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| 30 JANUARY 2008 | . | |
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| 30 JANUARY 2008 | . | |
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| PGMA leads mass oath-taking ceremonies in Malacañang |
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President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo administered the oaths of office to
newly-promoted and elected government and public sector officials during
simple mass oath-taking ceremonies in Malacañang this morning. Among those who took their oaths before the President were newly appointed Court of Appeals (CA) Justice Edgardo Lloren and Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) Vice Admiral Wilfredo Tamayo. Lloren bested 21 other candidates for the CA associate justice position vacated by Justice Eliezer R. de los Santos whose disability retirement was approved by the Supreme Court last year. Lloren served as Executive Judge of Regional Trial Court Branch 18 in Cagayan de Oro City prior to his new appointment. Tamayo, on the other hand, served as vice commandant for operations of the PCG prior to his appointment as Vice Admiral. He replaces former Vice Admiral Danilo Abinoja who was promoted to Admiral of the PCG. Tamayo also served as vice commandant for administration and was rear admiral and commander of the PCG’s Maritime Security Law Enforcement Command (MSLEC). Other PCG officers who took their oaths before the President were Commodores Rodolfo Isorena, Danilo Vilda, William Melad, Danilo Corpuz and Rear Admiral Alejandro Flora of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG). Aside from the CA and PCG officials, also sworn into office were Undersecretaries Eleazar Quinto and Mary Ann Sering of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Undersecretaries Ramon Aquino and Rafael Yabut of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH); Deputy Director Virgilio Mendez of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), Commissioners Herminio Suelo of the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC) and Anita Villarta of the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC). The local governments also took center stage as 20 newly elected officers of the Vice Mayors League of Central Luzon, 18 from Nueva Ecija, and 11 newly elected directors and officers of the Liga ng mga Barangay took their oaths before the Chief Executive. From the private sector, nine officers of the Bank Security Management Association and 27 officers and directors of the 2008 National Board of JCI Philippines (Philippine Jaycees, Inc.) formally took their oaths of office before the President. After the oath-taking ceremonies, the President joined the new officers and their families for light snacks at the Rizal Hall of Malacanang. |
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| PGMA inaugurates state-of-the-art Overhead Transmission Line Training Center in Laguna |
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CALAMBA CITY, Laguna -- President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo inaugurated here
today the Balfour Beatty Overhead Transmission Line (OHTL) Training Center
at the Carmelray Industrial Park II where Filipino line engineers and
technicians will undergo extensive training designed to make them globally
competitive. Shortly after her motorcade arrived here a little past noon, the President led the inaugural symbolic “stringing” ceremony of connecting the overhead transmission line through the use of mock high tension wire and miniature transmission towers. The President then unveiled the marker of the training center before she was taken on a guided tour of the OHTL facilities. A leading British construction firm and one of the world’s largest service organizations of its kind that serves the international market for rail, road, utility systems, buildings and complex structures, Balfour Beatty established the center to train workers to meet the global demand for skilled line engineers and technicians. The British construction company has already deployed hundreds of Filipino linesmen and engineers overseas for its in-house projects, according to Balfour Beatty Utilities Director General Manager Simon Pankhurst. Pankhurst was all praise for Filipinos who, he said, are known worldwide for being competent and hardworking. He said the center will train qualified high school graduates to become skilled linesmen and engineers for six months before they are deployed to Balfour Beatty’s in-house projects worldwide. The training is free and indigenous groups and poor communities as well as orphans of military personnel killed in action will be given priority in the training. Pankhurst said the training module includes proficiency in the English language, adding that safety in the workplace is among the priorities in the training course. The training center complex comprises of a single storey low-rise building covering 2500-square meters, a lattice steel transmission tower and two steel poles for practical training of the students. Another 5000-square meter lot accommodates three lattice towers where all aspects of stringing of conductors and earth wires are demonstrated to the trainees. Pankhurst stressed that the training courses are being undertaken in collaboration with the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA). |
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| British businessmen remain bullish on RP as they pour more money into the country |
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CALAMBA CITY, Laguna — The United Kingdom Ambassador to the Philippines
Peter Beckingham said today British businessmen remain bullish on the
Philippines due to its strong economic fundamentals. In his message during the inauguration of the Balfour Beatty Over Head Transmission Line (OHTL) Training Center at the Carmelray Industrial Park here, the British ambassador cited the Philippines’ economic growth as the reason more British companies are pouring their money into the country. He also said that this is also the reason why ''it is no surprise Britain takes the Philippines seriously.'' The ambassador said a British company involved in oil exploration in the country and listed at the Philippine Stock Exchange would also establish a training center in the country by December this year. He added that by March or April 2008, a British engineering company which operates in India would relocate to the Philippines. ''That demonstrates we mean business here,'' Beckingham said as he informed the President that the British Minister of Trade would visit Manila in October to ''see the extent of British investment in the Philippines.'' ''This demonstrates so clearly the bonds our two countries have,'' he added as he thanked the President ''for gracing this historic event.'' |
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| President addresses tomorrow the 1st Biennial Education Congress |
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President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo will address tomorrow the opening of the
First Biennial Education Congress that she earlier ordered the Presidential
Task Force on Education (PTFE) to convene immediately. The summit – which will be held from Jan. 31 to Feb. 1 at the Manila Hotel’s Tent City -- will be the first of two education summits to be held this year “to assess, update, strengthen and upgrade the quality of the entire educational system and its components towards national development and global competitiveness.” With the theme, “Putting Our Act Together, Moving Forward As One,” the education summit shall also “provide the rare opportunity of bringing together various education stakeholders from all over the country who would be in the best position to share their best practices, success stories and unique experiences in implementing some sustainable development measures in education.” The FBEC shall be attended by some 400 education stakeholders, and shall include representatives from the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), the Department of Education (DepEd), the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), COCOPEA and Philippine Association of State Universities and Colleges (PASUC), selected mayors, and public elementary and high school teachers. President Arroyo had already met with heads of private and state universities and colleges in Northern Luzon over the year-end at The Mansion, the official Presidential summer residence in Baguio City. There, the President ordered the holding of the first of a series of education summits to immediately solve the problems besetting the country’s educational system. Two days later on Jan. 2, 2008, the President signed Executive Order No. 705 “subjecting only non-accredited private schools for institutional quality assurance, monitoring and evaluation” – which was one of the recommendations of the Northern Luzon group of educators during their meeting with the President on Dec. 31, 2007. Noting the duplication of functions of the Philippine Accrediting Association of Schools, Colleges and Universities (PAASCU) and the CHED-established Institutional Quality Assurance Monitoring and Evaluation (IQUAME), EO 705 mandated the CHED to subject only private schools not accredited by the PAASCU to the CHED’s IQUAME. EO 705 also provided that colleges and universities accredited by PAASCU “shall be automatically recognized as accredited by IQUAME”; and that the CHED’s IQUAME shall be “a tool not only for regulation but also for incentives for accredited colleges and universities.” Tomorrow’s summit shall have Presidential Assistant for Education Mona Valisno giving an overview of the education congress; while PTFE acting chairman Romulo Neri, who is also CHED chairman, shall discuss the PTFE’s Recommendations for Reforms. The President shall be met at the venue by Neri, DepEd Secretary Jesli Lapus, Valisno, TESDA Director-General Augusto Syjuco, PTFE member Emmanuel Angeles; the Manila Hotel’s chair Don Emilio Yap and president Jose Lina. |
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| PGMA keeps close tabs on DepEd’s teaching upgrading program |
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President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo visited another public school this
afternoon as part of the ongoing assessment of government efforts to upgrade
the teaching capabilities of teachers under the decentralization of
education management program of the Department of Education (DepEd). Her visit to the Fortune Elementary School and Fortune High School in Barangay Fortune, Marikina City is her third to a public school facility this month. She first visited Albert Elementary School in Dapitan, Sampaloc on Jan. 16, and then Quezon City Science High School two days later. Fresh from her visit this morning to Calamba City where she inaugurated the Balfour Beatty Overhead Transmission Line Training Center, the President arrived at the Fortune Elementary School at exactly 2:30 p.m. She was greeted by teachers and students who waved tiny flags from their classroom windows. On hand to receive the President were Education Secretary Jesli Lapus, Marikina City Mayor Maria Lourdes C. Fernando, Rep. Marcelino Teodoro and school principal Lino P. de Guzman, Upon her arrival, the President immediately entered the 1-A Sampaguita classroom where she observed for about 20 minutes the classroom activities conducted by English teacher Crizel Joy Vital. The President then proceeded to the adjacent classroom and viewed the computer-assisted language teaching module conducted by Mrs. Zeny Toco through “Tell Me More” software as part of the Marikina City government’s Commitment to Fluency in English Project. The “Tell Me More” software contains subjects on reading, writing, listening, and the English language. The Marikina Commitment to Fluency in English Project is one of the top priority programs of the city government to help improve the students’ ability to speak English inside and outside the school premises. The Fortune Elementary school was transferred to Barangay Fortune on Dec. 11, 2002. The school boasts of 71 high and elementary teachers, three maintenance personnel, two security guards and 3,614 pupils. |
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