PGMA brings late Christmas to
Poor residents of five barangays in
Some 3,000 residents of
The President held the gift-giving event under Serbisyo Caravan, a joint project by the Departments of Social Welfare and Development, Foreign Affairs, Transportation and Communication, and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority.
Yesterday, the President distributed gift packs to some 5,000 poor residents at the covered court of Barangay 28, Zone 3, in Dagat-Dagatan,
The gift packs consisted of rice, canned goods, noodles, and sugar.
The recipients were from 31 barangays of Zones 1, 2 and 3 in the second district of the city.
PGMA inaugurates ICT firm, attains 500,000 worker goal
There are now more than 500,000 ICT (information communications technology) workers in the country.
On Thursday,
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, who cut the ceremonial ribbon, had set the 500,000 mark and proceeded to attain the goal by creating the cyber corridor super region that cuts across
The firm’s expansion has enabled the current administration to reach that milestone.
''Half a million of nine million new jobs is certainly a substantial result,'' the President remarked during the ceremony.
Prabhakar Bisen, president and CEO of WNS Philippines, said the country is ''one of the most exciting destinations '' for BPOs and call centers. He added that all this was the result of the foresight and hard work of the current administration.
In early 2008, WNS formed WNS Philippines as a joint venture with Advanced Contact Solutions, Inc, a pioneer and leader in BPO services and customer care in the
The BPO Association of the
PGMA distributes gift packs to poor
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo led today the distribution of gift packs to some 5,000 poor residents at the covered court of Barangay 28, Zone 3 in Dagat-Dagatan,
The gift packs consisted of rice, canned goods, noodles, and sugar.
The recipients were from 31 barangays of Zones 1, 2 and 3 in the second district of the city.
Later, the President briefly observed the ongoing medical and dental mission and the PGMA Serbisyo beside the covered court.
On hand to show the President around were Rep. Mitz Cajayon and former Rep. Baby Asistio and Barangay 28 Chairman Edgar Galgana.
PGMA asks city mayor to help ensure honest polls
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on Thursday asked city mayors to help the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) ensure a clean, honest and fair elections in May.
The President sounded the call in her keynote address at the 55th General Assembly of the League of Cities of the
“The real challenge is for you to make your respective cities a model of free, fair and open elections,” the President said.
According to the President, the COMELEC should ensure credible and orderly elections through the automated polling system, but the city executives and their town counterparts have a duty to help out in the attainment of this noble objective for the people of your cities and the rest of the country.
She stressed that the success of the May elections is crucial to the country’s political and economic stability in 2010, while its failure or deferment could trigger unrest.
The President had earlier doused cold water on speculations that automated polls will not push through this May and that there is a great possibility of no election and no-proclamation of the winning candidates.
Last Tuesday, after the National Security Council meeting, she announced the country is ready for automated polls and that there will be no failure of elections.
After elections, the President said, the mayors should exert extra effort to improve the lives of their constituents.
“With your unceasing hardwork and your support I know we will beat the odds and make the
One of 4 trapped RP peacekeepers in
MANILA, Jan. 14 - One of the four Filipino peacekeepers trapped inside collapsed buildings in
At a press briefing, AFP public affairs office chief Lt. Col. Romeo Brawner said Cpl. David Catacutan was retrieved with only bruises from the basement gym of the Montana Hotel at Port Au Prince around 11:30 a.m. Citing a report from
“We have good news. As of 11:30 this morning, Philippine time, Cpl. David Catacutan was rescued by members of the Philippine Contingent at
Brawner said Catacutan was escorting a VIP from the United Nations when the hotel collapsed. He said they are hoping that the VIP that Catacutan was escorting prior to the intensity 7 quake was also rescued.
“The family (of Catacutan) has been informed about the rescue,” said Brawner.
The rescue of Catacutan brings to only three the remaining Filipino peacekeepers who are trapped. They are DP3 Perlie Panangui, a clerk at the office of the Force Commander; Sgt. Janice Arocena, a clerk at the Chief of Staff, Central Registry; and Sgt. Eustacio Bermudez, a clerk at the Conduct and Discipline Unit/Force Provo Martial.
The three were trapped on the second floor of the
“We are hopeful that we will be able to rescue the three others who were believed to be trapped on the second floor of the Christopher building,” said Brawner.
PGMA’s sound economic policies kept RP afloat in 2009 – Olivar
Presidential spokesman Undersecretary Gary Olivar made this assertion during the regular “Usaping Balita” media forum in
Olivar said the
“The growth, albeit small, would never have been realized by the economy without the sound economic policies put in place by President Arroyo,” he said.
For one, Olivar said, unemployment was limited to only seven percent, which is far lower compared to other economies.
“Unemployment in our country was limited to only a single-digit figure whereas, the
This could be credited to the Comprehensive Livelihood and Emergency Employment Program of President Arroyo.
CLEEP is the administration's nationwide effort intended to protect the country's most vulnerable sectors - such as the poor, returning expatriates, workers in the export industry, and out-of-school youths from threats and consequences of reduced or lost income as a consequence of the global economic crisis by providing emergency employment and funding and supervising livelihood projects.
The Presidential spokesman on economic matters also defended the low tax collection of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR).
He attributed the tax shortfall mainly to the worldwide economic recession in 2009.
The recession, he stressed, caused a reduction in the taxable income in almost all sectors of the economy, especially in trade and industry.
"But things are already on the upturn as latest figures show that the BIR had already surpassed its December 2009 target by more than P1 billion," he said.
Hunger incidence, which rose in 2009 compared to 2008, could also be attributed to the economic slowdown and to the natural disasters that hit the country, particularly Typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng.
But despite all these, Olivar noted that the rise in hunger incidence was small - 24.4 percent in 2009 compared to 23.8 percent 2008.
“The amount spent alone in the relocation, rehabilitation and reconstruction of the damages wrought by the two typhoons was a big dent in our economy yet we still posted a growth, however small it is,” he said.
But as the world rebounds from recession, Olivar said, the country is poised to post a big economic progress.
“As the worldwide economy shakes the effects of the global recession, the Philippines is expected to post a 3 to 3.5 percent rise in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and a 5 to 5.5 percent rise in the Gross National Product (GNP),” Olivar said.
And these are all due to the sound economic policies of President Arroyo, he added. (PNA)
PGMA forms task force for Haiti rescue, relief efforts
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo ordered the today the activation of a task force within the Philippine Peacekeeping Contingent in Haiti that will conduct search and rescues, and relief efforts for Filipinos affected by the earthquake in that Caribbean nation.
Deputy presidential spokesperson Gary Olivar said the President issued the directives to Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo to ensure that necessary assistance and relief efforts are extended to the Filipinos in
Olivar said DFA spokesman Ed Malaya had informed him of Secretary Romulo’s instruction to Philippine Ambassador to Cuba MacArthur F. Corsino to form a consular team that will proceed to
Meanwhile, DFA Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Esteban Conejos reported that the task force, consisting of soldiers and peacekeepers, was already on the ground assisting Filipinos in
He noted that Filipinos in
The Philippine Embassy in
A number of Filipino nuns and priests also serve in the country.
On Tuesday, a 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck causing widespread damage and a still-undetermined number of casualties. (PNA)
