 |
||
| 19 SEPTEMBER 2007 | ||
|
|
||
| 19 SEPTEMBER 2007 | ||
| DOTC chief breaks silence, says NBN project is for the benefit of the Filipino people |
|
Transportation and Communications Secretary
Leandro Mendoza broke his silence Tuesday evening on the government’s
national broadband network (NBN) project, stressing it is “above-board and
is for the benefit of the Filipino people.” Mendoza finally issued a comment on the broadband project after President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo ordered him yesterday morning to justify the project before the Supreme Court, “where there is no politicking.” The President’s directive to Mendoza was issued during the National Economic and Development Authority Board (NEDA) Meeting in Malacañang. “Our lawyers and the Solicitor General are preparing our comments on the petition filed before the Supreme Court,” Mendoza said. He added that the issue has been highly politicized and that the President was right when she directed him to prioritize the court case rather than explain to the Senate. Mendoza also said that given the chance to explain the NBN project outside the SC hearings, “I would demonstrate that the project went through the legal process and is above-board and is for the benefit of the Filipino people.” The DOTC chief also said businessman Jose de Venecia III was only criticizing the project because he lost in the bidding. “I read the affidavit of Joey de Venecia and heard his testimony before the Senate. Neither changed my view that despite his well-rehearsed attempt at melodrama at the Senate, he is still a sore loser,” Mendoza said. The President has said that it is in the court that ‘there is no politics and evidence is the basis of the processes in the court.” She added that it is in the court “that the issue of whether the deal is in accord with the law and the welfare of the people will be judged correctly.” The project was planned to exclusively cater to the needs of the National Government and the local government units in accordance with the policies laid out in the Medium Term Philippine Development Plan (MTPDP 2004-2020). The NBN is part of a bigger effort to develop a digital infrastructure to provide public access points for delivery of e-government services. The plan also identifies measures to make cheaper and more accessible the digital infrastructure across the country through lower connectivity costs, regulatory reforms, and development of the human resource skills to support the information and communication technology (ICT)-related services. |
| PGMA wants greater commerce, cooperation with Tonga |
|
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo wants
relations between the Philippines and the Kingdom of Tonga to go beyond
exporting cement to include more commerce, tourism and cooperation
opportunities for the benefit of the peoples of both countries. The President made the remarks in a statement before the official lunch she and the Cabinet hosted today for visiting Tongan Prime Minister Feleti Vaka’uta Sevele at the Ramos Room of Malacañang. The Philippines and the Pacific island nation established diplomatic relations in July 1981. Since 1984, many Tongans have benefited significantly from Philippine technical cooperation projects and training courses. “We hope that there could be more frequent interaction between the peoples of Tonga and the Philippines. Since 1984, a considerable number of Tongan nationals have participated in training programs offered by Philippine government agencies and other institutions,” the President said. “We hope we can explore other areas of cooperation,” she added. In the past few years, the President said, the country has been exporting cement to Tonga. “We hope we can explore other possible areas for commerce and tourism,” she said. The President expressed her appreciation to Sevele, the first Tongan head of government to pay an official visit to the country, “for the kindness extended by the Tongan people to the small community of Filipinos in Tonga.” Seventy-four Filipinos, mostly accountants, office personnel and divers are living in Tonga, a small predominantly Christian nation of 116,921 located some 4,000 kilometers east of Australia. The President also assured Sevele of the country’s commitment to “engaging the Pacific countries, particularly through the Pacific Islands Forum, where it (Tonga) is a dialogue partner.” “We hope for a positive and constructive outcome of the Aid for Trade Conference at the Asian Development Bank which occasioned your visit to the Philippines. The Philippines is committed to a market economy that continues to explore opportunities for enhancing its international trade relations,” the President said. “The Philippines believes in the importance of a just and equitable multilateral trading system that benefits all participants. We support efforts to facilitate capacity-building for developing countries like Tonga that would enable you to participate in international trade,” she added. For his part, Sevele expressed his deepest gratitude for the hospitality extended by the President and the Philippine government to him and his contingent and said his country looks forward to further strengthening of relations with the Philippines. |
| U.S. backs PGMA development initiatives in Mindanao, extends $190-M assistance |
|
The United States supports President Gloria
Macapagal-Arroyo’s initiative to bring lasting peace and development in
Mindanao by improving the lives of the Mindanaonons through the provision of
key infrastructure facilities and expanding economic opportunities, US
Ambassador to the Philippines Kristie Kenney said today. Ambassador Kenney made the statement before the signing of the Mindanao Peace and Development (MPAD) Agreement at the Rizal Hall of Malacanang this afternoon. The President and the US envoy witnessed the signing of the MPAD accord with an initial funding of $190-million in US grant to promote economic development and strengthen the foundation of peace in Mindanao. “We support the President’s plan to bring a lasting and just peace in Mindanao,” Kenney said. Signing the accord were United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Director John Lindborg and Mindanao Economic Development Council (MEDCO) Chairman Virgilio Leyretana. The agreement, which covers a five-year period from 2008-2012, seeks to bolster government-private sector efforts to improve the lives of the people in Mindanao. “Today, we sign a pledge that would bring economic development to Mindanao,” Kenney said. Under the agreement, the activities to be overseen by MEDCO and USAID include development infrastructures, improving governance, expanding economic opportunities, and strengthening the foundations of peace through the holding of trainings and other livelihood assistance programs in the area. Among those present during the MPAD Agreement were Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Secretary Jesus Dureza, National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Director General Augusto Santos, and US Charge d’Affaires Paul Jones. |
| Gov't moves to uplift lives of poor |
|
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo witnessed
today the signing of agreements between the Department of Social Welfare and
Development (DSWD) and Local Government Units (LGUs) providing conditional
cash transfers (CCTs) to uplift the lives of the poorest households in the
country. The President witnessed the signing of the Memoranda of Agreements (MOAs) implementing the Ahon Pamilyang Pilipino (APP) Program between DSWD Secretary Esperanza Cabral and the local government executives of Pasay City, and two towns each in Agusan del Sur and Misamis Occidental. Signing for their respective LGUs were Pasay City Vice Mayor Antonio Calixto, Mayor Thelma Lacanilao (Sibagat, Agusan del Sur), Mayor Leonida Manpatilan (Esperanza, Agusan del Sur), Mayor Zenaida Azcuna (Lopez Jaena, Misamis Occidental), and Mayor Samson Dumanjug (Bonifacio, Misamis Occidental). The program aims to break the poverty cycle by building human capital through health, nutrition, and education services for the poorest children aged 0-14 years and their parents. The APP is targeting 600 households from June to December this year and 20,000 households next year from among the country’s 10 poorest provinces and the poorest areas in Metro Manila. Full implementation of the APP will start in January 2009 with an average annual increase of 100,000 households nationwide until 2012. The APP program provides a cash grant package of P6,000 a year per household for health check-ups and vaccines, and P3,000 education cash grant package per year to a maximum of three children per household. Patterned after the successful conditional cash transfer (CCT) in Latin America and Africa, the APP program is being spearheaded by the DSWD, in partnership with the Department of Health (DOH), Department of Education (DepEd), National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC), and the LGUs. |
| Network of digital infra to link entire country by 2010 -- PGMA |
|
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo said today
that by the end of her presidency in 2010, the network of digital
infrastructure on which her government embarked in the last six years shall
have linked the entire country…” Thus committed President Arroyo this morning when she addressed the opening of the two-day Asia Policy Forum on ICT Integration Into Education at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in the Ortigas Center in Pasig City. The President reiterated part of the vision in her 2004 presidential address after reading the latest issue of a magazine, BizNews Asia, where TJ Javier of Microsoft was quoted as saying, thus: “The digital divide persists between and within countries, including the Philippines. Most areas of the country still lack basic access to technology and training. Nowhere is the ICT gap more evident than in education. Students in the Philippines often lack access to computers and software, and educators are not always trained in how technology can aid learning.” “And I think that is why we’re all here today. And that’s also why during my presidential address… I described that part of my vision… (that) everyone of school age shall be in school, in an uncrowded classroom, in surroundings conducive to learning, including internet access in every public high school,” the President said. President Arroyo further quoted Microsoft’s Javier, thus: “For the Philippines, creating an educated, technology-proficient workforce is perhaps the key driver of competitive success in the global knowledge economy. In order to participate in an increasingly flat world, we must address the skills and knowledge divide.” To this, the President announced that “on the part of the government, we’re working hard to maintain the competitiveness of our workforce through investments in human capital. To start with: To prepare our youth to be the next generation of knowledge workers, we’re upgrading Math and Science teaching in basic education.” “We will also continue to leverage our level of I.T. proficiency that currently includes over 75,000 licensed professionals, with technical expertise in software development and engineering design. We have to keep our edge by a huge, integrated quantum leap in value-laden ICT education…” the President continued. President Arroyo reiterated her earlier announcement in the Electronics Strategic Forum at the Shangri-La Makati yesterday that her administration is “investing three billion pesos in science and engineering research and development technology, including scholarships for masters and doctoral degrees in engineering in seven universities…” The President also announced the latest good news in the country’s economic front: “We’re pleased to report that the national government registered a budget surplus of P13.9 billion in August – a budget surplus of P13.9 billion amid strong revenues due to the improved performance of both the Bureau of Internal revenue and the Bureau of Customs.” “The August surplus allowed the government to trip down its budget deficit to P25.5 billion – P25.5 billion in the first eight months from P39.4 billion in the first seven months. So it looks like we’re well within our budget deficit ceiling...” The President congratulated the organizers of the forum which has some 300 guests and participants from 10 Asian countries. The forum hopes to “discuss and find solutions to current challenges in ICT in education in the region.” The said forum was also attended by the President’s daughter, Luli, who is the director of Strategic Development of FIT-ED (Foundation for Information Technology Education and Development Inc.), the forum’s Philippine organizing partner. The forum was organized by World Links, a non-profit organization based in Washington, D.C. It was funded by the World Bank-administered Japan Social Development Fund and by Intel Corporation, with FIT-ED as Philippine partner. |
