 |
||
| 22 MARCH 2008 | . | |
|
|
||
| 22 MARCH 2008 | . | |
|
|
| President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s Easter message |
|
Warmest Easter greetings to every Filipino! As the world celebrates the Resurrection of the Savior of mankind, we pray that we Christian Filipinos will keep in our hearts Easter‘s message of love, salvation and resurrection. May we always bear in mind and show in our lives the truism that there is no victory without sacrifice, no redemption without faith, no renewal without hope, and no significant change without resolve. Like the apostles on Good Friday, we can so easily feel that the burdens weighing down on us can be beyond our strength to bear. But, with determination and Divine Providence, we’re building a new Philippines, breaking free from decades of debt, decline and underdevelopment. Easter’s dawn after Black Saturday inspires our quest to reform Philippine society and achieve the quality of life we wish for ourselves and our children. Every small sacrifice made, every act affirming our faith in God, our countrymen and ourselves, every hope to reach a goal contributes to reformation that will strengthen the Filipino nation. Let us pray that all of us can draw from Easter the lessons that encourage us to work for the resurgence of an economically, politically and morally stronger Philippines. On this feast of the Resurrection, I remain bullish on our country, optimistic about our future and deeply committed to being a force for good. Mahal tayo ng Panginoon. Let us forever be humble at having the privilege of being loved by our Creator and Savior. Mabuhay! |
|
|
| PGMA's Holy Week Serbisyo Muna Caravan rolls into la Trinidad Valley |
|
LA TRINIDAD, Benguet--From the plains of Pangasinan to the mountains of Abra
and down to the seashores of La Union, the Serbisyo Muna Caravan this Black
Saturday rolled into the valley of La Trinidad, Benguet with President
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo continuing her working Holy Week schedule by
personally distributing government assistance to the people of this
vegetable-growing province. The President arrived at the Puguis Elementary School here with grand- daughters Mikaela and Monique in tow, to hand out goodies and government services intended to help farmers increase their production. To ensure that the poor can avail themselves of quality cheap medicines, the President awarded two certificates to operate Botika ng Barangay each worth P20,000 of assorted medicines for barangays Lamtang and Longlong of La Trinidad. The package of medicines included vitamin A and Merbendazole tablets for the school children of Puguis Elementary School, and medicines and vitamins for pregnant women. The President also awarded 3,177 PhilHealth cards for the 13 Benguet municipalities of Atok, Bakun, Bokod, Buguias, Kabayan, Kapangan, Itogon, La Trinidad, Mankayan, Sablan, Tuba, Tublay and Kibungan. She also distributed 78 certificates to operate Tindahan Natin to make sure that the poor could easily buy cheap and quality National Food Authority (NFA) rice and other commodities, as well as a P100,000 Self-Emplyment Assistance-Kaunlaran check for solo parents in the province to enable them to start a small business. Eighty-five vouchers for PGMA Training for Work Scholarship Program, five Galing Masahista Ako and Galing Mekaniko Ako kits were also handed out by the President to augment the income of the poor farming families in the area. To increase the income of farmers and make it easier for them to transport their produce to the markets, notably in Metro Manila, the President released a check worth P4,365,000 as the initial government funding for the improvement and rehabilitation of three farm-to-market roads in Benguet, Another check worth P400,000 was issued by the Department of Agriculture as financial support to the agricultural profiling of the vegetable industry in the province and 1,000 packs of assorted vegetable seeds. The agricultural profiling project is intended to come up with an effective planning for the vegetable industry in the area. The President also awarded five certificates of agricultural tramlines to cooperatives in Bontoc province to enhance the transport of their produce from upland farms to the main roads and ultimately to the vegetable markets. In support of her directive to improve the English proficiency of Filipino students for them to be globally competitive, the President distributed 398 sets of English reading materials on top of 45 other sets with 26 subtitles and Volumes 1 and 2 reading manuals. In an effort to reduce malnutrition that often leads to high incidence of school drop-outs, the President distributed vitamin A fortified rice to school children of Puguis Elementary School. While the President was distributing the goodies, a free dental and medical mission organized by the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (Pagcor) and the Department of Health (DOH) was ongoing. The National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) also set up a booth to enable the residents to call their relatives abroad for three minutes free of charge. To express their gratitude for the ''gifts'' from the government, the beneficiaries expressed their support for the President, saying ''we love you, Madam President.'' From the school, the President motored to a nearby vegetable and strawberry farm to check on the availability of vegetables as she sent off truckloads of the products for Metro Manila. |
|
|
| New potato variety named after PGMA |
|
LA TRINIDAD, Benguet – A new blight-resistant potato variety that has a high
solid content, plus an expected high return on investment (ROI), has been
named after President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. The potato variety, whose original planting material was sourced from the Centro Internalionale de la Papa (International Potato Center) in Lima, Peru, was named “Gloria Kamaptengan,” after the root word “mapteng” which means “good” in both the Ibaloi and Pangasinan dialects. “Kamaptengan” means “the best of all,” explained Dr. Rogelio Colting, president of the Benguet State University (BSU) which developed “Gloria Kamaptengan” over two years of research, from 2005-2007. Colting told President Arroyo about the new potato variety when she visited a vegetable trading post in Barangay Betag here to see off trucks laden with local vegetable produce bound for the metropolis. Dressed in leafy-green long-sleeved blouse and brown pants, the President nodded approvingly as Colting showed her the first-generation tubers of the potato variety, and said the BSU “would like to name it in your honor.” Smiling, the President officially “baptized” the new variety earlier codenamed “13.1.1” as “Gloria Kamaptengan” as she gave the BSU the go-signal to propagate the new variety. “Gloria was chosen as the name of the new potato variety in honor of Her Excellency Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo for her commitment in the development of the agriculture industry in the country,” a BSU flyer on the “potato queen” stated Selected from 55 clones from 2005-2007, Gloria Kamaptengan “can produce 109.83 grams of tubers per plant, or 10-11 tons per hectare.” Resistant to late blight, a disease that causes serious damage to potato leaves, stems and tubers in the field, Gloria Kamaptengan can produce “large, uniform and oval-shaped, light-brown and smooth-skinned tubers with dry matter content of 20-21 percent.” “Gloria Kamaptengan has a high return on investment. This means that for every peso of investment, the farmer will gain fifty centavos,” according to the BSU’s Northern Philippines Root Crops Research Training Center (NPRCRTC). The NPRCRTC has recommended the new potato variety as the “best” for organic or non-chemical fertilizer-pesticide production.” |
|
|
| PGMA goes ‘marketing’ in Baguio to check on rice supply in city |
|
BAGUIO CITY -- Amid the unprecedented thin rice supply in the world market,
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo expressed elation today that Baguio City’s
public market remained amply stocked with low-priced staple food from the
government-run National Food Authority (NFA). The President went “marketing” here this morning with the main goal of seeing for herself the rice supply situation in this city’s bustling market. The rice supply shortage in the global grains market has triggered a steep spike in the price of the commodity worldwide. The government has assured, however, that the country’s rice supply chain can meet the demands of consumers, adding that as of early this week the NFA’s buffer stock was good for 55 days. In addition, the harvest from the dry season cropping will start coming in next week, Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap said, as he dismissed worries about an impending rice supply crunch. In another move to avert a rice shortage during the lean months of July to September, the President has released P1.5 billion to boost rice production. The allocation has been drawn from the realigned budget of some agencies with less absorptive capacity. The fund will be used for the government’s seed support program for farmers, particularly the acquisition of hybrid seeds that yield 4.5 tons per hectare or one ton more than just “good seeds.” An additional 5,000 hectares of rice fields in 10 of the country’s poorest provinces are to be planted to rice, while 5,000 hectares more would be planted to rice in other provinces. The Philippines consumes a total of 11.9 million metric tons of rice annually, which translates to an average daily consumption 33,000 tons. |
|
|
| PGMA grants P10-M for veggie noodles research and prototype production |
|
LA TRINIDAD, Benguet – President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo turned over today a
check worth P10 million to the president of the Benguet State University (BSU)
here to pilot the production of noodles made from various Cordillera
vegetables and tubers on a commercial scale. BSU researchers earlier had presented the President with prototypes of noodles made from gabi leaves, squash, turmeric, carrots and rhubarb at a vegetable trading post here. Upon being informed that the veggie noodles could be produced on a commercial scale, the President then released the check whose amount came as a welcome surprise to BSU officials who said they were going to request for only P2.5 million as the BSU’s counterpart in their proposed P18.5-million Vegetable Noodles joint project with PGMA-Department of Agriculture (DA) and the local government of La Trinidad, Benguet. In turning over the P10-million check, the President advised BSU president Rogelio Colting to “concentrate on veggie noodles research and development as your mandate.” In her impromptu speech, President Arroyo said that the prototypes of the “more nutritious and delicious vegetable-fortified noodles” could later become a part of the “Tindahan Natin” project where rice and noodles are the main food items on sale. The President added that vegetable noodles could solve storage and other problems “in this era of soaring wheat prices” and enthused about the “more and better nutritional choices” for Filipinos with the advent of the local vegetable noodles. She said the noodle prototypes could later be shared with noodles manufacturers, and even with the “Go Negosyo” entrepreneurship program. The President ordered the DA to provide technical assistance, the Presidential Management Staff (PMS) to ensure credit assistance, and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to take care of marketing concerns. The BSU is also planning on developing noodles from fruits; cereals like wheat flour, rice, oatmeal, corn and sorghum; root crops like potato, yams, aroids and sweet potato; spices like garlic, onions, celery, black pepper and hot pepper; and herbs like comfrey, tarragon, lemon balm, pitcher plant and white oaks. In developing noodles from highland vegetables, the BSU explained that processing is “the best way to transport vegetables and fruits from Benguet to other parts of the country with minimal post-harvest losses and lesser transport cost.” “Processing is the best way to utilize fully the vegetables and fruits that easily dry up or rot,” aside from being “the best way to produce value-added products from fresh vegetables and fruits such as juice, fresh cuts, and flour, apart from the main product such as noodles,” according to the BSU brochure on its research findings. The BSU said that processing is “one of the ways by which nutritional foods can be formulated by adding more ingredients when it is needed.” For instance, the local “amti,” a wild vegetable rich in iodine, can be added to the noodles to help brain development in children, according to the BSU which is considered a center of excellence in agriculture. The Vegetable Noodles project is also looking at producing veggie pastas, meats, sausages, nuggets, fresh juices, fresh cuts, grates and strips, soup base, flour and catsup. Also in attendance during the President’s visit here – and her subsequent foray to the nearby lettuce and strawberry picking fields -- were PMS Director-General Cerge Remonde and Benguet officials led by Rep. Samuel Dangwa who told the President in his speech that Benguet people love her “now and forever,” and Gov. Nestor Fongwan who announced that “the people of Benguet love you (President Arroyo) very much.” |
|
|
| Let God’s resurrection inspire Filipinos to work together in building new RP -- PGMA |
|
THE MANSION, Baguio City – President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo called today on
the Filipino people to keep in their hearts Easter’s message of love,
salvation and resurrection and draw inspiration from Christ’s resurrection
to work together as one nation for the “resurgence of an economically,
politically and morally stronger Philippines.” In her Easter message, the President warmly greeted her countrymen, saying: “May we always bear in mind and show in our lives the truism that there is no victory without sacrifice, no redemption without faith, no renewal without hope, and no significant change without resolve.” “Easter’s dawn after Black Saturday inspires our quest to reform Philippine society and achieve the quality of life we wish for ourselves and our children,” she said. The President pointed out that every “small sacrifice made, every act affirming our faith in God, our countrymen and ourselves, every hope to reach a goal contributes to reformation that will strengthen the Filipino nation.” “Like the apostles on Good Friday, we can so easily feel that the burdens weighing down on us can be beyond our strength to bear. But, with determination and Divine Providence, we’re building a new Philippines, breaking free from decades of debt, decline and underdevelopment,” she said. On the feast of the Lord’s resurrection, the President stressed that she remains “bullish on our country, optimistic about our future and deeply committed to being a force for good.” Saying Filipinos are beloved by God, the President urged the people to “forever be humble at having the privilege of being loved by our Creator and Savior.” |
|
|
| PGMA picks strawberries at La Trinidad field, visits old Baguio City market |
|
BAGUIO CITY – President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo left the city this morning
(Black Saturday) for La Trinidad, Benguet to distribute “social service”
goodies, and try her hand at picking lettuce and strawberry at a strawberry
field nearby. The pickings were limited, but it was a welcomed and fun break for the Chief Executive who had kept herself busy delivering social services to various areas in Northern Luzon this Holy Week. Donning an apron with native Ibaloi trimmings, the President, who shunned a farmer’s hat offered to her to protect her from the noonday sun, gamely picked dark-green lettuce with Benguet officials flanking her. Having filled up the “kayabang,” the native vegetable basket tied to the foreheads of harvesting women farmers, she then crossed the road and went down to a strawberry field in the middle of the La Trinidad Valley, one of the few farms laden with succulent strawberries. La Trinidad is celebrating its 8th Strawberry Festival, and strawberries are in high demand, which means that prices are up, too, about three times higher than usual. Normally, the farmgate price of strawberries is P50 per kilo, but it has gone up P150 per kilo. Happily joining her in picking strawberry were her grandchildren – two girls – who were clad in identical yellow striped sweaters. Then it was back "downtown" for the President who alighted at the Baguio City Public Market and went through the rice section, then took a U-turn to the bottled jams and vegetables sections. The President has been closely monitoring the supply and prices of rice nationwide to ensure that the spike of wheat prices worldwide does not create a ripple effect on the local rice supply. Joining the President in her visit to the old Baguio public market were First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo and their two congressman sons, Mikey and Dato, and the latter’s children. People cheered as she conducted a brief tour of the market, and chanted with vendors about supply and prices, especially of rice. |
|
|
