PIA Dispatch - Sunday, November 30, 2008

PGMA orders airlift of Filipinos stranded in Bankok

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today ordered the airlift of more than 500 Filipinos stranded in Bangkok following the occupation by anti-government protesters of Thailand’s Suvarnabhumi international airport.

Press Secretary Jesus Dureza said the President issued the directive to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to bring home the stranded Filipinos possibly starting tomorrow.

Among those marooned in Bangkok are 89 returning overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) from Kuwait whose Manila-bound flight made a stopover in Bangkok only to be caught in the maelstrom of the Suvarnabhumi incident.

Also stranded in Bangkok is Rep. Bobby Dimaporo of Lanao del Norte, who was leading 29 barangay captains of his district on a ‘Lakbay Aral’ to Thailand, and Filipino tourists returning home from the Thai tourism haven of Phuket.

In an interview with the Radyo nga Bayan program “Pilipinas, Pilipinas!” Dureza said President Arroyo has “taken decisive steps” to bring home the Filipinos, most of them tourists, who have been stranded in Thailand.

The President has ordered the release of $15,000 (about P750,000) to transport the stranded Filipinos by bus to the northern Thailand city of Chang Mai some 12 hours away by land, where they will be fetched by a Philippine Airlines airbus.

“Mabuti naman na ang Philippine Embassy in Thailand and the Department of Foreign Affairs are doing what is necessary right now, but we will continue monitoring it (the Bangkok airport stand-off),” said Dureza.

“The President had really taken immediate measures,” said Dureza, adding that “naka-paglabas na ng $15,000” for the transport of the stranded Filipinos.

The latest count of home-bound Filipinos stranded in the Thai capital was placed at 500, but the number could reach 1,000 by tomorrow, said Dureza quoting Philippine Ambassador to Thailand Antonio Rodriguez.

“By tomorrow, aabot ng isang libong mga Pilipino na ang gustong umuwi,” said Dureza.

“They will now move all the stranded Filipinos and bus them from Bangkok to Chiang Mai (900 kilometers) which is still relatively unaffected, bukas pa ang airport nila,” said Dureza.

The PAL airbus will leave Chiang Mai “bukas pa ng hapon” (Monday afternoon, Dec. 1), and should the number of returning Filipinos increase further, PAL’s Lucio Tan has agreed to send a 747 plane, Dureza said.

The commercial flight will prioritize those with PAL tickets, plus the 89 OFWs returning from Kuwait via Bangkok.

Dureza said Malacanang was also awaiting word from Cebu Pacific’s Lance Gokongwei if a CP plane could land in Chiang Mai.

“May mga financial resources ordered released to initially take care” of the repatriation effort, added Dureza who stressed that the Philippine Embassy in Thailand is providing all possible assistance to the stranded Filipinos.

Filipino tourists in Phuket would also have to travel to Chang Mai as
PAL or Cebu Pacific planes could not land in Phuket because of the “strong anti-government sector there.”

Another airport only two hours away by land from Bangkok cannot be used for the airlift because Thai authorities could not assure the safety of the passengers or the aircraft, Dureza said.


PGMA off for Hong Kong tomorrow to participate in Clinton Initiative

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo leaves for Hong Kong tomorrow (Monday) afternoon to participate in the annual “Clinton Initiative” set for Dec. 2-3, the first time that this non-government project of former US President William ‘Bill’ Clinton is being held outside the United States.

The President will take a commercial flight of the Philippine Airlines at 4:30 p.m. from Terminal 2 of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA 2). She will be back in Manila early evening on Wednesday.

The Office of the Presidential Protocol said the President “will be participating in the Clinton Global Initiative Asia meetings in Hong Kong on 01 to 03 December 2008.”

President Arroyo also attended last year’s Clinton Initiative in New York which coincided with her attendance at the 62nd United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).

Press Secretary Jesus G. Dureza said the President – who was Clinton’s schoolmate at Georgetown University – will be the second speaker after Clinton.

The Clinton Initiative, a non-government organization (NGO), gathers together world leaders coming from the government, civil society and the business sector to discuss the hottest global issues and challenges of the day and present their action plans.

Last year, President Arroyo discussed, among others, her government’s inter-faith initiatives via the Bishop-Ulama Conference (BUC) in the continuing effort to bring together Christians and Muslims and end the decades-old conflict in Mindanao.

At the Hong Kong event this year, President Arroyo will discuss her administration’s efforts to hurdle the three main challenges facing Asia today – education, energy and climate change, and public health.

“Ito ang (mga) hinaharap ngayon ng Asia,” said Dureza in an interview over Radyo ng Bayan’s ‘Pilipinas, Pilipinas!’ at noon today.

The President will “share her own insight on these particular issues,” and discuss her economic reform agenda, aside from her advocacy for the poor and the vulnerable, he added.

Describing the President as “one of the country’s strongest sales ladies,” Dureza said she will also hold other meetings on the sidelines of the Clinton Initiative, possibly with prospective investors in the Philippines.

The Press Secretary also cited the “continuing friendship” between the President and the former US president since their schooldays to explain her invitation to grace the Clinton Initiative HK.

United Nations (UN) Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon will also be among the speakers at the Hong Kong forum.


PGMA focused on governance amid political noise -- Dureza

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo remains focused on governance and providing a better future for the Filipino people despite the continuing political noise being generated by her detractors, Press Secretary Jesus Dureza said today.

"The President, in all these ongoing issues now, is focused like a laser beam. Hindi siya natitinag dito sa focus niya to address the needs of the country especially in giving assistance to the poor and the vulnerable, food on the table and of course jobs, security for everybody," Dureza said in an interview over radio station dzRB this afternoon.

He lamented the early politicking of several political figures with the 2010 elections still 18 months away, but added that despite the "political fray," the President is focused on governance.
"Habang yung iba namumulitika ng maaga pero sa kanya (the President, she would like to focus more on her work as President so that by the time she leaves office in 2010, matatag pa rin tayo dahil marami tayong challenges ngayon, especially duon sa financial crisis," Dureza said.

In 2004, President Arroyo launched an ambitious plan to improve the economic situation of the Philippines by implementing tough fiscal reforms, bannered by the Expanded Value Added Tax (EVAT) Law.

Roundly opposed by administration critics, the increased revenue collections through the EVAT provided the government the necessary funds to pump-prime investments in infrastructure and human resources.

The implementation of the tough fiscal reforms also resulted in the highest gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate of the country at 7.3 percent in 2007 and increased economic activities in the country.

"So ito yung focus ng ating Pangulo: patatagin ang ating internal domestic strength so that whatever happens in the near future, whether it is going to be bad or worse, or it could be not so bad, handa ang ating bansa, especially na mabigyan ng proteksyon yung mga maliliit," Dureza said.


British gov't supports resumption of GRP-MILF peace talks

Three visiting Members of Parliament (MP) from the United Kingdom (UK) on Saturday said the British government would like to see the resumption of the stalled peace talks between the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

UK MPs Mark Pritchard, Elliot Morley and Graham Stuart made the statement during a dinner hosted by Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Hermogenes C. Esperon Jr. at the Kabisera Restaurant at the Bonifacio Global Complex in Taguig City.

British Ambassador to the Philippines Peter Beckingham also attended the dinner.

The British MPs said Britain is ready to help in the peace process undertaken by the Philippine government to revive the GRP-MILF peace talks which bogged down last August after three rogue MILF commanders attacked civilian communities in Lanao Norte, North Cotabato and Sarangani in Central Mindanao to protest the temporary restraining order (TRO) issued by the Supreme Court on the controversial Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain (MOA-AD).

They said UK will also help in educating the public, particularly the stakeholders in southern Philippines the importance of disarmament, demobilization and reintegration (DDR), the new paradigm being pushed by the Philippine government in the peace negotiations, to attain a genuine and lasting peace in the country.

Earlier, Dr. Robert Hannigan, security adviser and head of Security, Intelligence and Resilience of the United Kingdom, who visited Manila and Davao City, said that DDR should be part and parcel in the peace negotiations.

Hannigan also urged the Philippine government to pursue political solution to the long-drawn Mindanao conflict.

For his part, Esperon briefed the British MPs on the various peace-building efforts undertaken by the Philippine government with emphasis on DDR which must be brought to the forefront.

Esperon also told the visiting MPs that several countries such as the United States, Australia, European Commission, Japan, Malaysia, Brunei, Libya, Canada, New Zealand and World Bank, have poured their resources to help in the economic development of Mindanao.

Mindanao, the second largest island in the country, has vast natural resources such as oil reserves, marine life, agricultural products and mining.

Esperon also briefed the MPs on the infrastructure projects undertaken jointly by the Philippine government and donor countries like the improvement of the Jolo airport.

He said the government will never give up on peace because war is not the solution to the Mindanao conflict.

Esperon, a retired former chief of staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), said that during his nine-tour of duties in Mindanao, he had seen enough on the effects and backlash of fighting.

He said as presidential adviser on the peace process, he will continue his efforts to bring peace in Mindanao. (PNA) LDV/PR/rsm


POEA open during holidays

The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) will continue to provide services to overseas Filipino workers even during the Christmas holidays.

POEA Administrator Jennifer Manalili said the “Balik-Manggagawa” Processing Division at the POEA main office along Edsa, Mandaluyong and 10 regional and satellite office nationwide will be open from 9 am to 4 pm on Dec. 26 and 29 and on Jan. 2, 2009 to issue travel exit clearance (TEC) to OFWs.

On the other hand, regional and satellite offices which are open during the week-long holidays are: POEA La Union, Pampanga, Calamba City, Legaspi City, Cebu City, Iloilo City, Bacolod City, Davao City, Cagayan De Oro City and Zamboanga City.

The POEA chief said the department aims to accommodate thousands of OFWs who return to the country for the Christmas holidays.

The POEA estimates that about 50,000 OFWs would secure TECs after the holiday season.

The OFWs need TECs to be able to leave the country and return to their jobs abroad after the holidays.

Manalili advised OFWs to secure TECs early to avoid the expected long queues after the Christmas holidays. (PNA)


Lolos and Lolas benefit from "Katas ng VAT"

In an effort to augment the resources of poor senior citizens, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) is implementing the "Katas ng VAT: Tulong Para Kay Lolo at Lola".

Edna Duhan of the DSWD said that a total of P634,500.00 will be distributed to 1,269 elders here who are considered poor. "This is one way of recognizing their contribution to nation building," she said.

Pursuant to the directive of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, the DSWD is implementing the project nationwide in coordination with the local government units and the Office of the Senior Citizen Affairs (OSCA).

Under this project, each beneficiary is given P500.00, a one-time cash subsidy funded through a National Government Allocation from the Oil VAT collection which aims to augment the resources of poor senior citizens and to recognize their contribution.

Identified beneficiaries are senior citizens who are 70 years old and above; dependent or belonging to a family whose income is within or below the poverty threshold per area; and must not be covered by any private and or government agency retirement benefit such as SSS, GSIS, PVAO.

Arsenia Tejada of DSWD-CAR who supervised the implementation of the said program said that with the amount allotted to CAR which is P5Million, 35% of said amount is for the Province of Ifugao. "This is based on the list of 70 years old and above senior citizens submitted by the 11 municipalities however, not all those in the list were accommodated.

Out of the 1,269 beneficiaries in the province, 7 are from the municipality of Aguinaldo; 90 in Al Lista; 59 in Asipulo; 172-Banaue; 211-Hingyon; 94-Hungduan; 141-Kiangan; 90-Lagawe; 173-Lamut; 119-Mayoyao; 113-Tinoc.

In Mt. Province, some 147 senior citizen in the municipality of Sabangan are beneficiaries of the "KATAS NG VAT – Tulong Para Kay Lolo at Lola" project.

According to Francis Khayad of DSWD Field Office-CAR, there are 1,301 identified senior citizens in the province who benefit from the project. Simultaneous distribution of the P500 cash subsidy was conducted in the municipalities of Bontoc, Sabangan, Bauko, Tadian, Sadanga, Besao and Sagada. Distribution in the municipalities of Paracelis, Barlig and Natonin are scheduled next week.

Tejada said that they are still hopeful that the others will be given also the said benefit for as long as the citizenry is vigilant in paying their taxes. This will anyway benefit the disadvantaged sectors, she added.

Implementing guidelines of the project states that the DSWD Field offices in coordination with the OSCA shall jointly identify and recommend for payment. As there might be more senior citizens meeting the subsidy criteria than the funds to provide a subsidy to all of them, the ratio of one beneficiary per family shall be followed.

However, should there be remaining funds, a raffle shall be conducted to determine the final beneficiaries of the subsidy in each area. The eligible senior citizen may only claim the subsidy at their respective OSCA offices or in the absence of such, the local Social Welfare and Development office.

In order to ensure the validity of the claimant, he/she shall be required to present a valid identification card that indicates the birth date of the senior citizen or a certification from the barangay captain as to the age of the senior citizen. (PIA)


Secretary-General Sympathizes with Thai Leaders’ Hesitation on Postponement of 14th ASEAN Summit

Office of the Secretary-General, ASEAN Secretariat, 30 November 2008==Bangkok: The ASEAN Secretary-General, Dr Surin Pitsuwan , has expressed his understanding at the hesitation of Thai leaders to postpone the 14th ASEAN Summit scheduled for mid December for fear of upsetting the momentum of the organisation. He also reassured them that a postponement will not negatively affect ASEAN work plans too much.

Dr Surin flew from Jakarta to Penang before travelling by land to the Thai-Malaysian border en route to Bangkok due to the closure of Suvarnabhumi Airport since 25th of November.
“The Thai leaders have told me that their hesitation to postpone the Summit is due to a fear of complicating ASEAN progress on works already laid out due to the entry into force of the Charter on 15th of December,” said the Secretary-General.

“16 leaders from East Asia are expected to agree on a package of strategies and action plans to face the unfolding global financial turmoil as a unified front. They will be joined by heads of organizations such as the UN, World Bank, IMF, WTO, UNCTAD and the Asian Development Bank.”

“There are many declarations, agreements and MOUs that await endorsement at the Summit. Many important meetings, activities and projects are also being lined up under the Thai chairmanship in the coming year.”

Dr Surin continued, “I think that will give it an air of enormous significance. That is why Thailand’s leaders have to be circumspect about their impending decision. They want to make sure it is absolutely necessary to postpone before making the decision.”

The Secretary-General also expressed his willingness to work with the Thai government. “I certainly sympathize with the Thai leaders and am grateful for their consideration of the matter. But I assure them that we can rearrange our work plans if Thailand , which currently holds the rotating chair of ASEAN and who is hosting the 14th Summit , decides to postpone it for a few weeks.”

Dr Surin reminded Thailand ’s leaders of other advantages of a postponement. “As time is running short, a delay would enable the Secretariat to prepare better for the Summit .”

“This will be the first Summit with the ASEAN Charter in place, so there is a need to make it special. A postponement would be good for ASEAN officials to prepare everything well with the Thai officials.”

On Friday, 28th of November, Thai Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sompong Amornvivat told the media that the final decision on the status of the 14th ASEAN Summit would be decided by the Thai Cabinet on the 2nd of December in Chiang Mai , Northern Thailand . While the Foreign Ministry is in favour of a postponement, Thailand , as chair would have to be careful as many ASEAN initiatives are in progress or ready to be launched at the Summit .

“I think we can live with that, we can wait a few more days and accord the host time to decide. I am sure they have the interest of ASEAN in mind,” Dr Surin said.


Speaking Out By : Ignacio R. Bunye
November 30, 2008

The most eagerly anticipated and closely watched meeting of the Monetary Board of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas is the Policy Meeting. And for good reasons.

Held once every six weeks, the Policy Meeting provides economic analysts, businessmen, bankers and the media a sense of the direction the Monetary Board is prepared to take in fulfilling its primary objective of combating inflation. The end product of a Policy
Meeting is the Policy Statement.

In maintaining price stability, the Monetary Board has several tools, one of which is the Policy Rate, the rate at which the Bangko Sentral borrows or lends money. (The other tools are fixing the reserve requirements for banks and the purchase and sale of government securities.) The Policy Rate, as well as the other monetary tools,
influences the supply of money which in turn, along with many other factors, affects inflation.

The Policy Statement embodies the Monetary Board's decision to increase (tighten) or decrease (loosen/ease) or maintain (hold) the Policy Rate based on the BSP's inflation forecast and scan of the economic environment.

During a period of rising inflation, the tendency is for the Monetary Board to increase the Policy Rate. Conversely, during a period of decreasing inflation, the tendency is to decrease the Policy Rate.

Days before the November 20 Policy Meeting, business reporters were already speculating on a Policy Rate cut, quoting analysts from the Development Bank of Singapore (DBS).

The DBS said that the easing of inflation in the Philippines would give the BSP flexibility to cut its policy rates to help spur economic growth.

Other analysts look at how other Central Banks in the world have acted recently. For instance, the monetary authorities of the US, the Euro countries, UK, Switzerland, Japan, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, China, Hong Kong, Korea, Taiwan , Malaysia and Turkey have recently
drastically decreased their policy rates. (On the other hand, the most recent moves of Indonesia, Thailand and South Africa were to increase policy rates while India's rates have remained constant since 2007. )

Contrary to media expectations, the Monetary Board's final decision—which was published on Nov. 21—was to keep its Policy Rates unchanged.

The Monetary Board, of which I am proud to be a member, recognized that the recent coordinated interest rate cuts signaled the international central banking community's firm commitment to address the global growth downturn and the current financial market turmoil. Consideration of inflation had to take a back seat to economic growth.

But the Monetary Board noted factors unique to the Philippine setting where inflation remains a primary concern.

The Monetary Board took note of the continued rise in core inflation. While headline inflation dropped to 11.2 percent year-on-year in October from 11.8 percent in September, core inflation went up from 7.5 per cent in September to 7.8 per cent in October.

Headline inflation refers to the rate of change in the consumer price index (CPI), which is a measure of the average price of a standard "basket of goods and services" consumed by a typical Filipino family. Food, beverages, tobacco, clothing, housing and repairs, fuel, light, and water are examples of goods and services in this basket.

Core inflation, on the other hand, excludes items in the basket with volatile price movements, which could be caused by disturbances in agricultural food supply or movements in international oil prices. Items excluded from the definition of core inflation include rice, corn, fruits and vegetables, liquefied petroleum gas, kerosene, oil,
gasoline, and diesel.

The Monetary Board noted that core inflation—as opposed to headline inflation—is more indicative of underlying long-term inflation. It was, therefore, untimely to reduce Policy Rates.

The Monetary Board also considered the fact that real interest rates (the difference between nominal rate and the inflation rate) remains in deep negative territory. Reducing interest rates could adversely affect the peso since a lower interest rate would be a disincentive for foreign investors to place their money in the country.

Finally, easing the Policy Rate would have injected more money in the system thus help stimulate the economy through easier credit. But the Monetary Board , in earlier moves reducing reserve requirements of banks and doubling the rediscounting facilities, has preciselyaddressed the issue of sufficient liquidity.

The Monetary Board will hold one final Policy Meeting before the year ends. One can rest assured that true to its primary mandate of maintaining price stability , the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, through the Monetary Board, will continue to take such steps as necessary to contain the risk of inflation while allowing room for the economy to
grow.

Note: You may email us at totingbunye2000@gmail.com.


Biotechnology advocates awarded

Recognizing their exemplary contribution in promoting biotechnology in the Philippines, Dr. Randy A. Hautea, Global Coordinator and Southeast Asia Center Director of the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA), and Ms. Sonny P. Tababa, former Network Administrator of the SEARCA Biotechnology Information Center (BIC), received special citations at the 4th Jose G. Burgos, Jr. Awards for Biotech Journalism. The award was given in a ceremony held at the Institute of Small-Scale Industries (ISSI), University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City on 27 November 2008.

Dr. Hautea was conferred for his commendable leadership at ISAAA for facilitating the transfer of crop biotechnology applications and the benefits of new agricultural biotechnologies to the country through public-private partnerships. He persistently assists the national programs on biotechnology through R&D grants, and has been instrumental in the establishment of pool of experts by supporting capability building programs in the fields of food safety, biosafety, risk assessment and risk management, intellectual property rights, and communication.

Likewise, Ms. Tababa was recognized for her contribution in promoting public understanding and acceptance of biotechnology in the country through her successful coordination and implementation of biotechnology advocacy programs of the SEARCA Biotechnology Information Center, making it as one of the most credible source of science-based information on biotechnology. Her purposeful effort in advancing biotechnology information in the country has reached out to several stakeholders, including scientists, farmers, media, policy makers, regulators, academe, NGOs and students making her a prominent persona in the Philippine biotech community.

The Jose G. Burgos, Jr. Awards for Biotech Journalism is held annually to recognize Filipino science journalists and biotech workers who contribute in promoting and communicating biotechnology in the country.

The award is organized by the Biotechnology for Life Media Advocacy and Resource Center, a consortium of the Department of Agriculture-Biotechnology Program Office, Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture, Biotech Coalition of the Philippines, Philippine Council for Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resources Development, and the J. Burgos Media Services Inc. (Rochella B. Lapitan, SEARCA BIC)