January 02 2008

PGMA winds up working New Year 'holiday' in Baguio

THE MANSION, Baguio City – Invigorated by the buoyant and hopeful mood of the nation, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo ended this morning her five-day working yearend holiday in this traditional summer retreat and headed back to Manila.

The presidential convoy left The Mansion for Loakan Airport a few minutes before the scheduled 11 a.m. flight to Manila.

A survey conducted before Christmas showed that 91 percent of Filipinos believe they would enjoy a better life this year than in 2007.

The President joined members of the media during the bonfire Dec. 31 at the dapay or gathering area of the Philippine Information Agency (PIA) in front of The Mansion to ring in the new year.

Arriving in Baguio City on Dec. 29 (Saturday), the President and First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo attended the Holy Mass the following day at the Saint Joseph Church at the Polo Field north-west of the Mansion.

She headed straight to the church upon her arrival from San Fernando City in La Union where she attended the celebration of the 111th anniversary of the martyrdom of the country’s national hero, Dr. Jose Rizal.

On New Year’s Eve, the President presided over wide-ranging consultations on the upgrading of the country’s education system with university presidents and tertiary school heads in Northern Luzon.

She told the forum that she decided to hold the consultations here as Baguio City is the “center of education” in the North.

In that meeting, the President directed the Presidential Task Force on Education (PTFE) to immediately hold a national “education congress” by the end of this month to discuss issues affecting the educational system.

The PTFE had earlier scheduled the education congress for May, but the President stressed that the problems besetting the education sector cry out for immediate action.

The task force said it would comply with the President’s directive to advance the proposed congress by five months.

The PFTE is drawing up plans to ensure that quality education is accessible to all Filipinos.

Statistics showed that less than one-third of the total population of Filipino schoolchildren finish college.

On July 10, 2007, the President issued Executive Orders (EOs) 632 and 652 on the “harmonization and synchronization of the entire educational system.”

A month later on Aug. 21 the task force, which is composed of five members each from government and the private educational sector, was formed to “assess, plan and monitor” the entire education system.”

The task force has so far discovered several of what the President termed as “disjoints” in the educational system which, she said, should be remedied at the earliest time possible.

Underscoring the urgency of the situation, she told members of the education task force that “as we see actionable recommendations, let us carry them out – this is something that should be done now.”

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Statement of Secretary Ignacio R. Bunye

The President wishes every Filipino at home and their loved ones who serve so nobly abroad the very best for 2008.

She hopes for lasting peace in Mindanao, calm and order across our land and a new dawn of national focus and common purpose. Her continuing goals are to move our economy forward, to create jobs and prosperity and to lift up the poor who deserve our individual and national assistance to achieve their dreams.

The President continues to pray for peace and tranquility for our nation. She also prays for peace in the world. We are all aware of the tragedy that befell Benazir Bhutto.

She wishes all to hold hands across the world and work for peace in the world among all peoples.

It is time for a fresh start and new beginnings. It is time for hope, optimism and renewed faith in humankind. It is time for our nation to come together in peace and prosperity.

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PGMA: 2008 a time for Filipinos to come together

A time for the Filipinos to come together, a time for hope, optimism and renewed faith in humankind, a time for a fresh start and new beginnings!

This is how President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo views 2008, according to Press Secretary and Presidential Spokesman Ignacio R. Bunye.

In a statement, Bunye said the President “hopes for lasting peace in Mindanao, calm and order across our land and a new dawn of national focus and common purpose.”

He pointed out that the President’s abiding goals include sustaining the country’s economic surge, the creation of more jobs and prosperity for all, and lifting up the poor from their state of penury.

The poor, Bunye added, “deserve our individual and national assistance to achieve their dreams.”

“The President wishes every Filipino at home and their loved ones who serve so nobly abroad the very best of 2008,” Bunye said.

In her New Year’s message, the President paid special tribute to the “eight million Filipinos who work abroad, many of whom cannot make it home for the holiday.”

While praying for peace and tranquility for the country, the President also “prays for peace in the world. We are all aware of the tragedy that befell Benazir Bhutto. She wishes all to hold hands across the world and work for peace in the world among all peoples,” the Palace official said.

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02 JANUARY 2008		.