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| 23 MARCH 2008 | . | |
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| 23 MARCH 2008 | . | |
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| PGMA strengthens mechanism on interfaith activities |
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President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has acted to strengthen the government’s
institutional mechanism on interfaith activities as a tool for promoting
peace and upholding human dignity. In Executive Order (EO) No. 714, the President said improvements in the existing institutional arrangements were necessary to enhance interfaith activities. Under EO 714, which she signed March 12, the President also renamed the National Committee on Interfaith Cooperation (NCIC) as the Council on Interfaith Initiatives (CII). The NCIC was created under EO 626, which was issued last year to “consolidate, rationalize, and ensure the consistency of the country’s policies and position on various interfaith initiatives and forums in and outside the country.” Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita, who released EO 714, said CII is intended to strengthen “the policy of peace, cooperation and amity with all nations as well as maintain peace and order in the country for every Filipino to enjoy the blessings of democracy.” Under EO 714, the CII shall be the highest policy-setting body for the country’s interfaith initiatives and involvement both here and abroad. The chairman of the Presidential Council on Values Formation (PCVF) will head the CII, with the secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (PAPP) as members. The EO also stipulated the creation of the Presidential Committee on Interfaith Initiatives (PCII) that would handle and implement all policies set forth by the CII. PCII will be composed of representatives, with ranks not lower than Assistant Secretary, from the PCVF, the DFA, and from the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace (OPAPP). The PCVF representative will act as chairman of the PCII. Among the important functions of the PCII are the following: 1. To formulate and submit for the approval of the CII, a Philippine Plan of Action on Interfaith Cooperation (PPAIC) after coordinating with all government agencies, local government units, the academe, and all non-governmental organizations; 2. Monitor and ensure that the goals and targets within the country under the approved PPAIC are met; 3. Represent the country and articulate Philippine interfaith policies and position in different local and foreign fora; 4. To ensure that the country is well-represented and able to maintain its leadership and its effective participation in the various interfaith initiatives and activities; 5. To receive, approve and prioritize program and project proposals consistent with the approved PPAIC and make a quarterly reports to the CII on the status of the PPAIC. Under the EO, the President tasked all government departments, agencies and offices to assist and support PCII’s functions by creating interfaith desks and the designation of focal persons who shall be responsible for undertaking PCII approved interfaith related programs and projects in their respective offices. The President also directed the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) to release P1 million from the President’s Contingent Fund to cover the expenses of the PCII in its 2008 programs and actions. |
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| Malacanang bolsters authority of Council on Values Formation |
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Malacañang has bolstered the authority of the Presidential Council on Values
Formation (PCVF) in the pursuit of a just and moral Philippine society.
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has issued Executive Order (EO) No. 713 amending Executive Orders 314 and 347 and renaming the Ad Hoc Council on Values Formation as the PCVF. Under EO 713, the PCVF will be the lead government agency that will work and coordinate with the non-government sector in pursuing the goal of establishing a strong foundation for just and moral governance. The President pointed out that the “establishment and
institutionalization of just and moral governance is a long-term undertaking
founded on the establishment of a just and moral Philippine society.” EO 713 stressed that the “pursuit of just and moral governance in Philippine society is an undertaking that requires an institutional response that is equipped with sufficient authority beyond that provided” by the ad hoc council on values formation. The President will chair the PCVF, with the Secretary of Education as vice-chairman. A maximum of nine leaders from various religious groups would be invited as members of the PCVF but without government remuneration. The PCVF is tasked to inculcate and strengthen existing values formation programs not just for the bureaucracy but the Philippine society as well. Included in its function is to make recommendation to the President and act as complainant in any case filed against incorrigible and undesirable government personnel. Malacanang said the PCVF is an institutional response equipped with sufficient authority to help establish a strong foundation for moral values formation towards the effective pursuit of a just and moral Philippine society by inculcating honesty and love of country. |
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| PGMA brings Easter cheer to Baguio's poor |
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BAGUIO CITY – President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo brought Easter cheer this
morning to Baguio’s poorest families who converged at Burnham Park’s
refurbished Skating Rink to receive gift packs from her. The recipients of the Easter packages had been identified by the city’s Social Welfare and Development Office (SWDO). The beneficiaries started lining up at the rink three hours before the President’s scheduled 11 a.m. arrival from the St. Joseph the Worker Parish at the Polo Field in Pacdal where she attended the Easter Sunday Mass. In brief remarks before she distributed the gift packs, the President said she had requested Mayor Peter Rey Bautista to submit a list of the city’s poorest of the poor, but that the mayor proposed a tourism project instead. But the President said she persisted, stressing that “every city, no matter how progressive, has a group who are poor.” After all, “Baguio does not need tourism promotion -- everybody is coming here,” the President said, adding this city, one of the country’s top tourist destinations, will be even more beautiful when it celebrates its 100th birthday as a chartered city next year. The gift packs, she added, are “para kadaguiti ag-rig-rigat (for those who are very poor).” The President also reminded the residents here that she had already turned over to Baguio City the full ownership of the Burnham Park which used to be managed by the Philippine Tourism Authority (PTA). The Baguio City government, however, has to share the profits from the operation of the park with the national government although the former “could do anything it wants” with the city’s share, she said. The President said the gift packs were “meant to help the poorest of the poor,” especially at this time when the price of oil is going up, and climate change is adversely affecting rice production worldwide. Saying that Baguio City “deserves the very best,” the President distributed four certificates to operate “Tindahan Natin” in Barangays Upper Pinget and San Carlos Heights, Little Flower Novitiate and Maryhurst in Lucnab; a P125,000 check for the Montanosa Self-Employment Assistance-Kaunlaran (SEA-K) of the Irisan Women’s Organization for its livelihood programs, 5,000 gift packs from the National Food Authority (NFA), and 75,000 PGMA Training for Work Scholarship Program vouchers. Baguio City Mayor Bautista received the scholarship vouchers in behalf of the beneficiaries. The President also gave away five Galing Mekaniko Ako Kits to five mechanics in Quirino Hill, New Lucban, Middle Quirino Hill, Kias and Camp 7, 1,000 packs of assorted vegetable seeds to the schools district supervisor in support of the Hunger Mitigation Program and Programang Gulayan sa Paaralan; two certificates to operate Botika ng Barangay for Poliwes and Middle Rock Quarry barangays, 178 English Proficiency Books for Grade I, one box of microbial inoculates for agricultural and environmental protection, and sets of instructional materials from Grade I to High School. With the President were Presidential Management Staff (PMS) Director-General Cerge Remonde, Baguio City Rep. Mauricio Domogan, and Presidential Assistant for the Cordillera Tom Killip, For Benguet province, the President turned over to Benguet Gov. Nestor Fongwan P1 million for the construction of two vegetable tramlines at P500,000 each in behalf of the Labilab Agricultural Tramline System in Itogon town, and the Ambassador Tramline System in Tublay town. The two municipalities also got 10 cavans of rice each for their “Food- for-School Program.” |
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| PGMA takes prudent, humanitarian steps to alleviate plight of poor -- Bunye |
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The President is taking “prudent and humanitarian steps” to alleviate the
plight of the poor who are the hardest-hit by the runaway prices of oil and
rice in the world market, Press Secretary and Presidential Spokesman Ignacio
R. Bunye said today. In his weekly column “The View from the Palace” which comes out tomorrow (Monday), Bunye said the President has expressed deep concern over the fluctuations of the market forces on oil and rice and their direct effect on the poorest segment of society. “The President is very concerned about the runaway prices of oil and rice in the world market and her economic team tracks its impact everyday,” Bunye said. High global oil and food costs hurt the poor the most, Bunye said, adding that the President is taking “targeted, prudent and humanitarian steps to mitigate these hardships while maintaining fiscal discipline.” The President brought her Serbisyo Muna Caravan to remote municipalities in Northern Luzon during the Holy Week. The Serbisyo Muna Caravan is a goods and service-laden government assistance program of the Arroyo government which seeks to provide livelihood and financial assistance to families belonging to the country’s poorest of the poor. Dubbed the Social Justice and Service to the Poor (SJSP), the assistance package includes Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) scholarships, PhilHealth cards, Food-for-School Feeding Program vouchers, medical and dental missions, and textbooks giveaways to deserving schoolchildren. To counter fears of a rice shortage brought about by the unprecedented “thinning” of rice supplies in the world market, the President also went around various marketplaces and National Food Authority (NFA) warehouses in Northern Luzon to personally see for herself the availability of the low-priced rice. Tomorrow, Bunye said, the President will bring her Serbisyo Muna Caravan to Barangay Malasin, Dupax del Norte in Nueva Vizcaya. “She will distribute basic social justice and services to the poor. These SJSP include Department of Health (DoH) ‘buntis kits’ containing multivitamins, iron supplements and other items for pregnant women; TESDA scholarship vouchers for the municipalities of Dupax del Norte, Kasibu and Kayaba, Nueva Vizcaya; Galing Mekaniko and Galing Masahista Ako certificates; PhilHealth cards; vegetable seeds; and grocery packs,” Bunye said. “After the distribution of these goods, she will also send off 15 truckloads of rice (approximately 12,000 sacks) to Manila for sale and distribution to retailers and consumers,” he added. |
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| PGMA visits Nueva Vizcaya Monday to check on rice production |
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BAGUIO CITY – After winding up her working Holy Week itinerary here Sunday,
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo will fly to the rice-producing province of
Nueva Vizcaya to check on the rice production in the area and distribute a
package of farming assistance to further boost agricultural output. She will visit Dupax del Norte, Nueva Vizcaya tomorrow (Monday) and distribute gift packs to the poor in the area. Earlier this week, the President visited the provinces of Pangasinan, Abra, La Union and Benguet to personally deliver government enhanced social services for the poor who have been hard-hit by the increased cost of prime commodities brought about by the high cost of rice and oil in the world markets. In Dupax del Norte, the President will send off 15 trucks loaded with approximately 36,000 sacks of rice bound for retail outlets of the National Food Authority (NFA) in Metro Manila. The move is aimed at ensuring the continuous supply of rice in the metropolis, especially during the lean months starting July. Metro Manila's rice supply comes from the rice-producing provinces in Northern and Central Luzon. While in Nueva Vizcaya, the President is expected to announce the government’s allocation for the construction of a diversion dam. She will also hand over to local officials eight units of pressurized irrigation pumps, a packing house and 4,000 batches of assorted vegetables seeds to further boost food production in the province. The Philippines consumes a total of 11.9 million metric tons of rice annually, or an average daily consumption of 33,000 metric tons. Rice prices have gone up in the world market due to increased demand for the staple from the Middle East and Africa. Earlier, the President released P1.5 billion to boost rice production, especially in the country's 10 poor provinces, and the planting of hybrid seeds that yield 4.5 metric tons or one ton more than the 3.5 metric tons production from good seeds. She has also made the rounds of NFA warehouses to check on the agency’s buffer stocks and ensure no disruptions in the supply of the government-subsidized rice. |
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| PGMA favors extension of implementation of Tax Amnesty if within the bounds of law |
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THE MANSION, Baguio City--- President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo expressed
support today to a proposal to extend the implementation of the Tax Amnesty
Law until May 7 this year “as long as it is within the bounds of law.” In a press conference at The Mansion here this afternoon, Quezon Rep. Danilo Suarez made the announcement as he explained that the proposal by the business community is now being studied. Suarez said that while certain quarters opined that the law was supposed to have expired last March 7, “there is room for extension” as questions have been raised as to the date of the actual effectivity of the law or Republic Act No. 9480. “I received in writing several position letters regarding the effectivity of the law. They said the reckoning day of the effectivity of the law must be the day the Bureau of Internal Revenue registered with the UP Law Center the Implementing Rules and Regulations (of the tax amnesty law),” Suarez said. The BIR registered with the UP Law Center the IRR of R.A. 9480 on Nov. 7, 2007, and based on this, it must expire by May 7, 2008 yet, as the law has a sixth-month life. Suarez said Finance Secretary Margarito Teves is still waiting for the recommendation of BIR Commissioner Lilian Hefte on the matter. Suarez said the implementation of the law has raised some P4.7 billion, or P1.7 billion over the P3 billion target. Moreover, it has also increased the tax base with some 16,000 new tax payers who availed themselves of the amnesty. With the possible extension until May 7, Suarez said an additional P1 billion in revenues could be expected. The tax amnesty law was one of the reform agenda pushed by the Arroyo administration to put its fiscal house in order. It gives qualified taxpayers immunity from suit involving tax deficiencies up to 2005 upon payment of the tax amnesty fee. The amnesty applicant should submit a statement of assets, liabilities and net worth as of Dec. 31, 2005, which will be the basis of the computation of the amnesty fee. |
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