 |
|
PGMA's Speech during the 33rd Top Level Management Conference of the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas |
|
Grand Ballroom, Oxford Hotel. Clark Freeport Zone, Angeles City, Pampanga |
|
14 November 2007 |
|
Thank you very much Secretary
Cerge Remonde for your introduction. KBP Chairman Jun Nicdao, my kabalen; KBP President Butch Canoy; KBP Regional Head, kabalen na naman, Perry Pangan; Ambassador Desjardins, welcome!; our host because we are here in his territory, CDC President Levy Laus; officers and members of the KBP, good evening and welcome to my home province of Pampanga. As Cerge Remonde has said, I'm glad to be here maybe for at least the 9th straight year in a row. And I'm glad to see that all these years, KBP has matured enough and become stable enough to have a new beginning. As Jun Nicdao said, KBP in many ways is like the Philippines. Today, the Philippines is on a path to permanent economic growth and stability. At gaya nang sabi ni Jun, marami tayong tinatamasa ngayon -- bumubuhos na pamumuhunan. Halimbawa, kaninang hapon, nagbisita sa akin sa Malacaņang yung Banyan Tree group at nagbigay ng press conference pagkatapos. Itong Banyan Tree ang nagsimula ng turismo sa Phuket. Sila rin ang nag-develop ng turismo sa Maldives at sa Seychelles, at ngayon ay magtatayo sila ng isang five-star resort sa Northern Palawan, sa isang island sa Coron. Ngunit yung binili nilang islang 55 hectares, well, maglalagay sila ng resort doon pero masyadong maliit para sa kanila. Sanay sila na mag-develop ng isang resort community kung saan merong mga pitong mga hotel. Isa lang sila, kaya naghahanap pa sila ng lupa ng 300 hectares para magkaroon ng resort community gaya nang itinayo nila doon sa Phuket at itinayo nila doon sa Maldives. Kaya ito ay isang halimbawa, pinaka-latest sa mga bumubuhos na pamumuhunan sa ating bansa. At gaya nang sabi ni Jun, malakas ang piso, masigasig ang stock market kahit na nagkaroon ng bomba doon sa Batasan kagabi, tumaas pa rin ang stock market kanina. And of course, very fundamentally, nakalikha tayo ng anim na milyong trabaho sa nakaraang anim na taon. Hindi natin sana natamo ang mga ito kung hindi sa suporta ng mga mapagmatyag na kampiyon ng demokrasya gaya ng mga kasapi ng KBP. Kaya ibig kong samantalahin ang pagkakataong ito upang magpasalamat sa lahat nang ginagawa ninyo para sa ating bansa. Lagi kayong naroon sa hirap at sa ginhawa. Nagpapasalamat tayo sa taong bayan at kayo -- marami sa inyo, mga bahagi ng media -- sa inyong maingat na pag-uulat tungkol sa pagsabog sa Batasan kagabi upang maiwasan ang haka-haka. You have been a very responsible media through this occasion. Gagamitin ko rin itong pagkakataon na purihin ang Philippine National Police. Siguro kayo rin sasama sa akin sa pagpuri sa kanila sa mabilis na pagkilos upang bigyan ng higit na seguridad ang ating mga mambabatas sa patuloy nilang paglilingkod sa bayan sa kabila ng trahedyang naganap. Sa paglaban natin sa karahasan at krimen, napakahalaga ang pagkakaisa at pagtutulungan ng pamahalaan at mamamayan. I've met the National Security Council Executive Committee twice last night and today to assess the security situation and institute immediate measures to address any threats. Please convey to our people and our friends here and abroad like the countrymen of Ambassador Desjardins that the Philippines and your government shall not rest until we get to the bottom of this tragedy and hunt down and punish the perpetrators. Walang salitang makakabigkas ng pagkasuklam natin sa karahasang ito. Subalit hindi tayo magpapasupil sa mga nagpakana nito. The rule of law must prevail. No person is above the law. Justice must be served and the law upheld. I have instructed Secretary Andaya to boost intelligence spending for operations. And we assure congressmen and senators that measures are being taken to enable them to continue their sessions in peace and security. I talked to Secretary Puno this afternoon. I told him that we should permanently assign bomb-sniffing dogs in the Batasan and in the Senate. I have instructed the Presidential Legislative Liaison Office to identify and secure possible assassin targets in Congress. And I think we should do the same, KBP should do the same for the media. You must figure out who are the possible targets for media killings so that we can take special care of them. And just as we are determined to solve last night's killing, we want to tell you that we continue to be resolved to solve the killing of journalists. Twenty-seven cases since 2001 are related to media personalities, two perpetrators have been convicted and 21 are ongoing trial. And we are offering now a five-million-peso reward for information to catch perpetrators of political and media killings, and/or foil future attacks, so we've increased our kitty, including tipoffs on illegal explosives. And by the way, speaking of illegal explosives, I'd like to ask you to help me to call on Congress and convincing to pass as soon as possible the bill that makes illegal possession of explosives a crime that is punishable by life imprisonment and non-bailable. In other words, a heinous crime. We've separated the illegal possession of guns from the illegal possession of explosives. We're creating by executive order a Task Force Against Political Violence. This one will be headed by the Department of National Defense, and among the members will be the Department of Justice, the DILG, the Office of the Adviser on the Peace Process, the AFP, the PNP, the NBI, the DSWD and the Public Information Agency. They will work with the judiciary, with the council on values formation, with the union of local authorities of the Philippines and Non-Government Organizations, I hope including the KBP. Its mandate shall be to harness and mobilize government agencies, political groups, the religious, civil society and sectoral organizations like I hope the KBP, and the public for the prevention, investigation, prosecution and punishment of political violence. Also the care and protection of people and communities victimized and threatened by violence, and I hope that we can continue to do this together with the KBP to help the families of the victims of political and media violence. And also we need you to promote a culture opposed to violence and for the advancement of reconciliation and peace. Maganda ang ipinapakita ng inyong tema: "new media, new beginnings, new challenges, new KBP." at gaya nang sinabi ni Jun Nicdao ay... Ito ay tungkol sa pagsisikapan natin alang-alang sa kagalingan ng inyong industriya pero ganun din ang ating gobyerno alang-alang din sa kagalingan ng ating bayan at bansa. Indeed, it's time for a new beginning. And when we talk about a new beginning, we talk about moving on. It's time for the nation to move on and focus on the issues that are important for our future, just as the KBP is focusing on technology that is important for your future. For the future of our country, we're talking about creating more jobs, lowering prices or at least keeping them from going up, providing affordable housing, providing access to education for all our children. The preoccupation with politics does not promote the stability, policy continuity, security and peace and order that we need to continue to move our country forward. If by getting a lot of listenership or viewership because you sensationalize, you may gain something in the short run. But as Jun said and also as Butch has been saying, if in the long run that contributes to instability, that also reduces economic activity and also reduces your capability to have a sustained advertising market. The people want results, not rhetoric; action, not political posturing. Kaya salamat sa pag-papaalala ninyo sa ating mga pinuno to get on with the people's work. Ang hinihiling ko sa inyo na magpatuloy ang inyong pananalig. Marami pang kailangang gawin. Gaya ng KBP, maraming kailangang gawin para sa industriya. Ganun din ang ating bansa, marami pang kailangang gawin kaya hindi tayo dapat nalilihis. Ipunla natin ang mga binhi ng kabutihan. What's good for the country is also good for the kbp. Maraming salamat sa inyong lahat. And once more, welcome! To Pampanga. |