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| 21 FEBRUARY 2008 | . | |
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| 21 FEBRUARY 2008 | . | |
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| Statement of Secretary Ignacio R. Bunye: No midnight Cabinet in the Palace |
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There is no midnight Cabinet in the Palace. The ‘revelations’ of the former
Speaker’s wife are best ignored considering its bitter source. We call on the people not to be swayed by such information as this is an apparent attempt to project the President as beholden to a few. The President owes her mandate to the people who voted her in office and not to ‘midnight kibitzers’ who think they know more about the inner workings of government than they actually do. Let’s buckle down to work. There is a crisis in Samar and Leyte that deserves our collective attention. Politics must not prevail over the urgent social needs of our people. |
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| Statement of Chairman Romulo Neri of the Commission on Higher Education |
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For some strange reason about 20 media people were
waiting for me in front of my house. I made this formal statement: I urge our political leaders to abandon this politics of hate and go for the politics of hope and progress where we practice human decency and respect for the dignity of our fellowmen. I urge our political leaders to declare one year of social peace so we can focus on the real solutions to our nation's deeply rooted problems. |
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| PGMA leads groundbreaking for P70-million Congressional Avenue Extension Project in QC |
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Expect traffic within the Commonwealth, Tandang Sora, North, Visayas and
Quezon Avenues, as well as the Elliptical Road in Quezon City, to improve
greatly once the P70-million Congressional Avenue Extension Project (CAEP)
is completed this year. No less than President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo spearheaded this morning the capsule-laying signaling the start of construction of the project near the corner of Visayas and Congressional Avenue Extension in Quezon City. Among the local and national government officials who welcomed the President upon her arrival in the project site were Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chair Bayani Fernando, Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Undersecretary Ramon Aquino, QC Mayor Feliciano Belmonte, District 2 Rep. Annie Rosa Susano and Pasong Tamo Barangay Chair Marivic Co-Pilar. The project includes the construction of a six-lane highway with three lanes per direction with provisions for sidewalks and drainage structures. To be built at a cost of P70 million sourced from the 2008 DPWH Infrastructure Program, the CAEP will link the already completed Congressional Avenue stretch from Epifanio delos Santos Avenue (EDSA) to Visayas Avenue to its remaining section until Culiat Bridge along Tandang Sora Avenue. Once completed, the CAEP will decongest vehicular flow along Commonwealth, Tandang Sora, North, Visayas and Quezon Avenues, including the Elliptical Road near the Quezon City Hall. The CAEP will also provide motorists with an alternate route going to Mindanao Avenue Extension in Novaliches and the North Luzon Expressway via the Malinta Exit in Valenzuela City. After laying the time capsule, the President was given a briefing on the project scheduled to be finished within this year. She then visited a medical and dental mission that was held in the area simultaneously with the CAEP groundbreaking rites. Conducted by the QC government and the People's Government Mobile Action (PGMA) project of the President, the medical and dental mission benefited hundreds of residents within the area by providing them access to free health services and medicines. |
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| ‘No midnight Cabinet in the Palace’--Bunye |
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“There is no midnight Cabinet in the Palace.” This was stressed today by Press Secretary and Presidential Spokesperson Ignacio R. Bunye as he denied allegations by the wife of former House Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr. about the existence of a “midnight Cabinet” in Malacańang “that is involved in affairs of state.” Published reports said Mrs. Gina de Venecia made the claims in media interviews where she said that First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo presides over a midnight Cabinet that is composed of businessmen-cronies and alter-egos of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. “The ‘revelations’ of the former Speakers’ wife are best ignored considering its bitter source,” Bunye said in a statement as he called on the people “not to be swayed by such information as this is an apparent attempt to project the President as beholden to a few.” Bunye said the “President owes her mandate to the people who voted her in office and not to ‘midnight kibitzers’ who think they know more about the inner workings of government than they actually do.” He urged the people to buckle down to work, referring to the destruction caused by floods and landslides in Eastern Samar and Leyte that deserves collective attention. “Politics must not prevail over the urgent social needs of our people,” Bunye stressed. |
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| Neri calls for one year of social peace; end to politics of hate |
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Commission on Higher Education (CHED) Chairman Romulo Neri, then the
Director-General of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA)
when the National Broadband Network (NBN)-ZTE project was sealed last year,
called today on all political leaders to declare a year of "social peace so
we can focus” in finding solutions to the country’s problems. “I urge our political leaders to abandon this politics of hate and go for the politics of hope and progress, where we practice human decency and respect for the dignity of our fellowmen," Neri said in a statement. "I urge our political leaders to declare one year of social peace so we can focus on the real solutions to our nation's deeply-rooted problems," he added. President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo ordered the immediate cancellation of the NBN-ZTE project last October over allegations of bribery and overpricing. In his appearance before a Senate investigation last year, Neri said former Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chairman Benjamin Abalos tried to bribe him so that the NEDA would favor the project proposal submitted by ZTE Corp. of China. Neri reported the alleged bribe attempt to the President but declined to give further details of their conversation, citing executive privilege. He has sought a restraining order from the Supreme Court to prevent the Senate from compelling him to testify again, claiming he has said everything he has to tell the Senate regarding the ZTE–NBN project. |
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| QC Mayor Belmonte reaffirms support for PGMA |
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Amid the controversy hounding the administration of President Gloria
Macapagal-Arroyo, the mayor of the most prosperous city in the National
Capital Region has reaffirmed his utmost support for her government. In an interview after groundbreaking ceremonies for the Congressional Avenue Extension Project in Quezon City this morning, Mayor Feliciano Belmonte said all 142 city barangays also support President Arroyo's presidency. He added that calls for a presidential snap election was illegal and that Filipinos should not heed this clamor from anti-government forces. When asked what his thoughts were about the ongoing Senate hearing into the long-cancelled National Broadband Network (NBN) project between the government and China's ZTE Corporation, Belmonte said he thought it was "amusing." "We are all amused," Belmonte said, adding, "We just watch (the proceedings) for their entertainment value." Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chairman Bayani Fernando, meanwhile, said that despite the political noise generated by anti-government forces reverberating everywhere, the Filipino population would rather choose peace and prosperity than join any proceedings. "Sa kabuuan, ang hinahanap ng tao ay katiwasayan at kabuhayan," he said. |
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| PGMA orders TESDA to include Tahanang Walang Hagdanan in P4-billion scholarship grants |
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President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo ordered today the Technical Education and
Skills Development Authority (TESDA) to include the Tahanang Walang Hagdanan
(TWH) among institutions enjoying scholarship grants so that the TWH’s
physically-disabled students could avail themselves of the Arroyo
administration’s P4-billion fund for vocational trainings. Gracing the TWH’s 35th anniversary celebration at a hotel along Roxas Blvd. in Manila, President Arroyo also called on businesses engaged in Information and Communications Technology (ICT) to hire more persons with disabilities (PWDs). The President congratulated the TWH’s “Great Pillars” -- Sr. Valeriana Baertz (founder) and Engr. Felix Gonzales (TWH president for 19 years) -- for the institution’s “35 years of fruitful service” as a “a home that gives shelter, comfort and care.” “That’s a long time… despite the rough times… within its walls,” enthused the President who pointed out that the TWH is celebrating its significant milestone in the middle of the Philippine Decade for Persons with Disabilities – 2003-2012. President Arroyo also lauded the TWH’s outstanding graduates, most of whom are women. She related that she had PWDs among her staff when she was still Vice President, and that she later brought them along with her to Malacanang when she became President. The President – who cited Republic Act No. 9442 which calls on Philippine society to regard PWDs with due respect – also relayed her happiness at seeing more PWDs enjoying more discounts in drugstores and public transports, with ramps built for them along sidewalks, and seats reserved for them together with the elderly. The President also advised the TWH to explore with the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and the TESDA more scholarship and vocational training grants that it could avail of via the two government agencies. Of the P4-billion vocational training fund, some P350 million has been allotted for skills training for call centers and business processing and outsourcing (BPO) enterprises and locators. The President concluded her speech by committing that “government shall continue to invest in the Filipino, with close to P200 billion so far invested in human capital development so that every Filipino could “live a purposeful life.” TWH president Manuel Agcaoili, himself a PWD, thanked the President for gracing the “very significant occasion” where the TWH regaled the President with a power-point presentation about TWH’s achievements in its mandate to shelter disabled persons and make them productive members of society. The President, together with Lovely Romulo, chair of the National Commission for the Welfare of Disabled Persons (NCWDP), witnessed the awarding of the TWH’s Great Pillars and the following successful graduates: Hilaria Pasno, Amado Dulnuan, Irene Angiwan, Carmen Zubiaga and Nelia Ponce. |
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| PGMA leads nation tomorrow in celebrating 22nd anniv. of ‘86 People Power Revolution |
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President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo leads the nation in the commemoration
tomorrow (Friday, Feb. 22) of the 22nd anniversary of the 1986 EDSA People
Power Revolution with a wreath-laying ceremony at the Libingan ng mga Bayani
in Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City. Among the guests during the wreath-laying rites are the members of the diplomatic corps, veterans, soldiers, former President Fidel V. Ramos and other participants in the 1986 uprising that toppled the dictatorship of former President Ferdinand Marcos. The wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier kicks off the four-day EDSA commemoration that ends on Feb. 25, which the President earlier declared as a non-working holiday. On Feb. 23, Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said the Youth Day would be observed with day-long open house and exhibits. Ermita said Feb. 24 is the Religious Day that will start with a mass at the EDSA Shrine. On Feb. 25, commemoration activities would start with a flag-raising ceremony at the People Power Shrine near the Corinthian Gardens along EDSA. In January 2007, the President issued Proclamation No. 1224 declaring Feb. 22-25 of every year as "EDSA People Power Commemoration Week" to perpetuate and propagate the spirit of the historic and non-violent 1986 People Power Revolution which has gained the respect and admiration of the world. |
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| PGMA welcomes to Malacańang Deputy Prime Minister of Vietnam |
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President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo welcomed today in Malacańang Deputy Prime
Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Pham Gia Khiem of the Socialist
Republic of Vietnam who made a side trip to Manila to further enhance the
existing bilateral relations between the Philippines and Vietnam. “Welcome, it’s very nice to see you again,” the President told Khiem, adding that the Filipino people “are very happy” to have him as guest of the Philippines, one of Vietnam’s neighbor countries. In return, Khiem thanked the President for the hospitality he received during his brief stay in Manila. Khiem made a side trip to the Philippines after he participated in the annual two-day (Feb. 19-20) Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Foreign Ministers Retreat held in Singapore. Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo accompanied Khiem in his 15-minute courtesy call on the President at Malacanang’s Music Room. The President and Deputy Prime Minister Khiem first met during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting held in Hanoi, Vietnam in 2006. |
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| Reforms in procurement of gov’t projects already in place since 2003---Andaya |
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Budget Secretary Rolando Andaya Jr. stressed today the reforms on the
procurement of government projects demanded by the Arroyo administration’s
critics have been in place since 2003 and further strengthened by President
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo recently. Andaya said since the creation of the Procurement Transparency Group (PTG), several civil society organizations, the academe and religious groups were already part of the PTG. “They were already part of the monitoring, assessment and evaluation of government projects and they have identified several projects to monitor,” said Andaya, who was guest of the weekly television program “The Cabinet Speaks” hosted by Press Undersecretary for Broadcast Martin Crisostomo. Andaya added that the group’s power was further strengthened with the President’s directive that the PTG be furnished documents they needed in their monitoring as well as the creation of a grievance committee where they could recommend to the Ombudsman the probe of any anomalous transactions. Andaya said the Makati Business Club and Transparency and Accountability Network were among those already part of the PTG even as he reiterated the need for more private sector participation to be watchdogs in government procurement activities. |
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| Much ado about nothing on scrapped broadband deal, says Andaya |
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Budget Secretary Rolando Andaya Jr. made clear today that there was no
consummated contract on the now cancelled ZTE-National Broadband Network
project and that the government had not spent any single cent on it. “So what’s the accusations of kickbacks all about when there was no money involved yet? There was no contract. There was no loan agreement,” Andaya said in the weekly television program “The Cabinet Speaks” hosted by Press Undersecretary for Broadcast Martin Crisostomo. “These are the basic things we have to let them know in the first place…we’ve been doing that but it seems these all land on deaf ears,” Andaya said in Filipino. He said they just have to continue with the information campaign and have more patience in doing such. As to the Official Development Assistance (ODA)-funded projects reportedly suspended by the President during Tuesday’s Cabinet meeting in Malacanang, Andaya clarified that the 11 projects lacked documents necessary for their implementation, and that the President set Feb. 22 as the deadline for the implementing agencies to submit the documents. “Eleven projects lacked information so it could not be effectively monitored…the President said if they could not give the report, the projects would be either suspended or cancelled,” Andaya said. He, however, refused to name the projects on hold until tomorrow, the deadline set by the President for the documents to be submitted. And, as part of further strengthening the procurement transparency system of government, the procurement of petroleum products and lubricants used by government would now be centralized. “One office would now do it… it used to be that each agency does its own procurement,” he said. He said the government spends some P5 billion annually for petroleum and lubricants needs with the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine National Police (PNP) as the largest consumers. “It is understandable because they need fuel for their mobility …,” he added. |
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| Famed OFW Angelo Dela Cruz stands firm behind the President |
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Amidst the political noise that hounds the duly-constituted government of
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, Angelo dela Cruz, a 50-year-old father of
eight children and a former overseas Filipino worker (OFW) in Saudi Arabia,
resurfaced today to call for sobriety and ask every Filipino to stay firm
behind the President. “It’s time for me, for my fellow OFWs and all Filipinos to stand firm behind the President and denounce all efforts of destabilization and political mess that only serve the political ambition and interest of those who want to be in power. This, I think, is the best communal action we must undertake,” said Dela Cruz who welded the nation together in 2004. It can be recalled that Dela Cruz was taken hostage and threatened with beheading by the Iraqi Islamic Army if President Arroyo did not withdraw the government troop from Iraq. Armed with his courage and determination, Dela Cruz traveled to Manila from the far-flung barangay of Buenavista in Mexico, Pampanga to actively support the President from the political noise and grandstanding that, he believes, disturb the continuing economic growth and development particularly in the countryside. Dela Cruz, who left his home early in the morning, said that while he was on board an ordinary bus going to Manila, he reminisced his days of captivity under the Iraqi forces until he was released and got a chance to call the President. Dela Cruz said while seated inside the bus, he pondered his first word he uttered when he called the President from the United Arab Emirates Embassy in Baghdad as this, “Maraming salamat po sa nagawang tulong nyo sa akin, ito po si Angelo dela Cruz (Thank you so much for your help, this is Angelo dela Cruz, ma’am).” With over one million OFWs (overseas Filipino workers) in the Middle East and over eight million (worldwide), my government has a deep national interest in their well-being, wherever they live and work,” the President said after the release of Dela Cruz. “The President has saved my life and now it’s my turn and it’s my moral obligation to our country and my fellow OFWs to defend her from her political detractors whose only interest is to topple her down and be in power,” Dela Cruz stressed. Dela Cruz claimed that the President’s detractors, who he called “political clowns and liars” are doing nothing good for the country especially for the protection of the OFWs who fly across the world to find the fortune that could lift their families out of poverty. Dela Cruz said he went to Manila to send his message that it’s not the “time for us to be divided as a nation,” but now, he said, is the right moment for the Filipinos to stand firm behind the President who brings growth, development and economic miracles for the country. “The proven economic growth being delivered by President Arroyo will set us free from the bondage of poverty and sordid past as a nation,” Dela Cruz added. |
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President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s Speech
During the 35th Founding Anniversary of
Tahanang Walang Hagdanan (TWH), Inc. Manila Bay Ballroom, Bayview Park Hotel Roxas Blvd., Manila February 21, 2008 |
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Thank you. Thank you so much Chairperson Lovely Romulo for your introduction and thank you for consenting to be the Chairperson of the Council for the Welfare of Persons with Disabilities. Please sit down. Sister Valeriana Baertz, thank you very much for what you have done over the last 35 years. And we’re so happy that we have two women here who are such leaders in the care of persons with disabilities. This is not of course to belittle the role of the gentlemen. So, I would like to also thank our awardees, Mr. Gonzalez for your many many years of service as the head of the Tahanan ng Walang Hagdanan; and our best wishes to a very well-known leader of the community of persons with disabilities now President and CEO of TWH, Mr. Manuel Agcaoili, congratulations and good luck to you!; Undersecretary Alice Bala, representing the DSWD; I would like to greet also Bishop Gabby Reyes; and of course to our awardees led by the two great pillars of the Tahanan and also the outstanding products of Tahanan ng Walang Hagdanan; to all the partners, donors, sponsors of Tahanang Walang Hagdanan, congratulations for 35 years of fruitful service! Indeed, Tahanang Walang Hagdanan has lived up to its name as a Tahanan -- a home that gives shelter, comfort and care to persons with disabilities, and that it has continued to this date. Thirty five years is a long time despite some rough times sometimes within its walls testifies to all of you and your strong faith in the human spirit and the will to persevere in your cause. Tahanang Walang Hagdanan celebrates its 35th anniversary in the middle of the Philippine decade for persons with disabilities which is 2003 to 2012. We proclaimed this in keeping with our country’s commitment to the U.N. Convention of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. And in tandem with this proclamation, we also have Republic Act 9442, which amended the Magna Carta for Disabled Persons. This was put in place to grant more privileges and incentives to the differently abled and to make sure that Philippine society will regard persons with disabilities with due respect. We have also put together the national plan of action for this Philippine decade of persons with disabilities. And as a result of the work that you’re all doing together, I am very happy to see that more PWDs because of laws, policies and advocacies more PWDs now enjoy discounts in various establishments and service sectors, from drugstores to public transport. I’m happy to learn that more LGUs have complied with the law to install PWD-friendly sidewalks, that more buildings have constructed ramps and more public utility vehicles have reserved seats for PWDs as well as the elderly. And among our recipients of the awards today, we can see that ICT-related businesses like call centers, transcriptions, web content and design, and other services are areas where the differently abled can feel equal to non- PWDs. We urge outsourcing and offshoring firms to consider hiring more of them. And we’d like to thank Joey Concepcion of ‘Go Negosyo’ because he also has the program to highlight the achievements of the entrepreneurs with disabilities --disabilities some were physical but very abled as far as organizing and running a business is concerned. And our awardees had been able to show that. We have been encouraging businesses to hire disabled but qualified workers. I myself when I was vice president, I took in a number of PWDs in my staff and when I became president, they moved with me to Malacanang. And we’re very happy of the good work that they do. This year, so that we can have more and more of persons with disabilities to be able to have good jobs and even persons without disabilities, we have allocated four billion pesos for vocational training, especially 350 million pesos for call centers and other BPO for near hires. And I hope that Tahanang Walang Hagdanan can avail of the scholarships being provided by TESDA for this purpose. In fact, Tahanang Walang Hagdanan I hope is or should be one of the accredited training institutions for the scholarships of the TESDA. And if it’s not that way yet, I’ll ask Alice Bala to make sure that that is done. I think that’s the best way to celebrate the 35th year for Tahanang Walang Hagdanan to explore with the DSWD and TESDA the possibility of more scholarships and work training grants. Persons with disabilities, yes, have a fair chance of competing with non-disabled in entrepreneurial activities, and we have seen that from one of our awardees. And the DSWD also has its own microfinance but DSWD can also link up the persons with disabilities with microfinance institutions. These are for those who want to start and with very very small businesses. Our plan of action makes special mention of women with disabilities because women with disabilities being female and disabled have a double discrimination. Pero tignan natin naman ang nangyari ngayon halos lahat ng ating mga awardees ay kababaihan. Kapansin-pansin ang mga babae sa pinaparangalan natin ngayon. At angkop na angkop ito dahil sinisimulaan natin ang pagdiriwang ng Araw ng Kababaihan na mangyayari sa pag-umpisa ng Marso, ikawalo ng Marso ang Women’s Day. Kaya for a whole month... For a whole month before and the month of March we’re celebrating women. And today, we celebrate women with disabilities and women who work for persons with disabilities. So, we thank you and congratulations! So, siyempre pagdating ng Araw ng Kababaihan ay maraming selebrasyon, maraming pagdiriwang. So Alice siguro dapat ang dswd sa pagdiriwang ng Araw ng Kababaihan bigyan ng espesyal na lugar sa pagdiriwang ang mga babaeng nakakamit ng parangal itong araw na ito because you are really truly such worthy role models to emulate. Puspusan ang pagkilos ng pamahalaan upang mapabuti ang kalagayan ng mga may kapansanan maging mga mahihirap. Kasi hindi masasabing umuunlad ang bansa hangga’t hindi natin mai-angat ang kalagayan ng mga maralita at yung may ibang mga disadvantages gaya ng mga kapansanan. And just as Tahanang Walang Hagdanan has helped the differently-abled in its care and allowed them to develop into productive citizens, as we see from our awardees, government will continue to invest in the Filipino. Government will continue to nurture people’s talents that’s why we’re spending for the first time almost 200 billion pesos in human capital to give every citizen a better chance to live a purposeful life. And we can afford to do this now, offer scholarships to Tahanang Walang Hagdanan, because our economy has reached a new level of maturity and stability with some of the strongest macroeconomic fundamentals in more than 30 years. Seven years ago, no one thought we could get more revenues to afford these things because no one thought we could cut down on tax cheats. No one thought we could strengthen the peso to be able to import your raw materials at lower cost. No one thought we could move the stock market and make the top 16 corporations so rich that their foundations can afford to support beautiful projects like Tahanang Walang Hagdanan. No one thought we could bring our budget close to balance or lower our national debt so that instead of spending on debt service, we’re spending on training. And no one thought we could raise employment, but we have. We have created seven million jobs in seven years. And thanks to Tahanan, some of these jobs are being enjoyed by persons with disabilities. And we hope that in this 35th year there can be even more because of more expanded care in the home that we call Tahanan ng Walang Hagdanan. And just like the residents of Tahanan are courageous and hopeful, our Filipino people in general are hardworking and determined to carve a better future. And so, on this occasion of a jubilee anniversary, 35th anniversary, let us all face tomorrow confidently, as we saw in our video presentation, let us all be winners. Maraming salamat, maligayang anibersaryo muli sa inyong lahat! Thank you. |
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