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| 19 JANUARY 2008 | . | |
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| 19 JANUARY 2008 | . | |
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| PGMA inspects 73% accomplished P1.5-B road project in Batangas |
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BATANGAS City – President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo conducted today an
inspection of the P1.5-billion Southern Tagalog Arterial Road (STAR), Stage
II-Phase 1 project linking Lipa and Batangas cities and the Southern Luzon
Expressway (SLEX) road widening and expansion and the STAR toll way
development projects in Batangas province. The P1.5-billion CALABARZON (Cavite-Laguna-Batangas-Rizal-Quezon) infrastructure project will connect various regions in Luzon, the Visayas and Mindanao through the Strong Republic Nautical Highway and provide traffic management, security and towing services to the motorists. The President was accompanied by Department of Public Works and Highways Secretary Hermogenes Ebdane, Batangas Vice Governor Marc Leviste, Congressman Hermilando Mandanas, and Batangas City Mayor Eduardo Dimacuha in her inspection trip. DPWH Undersecretary Ramon P. Aquino said the STAR project, which is part of the Luzon Urban Beltway infrastructure program, would be completed in March 2008 and would be open to traffic on the 30th day of that month. He said the project which is now 73 percent accomplished, started in January 2006 and has 26 months to finish. He said that once completed, it will reduce travel time between Lipa City and Batangas City by 40 to 45 minutes. “Good. Congratulations! I am happy that this project that carries with it modern road safety devices will be finished on time,” the President said. On the other hand, the SLEX links Metro Manila to the CALABARZON region, one of the growth areas in the Luzon Urban Beltway supra region with interlinkages to the Southern Tagalog Arterial Road (STAR) tollway (Stage 1 which is currently in operation and spans to some 22.16 kilometers from the Sto. Tomas, Batangas interchange to the Tembo interchange in Lipa City. The STAR Stage II covers some 19.74 kilometers from Lipa City to Batangas City Port. The STAR Tollway Project II comprises two phases, where Phase I covers the two-lane single carriageway with 3.65-meter lane width southbound road for the 19.74-kilomneter concrete stretch from Lipa to Batangas. Phase 2 includes the additional two-lane northbound to be constructed later when the Phase 1 completes the major structures and level of services. Structures include two interchanges in Malainen near Ibaan town and the Balagtas interchange in Batangas City; seven river bridges and overpasses, three underpasses and one pedestrian crossing. |
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| PET ruling affirms legitimacy of Pres. Arroyo's '04 election, says Palace |
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Malacanang said today the dismissal by the Presidential Electoral Tribunal
(PET) of the election protest filed by Sen. Loren Legarda against Vice
President Noli de Castro affirms President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s victory
in the May 2004 elections. This was the gist of separate statements made by Press Secretary and Presidential Spokesman Ignacio R. Bunye and Atty. Romulo Macalintal, election lawyer of both President Arroyo and De Castro. The two based their conclusion on the fact the election protest filed by Legarda against the Vice President involved the same ballots, election returns, and certificates of canvass. “And for this reason, Madam President, I would say that the legitimacy issue against your administration should now be put to rest, and considered as closed and terminated,” Macalintal told the President when he presented to her two copies of the PET decision. Fresh from her visit to Batangas province where she inspected national government priority infrastructure projects, the President met Macalintal at the Kalayaan Presidential Briefing Room to personally receive the original copy of the PET decision dismissing the election protest of Legarda against Vice President De Castro. “I’m happy to report to you that the PET has just dismissed the election protest filed by Ms. Loren Legarda against Vice President Noli de Castro,” Atty. Macalintal told the President in his opening remarks. “Thank you, and congratulations to you,” the President replied after receiving the copy of the decision from Macalintal. During the presentation, Macalintal informed the President that based on the decision, the PET found out that all election returns and certificates of canvass contested by Legarda were all genuine, authentic and duly executed. The tribunal also found out from the testimony of Legarda’s witnesses that the reported “break-in” at the House of Representatives and switching of election returns was baseless and merely hearsay. “And for this reason, the proclamation of VP De Castro was based on genuine election documents,” he said, adding that the ballots, the certificates of canvass used in the Vice Presidential contest were the same ballots, the same returns and the same certificates of canvass used for the presidential election. Which means, he said, that the proclamation of the President as the duly elected in the 2004 elections was also based on genuine election documents. Both Macalintal and Secretary Bunye, who is also a lawyer, confirmed to media that the President expressed elation over the decision of the Supreme Court acting as Presidential Electoral Tribunal. “Well, the President of course is happy over the legal victory of the Vice President, and at the same time, this is also her victory. In using the same evidence, napatunayan na iyong resulta ng nakaraang eleksyon for the President and Vice President is correct,” Bunye said in a radio interview this morning. |
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| PGMA inaugurates Phase ll of P4.9-B Batangas Port project |
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BATANGAS City – President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo inaugurated today the
P4.9-billion Batangas Port Development Project Phase II through a ceremonial
phone patch call to gantry cranes and portside operators. “Hello! You can start the operations now,” the President told the gantry machine operators. She then witnessed the initial operations of the gantry cranes, the gate management automatic system (GMS) and the Roll-On, Roll-Off (RO-RO) scanner machine during a briefing held at the Quayside of the Batangas Port Development Project Phase II in Barangay Sta. Clara, Batangas City. The scanner machine has the ability to detect presence of gas/explosive devices and even drug paraphernalia. She also conducted a windshield inspection around the Batangas Port Development Project Phase II flyover and port access road component, an entry to the Batangas Port and to the office of the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA). She witnessed the turnover of the Certificate of Acceptance of the Container Handling Gantry cranes and the Mobile RO-RO Scanner machine by Alex Cruz, PPA manager, from Ysow Hino, representing Shimizu and F.F. Cruz & Co. Inc. At the PPA Administration Building, the President watched the actual operation of the Batangas Port vessel traffic monitoring system for the total port security system which includes indoor, outdoor and fixed cameras. The Batangas Port Development Project Phase II in Barangay Sta. Clara, Batangas City involves the furnishing of all labor, materials, plant and equipment incidentals for marine, civil, building and utility works at the Batangas Port such as the container terminal yard, the automatic terminal gates, container terminal berth, the general cargo berth, the terminal building, the container freight station, service and access roads. The equipment works include supply, delivery, installation and commissioning of the two units of Quay Side Gantry Cranes, four units of rubber-tired gantry cranes (RTG), gate management system, Vessel Traffic Management System (VTMS), CCTV (Closed-circuit TV) camera system, the mobile Ro-RO inspection system and the service boat. The Port Project Phase II, a joint venture contract of Shimizu and F.F. Cruz which is funded through Japan Bank for International Cooperation and implemented by the PPA, started in March 2002 and is 98.93 percent accomplished as of December 2007. |
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| PGMA takes steps to avoid job accidents in Subic |
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Malacanang expressed confidence today the blast that occurred Friday morning
in Hanjin Industries shipbuilding facility in Subic that killed two Filipino
workers and injured four others would not affect the confidence of foreign
investors in the Philippines. Press Secretary and Presidential Spokesman Ignacio R. Bunye expressed his optimism in response to the possible impact of this occupational accident that happened right at the dry dock of Hanjin Industries. “I don’t think this would have any significant effect neither on the investments nor on the confidence of our investors in the business climate here in the Philippines,” Bunye said in a radio interview this morning. Bunye said President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo already ordered the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) to expedite their parallel investigations. Likewise, the President also directed the SBMA and PNP to conduct inspection of the ongoing safety audit measures being carried out and then report to her their findings and recommendations so that no similar accident will happen again. In the same radio interview, Bunye said that the President expressed her condolences to the families of Mario Laxamana and Jeremias Adamos, the two welder casualties in the acetylene tank explosion “Ipinapaabot ng ating Pangulo iyong kaniyang pakikiramay sa mga pamilya ng mga nasawi at nasaktan nating kababayan,” Bunye said. |
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| Message of Condolence of the President for Fr. Eduardo Hontiveros, S.J. (who joined our Creator on January 15, 2008) |
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I express the grief of our nation on the passing away of Fr. Eduardo
Hontiveros, S.J., a towering figure whose exceptional contribution to the
growth of liturgical music has bequeathed a spiritual nourishment for our
nation. His prayer songs from Pananagutan, Luwalhati, Santo, Kordero ng Diyos and Magnificat, among others, have colored and enriched the rituals of our church gatherings in the Holy Mass and other religious celebrations giving praise and thanksgiving, reflecting our petitions, contrition and love for the Almighty. Fr. Eduardo P. Hontiveros, S.J. – aptly dubbed as the Father of Filipino Liturgical Music – has lived decades of his life inspiring others as a priest, theology professor, seminary formator, musician, composer, and artist. As a pioneer of artistic creation through sacred music in the vernacular, he has served as an inspiration to generations of composers, and has been recognized with innumerable awards and citations, including the Ateneo de Manila’s Tanglaw ng Lahi Awrds (1976), the Asian Catholic Publisher’s “Outstanding Catholic Author” (1992), and the Papal Award Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice (2000). We acknowledge with esteem, appreciation and affection his legacy which continues to bond Filipinos together in prayer and celebration of music. |
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