PGMA visits Guagua projects
Her original schedule here was only the climate change meeting and the “Common Tao Day” celebration at the
From Barangay Sta. Filomena, her convoy squeezed through narrow dirt roads leading to barangay Sta. Rafael for an inspection of the requested barangay road improvement project, then to the Guagua Municipal Market road in Barangay Sto. Nino for an inspection of the ongoing construction of the P20- million road, where she also gamely posed for photos with the local folks who drew out their camera phones for a shot with her.
The President also inspected the requested barangay road improvement of Barangay San Nicolas I and then the P110-million barangay interior pathway in Barangay San Juan Bautista.
Her last stop was the inspection of the requested reinforced concrete deck gilder bridge connecting barangay Lambac to Barangya Ebus.
Oil price rollback temporary, says Palace
The government-mandated price rollback of petroleum products is only temporary.
This assurance was made today by Press Secretary Cerge Remonde in a press briefing in Malacanang even as he warned that any deliberate supply shortages by oil companies could be viewed as economic sabotage, saying oil companies have “long-term supply contracts.”
President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo issued last Friday Executive Order 839, mandating oil companies to roll back the prices of their petroleum products to Oct. 15 levels. EO 839 follows government’s earlier declaration of a state of calamity and the implementation of price controls of goods and services in provinces hit by back-to-back typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng.
Remonde said the imposition of price control on oil products has been “rigidly studied and that the concerns of the people were heard.”
Remonde said the President, as an economist, made a tough decision, ”fully aware that any form of price control is not good for the economy” and could distort the normal demand-supply patterns of goods and services.
“The President is aware of the consequences but decisions, even tough decisions, have to be made for the benefit of the majority. Deep in her heart, this is what is right. The President has to weigh everything,” he said.
RP economy benefits from earlier financial reforms
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo this morning acknowledged and thanked the country’s former finance chiefs for “starting the financial reforms that have served us well in the face of the global economic crisis.”
She acknowledged the presence of former Prime Minister and former Finance Minister Cesar E. A. Virata; former Finance Secretary Jose Camacho, and former Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Gabriel Singson in her speech before the 26th Asian Bankers Association general membership conference held at the RCBC Plaza in Makati City.
She praised the Asian banks for being “free of toxic assets” and not needing government bail-outs compared to the banking systems of more affluent countries in Europe and the
Compared to other banks, the Asian financial system has remained “steady and ready to support the (coming) growth after the global crisis,” the Chief Executive said.
“Years of trade surpluses and high trading rates have contributed to record foreign revenues,” she added.
She said the high percentage of private consumption to gross domestic product (GDP) enabled the emerging Asian economies to perform better in the current global crisis that badly hit trade-dependent economies since the crisis brought a virtual collapse to international trade.
She cited in particular the high percentages of private consumption (to GDP) of Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh, which enabled these countries to grow better than their more affluent but trade-dependent neighbors in Asia.
The President said Asian banks can become catalysts in gathering the groundswell for reforms in banks in
The Philippines, she said, has demonstrated the strength and resiliency of emerging markets to weather the global economic crisis by growing, even when all other countries contracted, enabling it reduce poverty and improve its revenues.
PGMA orders pre-emptive evacuation
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo ordered on Friday the pre-emptive evacuation of all residents in low-lying areas and those whose houses are not sturdy enough to withstand the strength and rainfall of the coming typhoon, “Santi.”
At the climate change meeting here, the President said Santi is expected to make landfall by
The President challenged the local officials of Guagua to maintain its “zero casualty” status through pre-emptive evacuation and pre-positioning of rescue and relief facilities to vulnerable areas.
Meanwhile, Regional Disaster Coordinating Council (RDCC) 3 Chairman Gen. Nilo de la Cruz informed the President that the RDCC has deployed in the past two days 2,557 men from the Philippine National Police Region 3, first in preparation for Undas (All Souls Day) but now also for Santi.
De la Cruz said he has already coordinated with all regional, provincial, municipal, and barangay disaster coordinating councils on the need for early evacuation and pre-positioning of rescue boats and other facilities.
“If they will not follow our orders on pre-emptive evacuation, we will force them,” he said.
PGMA orders DFA to help family of slain UN election volunteer
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo ordered the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to facilitate the return home of the body of Filipino election volunteer Josie Esto, one of five United Nations personnel killed in Wednesday's terrorist attack in Kabul, Afghanistan.
In a press briefing in Malacanang today, Press Secretary Cerge Remonde said the President also asked DFA to see what it can do for Esto’s family.
At the same time, Remonde said government is “in touch with the
Esto, 40, an Electoral Outreach and Training Coordinator under the UN Volunteers Program, was killed when Taliban gunmen stormed the Bekhtar Guest House in
Esto was a former school teacher who also worked as an electoral officer and civic education officer in the
