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| 22 JULY 2008 - - |
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| 22 JULY 2008 - - |
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| Statement of Sec. Dureza Re: Congress action on price hikes |
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Congress is perfectly within its prerogative to take action to protect the
interest of the people. At the same time, I strongly urge oil companies to also go direct to the "masa" to keep the public posted on the rationale for price hikes. It is incumbent upon oil industry players to explain to the public -- in the language ordinary people can understand -- issues that touch their day-to-day lives. Public information in so critical a sector like oil is crucial. But it must be in the language of the “masa.” |
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| PGMA presides over inauguration of Plaza Sigbu and Doña Eva M. Macapagal Session Hall |
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CEBU CITY -- President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo will preside over the
inauguration and renaming ceremonies of the Cebu City Executive Building's (CCEB)
new session hall and park when she visits the province on Thursday, July 24. The President, who will be assisted by Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña and Vice Mayor Michael Rama, will lead guests in the ribbon-cutting and marker-unveiling ceremonies for both events. The session hall, which is the centerpiece of the newly-renovated CCEB, will be named after the President's mother Doña Eva Macaraeg-Macapagal. Estimated cost of the renovation of the former three-storey edifice and the construction of a new floor where the Doña Eva Macaraeg-Macapagal session hall will be housed is P120 million, P15 million of which came from the Philippine Tourism Authority (PTA). The grounds fronting the CCEB, formerly known as Rizal Park, will be renamed Plaza Sugbu and will be part of the inauguration ceremonies that the President will attend. The CCEB, which was Cebu's old City Hall, now houses the city’s administration offices, a clinic, child-minding center, cafeteria, social hall, caucus room and conference room, aside from housing the City Council Session Hall. |
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| DPWH heeds PGMA directive; fixes 28 of 35 Frank-damaged bridges in Panay Island |
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Heeding the President’s direct order during a recent Cabinet meeting in
Iloilo City for it to immediately fix the road network destroyed by typhoon
Frank in Panay island, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH)
says it has so far fixed some 28 of the total 35 bridges that were rendered
impassable by the killer typhoon. “The 28 bridges are now passable and seven were provided with alternate routes and/or footbridges,” the DPWH said in its latest media advisory. The DPWH added that “all road sections are now also passable in the region (Region VI)” even as the department is “still providing assistance to local government(s) and the Provincial Disaster Coordinating Council (PDCC) in conducting clearing operations” in towns and barangays affected by mudslide. The DPWH said the 35 bridges and 26 road sections that were damaged by typhoon ‘Frank’ cost P1.8 billion. “A total of 28 typhoon-affected bridges out of 35 unpassable bridges (are) now accessible to motorists,” enthused the Region VI offices of the DPWH which reported its continued rehabilitation efforts on damaged infrastructure in Western Visayas. “In his report to DPWH Secretary Hermogenes E. Ebdane Jr., DPWH Region VI Director Rolando Asis added that “the immediate restoration of the damaged roads and bridges are vital to assure the immediate delivery of relief goods to major evacuation areas.” The DPWH is now undertaking the preliminary works for the design of the permanent replacements for the bridges that were totally destroyed, according to Asis who also said that “feasibility studies are now (being) undertaken on how to upgrade infrastructure to mitigate the effects that may result if flood of the same magnitude will be again encountered.” “Meanwhile, Aklan District Engineer Robert Cabigas proposed… the reactivation of the moth-balled Aklan River Basin Development (ARBD) to mitigate flooding in Aklan province… the hardest hit province in Panay when Aklan River overflowed to the capital towns of Kalibo and other low-lying municipalities.” Cabigas said Aklan province alone needs P70.8 Million for the rehabilitation of damaged infrastructure. |
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| PGMA supports postponement of ARMM elections |
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DATU ODIN SINSUAT, Shariff Kabunsuan Province -- President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
gave today her support to the postponement of the Aug. 11 elections in the
Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM). Press Secretary Jesus Dureza said the decision was reached by various stakeholders in the ARMM after a consultative meeting with the President, who arrived here this morning for a two-day visit of the ARMM, specifically Shariff Kabunsuan province, and Cotabato City in Region 12. Dureza said there is ''not much time left'' as the ARMM polls are scheduled on Aug. 11. He, however, said that ''a bill will be filed by Rep. Pax Magundato of the First District of Sultan Kudarat Province with Sulu Rep. Yusoph Jikiri and Tawi-Tawi Rep. Nur Jaafar as co-authors.” Sen. Miguel Zubiri will file the counterpart bill in the Senate. ''That is why he (Zubiri) is here,'' Dureza said. Dureza expressed hope Congress will immediately tackle the bill after July 28 when Congress sessions resume after the State-of-the-Nation Address. ''We will leave this entirely to Congress to make the determination,'' Dureza said. Dureza said the postponement of the ARMM elections is necessary to ''give the opportunity to peace efforts that are being undertaken by the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front that struck a breakthrough last week on the contentious issue of ancestral domain.” ''This will be an urgent bill. It will take that kind of urgency since August 11 is coming around the corner so to speak,'' Dureza said. Dureza added that ''resetting will provide measures so that there will be no hiatus in governance.” |
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| PGMA stumbles upon promising rubber farming industry as she visits N. Cotabato |
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MAKILALA, North Cotabato – President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo saw here
today the big potential of the rubber tree farming in this province when she
visited this town where the Platinum Rubber Dev’t. Inc.(PRDI) is located. Heavy rains forced yesterday morning the cancellation of President Arroyo’s visit to this town which boasts one of the biggest rubber plantations in this province. When weather improved early this morning, the President decided to push through with her trip here with local officials, rubber industry stakeholders and simple folks welcoming her and the members of her delegation. President Arroyo, in her speech, lauded the rubber farmers for their success stories. “Congratulations. Very good,” President Arroyo said as Jake Sandique, owner and chief operations officer of Platinum Rubber Development Inc. briefed her on the positive impact of rubber farming on the lives of Makilala folks and on the province as a whole. Immediately after her chopper touched down at Makilala Elementary School from General Santos City, the President motored to the PRDI plantation at Sitio Del Asuncion in Barangay Poblacion here. At the plantation site, Sandique briefed the President on how the rubber industry in Makilala changed the lives of the townsfolk for the better. Sandique told the President that a rubber farmer in Makilala earns P21,000 a month while a tapper (worker) earns more or less P500 a day or P10,000 in monthly net income. The 2007 data from the provincial capitol showed that at least 23,631 jobs have been generated by the rubber farming industry. Welcoming the President in her visit to the plantation were North Cotabato Gov. Jesus N. Sacdalan, 2nd District Rep. Bernardo F. Pinol Jr., 1st District Rep. Emmilou T. Mendoza, Makilala Mayor Onofre L. Respicio, Makilala Vice Mayor Manuel Lalaguna, and 18 mayors of the province. Press Secretary Jesus Dureza accompanied the President to her visit here. During the same visit, Mayor Respicio demonstrated to the President the proper way of budding a rubber tree with the use of the new technology adopted by the municipality in the propagation of rubber trees. In the budding of a rubber tree, a transparent plastic is wrapped around the lower branch of a tree and, after five to seven days, the top portion of the branch is ready to be cut from the main branch of the tree. “This is the reason, Madam President, why our town is very successful in rubber farming because even our own mayor knows how to bud a rubber tree,” Sandique said. Sandique also told the President that the town of Makilala has 7,000 to 8,000 rubber plantations, while other North Cotabato towns have a total 23,432 hectares planted to rubber trees. He said the province needs help from the national government for the replanting and implementation of new rubber tree planting programs, including the modernization their facilities and technology. “There is money in rubber, Madam President. The advantage of rubber tree is just like an automated machine (ATM). Pero kumpara sa ATM, pag nawalan ng laman ang machine, hindi maglalabas ng pera. Pero ang rubber tree, hindi nawawalan ng pera dahil 24 hours at seven days a week siya kung maglabas ng pera mula sa latex o dagta (‘white gold’) galing sa puno,” Sandique narrated. He also proposed to the President to include rubber tree farming as part of the national government’s reforestation program. |
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| PGMA orders creation of task force on flood control in the Mindanao Basin |
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CAMP SIONGCO, Awang, Datu Odin Sinsuat, Shariff Kabunsuan— President Gloria
Macapagal-Arroyo has ordered the creation of a task force that will study
the rehabilitation of the Mindanao Basin. ''I will issue an executive order creating the task force that will undertake the study on the rehabilitation of the river basin,'' the President said. The President issued the order during the National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC) Cabinet Meeting and the Regional Disaster Coordinating Council (RDCC) after she was informed by Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) officials that many residents in the region were displaced by typhoon Frank which caused massive flooding around the river basin. The Task Force will be headed by the ARMM governor, with the Chief PNP of Region 12 as co-chair. The President said the rehabilitation study should include a comprehensive anti-flooding plan. The Rio Grande de Mindanao, the second longest river in the country, passes through several provinces in Central Mindanao. The task of the special body is enormous as it will ''study and identify the long and short term intervention for the Mindanao River Basin'' that will include even infrastructure such as buildings, hospitals and school buildings. The task force will also study the feasibility of constructing a P7-billion embankment dike. The heavy siltation of the Rio Grande de Mindanao River caused massive floodings in Cotabato City and Shariff Kabunsuan province during the onslaught of typhoon Frank. About six hectares of the river basin was covered with water lilies or hyacinths. With billions worth of agricultural crops damaged, the President ordered the Department of Agriculture (DA) to make the necessary interventions and to make sure that rice production will not be adversely affected. |
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| Speech of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo - Odin, Sinsuat (July 22, 2008) |
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Maraming salamat, Secretary Nasser Pangandaman, ang ating CORD dito sa
Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao. Ating iba’t ibang mga Cabinet members
na narito. ARMM Governor Datu Zaldy Ampatuan, maraming salamat sa iyong
words of welcome and support. Congressman Dilangalen and Mrs. Dilangalen,
maraming salamat din sa inyong pagdalo dito sa programa na ilulunsad natin
ngayon mula sa national government. Mayor Sinsuat ng Datu Odin Sinsuat,
iba’t ibang mga government officials ng national governments, pati na rin ng
Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao, mga taga ospital ng Datu Odin Sinsuat,
mga kaibigan… Noong Hunyo, nagpalabas tayo ng P4 billion mula sa koleksiyon ng Value Added Tax sa langis. Dalawang bilyon para pambayad ng kuryente ng apat na milyong mahihirap. Siguro, Nasser, i-check mo kung mayroon ng tumatanggap dito sa tsekeng iyon o iyong credit nila. Ito iyong mga bumibili ng less than one hundred kilowatts of power a month. Isang bilyon bilang college scholarship o pautang sa 70,000 na estudyanteng maralita. Iyon din sana, Nasser, i-check mo kung mayroong mga tagarito na nakakatanggap nitong scholarship na ipauutang. Kalahating bilyon pautang upang palitan ng mga mas matipid na LPG-CNG o biofuel ang motor ng libu-libong sasakyang publiko. I-tsek mo rin iyon ha? At kalahating bilyong pagkabit ng fluorescent sa mga kalsada, opisina ng pamalahaan, mga ospital at iba pang pampublikong lugar. Kasi kung mapapalitan ng fluorescent ang lahat ng bombilya sa Pilipinas, makakatipid tayo ng lampas P2 billion. Kaya importante iyon. Kasunod naman ng katas ng VAT, may karagdagang P1 billion na pambayad ng kuryente ng mahihirap. Kalahating bilyon para sa matatandang hindi sakop ng GSIS o SSS, at kalahating bilyong capital para sa maybahay at kapamilya ng mga namamasadang tsuper at konduktor, at kalahating bilyon upang mapataas ang kakayahan at kasangkapan ng mga munting ospital sa lalawigan. Kaya ngayon, naglulunsad tayo itong programang ito, kalahating bilyong pisong programa upang dagdagan ang kasangkapan at kakayahan ng mga primary care hospital para maging secondary care hospital na makakagawa na mga simpleng operasyon, pati pagpapaanak ng Caesarean. Ito ay galing sa pondo na nakolekta ng VAT mula Abril hanggang Hunyo. Kaya dito sa Datu Odin Sinsuat, pinili natin na ilunsad ang programa dahil inuuna natin ang mga lugar kung saan mas marami ang mahihirap na pinakanangangailangan ng kalinga. Kabilang ang inyong lalawigan sa ating priority provinces upang pag-ukulan ng higit na serbisyong mabawasan ang kahirapan. Sa ating pagtataas ng kakayahan ng inyong pagamutan, namumuhunan tayo sa inyong mga mamamayan. Kaya para dito sa Odin Sinsuat Hospital, aayusin itong gusali, aayusin iyong bakod, kasi iyong bakod ninyo, eh, wire, chicken wire. Okay. Barbed wire, hindi naman chicken wire. In fact, kung chicken wire, maganda iyon. Sa Marikina, mga chicken wire ang kanilang mga bakod para see-through at magbibigay ng X-ray. Wala raw kayong X-ray? (Voice: Wala po) Laboratory diagnosis equipment, operating room, mga instrumento, ayun ang ating ibibigay para sa inyo. Kaya ang tseke, ibibigay natin sa inyong regional secretary ng Health ng Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao. Paki-witness nga, ARMM Governor Ampatuan and Congressman Dilangalen. The sad irony of Mindanao as food basket is that Mindanao, aside from being a food basket, also has the highest hunger and malnutrition. Salamat na lamang sa nakaraang mga buwan, bumaba ang kagutuman sa Mindanao. After all, Mindanao has the largest field of high productivity, but Mindanao also has six or seven of the 10 poorest provinces in our country. One of the reasons they give for this unfortunate fact is that the endless conflict has affected Mindanao for so many years. For decades, a comprehensive peace has eluded us, but I am proud the talks will soon resume, and we are on the threshold of peace. If we can truly move from arms to farms in Mindanao, we can give the gift of peace and prosperity to Mindanao and to the whole country. Kaya inaasahan ko ang tulong ninyong lahat para sa kapayapaan at tagumpay ng ating peace talks Naging malaki rin ang epekto ng typhoon Frank upang hilahing pababa ang pamumuhay dito sa ARMM at sa mga katabing probinsya. Kami nga ni Governor Sacdalan, nanggaling sa Makilala, palipad dito at nakita namin iyong bahang-bahang lugar. Kaya para sa kalamidad, maglalagay tayo ng angkop na halaga. Climate change is a key factor in increasing frequency and intensity of typhoon. Over the last 36 years, it cost the country 0.5 percent of the GDP. Our disaster management consists of mitigation, preparation, response and rehabilitation. At para asikasuhin itong apat na pangangailangan ukol sa kalamidad, dito mamaya pagkatapos nitong affair natin, magpupulong ang Cabinet at ang Disaster Coordinating Council ng ARMM upang pabilisin ang pagkilos para sa pag-ahon nitong rehiyon mula sa kalamidad. The dramatic surge in the price of fuel and food has created a global price crisis unseen since the Great Depression and the wake of World War II. The economic uncertainty moved like a mighty tsunami around the globe affecting every nation, rich and poor. We must continue to build and buttress bridges to neighbors, and strengthen ties with allies around the world to bring in the rice we need to feed our people. Kanina, nagtanung-tanong ako – dahil kahapon pa ako dito sa Mindanao – kung magkano na iyong bigas sa Mindananao, iyong commercial na karaniwan, doon sa General Santos. Sabi ni Mayor Jun Acharon, P32 to P35. Aba, maganda iyong presyong iyon, eh si Governor Sacdalan sa North Cotabato, sabi mo, Governor, P26, ang ganda-ganda ng presyo. Dito yata sa banda rito sa ARMM ay medyo mataas pa, pero kung naaayos na sa ibang lugar, we can say that we have the world food crisis well in hand for now. We have done this with our farming program combined with more vigilance over prices, and greater sovereignty against price manipulation under the leadership of our rice czar, Arty Yap, na mamaya kasama natin yata doon sa ating Cabinet meeting. Pero itong umagang ito, sa araw ng panglunsad ng katas ng VAT para sa mga maliliit na ospital, binabati ko ang mga taga-Odin Sinsuat, kayong lahat, doon sa pagkakaroon ninyo ng pinalalaki at pinalalakas na ospital. Hindi kayo pababayaan ng pamahalaan, ngunit kailangan rin ng pamahalaan ang inyong patuloy na pagsusuporta na gaya ng sabi naman ni Zaldy sa kanyang diskurso, lagi naman ninyong binibigay sa mga programang pagtulong at pag-ahon ng buong bansa mula sa kahirapan. Kaya sa inyong lahat, congratulations! At (inaudible) sana, sunod-sunod pa itong mga ospital na maliliit na bibigyan ng kakayahan ng gamit para gumawa ng mga simpleng operasyon. Sa inyong lahat, congratulations sa Datu Odin Sinsuat Hospital! |
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| PGMA launches P500-M 'Katas ng EVAT' for ugrading of primary to secondary care hospitals |
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DATU ODIN SINSUAT, Shariff Kabunsuan -- President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
this morning launched at the Dinaig Municipal Hospital (DMH) here the P500-M
'Katas ng EVAT' program for the upgrading of primary hospitals to secondary
hospitals. The President handed over a P2-million LandBank check to the Department of Health (DOH) regional director of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) as the initial tranche of the P4-million additional 'Katas ng EVAT' for the upgrading of DMH from a primary to a secondary hospital. The upgrading program was earlier announced by the President when she visited Masbate last week---that an additional P4 billion from EVAT will be used by government to respond to vulnerable sectors at risk over the spiraling cost of fuel and food. ''Today, we are launching the ‘Katas ng EVAT’ for the upgrading of primary hospitals to secondary hospitals that can perform simple operations like ceasarian- section delivery. We have allocated half a billion pesos for that program,'' the President announced. ''This is from the EVAT collection for the months of April to June. We launched the program here at Datu Odin Sinsuat because we prioritize areas where there are poor who need more care and assistance from government,'' the President added. The President said Shariff Kabunsuan -- the 80th province of the country that was carved out from the first district of Maguindanao province -- is among the priority provinces where government will give more assistance to uplift the lives of the poor. ''In upgrading your hospital, we are investing in our people,'' the President stressed. The Dinaig Municipal Hospital is a 10-bed-capacity primary hospital that services some 200,000 residents of five municipalities as the DMH is the only hospital in the area. It has been the thrust of the President to deliver enhanced healthcare services to the poor, made possible through increased revenue collections from the implementation of tough economic measures such as the EVAT. The upgrading of primary hospitals to secondary hospitals is among the President's plans to make available enhanced healthcare services even to the farthest municipalities nationwide. A secondary hospital has X-ray and laboratory facilities, and an operating room capable of ceasarian-section delivery to decrease maternal mortality. The President arrived here at 11 a.m. from Makilala, North Cotabato, where she inspected a jatropha plantation. |
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| PGMA leads groundbreaking of P28-M CRMC Cancer Care Center |
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COTABATO CITY -- President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo led today the
groundbreaking rites for the P28-million Phase 1 of the Cancer Care Center (CCC)
of the Cotabato Regional and Medical Center (CRMC). The Cancer Care Center, when completed, shall be the referral center for cancer patients of the Center of Health Development (CHD) in Region 12 and the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. The Center is expected to solve the problem of cancer patients having to go to the Davao Oncology Center for their radiotherapy. This, as hospitals in the region may have oncologists but lack the technical capability needed to complete cancer management. Of the P28 million funds needed to complete Phase 1 of the cancer center, P10 million came from the congressional funds of Rep. Didagen Dilangalen while Sen. Miguel Zubiri committed another P10 million today. Phase 1 of the project will house the preventive cancer screening, diagnostic and chemotherapeutic facilities. Phase 2, which will house the radiation facility, is undergoing evaluation by the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) for funding by Islamic countries after it was endorsed by Health Secretary Francisco Duque. |
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| Null and void creation of Shariff Kabunsuan provice: "Let's leave that to the SC" - Dureza |
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COTABATO CITY -- Malacanang is leaving it up to the Supreme Court to decide
with finality whether Shariff Kabunsuan Province will be reverted to its
mother province of Maguindanao. ''Let's leave that to the Supreme Court,'' Press Secretary Jesus Dureza said tersely. On July 17, 2008, the high court ruled that the creation of the Shariff Kabunsuan province as a separate province on Aug. 29, 2006, is null and void. The supposed 80th province of the country was carved out of several towns of the first district of Maguindanao. It became the 6th in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. It made history as the country's first province not created by Congress but by invoking Republic Act 9054 or the Expanded ARMM Law. The SC said the law enacted by the ARMM legislative assembly was unconstitutional because only the Philippine Congress has the power to create provinces and cities. ''The ARMM Regional Assembly cannot create a province without a Legislative District because the Constitution mandates that every province shall have a legislative district.” Moreover, the ARMM regional assembly cannot enact a law creating a national office like the office of a district representative of Congress because the legislative powers of the ARMM regional assembly operate within its territorial jurisdiction,'' the said decision penned by Associate Justice Antonio Carpio, the Court acting full bench. The High Court decision will be appealed by the ARMM regional assembly. |
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| Response of Press Secretary Dureza to oil industry player saying they will not accommodate similar request in the future. |
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“The President will continue to undertake measures and take necessary steps
to help mitigate the hardships brought about by global events of rising fuel
prices especially to benefit those in the vulnerable and poor sectors.
Those who will favorably respond to similar appeals will relish at the thought that they are helping ease up the burden of the unfortunate.” |
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