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| 01 FEBRUARY 2008 | . | |
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| 01 FEBRUARY 2008 | . | |
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| PGMA graces IPO of Pepsi shares |
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President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo graced this morning the initial public
offering (IPO)of the common stocks of Pepsi-Cola Products Philippines,
Inc.(PCPPI) at the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) along Ayala Avenue in
Makati City, the first IPO for this year. Flanked by PSE and Pepsi officials and two Cabinet members onstage at the third-level trading floor of the exchange, the President rang the golden bell shortly after 9 a.m. to signal the start of the day’s trading. Upon her arrival at the PSE, the President was met by PSE chair Jose Vitug, PSE president Francis Lim, and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) chair Fe Barin. The President dropped by the Brokers’ Lounge before descending the spiral staircase to the stage of the trading floor. In his welcome remarks, Vitug thanked the President for the “fiscal reforms that stabilized interest rates” and for the “reassuring consistency” in her economic programs. He also cited the 7.3 percent growth of the country’s economy last year, the highest expansion in 31 years. Vitug pointed out that “we owe that to the President,” referring to the reported growth of the economy. The country’s gross domestic product (GDP), which measures the value of goods produced and services rendered in the country in a given period, grew by 7.3 percent in 2007, according to the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA). For his part, PCPPI chair and chief executive officer Micky Yong thanked President Arroyo for making time to grace the Pepsi IPO despite her hectic daily schedule, and for the “great job that you have done for the Philippine economy.” Also with the President on the PSE stage were Trade Secretary Peter Favila, Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap and Pepsi president Felix Yu. During the past 60 years, PCPPI has been the exclusive bottler of Pepsico International’s world renowned beverages, including Pepsi Cola, Mountain Dew, Mirinda, Mug, Tropicana, Lipton Ice Tea and Gatorade. PCPPI has a market capitalization of P1,196 million ($29.2 million). Pepsi officials said proceeds from the listing of common shares -- initially priced at P3.50 per share – will be “used to fund 2008-2009 capital expenditure for additional non-carbonated beverage production facilities, and expansion of carbonated beverage production plants.” |
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President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s Speech at the
First Ibon Ebon Festival Poblacion, Candaba, Pampanga February 1, 2008 |
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Metun a mayap a pagbati keko ngan king mumunang diling pamagdiwang ning
Candaba king IBON-EBON FESTIVAL. Abalu ku na adwa yang bage iting pamagdiwang: ing tagumpe yu king pamag-protekta da ring ayup a manibat karing aliwang lugar o migratory birds ampo ing pamanyulung king industriya na ning itik. Pauli ning galing da ding kekayung gewang akbang ban sesen la dening ayup, lalu la pang darakal banua-banua. Balita ku, atin pang atlung e karaniwang species da ding ayup a dadayu ngeni king Candaba Swamp. Iti metung ya karing bunga ning pamagsumikap nang Mayor Jerry Pelayo at ikayu ngang taga-Candaba, pati na ing mabilug a probinsiya ning Pampanga a akamit na ing ustung balansi king kailangan da deng tao ampo pa ing kapaligiran o “Balance Between the Needs of the People and Those of the Environment,” a tema king pamagdiwang. In the case of our country as a whole, we have begun the Green Philippines plan. This is a blueprint for mapping our environment and economic policies that will allow for sustainable development that doesn’t fall on the backs of the poor or erode our environment. There is a cost to make the Green Philippines come to life. But the cost is greater without the plan and the investment in our people and environment. From rising tides, to changing weather to deforestation and pollution of air, sea and land, the challenges of the environment at this time of climate change are great. As a nation made up of over 7,000 islands, rising seas due to global warming takes on a whole new meaning. Florida may lose some coastline, we lose a nation. Our response to this grave challenge may sound humorous, but our intent is deadly serious: we must work together to solve this problem. If we do, it will be one of our great achievements. Every nation, developed or developing, must assume the mantle of leadership and work to address the challenge of climate change. Each and every person bears some measure of responsibility for what we have done today and throughout history to diminish our environment. Obviously, some are more responsible than others; and some are more responsible today than yesterday. But all that apportionment of blame does nothing against a rising tide of global warming that will swamp our nation if we do not act with solidarity. Unity is a real aspiration that manifests itself through progress. Unity is about action, not discussion. It is about working together and not just talking together. Susi ya king kekatamung pamag-ahon king kakalululuwan, ing pamanese tamu king kapaligiran ampong likas a yaman. Kasabay ng pagdami ng mga ibong napapadpad sa Candaba Swamp ang pagdami din ng mga taong dadayo, local man o galing sa ibang bansa, upang manood ng kakaibang natural phenomenon na ito. Tungkul naman king pamanese karing bibi, malamang a dakal kekayu, buri dang gawan iti pero ala lang capital. Kaya kaniting okasyon na ning Ibon Ebon Festival, ating kung tsekeng metung a milyon para karing livelihood projects da ring memalen Candaba. Poverty alleviation is our overarching goal. We will continue focus on it. Getting our growth rate of 7.3%, the highest in 31 years, is just the first step. Over the next few years, we will translate the positive results of our reforms to real benefits for the people. We will increase investment in our country and our people to: 1) improve our infrastructure, kalupa ning Subic-Clark Tarlac Expressay ampu ing potang umpisan tang Third Bulacan Circumferential Road, to create an environment in which businesses feel confident to expand and employ more people, because more jobs means less poverty, 2) improve social services such as health insurance subsidies for indigent families and Food for School anti-hunger programs, 3) boost educational support in our efforts to reduce poverty by investing in better school buildings, new textbooks and teaching materials, training programs for teachers and school administrators, ampu karing facilities kalupa ning binuklat tang aklatan nandin, and 4) cutting red tape and continuing to eliminate corruption from the system. Puspusan ing pamagpatupad na ning guyernu – kayabe da karing lokal a opisyales- karing programang tutugun karing pangunahing kailangan da ring kekatamung memalen. Iti parte ne ning pamagbalik tami karing kekatamung membalin karing bunga na ning pamanyulung ning kekatamung ekonomiya. Dakal a salamat kekayu at masayang pamagdiwang kekatamu ngan. |
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| PGMA vows to translate economic gains into real benefits for the people |
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CANDABA, Pampanga--- President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo vowed today to
translate in a few years the positive results of the economic reforms she
implemented to real benefits for the people. In her message during the First Ibon-Ebon Festival here, the President cited the 7.3 percent growth in the country’s economy last year, the fastest in 31 years. “Getting our growth rate of 7.3 percent, the highest in 31 years, is just the first step,” the President said as she vowed to further grow the economy. She underscored the need to increase investments in infrastructure, social services, education as well as fight graft and corruption to ensure that the benefits of a growing economy trickle down to the grassroots. She said that residents of the Candaba region would benefit from the construction of the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway or the Third Bulacan Circumferential Road. She said infrastructure is vital to the creation of an environment in which businesses would feel confident to expand and employ more people, ”because more jobs means less poverty.” She also stressed the need to invest in the delivery of improved social services such as health insurance subsidies for indigent families and the food for school anti-hunger programs. At the same time, the President cited the need to boost support to education as part of the overall efforts to reduce poverty by investing in better school buildings, new textbooks and teaching materials, training programs for teachers and school administrators. The President arrived here this morning to grace the First Ibon-Ebon Festival with the theme “Balance Between the Needs of the People and Those of the Environment.” Upon her arrival, the President inaugurated the “Aklatang Pambata ni Gloria” and the children’s playground by ringing the bell hanged at the doorway of the little library at the Ms. Earth Park in Barangay Mandasig here. The project was constructed with a P1 million counterpart fund from the President’s Social Fund. |
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| PGMA leads groundbreaking rites for P1.1-billion Bulacan road network |
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SAN RAFAEL, Bulacan--- President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo led this afternoon
the groundbreaking of the P1.1-billion, 85.5-kilometer Third Bulacan
Circumferential Road Network in Barangay Coral na Bato leading to the
soon-to-be opened San Rafael Government Center here. She was assisted in laying the time capsule for the project by Public Works and Highways Secretary Hermogenes Ebdane and Bulacan Rep. Lorna Silverio (3rd District). Silverio said the road network would be the answer to the increased travel needs of the people in the area which has been experiencing a housing boom and heightened economic activities, including the expansion of a state university in San Rafael. The road network is expected to bolster Bulacan’s economic boom. The road system would wrap around the six municipalities of San Miguel, San Rafael, San Ildefonso, Angat, Dona Remedios Trinidad and Norzagaray, all in the third district of the province. These municipalities comprise 64 percent of Bulacan’s total land area. The President said the road network is a major component of the 300,000 kilometers of new roads to be built under the government’s road construction program. |
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| PGMA bats for the highest standard of education and less number of school dropouts |
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President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo called for restructuring of the country’s
educational system to enhance its quality with less number of school
dropouts as she delivered her keynote speech during the jampacked opening
ceremonies Thursday (Jan. 31) of the First Biennial Education Congress (FBEC)
at the Tent City of the Manila Hotel. The “general objective” of the two-day education congress -- which President Arroyo had earlier ordered to be convened this month – is to “assess Philippine education for the purpose of enhancing its quality and relevance.” The Presidential Task Force on Education (PTFE) presented its Progress Report on its education studies and recommendations to the close to 500 participants of the congress; and consulted with the attending stakeholders on issues and concerns affecting Philippine education. Based on the results of the two-day congress, the PTFE shall submit the “appropriate action plans” on the country’s educational system to President Arroyo. The congress was dubbed as a “turning point in Philippine education, a meaningful, tangible testament of our common desire to improve and update the country’s educational system,” said PTFE member Dr. Emmanuel Angeles who thanked President Arroyo for the latter’s “continuing support for Philippine education.” For her part, Presidential Assistant for Education Mona Valisno said “no less than the President of the land called us all to gather and enjoined us to put our acts together so that no more hindrance can ever be stronger against our raging fire to bring the Philippines to the front of quality education.” In the overview that she made about the education congress, Valisno said the President’s commitment to improving the educational system gave rise to the administration’s “main education highway” whose main goal is to “contain each student at all levels (basic, secondary and tertiary) in the highway; catch them, and provide them with relevant educational interventions lest they drop out; put them back in the highway; and keep them on the right track.” President Arroyo herself enthused that even before she could read the United Nations Millennium Development Goals – one of which is to achieve universal primary education by 2015 – “we have already internalized that goal.” As early as 2001, the year she ascended to the Presidency, the Chief Executive noted that her administration’s “single act” of stopping the collection of miscellaneous fees during the enrollment period “brought in almost one million children to school.” In the same speech, President Arroyo paid tribute to the teachers who attended the summit, voicing her “special, special welcome to our teachers because when you think of education, you think of teachers.” The Arroyo administration has hired a total of some 65,000 new teachers from 2001 to 2007 – 15,000 of them in 2001, and more than 50,000 between 2002 and 2007. As of 2006, a total of 100,000 teachers had also been trained in Math and Science. The President has also set aside P1 billion for the in-service training of teachers for this year. “Teachers are backbone of our educational system. Without these selfless men and women, our children would fall short of our dreams and aspirations. We are deeply indebted to the hard work and dedication of all our teachers. Their work is noble and patriotic. They deserve the praise and respect of every Filipino,” the President intoned. “That is why teachers received additional compensation in 2006 and a 10-percent salary increase in 2007. That is why unlike in previous administrations, teachers now receive at least the same amount of the increasing bonus that other national government workers receive – in fact, the second installment of the bonus is coming soon to complete P10,000…” “That is why teachers are included in the salary increase provided in our administration bill for the third round of salary standardization – let’s all work for Congress to pass the bill.” “Teachers above all, but also every participant here is a stakeholder in the national effort to fight poverty by working towards a relevant and high-quality educational system. Labanan ang kahirapan. Isulong ang karunungan,” the President concluded. |
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| PGMA calls anew for unity in addressing the effects of climate change |
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CANDABA, Pampanga—President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo called anew today on the
people to unite to address the challenges of global warming. In her speech at the First Ibon-Ebon Festival in Candaba, Pampanga, one of the three most important wetlands in the country, the President, while taking note of the floods that usually occur at the Candaba Swamp, said the Philippines is an island nation and the “rising seas due to global warming would affect us.” “From rising tides, to changing weather to deforestation and pollution of the air, sea, land, the challenges of the environment at this time of climate change are great,” she said. “We must work together to solve this problem. If we do, it will be one of our great achievements,” the President said. According to her, the government has come up with a Green Philippines plan to map out environment and economic policies that would allow sustainable development. At the United Nations, as well as during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders’ Meeting in Sydney, Australia last year and in the recent World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, the President had been harping on the need for cooperation and unity in addressing the effects of global warming. “Every nation, developed or developing, must assume the mantle of leadership and work to address the challenge of climate change,” she said. “Each and every person bears some measure of responsibility for what we have done today and throughout history to diminish the environment,” she added. The President said all the finger-pointing would not solve the problem of global warming. “Unity is a real aspiration that manifests itself through progress,” she stressed. |
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| PGMA inaugurates 15-classroom school bldg. in the most populated Caloocan barangay |
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President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo inaugurated today the newly constructed
three-storey, 15-classroom school building in one of the most populated
barangays in Caloocan City, as part of the administration’s aim to bring the
school closer to the students. Aside from bringing the school closer to the students, the inaugural rites also were held in line with the President’s battlecry of “Labanan ang Kahirapan, Isulong ang Karunungan” in the remaining three years of her presidency. The new school building opened by the President at Phase 8, Bagong Silang, Caloocan City is part of the 10,000 classrooms targeted for construction this year. “Itong 15 silid-aralan ay bahagi ng 10,000 classrooms na itatayo natin ngayong taon. At ngayong araw, Feb. 1, ay simula ng ating construction season,” the President declared in her brief speech before she cut the ceremonial ribbon and then unveiled the project marker of the school building. “Congratulations to all of you at gaya ng ating slogan, Labanan ang Kahirapan, Isulong ang Karunungan,” she added. Caloocan City Mayor Enrico Echeverri, Caloocan 1st District Rep. Oscar Malapitan, Department of Education (DepEd) Undersecretary Ramon Bacani and OIC Division Supt. Corazon Gonzales assisted the President in the ribbon-cutting and unveiling rites. Also present were DepEd National Capital Region Director Teresita Domalanta, Gabriela Silang Elementary School Principal Imelda Ordona and Barangay Bagong Silang Chairman Cesar Padilla. The DepEd-designed building, completed last May 2007 with a total cost of P13 million, will accept students at the opening of 2008-2009 school year this coming June. Its construction aims to decongest nearby schools in Bagong Silang, and at the same time bring the school closer to the students residing at Phase 8, Bagong Silang, Caloocan. Meanwhile, another regular school building worth P3 million which the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) started constructing last month beside the newly-completed three-storey, 15-classroom building, is expected to open in May this year. Tomorrow, Feb. 2, another 16-classroom school building is scheduled to be inaugurated by the President in Pasig City. Of the total 10,000 classrooms programmed for construction this year, 21 were already constructed in Caloocan City and another 16 in Pasig City. They will start accepting students in June. |
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