PIA Dispatch - Wednesday, February 25, 2009

PGMA wants LUB seamless, investment haven

“Let us develop the Luzon Urban Beltway (LUB) a seamless priority infrastructure project.”

This is the standing order of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in the recently concluded cabinet meeting at the Holiday Inn Hotel in Clark Filed, Pampanga. The President enjoined the various heads of government agencies and concerned GOCCs and GFIs to fast track the completion of all priority infrastructure projects in the LUB and to closely coordinate with one another to ensure completion of this priority projects by the end of her term.  

The order was a reaction to the thorough presentation made by Secretary Eduardo Pamintuan, Luzon Urban Beltway Super Region Champion and Chair of the Subic-Clark Alliance for Development on the achievements and developments in the Luzon Urban Beltway Super Region and that of the SCAD. 

PGMA said that seamless means joining South Luzon as far as Batangas to Northern Luzon with a series of world-class road systems through the Star Tollways system linked with the South Luzon Expressway (SLEX) and the SLEX-C5-NLEX.

PGMA also instructed her cabinet to make LUB an investment friendly hub more so because the Luzon Urban Beltway Super Region contributes at least 55% to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the country and is considered the prime industrial and financial region of the country. 


RP inches towards energy security

Sta. Cruz, Davao del Sur (PND)-- The government’s energy security thrust designed to hike the country’s energy sufficiency to 60 percent by 2010 and contribute significantly to the reduction in damaging carbon dioxide emissions to the atmosphere is on track.

The energy security thrust has found solid support in Hedcor, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Aboitiz Ventures, Inc. which has invested P5.1 billion in the Sibulan Hydropower Project located in Barangay Sibulan here. The project is one of the biggest investments of the Aboitiz Group in the power sector.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is scheduled to visit the Sibulan Hydropower Project site here Thursday (February 26) morning. The project which will tap the water flow of the Sibulan and Baroring rivers in Davao del Sur, has a designed power generating capacity of 42.5 megawatts.

The hydro project’s engineering scheme appeals to local folks here because it involves no dam construction and no water impounding, and therefore no undue risks of flooding or people displacements in cases of technical accidents or force majeure.

The facility is expected to generate a sizable volume of clean or ``green energy`` annually for the Mindanao Grid, and help address the global threat of global warming and climate change since it will help reduce greenhouse gas emissions by more than 80,000 tons of carbon dioxide per year.

Hydropower generation produces essentially no carbon dioxide or other harmful emissions, unlike burning fossil fuels.

Earlier, President Arroyo said energy security demands the development of indigenous and renewable sources, including geothermal, domestic oil and gas, solar, wind, wave and biofuels. Harnessing renewable energy comprises a critical component of the government’s energy security strategy. 

Increased power generation from geothermal, hydro and other indigenous resources has significantly reduced the country’s dependence on imported fossil fuels. The government has likewise tapped renewable energy sources such as solar, micro-hydro, wind and biomass resources in its rural electrification efforts.

The Department of Energy (DOE) said renewable energy is foreseen to satisfy 40 percent of the country’s primary energy requirements over a ten-year period beginning in 2003.

Biomass, micro-hydro, solar and wind will remain as major contributors to the total share of renewable energy in the energy mix with an average share of 27.5 percent, according to the DOE. Hydro and geothermal will account for the balance of the indigenously generated energy.

Given the country’s vast hydropower potential, it is projected that more than 10 percent of the country’s electricity requirements can be supplied by hydropower.

With the Renewable Energy Law in place, observers said the Philippines is on track in its quest to wean itself away from imported fossil fuel that accounts for most of the country’s air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.


Displaced OFWs from Mindanao to get P2.7 million for livelihood projects

Cagayan de Oro City (PND) – President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo will distribute here tomorrow (Thursday) 31 checks worth P2.7 million as livelihood assistance to overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) from Mindanao who lost their jobs in the aftermath of the global economic crisis.

Of the 31 checks to be distributed by the President at the SM City here, one check worth Pl.2 million will go to displaced OFWs from Lanao del Norte under the Tulong Panghanap Buhay sa Ating Disadvantaged Workers (TUPAD) project.

The 30 other checks worth P50,000 each will be divided among 30 retrenched OFWs -- 10 from the Davao Region, 10 from Northern Mindanao Region and 10 from the Caraga Region.

Aside from the livelihood assistance, the Chief Executive will also turn over Pangulong Gloria Scholarship vouchers to displaced OFWs for retraining and skills upgrading to prepare them for jobs overseas.

"We are putting up this skills and job event in Mindanao to assist Mindanaoans who have lost their jobs in the aftermath of the worldwide economic crunch," TESDA Director General Boboy Syjuco said.

Some 2,150 returning OFWs, jobseekers and technical vocational education and training (TVET) graduates from the three regions in Mindanao are expected to attend the whole-day event and take advantage of the government's employment training and livelihood program.

"The job of TESDA and its partner-companies may involve re-tooling our displaced workers and re-matching them to available jobs or retraining them for livelihood skills," Syjuco said.

He said that among the most in-demand workers today are welders, aircraft mechanics, animation artists, software developers and other business process outsourcing (BPO) workers.

Forty regional and Manila-based recruitment and manpower placement agencies are joining the event, dubbed as Jobs Bridging, Skill Retraining.

Nine TVET institution and enterprise partners will also participate in the skills retraining program which offers such short courses as welding, heavy equipment and machine operations, construction works and slaughtering.

The event is being organized by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) and the National Reintegration Center for OFWs (NRCO).


PGMA urge private sector to help protect RP from global recession
 
President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo encouraged the private sector to continue investing in the country to cushion the impact of global economic slow down.
 
At the Philippine Economic Briefing in Makati, the President said cooperation between government and private sector is necessary to survive the economic storm that affected the world.
 
The President said the country is ripe for investment because is in a better economic position as compared to others because of the economic reforms instituted in the past years.
 
In 2007, the Philippines generated an 8.0 percent GNP growth. In 2008, the country managed to pull up a 6.1 percent GNP growth at the time when world was in recession. 
 
The President added that in the fourth quarter of 2008, the Philippine Gross Domestic Product (GDP) went up by 4.5 percent while other economies’ GDPs have fallen.
 
“Working together, we have created a better deal, if you will, than many countries in the region. So now I call upon the leaders of our private sector to take up the challenge at this important time: Join your government and continue to invest in our nation’s future. Work with us to ensure that our nation’s limited resources are able to meet the objective of improving the lives of the people of the Philippines,” the President said.
 
 
PGMA, hinikayat ang pribadong sektor na mamuhuhan sa Pilipinas
 
Hinikayat ng Pangulong Gloria Macapagal Arroyo ang mga negosyante na mamuhunan sa Pilipinas upang protektahan ang bansa sa nagaganap na recession sa buong mundo.
 
Sa Philippine Economic Briefing sa Makati, ipinaliwanag ng Pangulo na mahalagang magpatuloy ang kooperasyon sa pagitan ng pamahalaan at ng pribadong sektor upang maibsan ang epekto ng global recession.
 
Sinabi ng Pangulo na hinog ang bansa sa pamumuhunan dahil ang mas maganda ang katayuan ng Pilipinas kumpara sa iba bunga ng mga ipinatupad na repormang pang-ekonomiya sa mga nakalipas na panahon.  
 
Ikinuwento ng Pangulo na noong 2007 umakyat ng 80 porsiyento ang Gross National Product (GNP). Pagsapit ng 2008, nakahatak pa ang bansa ng anim na porsiyento na GNP sa panahon binalot ng recession ang mundo.
 
Idinagdag ng Pangulo na noong fourth quarter ng 2008, umakyat pa ang Gross Domestic Product (GDP) ng hanggang apat at kalahating porsiyento habang nakalugmok ang GDP ng iba pang mga bansa. #


Job hunts topped 23rd EDSA I celebration
 
Job hunters trooped to the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration Wednesday where a job fair was held in celebration of the EDSA People Power I.  
 
More than 20 companies including five sea-based companies participated.
 
President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo visited POEA to mingle with the applicants who are mostly displaced workers.
 
Some of these displaced workers secured jobs in Dubai and in Singapore.
 
The President found out that some of the displaced workers are now working at home after learning new trades such as food processing and perfume making.
 
Government has been staging job fairs in response to the unemployment caused by global recession.

Before POEA, the Department of Public Works and Highways started holding job fair last Monday where more than 3,000 people got hired.  

Earlier, Vice President Noli De Castro led the flag raising ceremony at the People Power Monument to kick off the EDSA People Power I celebration.
 
Also present during the rites were Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, Senator Gringo Honasan and Former President Fidel Valdez Ramos who demonstrated again his famous jump in 1986.
 
Yesterday, the Bantayog ng mga Bayani Foundation inaugurated the Aklatan ng Bantayog ng mga Bayani in Quezon City as part of the nationwide commemoration of EDSA People Power I.
 
The library aims to honor the memories of people who fought the Marcos Administration during Martial Law. #
 
 
EDSA People Power I, ipinagdiwang ng pamahalaan sa pamamagitan ng job fairs
 
Dinumog ng mga aplikanteng na naghahanap ng trabaho ang Philippine Overseas Employment Administration kung saan isang job fair ang ginanap bilang pagdiriwang sa unang EDSA people power.
 
Mahigit sa dalawampung kumpanya kabilang ang limang sea-based agency ang lumahok sa job fair kung saan maraming nakakuha ng trabaho sa Dubai at sa Singapore.
 
Kabilang sa mga pumunta sa job fair ang Pangulong Gloria Macapagal Arroyo para makisalamuha sa mga job seeker na karamihan naging biktima ng global recession.
 
Napag-alaman ng Pangulo na mayroong manggagawa na sa halip namasukan ay nagnegosyo matapos matutunan ang mga bagong kabuhayan tulad ng food processing at perfume making.  
 
Ang pagdadaraos ng mga job fair ay bahagi ng kampanya ng pamahalaan para labanan ang kawalan ng trabaho dulot ng global recession.
 
Bago ang POEA, unang nagsagawa ng job fair ang Department of Public Works and Highways noong Lunes kung saan mahigit sa 3,000 katao ang nakakuha ng trabaho.  

Una rito, pinagunahan ni Vice President Noli De Castro ang pagwawagayway ng bandila sa People Power Monument para simulan ang pagdiriwang ng EDSA People Power I.
 
Kasama ng Pangalawang Pangulo sina Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, Senador Gringo Honasan at Dating Pangulong Fidel Valdez Ramos na ipinakita muli ang kanyang paglundag katulad ng kanyang ginawa noong 1986.
 
Kahapon, pinasinayaan ng Bantayog ng mga Bayani Foundation ang Aklatan ng Bantayog ng mga Bayani sa Quezon City bilang bahagi ng paggunita sa EDSA People Power I.
 
Ang aklatan ay naglalayong sariwain ang mga alaala ng mga kalaban ng Administrasyong Marcos noong pinairal ang Batas Militar. #


RP in a race against economic challenges – PGMA

Manila (PND)--President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo said today that the Philippines is in a race against economic challenges and the country must move quickly ``if we are to ensure that our economy stays on path.``

Addressing a gathering of local and international investors at the Dusit Thani Hotel in Makati City this morning, the President said her administration will act with deliberate haste to address these challenges at a time of deepening global economic crunch.

Pursuing her theme that there’s no time to waste, the President said in a message beamed to government leaders: ``Let’s not wait for Congress to pass this or that because we have lump sums in our budget,`` referring to the government’s economic stimulus program.

``Let’s not wait for the private sector to come up with their part of the promised P100-billion private sector fund. Let’s work on our P50-billion
contribution, `` she added.

The President assured the nation that the massive spending to further stimulate the economy and sustain economic growth will not be made at the expense of fiscal prudence.

``We cannot abandon our hard-fought gains in fiscal discipline. We may increase the deficit, yes, but it must be a finite number and not the sky is the limit. We must have a projection, a ceiling that we will stay under.``

``We are well aware that that we must both spend wisely and be prudent if we are to leave our country in a healthy condition for the next generation. That is the road we were on before the onset of this global crisis. That is the road on which we would like the country to continue when this challenge has passed,`` she stressed.

The President admitted that the global financial crisis now appears to be worse than most people had anticipated. But she pointed out that she remains cautiously optimistic that the Philippines can be insulated from the full blow that most of the world is now experiencing.

``Yet, we realize that with each passing day, that objective becomes a greater challenge and therefore we must always be ready to innovate,`` she said.

She said that the biggest challenge confronting the country is the ``challenge of jobs.``

Before proceeding to Dusit Thani Hotel to address the ``Philippine Economic Briefing,`` the President said she dropped by at the jobs fair being held at the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) along Ortigas Ave. in Mandaluyong City where she had an interaction with Filipino workers some of whom were recruited on the spot for employment abroad.

She said she hoped that the employment numbers for Filipinos abroad will continue and so far, there has not been a major slump. Last year, 5,500
Filipino expatriate workers lost their jobs but that number remains largely the same.

Since last year, 39,000 domestic workers, mostly in the export sector like electronics, garments, auto parts, and mining have been displaced. The good news is 3,000 new jobs are being processed daily, she said.

Moreover, the President said that many displaced workers are finding new job opportunities as self-employed. Some have gone into food processing, garments, perfume-making, meat-processing and other livelihood projects.

She said she has been hearing that the Philippines was lucky compared to other countries now caught in the cusp of the global crisis. The thing is ``we worked hard to be lucky. We have been able to cushion the blow today because of the pain we endured yesterday.

``With the support of Congress and our dedicated civil servants, we took the economic reform medicine and improved our banking system, raised revenue, cracked down on smugglers and streamline our revenue system,`` the President said.


New mining jobs opening in Down Under
 
The Philippines and Australia are set to sign an agreement for new jobs for mining.
 
Southern Australia is beefing up is mining operations and would be requiring at least 30,000 workers who would be given working visas good for 10 years.
 
The Department of Labor and Employment said Filipino workers would be the first to benefit in the new job opportunities from Down Under once the agreement is signed after holy week.
 
Since joblessness is an offspring of global financial crunch, government continues to search for opportunities for employment for Filipinos.
 
In Mandaluyong City, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo celebrated EDSA People Power I with job hunters at the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration Job Fair.
 
The President said the spirit of EDSA people power I would guide the country in confronting the challenges of global recession.  
 
At least 16 land-based and five sea-based agencies participated at the POEA Job Fair.
 
POEA is processing an average of 3,000 job placements every day.
 

Australia, magbubukas ng mga bagong trabaho sa mga Pinoy.
 
Nakatakdang lumagda ang Pilipinas at Australia sa isang kasunduan hinggil sa pagkuha ng mga manggagawang Pilipino para sa industriya ng pagmimina.
 
Palalakasin ng Katimugang Australia ang kanilang mining operation at ito ay mangangailangan ng may 30, 000 manggagawa.
 
Ang mga naturang manggagawa ay gagawaran ng sampung taong working visa ng Australia.
 
Inaasahan ng Department of Labor and Employment na malalagdaan ang kasunduan makalipas ang Semana Santa.
 
Dahil supling ng global recession ang kawalan ng trabaho, patuloy ang pamahalaan sa paghahahanap ng mga oportunidad sa trabaho para sa mga Pilipino.
 
Sa Mandaluyong, Ipinagdiwang ng Pangulong Gloria Macapagal Arroyo ang anibersaryo ng EDSA People Power I kapiling ang mga naghahanap ng trabaho sa Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA).
 
Ayon sa Pangulo, dapat gamitin ang espiritu ng EDSA People Power sa pagharap sa hamon ng global recession.
 
Sa job fair ng POEA, labing anim na land-based agency at limang sea-based agency ang lumahok.
 
Halos 3,000 job placements ang inaasikaso ng POEA araw-araw.