PGMA confers Presidential Award on Child Friendly Municipalities and Cities
President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo conferred on Thursday the Presidential Award on
This year’s national winners are the New Lucena, Iloilo (4th to 6th class municipality); San Mateo, Isabela (1st to 3rd class municipality); Vigan City (component city); Naga City (independent component city); and Olongapo City (highly urbanized city).
The conferment of the annual award is pursuant to Executive Order No. 184 as part of the
The President awarded the trophy and P300,000 cash incentives to the mayors of the winning LGUs during a simple awarding ceremony at the Malacanang Heroes’ Hall.
The President also awarded Presidential citations and P300,000 cash incentives for the Child Health Conscious LGUs to New Lucena,
Assisting the President during the awarding rites were Health Secretary Esperanza Cabral, Interior and Local Government Undersecretary Austere Panadero, Social Welfare Undersecretary Alicia Bala, and Council for the Welfare of Children (CWC) executive director Parisya Taradji.
PGMA fetes outstanding individuals
President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo conferred the Order of Lakandula and Order of Sikatuna awards on 13 distinguished individuals from the government and private sector in ceremonies held in Malacañang on Thursday afternoon.
Conferred the Order of Lakandula with Rank of Grand Cross (Bayani) were former Cabinet members Silvestre Bello III (Cabinet Secretary), Agnes Devanadera (Justice), Hermogenes Ebdane, Jr. (Public Works), Hermogenes Esperon, Jr. (Presidential Management Staff);
Peter Favila (Trade), Edgardo Pamintuan (Presidential Assistant), Angelo Reyes (Energy), Augusto Syjuco (TESDA) and Arthur Yap (Agriculture).
National Scientist Fe del Mundo and Shoichiro Toyoda, Honorary Chairman of Toyota Motors Corp., were also awarded the Order of Lakandula with Rank of Grand Cross.
Rounding off the list of awardees were Francis Chua, Chairman Emeritus of the Philippine Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Masaaki Furukawa, president of Japanese trading house Toyota Tsusho Corporation
They were both accorded the Order of Sikatuna with Rank of Lakan and Grand Officer, respectively.
The President hosted lunch for the awardees and their families and friends.
The Order of Lakandula is one of the highest honors given by the Republic of the
The Order of Sikatuna, on the other hand, is conferred upon diplomats, officials, and foreign nationals who have rendered significant services in fostering, developing, and strengthening relations between their country and the
PGMA awards Clark
CLARK FREEPORT ZONE, Pampanga - President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo Wednesday bestowed awards on 11 outstanding investors and locators in the 2nd Clark Freeport Recognition Party.
She was introduced by Clark Development Corp. (CDC) president/chief executive officer Benigno Ricafort, who extolled the President’s support of CDC as an investment and tourist destination.
Because of the awardees, Ricafort said
For Overall Performance, the awardees were: Aderans Phils., L & K Industries Phils., L & T International Phils., Nanox Phils., SMK Electronics Phils., and Yokohama Tire Phils. Inc.
For Outstanding Employment Performance and Human Resource Management, the awardees were: NCO Phils. Clark Inc. (for 500 employees) and Sumidenso Automotive Technologies-A (SAT-A) for 200 employees. For Outstanding Environment and Health Management, the awardee was Poongsan Microtec Phils. The Outstanding Investment Performance went to Comclark Technologies and the Outstanding New Investor award went to Australia International Training and Management Group.
Also recognized for their role in the month-long celebration of CDC’s 17th anniversary were: 600th Air Base Wing of the Philippine Air Force, the 7th Infantry Division of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, Bureau of Customs-Clark, Bureau of Immigration-Region 3; Bureau of Internal Revenue; Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines, Clark International Airport Corp., Clark Locators and Investors Association, Department of Energy, Department of Foreign Affairs, Home Development Mutual Fund (PagIbig), Kapampangan Development Foundation, National Conciliation and Mediation Board, Philippine Health Insurance Corp., Philippine National Police-Region 3, Social Security System and the Subic Clark Alliance Development Council.
AFP Chief Gen. Bangit: Military junta option is political 'suicide'
“I am for the Constitution,” he declared in a command conference the other day as he sought to dispell rumors of military junta. He stressed: “(A) junta is never on our list of things to do. There is no junta, there will never be. Junta is contrary to good judgment. It is suicide."
"Our claim to honor and dignity is not through a leadership where we will be the ones who will decide for our people. Our claim to honor and dignity is our ability to act as on in order to protect our people. Listen to the call of the times. It calls on us to stand firm for our people and not claim to be the voice of the people,” added Bangit.
Talks of supposed military plan to put up a junta had been swirling for the past weeks. The latest allegation was fanned early this week by civil society group leader Pastor Boy Saycon, a supporter of presidential bet Sen. Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III.
Bangit called on his men to focus on the most essential aspect at this point and to stand resilient against the many attempts to divide the organization.
“We should move on. There is a concern bigger than appointments – and that is, the upcoming elections, and the rumored military junta being insinuated by some groups. Politics is not what we have worked for in our entire career. Politicians come and go. Even as they do, we stay. Our enemies before are still our enemies today. We know how hard our enemies work to break the unity and integrity that has kept us unbeatable,” said Bangit.
He also exhorted his men to stand firm, saying "to you who are with me in our stand for the Constitution; to you who are with me in our stand against revolutionary government or junta: Labanan natin (let us fight together side by side) because this is clearly unconstitutional.”
Bangit cited the importance of AFP professionalism especially in the coming elections. “The outcome of this elections is a make or break for the AFP. It is also a deciding point for our country,” he said.
Meanwhile, in a letter dated April 21, 2010, Eastern Mindanao Command chief Lt. Gen. Raymundo B. Ferrer wrote a formal communication to Bangit to refute having attended a meeting with Aquino or with any other political candidate.
“I am dismayed that my name was dragged into such an issue that is obviously fed information designed to portray disunity in our organization”, the letter said.
Additionally, Ferrer assured his loyalty to the military organization under Gen. Bangit’s leadership, and referred this allegiance as “greater than my personal feelings”.
“I am not disgruntled or else I would have resigned my position and damned the institution to my heart’s content.”
The AFP had been time and again hounded with rumors of polarization and partisanship.
“Recently, there had been renewed efforts to 'fragmentize' the AFP through proliferation of stories on alleged disgruntlement of some AFP officers. We dismiss these rumors as efforts by some groups or individuals with personal and vested interests whose ultimate objective is far from good,” said AFP Civil Relations Service chief Brig. Gen. Francisco N Cruz.
The AFP appeals to these self-interest groups busily propagating discord to stop these schemes and allow the military organization to focus on its mandate and on its mission for the sake of the Filipino people. This is to include providing a secured environment for the voters and for the smooth transport of election materials.
“We are confident, that through the COMELEC and its Joint Security Control Center, the PNP’s and AFP’s Task Force HOPE, the Zeñarosa Commission, and all the election watchdogs could work together to ensure a peaceful and credible election,” said Cruz
6,055
A statement released by DA and Mindanao Rural Development Program (MRDP) said IP beneficiaries comprise 43 percent of the 14,185 total beneficiaries of CFAD.
The DA-MRDP also reported that among the IPs, 2,640 were female and 3,415 were male.
This statistical record came out after a Mindanao-wide World Bank (WB) review mission of the DA's five-year program.
Most of the beneficiaries were from Northeastern Mindanao Caraga region (8 percent); Region 10 (28 percent); Region 11 (26 percent); Region 12 (22 percent); Autonomus Region in Muslim Mindanao (10 percent); and Region 9 (7 percent).
Among the tribes which received the assistance were Ata Manobo, Mansaka, Teduray, T'boli, Subanen, and Higaonon from
These beneficiaries are engaged in production of high value crops like banana, vegetables, peanuts and fruits, cattle production and swine breeding, while other groups received farm implements.
The DA-MRDP statement said IPs are the majority beneficiaries of the livelihood projects of the anti-poverty program of the DA in
MRDP, now on its second phase, is a multi-million program jointly funded by the World Bank, the National government and the local government units.
For five years, the program has allotted close to U.S.$ 30 million for its livelihood component, the CFAD.
CFAD is a community driven development where the people themselves identify their own project based on the available resources of the community and skills of their members. This allows poor communities to take part in the decision-making process, establishing a sense of ownership and generating high level of participation.
"Empowering the marginalized sector through agribusiness activities expands the strength of rural economy since agriculture as is said as the mainstay of economic activities in rural areas," said DA-MRDP official Lealyn A. Ramos.
Ramos added that the program has exceeded its IP target beneficiaries. CFAD sets to target only 35 percent IPs among its beneficiaries.
