show of support for the further
growth of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), President Gloria
Macapagal-Arroyo awarded today a total of P585,000 in cash incentives to
Cebu's leading MSME propagator to help provide Filipinos with alternative
sources of employment through livelihood and training programs. The amount was given to the Outreach Program on Trainings, Integrated Organizing and Networking for Solidarity, Inc. (OPTIONS) as financial assistance for the continued implementation of the organization's education and livelihood program as well as for its documentary requirement for job placement of employment-hopefuls. To be sourced from the President's Social Fund, the amount will be given in two parts. The first check, which the President awarded to OPTIONS executive trustee Ma. Theresa Vargas, amounted to P292,500. According to the President, the cash incentive will provide educational assistance to 100 disadvantaged and disabled children in the Visayas region. Aside from this, the money will also provide livelihood to 100 parents via micro-credit financing at an initial amount of P3,000 per parent. The job placement requirements of 50 target beneficiaries including documentary requirements and placement fees, will also be shouldered. Vargas was visibly pleased with the President's generosity, saying it would go a long way in providing much needed assistance for the less fortunate. |
| Teletech plans to double Pinoy workers by 2009 |
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CEBU CITY -- Buoyed by the support shown by
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to the business process outsourcing (BPO)
industry, TeleTech vice president and general manager Maulik Parekh vowed
today to double the number of Filipino employees working in his company by
2009. Parekh made the announcement in a speech delivered in the presence of the President during the inauguration here of TeleTech's eighth contact center in the country. He said TeleTech's chairman and CEO Kenneth Tuchman was so impressed with President Arroyo's vision for the BPO industry and the Filipinos’ work ethics that he has decided to expand TeleTech's business in the Philippines. TeleTech, which currently employs 13,000 Filipinos in its contact centers nationwide, plans to increase to 25,000 the numbers of its workers in the country by 2009. Parekh said TeleTech is embarking on a massive expansion program which includes "putting up more (TeleTech) contact centers and expanding our existing operations" to accommodate the gradual influx of Filipino employees until they reach their target in two years. He thanked the President for her continued support, to the company, saying "she officially and truly is a member of the TeleTech family." "We could not do this without the support we have received from all levels of government. So thank you, President Arroyo, and thank you everyone," Parekh said. |
| PGMA cites Bohol success as model other provinces should emulate |
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TAGBILARAN CITY, Bohol – President Gloria
Macapagal-Arroyo cited today Bohol’s odyssey from a poverty-stricken and
communist rebels-infested province to one of the country’s fastest
developing provinces as a model that should inspire and give courage to
other provinces still struggling to overcome economic backwardness and
insurgency. In her remarks during the inauguration of the P3.6-billion Bohol Irrigation Project Phase 2 in San Miguel, the President paid tribute to the province’s “success story” under the leadership of Gov. Erico Aumentado. She said that in 2001, Bohol ranked 7th among the country’s poorest provinces also known as “Club 20.” In 2006, or less than six years, Bohol vaulted to No. 2 spot as the best performing province in poverty reduction, with the highest annual growth rate in the country. The President pointed out that in 2002, Bohol’s total rice harvest reached only 144,781 metric tons, while the registered businessmen in the whole province numbered a mere 895. She said that in the same year, surveys showed that 30 percent of Boholanos were sympathetic to, or supported the communist movement. “Bohol was a classic case of a vicious cycle of poverty and hunger driving insurgency and unrest,” she added. Also in 2002, there were only 774,000 tourist arrivals in the province despite the string of alluring and beautiful tourist attractions, including the world-renowned Chocolate Hills. The peace and order and poverty situation in the province changed dramatically when Aumentado adopted a comprehensive strategy to combat poverty through the implementation of anti-poverty measures in tandem with the use of military power against the insurgency. She said that the combination of poverty alleviation-military power was supported by the civilian sectors, including the church. The success of Aumentado’s strategy is amply demonstrated by the drastic reduction of rebel fronts in Bohol to only one in 2005. The former hotbed of communist insurgency did not only exit from “Club 20,” it leaped 40 slots away from the list of the country’s poorest provinces that year. The President also said that Bohol’s tourist arrivals in 2006 tripled that of 2001, while the number of business establishments doubled and the employment rate shot up to 92.3 percent from 87 percent in 2004. |
| PGMA says investing in people will pave way for peace, progress |
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TAGBILARAN CITY, BOHOL---Taking a cue from the
successful Bohol Peace Convergence program, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
said today that her administration is making sure that the gains in the
economy would be invested in vital social and economic needs of the people
in order to attain long-term peace, security and economic stability. In her message at the official commissioning today of the P3.6- billion Bayongan Dam of the Bohol Irrigation Project Phase 2 in the Municipality of San Miguel, the President said that thanks to the comprehensive anti-poverty strategy adopted by Gov. Erico Aumentado, Bohol is now almost free of communist insurgents. “Bohol showed to the people that the way to peace isn’t through the barrel of a gun. Rather, it begins with providing a person a job, food on the table and human dignity,” she said. She added: “And central to that success is to invest in the people---in education, healthcare, irrigation, roads, bridges and schools.” She pointed out that her administration is committed to investing the gains from new revenues in long overdue human and physical infrastructure. To upgrade the competitiveness of the Philippines, the President said billions of pesos would be spent on increasing the quality of education, enhancing healthcare services and training as well as in vital infrastructure such as roads and bridges. “We are making sure to use the gains to invest in vital social and economic needs. We will not sacrifice long term gains for short term political expediency,” she said. She said the economy and the overall economic health of the country has improved tremendously that external debt was being pre-paid and that the budget would be balanced in 2008, two years ahead of target. She noted that Bohol was 7th in the list of the 20 poorest provinces in 2001 but in 2005, it has risen to number 40 on the list of top performing provinces---all because of the poverty reduction program of Aumentado. “Bohol was a classic case of a vicious cycle of poverty and hunger driving insurgency and unrest,” the President noted. She added that in 2006, Bohol was recognized as the best performing province on poverty reduction and one of those with the highest annual growth rates. With the commissioning of the Bayongan dam today, “Boholanos will enjoy permanent stability and growth,” the President said. Following the launch of Bohol’s anti-insurgency campaign, there was drastic reduction in the number of insurgent-influenced barangays in the province from 305 in 2001 to 24 in 2005. From 284 in 2001, the number of armed NPA rebels in Bohol is now down to only 42. Aumentado attributed the success of Bohol’s anti-NPA campaign to carefully crafted programs on poverty-alleviation, social justice, government social services and efficient governance. The President wants the insurgency and Muslim secessionist problems to be over before she bows out of office in 2010. She has implemented both the “hard and soft approaches” to solving peace and security problems. The hard power concerns the use of military might while the soft approach entails the delivery of vital and enhanced social services to the people. |
