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| 12 JANUARY 2008 | . | |
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| 12 JANUARY 2008 | . | |
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PGMA tells RP athletes to the 4th Paragames in Thailand: "Good luck to all of you" |
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Peace and progress very much intertwined -- PGMA |
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| PGMA tells RP athletes to the 4th Paragames in Thailand: "Good luck to all of you" |
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In a move to further boost the morale and confidence of the Filipino
athletes participating in the 4th ASEAN Paragames to be held in Thailand
next week, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo hosted a send-off dinner for
them in Malacanang Friday evening. “Good luck to all of you. Mabuhay kayong lahat,” the President told the 112 members of the Philippine delegation to the ASEAN Paragames 2008 set to open in Thailand’s Nakhon Ratchasima province on Jan. 17. The games, patterned after the Paralympics, will run until Jan. 27 under the theme: “Friendship, Equality, Opportunity.” The President exchanged pleasantries and shook hands with the athletes with disabilities during the dinner held at Malacanang’s Heroes Hall. The athletes even had brief photo opportunities with the President who hosted a dinner for the first time for the Filipino participants in the ASEAN Paragames. The ASEAN Paragames is a biannual multi-sports event held after every Southeast Asian Games for athletes with physical disabilities from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). The games are hosted by the same country where the SEA Games take place. The athletes, who were accompanied to Malacanang by Philippine Sports Commission Chairman William Ramirez, among others, expressed gratitude to the President for taking time out in hosting a send-off dinner for them. “It is the first time that a President has given time to send off a Philippine team in the history of the ASEAN Paragames,” Ramirez told the athletes. “Siya ang unang Presidente na nagbigay ng panahon sa mga atletang katulad ninyo,” he said. The athletes, for their part, gamely chanted, “Mabuhay ang Pangulo, mabuhay ang Team Pilipinas, mabuhay ang mga atleta,” before the dinner formally started. The Philippine delegation to the 4th ASEAN Paragames is composed of 25 team officials and 87 athletes who are wheelchair-bound, blind, amputee, intellectually disabled and able ones. The 4th ASEAN Paragames will have 14 sports to be contested such as archery, athletics, aquatics, badminton, boccia, chess, fencing, goalball, judo, powerlifting, shooting, swimming, table tennis, wheelchair basketball and wheelchair tennis with 186 gold medals to offer. |
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| Peace and progress very much intertwined -- PGMA |
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President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has stressed that peace
and progress are very much “intertwined,” with peace being the necessary
pre-requisite if a country wants to achieve economic prosperity. In her speech before the men and women of the Manila Police District (MPD) which celebrated its 107th anniversary yesterday, the President emphasized, thus: “…We recognize that peace and order is also a result of a widening halo of development, which gives citizens more reasons to follow the law, and respect our institutions.” “(Kapag) mas marami ang naghihirap, mas marami ang magnanakaw. Kaya (kung) mas kaunti ang naghihirap, mas kaunti ang nagnanakaw,” the President said in her speech which was beamed live to the entire Filipino nation by the government’s National Broadcasting Network (NBN) TV Channel 4. The Chief Executive – who commended the entire Philippine National Police (PNP) for the 40-percent reduction in the crime rate nationwide last year -- added that the Arroyo administration’s efforts for peace and order “should always be viewed in the context of our endeavors for sustainable growth to achieve a better life for our people.” “And conversely, (kapag) mas maganda ang kapayapaan, mas madaling mag-negosyo. (Kapag) mas pangit ang kapayapaan, mas mahirap mag-negosyo. Napaka-intertwined ang kapayapaan at ang kaunlaran.” Saying that the Philippines is now on its path to permanent economic growth and stability, with economic growth noted in all 28 quarters of the past seven years, the President recalled that her administration has so far also created seven million new jobs in seven years, “kasama na yung mga trabahong nakuha ng pulis…” Some 15,000 police recruits have been hired to beef up the country’s police force in the past three years. “Noon pang 2006, nung nagkapondo ang pamahalaan sa bisa ng ating mga reporma sa buwis, agad nating sinimulan ang mabilisang pagdagdag at pagsasanay. Hindi ba labinlimang libong bagong mga pulis ang ating nakuha na sa loob ng tatlong taon?” “At bago pa man ang dagdag na pulis, nagkaroon na kayo ng dagdag-sahod. Naalala ninyo na ang ating administrasyon ang nagpapantay ng inyong sahod -- pinantay sa suweldo ng mga guro,” the President reminded the police force. “On the national scale, we’ve also started addressing several concerns of the PNP for better law enforcement and a better life for our law enforcers… At noong Disyembre, tumanggap kayo ng pinakamalaking performance bonus, palagay ko, sa kasaysayan ninyo -- P7,000 (applause) – at… hindi ba dumoble ang subsistence allowance? Naging P180 mula P90; yung hazard pay dumoble rin -- naging P240 mula P120.” And for the MPD: “At dahil mahal ang krudo sa buong mundo, I would like the men and women of MPD to have affordable food and other necessities like quartering… Magtayo rin ng tindahan natin dito para magbenta ng murang bigas at noodles para sa pamilya ng ating mga pulis (applause).” “So, inaasahan ko na patuloy ang ating pagkakaisa tungo sa higit na ligtas, tungo sa mapayapa, tungo sa mas maunlad na sambayanan -- lalung-lalo na yung ating premier city ng ating bansa, walang iba kung hindi ang Lungsod ng Maynila,” the President concluded. |
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