 |
||
| 22 FEBRUARY 2008 | . | |
|
|
||
| 22 FEBRUARY 2008 | . | |
|
|
| President visits flood-damaged Eastern Samar Saturday |
|
TACLOBAN CITY -- In spite of the latest political noise hounding her
administration, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo remains focused on her
task of growing the economy and uplifting the lives of more people, both in
the metropolis and the provinces. In fact, she is scheduled to fly on Saturday morning to flood-ravaged Eastern Samar to bring relief goods and to order the immediate implementation of appropriate government intervention in the rehabilitation of the province. The President is scheduled to arrive in Tacloban City at 10 a.m. and will take a chopper to have an aerial view of the extent of damage wrought by incessant rains since Feb. 13 that caused massive flooding in 20 of the 23 municipalities of the province. The Presidential chopper will land in Dolores town, where she will be given a briefing by disaster coordinating council officials on the wide swathe of damage in Eastern Samar. The President is expected to give P20,000 to the family of each person confirmed dead as a result of the floods and landslides. In addition, the Chief Executive is bringing some 25,000 meals to be served to the displaced families. Earlier, upon learning of the floods in Eastern Samar, the President immediately ordered Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro and Social Welfare and Development Secretary Esperanza Cabral to visit the damaged areas and make an assessment as well as bring relief goods. More grocery packs, aside from those earlier delivered by Teodoro and Cabral, will be distributed to the flood victims during the President’s visit. The President is also expected to order concerned agencies to immediately implement rehabilitation work so as to normalize the lives of the people in Eastern Samar the soonest possible time. Initial assessment reports show that 350 of 597 barangays of the province have been severely affected by massive flooding, while 32,642 families or 163,604 individuals were displaced. The towns of Maslog and Jipapad remain isolated and underwater. Damage to agriculture was initially placed at P64 million. |
|
|
| PGMA leads opening rites for 2008 "EDSA People Power Commemoration Week" |
|
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo led this morning the opening ceremonies
for this year’s “EDSA People Power Commemoration Week” at the Libingan ng
mga Bayani in Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City, where she laid a giant wreath of
white orchids at the foot of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Met upon her arrival at the Libingan by Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief Hermogenes Esperon, the President was honored with a 21-gun salute by the Security Escort Battalion of the Philippine Army (PA) in their ceremonial rayadillo uniform. She then trooped the line with Gen. Esperon to the tune of the Kapampangan ditty, “Atin Cu Pung Singsing,” care of the Philippine Army Band, also in rayadillo. Wearing a red-and-pink pants ensemble, the President laid the wreath after the flag-raising ceremony as a helicopter flew by to drop rose petals onto the hallowed ground. The wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier kicked off this year’s four-day commemoration of the 1986 EDSA People Power Revolution. The celebration ends on Monday, Feb. 25, which President Arroyo earlier declared as a holiday nationwide. “It is fitting and proper that we should begin the celebration of the 22nd anniversary of our EDSA People Power Revolution of February 1986 among these simple tombs of our nation’s heroes,” said former President Fidel V. Ramos in his inspirational message. A lifetime honorary member of the EDSA People Power Commission, Ramos added that by starting the EDSA Week celebrations at the Libingan, “we affirm the inherent linkage of the liberating Spirit of EDSA with earlier episodes of Filipino courage and sacrifice – implicit in the revolutionary ‘Spirit of 1896’ and the defiant ‘Spirit of Bataan-Corregidor of 1942.’” The 22nd commemoration of EDSA I revolves around the theme, “Kapayapaan at Pagkakaisa Tungo sa Kaunlaran.” The opening ceremonies were also attended by members of the diplomatic corps, Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita, Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro, Taguig City Mayor Sigfriedo Tinga, other government and military officials, and widows and wives of Filipino veterans, among others. President Arroyo issued Proclamation No. 1224 in January 2007 declaring Feb. 22-25 of every year as the “EDSA People Power Commemoration Week.” The said automatic annual celebration hopes 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.” |
|
|
| Blackaby Ministries Int’l delegation pays courtesy call on PGMA |
|
Leaders of the United States-based Blackaby Ministries International (BMI)
said today they would offer prayers for Filipino politicians to “rise above
politics and become spiritual statesmen.” The BMI leaders made the commitment during their courtesy call on President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo this morning in Malacanang. Leading the BMI group was Dr. Henry Blackaby, president of the ministry based in Atlanta, Georgia. With Dr. Blackaby was his eldest son, Richard, and the latter’s son, Daniel. The Blackaby patriarch told the President that all his four sons are engaged in religious ministry. During their Malacanang visit, Dr. Blackaby and son Richard gave the President three spiritual books that they authored. One of the books, titled “Discovering God’s Daily Agenda,” is reportedly used by US President George Bush in his morning prayers. The two other books given to the President are entitled “Experiencing God” and “Spiritual Leadership.” The ministry leader told the President that he had been to 120 countries.He added that this is his second trip to the Philippines, and that he is “very honored to be here.” Blackaby said the “gentleness and joy” of the Filipinos are among the most unique of their characteristics. He said many of those he had met “have been keeping us busy the Filipino way – they eat a lot, enjoying their food – I hope I will come back!” The President explained to Blackaby that offering food is the Filipino’s way of entertaining visitors. For his part, Bishop Fred Magbanua of the Philippine Council of Evangelical Churches (PCEC) assured the President that their members practice the biblical call (Romans 13:1) for the people to “submit to those in authority and pray for them as they are God’s servants on earth.” Magbanua stressed that the PCEC is not in any way joining calls for the President to step down. The Blackaby family’s 12-day visit to the country for prayer rallies in Palawan, Baguio and the Folk Arts Theater, is being hosted by the Agape Philippine-American Ministries Inc. |
|
|
| Statement of Secretary Ignacio R. Bunye: Re JDV/Jamby |
|
Name calling. It is most sad when political opponents take to lowering
themselves to this level of desperation, casually flinging around words like
these, as if they have a monopoly of virtue and everyone else has the
opposite. The President is not perfect, but she has worked hard everyday to achieve positive and lasting change for the nation. She has helped create seven million new jobs and bring in billions of dollars in new foreign investment. Unemployment is down, the incidence of hunger is down while access to healthcare and a good education are up. |
|
|
| PGMA breaks ground for construction of P220-M Roxas High School building in Paco |
|
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo led the groundbreaking rites today for the
construction of the proposed P220-million school building of the Manuel A.
Roxas High School in Paco, Manila. The President lowered the time capsule containing the school building’s master plan, lucky coins and a copy of a newspaper. She was assisted by Manila Mayor Alfredo S. Lim, Manila 6th District Rep. Benny Abante and 5th District Rep. Amado Bagatsing, Education Secretary Jesli Lapus, and Manuel A. Roxas High School Principal Elena Batusan. The proposed four-storey, 64-classroom school building is part of the 10,000 new classrooms targeted for construction under the President’s education program. A joint undertaking of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), Department of Education (DepEd) and Local Government Unit (LGU) using parts of their funds, it will benefit the school’s 4,125 students The first high school to be named after Philippine President Manuel A. Roxas, it was established in 1948. Today, it has 4,125 students and 185 teaching and non-teaching personnel. The event was followed by the distribution of grocery packs containing rice, sardines and noodles to the residents of Barangays 821 and 826 residing within the vicinity of the school. The President, after exchanging pleasantries with students and teachers of the school, had photo opportunities with them. “Thank you very much for your warm reception. Salamat muli!,” she told them. |
|
|
| President opens $11-million modern seafarers’ training center in Pasay |
|
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo formally opened today the $11-million
training center of Japan’s leading shipping firm in Pasay City as part of
the company’s business expansion program in the Philippines and its
commitment to educate and hire more Filipino seafarers. The President motored to the Bay Central business district in Pasay from Tondo, Manila, where she earlier led the groundbreaking of Radial Road 10 or the Manila-Navotas-Malabon road project, to inaugurate the seven-storey K-Line Maritime Academy (KLMA), the state-of-the-art training academy of Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha Ltd. or K-Line. Upon her arrival at the Pasay City KLMA site, the President cut the ceremonial ribbon and unveiled the marker of the academy at the main entrance of the building. Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri, Pasay City Mayor Wenceslao “Pewee” Trinidad, Japanese Ambassador to the Philippines Makoto Katsura, and Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha Ltd. (K-Line) president Hiroyuki Maekawa assisted the President in the ribbon-cutting and unveiling rites of the newly constructed KLMA building. After the ribbon-cutting and unveiling rites, the President toured the building, spending time on the training facilities at the third floor. In his welcome remarks, K-Line CEO and president Hiroyuki Maekawa said the K-Line training academy boasts of $4 million worth of simulation equipment, and could accommodate up to 10,000 trainees a year. Maekawa said the K-Line shipping group would need more than 2,000 Filipino officers and 6,000 crew members to man its 300 in-house vessels by 2015. He added that the KLMA building along the corner of President Diosdado Macapagal Blvd. and Coral Drive at the Central Business Park 1, Bay City in Pasay, can train more than 10,000 Filipino seafarers annually. Graduates of the center will serve onboard “K” Line’s expanding fleet and arrest the shortage of vessel officers which is expected to run until 2015. Maekawa stated that KLMA is a major step being taken by the company to fulfill its commitment to come up with a global academy to create more talented and qualified Filipino seafarers to serve international demand for seafarers. The academy is also the affirmation of “K” Line’s faith in the skill of Filipinos and confidence in the future of the shipping industry. The first one-of-its-kind in the Philippines, KLMA can accommodate 110 trainees at any one time in its dormitories. According to “K” Line senior managing executive officer Katsue Yoshida, KLMA is offering a continuing training exclusively to its people to enable them to work within K-Line global standards and build lasting careers. The shipping company’s training program includes operational skills, understanding culture and mental training. The 3,380-square-meter training facility has a full-mission Polaris ship- bridge simulator with six desktop version bridges, full-mission engine-room simulator, GMDSS simulator, main engine maneuvering control, electronic chart display and information system. It uses actual training equipment on automatic identification system, boiler combustion control, marine electricity and electronics, air-conditioning and refrigeration, liquefied natural gas-carrier cargo handling, ship stability, marine auxiliary machineries, lathe machine operation, gas and electric welding, as well as culinary courses. Established in 1993, the K-Line Maritime Training Corporation, KLMA’s forerunner, also has other academies in Mumbai, India and Sofia, Bulgaria, for its international work force. However, the Manila facility is conceded to be the best in terms of trainings offered and equipment. The KLMA headquarters and policy center is in Tokyo, Japan. KLMA is ISO 9001:2000-certified with its Quality Management System registered and accredited with the Nippon Kaiji Kyokai Quality Assurance and the Japanese Accreditation Board. |
|
|
| PGMA signals start of construction of 12-lane road linking Manila to CAMANAVA |
|
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo witnessed today the start of the
construction of a 12-lane road project that is part of the strategic Radial
Road 10 linking Manila's busy port to the CAMANAVA (Caloocan, Malabon,
Navotas, Valenzuela) area and the northern cities and towns of Luzon. The road project, which will have six lanes per direction, is part of the 3,000 kilometers of national roads and bridges that the national government is constructing this year to raise the competitiveness of the country’s super regions. The President arrived at 10:30 a.m. at Radial Road 10 corner Pacheco Street in Tondo, Manila where she was welcomed by residents and local officials led by Manila Mayor Alfredo S. Lim, Department of Public Works and Highways Secretary Hermogenes Ebdane Jr., DPWH Undersecretary Ramon Aquino, Malabon-Navotas Lone District Rep. Alvin Sandoval, Malabon Councilor Len Oreta, Barangay 116 Chairman Edgar Solis, and Barangay 118 Chairman Rufo Ventura. The President led the capsule laying rites and was briefed by Aquino on the P411-million concreting and widening of the 4.8-kilometer strategic port road from Zaragosa Street in Manila to Lapu-Lapu Avenue in Malabon City. Aquino told the President that the project development includes gradual construction works from the Manila side from Zaragoza Street to Marala Bridge spanning some 3.6 kilometers, and the 1.2-kilometer Navotas side from Marala Bridge to Lapu-Lapu Avenue. The President said the project is scheduled to be completed in June, making the Radial Road 10 a 12-lane road which would greatly improve the heavy traffic flow in Manila's port operations. Earlier in the morning, Mayor Lim and Vice President Noli de Castro awarded 105 housing units in three buildings in Gagalangin, Tondo for teachers, police personnel, and those affected by the road project. Lim said another three buildings would be jointly constructed by the National Housing Authority (NHA) and the city of Manila for the benefit of the same beneficiaries. |
|
|
