Gov't stands pat on review of IIRC report
The government will stand pat on the results of its review of the Incident Investigation and Review Committee (IIRC) report on the Rizal Park hostage tragedy on Aug. 23.
In a press briefing at Malacanang Thursday, President Benigno S. Aquino III said the government will not amend its previous recommendations on the IIRC report, saying it primarily serves the interest of the Filipino people.
He expressed hope that eventually, the country would win back its close ties with China and put the hostage-taking incident behind.
“The only thing we can do is to explain exactly how the decision was arrived at, what were the limitations we have under our system of government and also our laws,” explained the Chief Executive.
President Aquino said the decision was based on existing laws.
“We had a review of pertinent laws, we tried to find whether said laws were applicable to the people accused of failing to do their duties. This is the collected wisdom of everybody who participated in the review,” explained the Chief Executive. “We believe this is the proper course of action and these will be the ones that will prosper.”
The President was reacting to reports that the Chinese government was not satisfied with the results of the review of the IIRC report. (PCOO)
Palace revising 10-year-old Crisis Management Manual, says Ochoa
Malacañang is in the final stages of adopting revisions to the 10-year old Crisis Management Manual (CMM) in response to the issues that cropped up during the handling of the Aug. 23 hostage-taking incident.
Executive Secretary Paquito N. Ochoa said a memorandum order amending the 10-year-old CMM is now being drafted, with the main revisions focusing on Chapter 4, which, among others, identify the composition of the cabinet cluster that will be convened in future crises and national emergencies.
“The President believes in a comprehensive approach to resolving the issues stemming from the incident. We are not just identifying the individuals that need to be held accountable, but also the systems and procedures that need to be revised or updated to allow the government to properly address various kinds of crises in the future,” Ochoa explained.
The amendments will also define the scope and responsibilities of the cabinet cluster, which will include the executive secretary, the secretaries of foreign affairs, justice, national defense, and interior and local government, the national security adviser and the Palace communications group.
Ochoa said that more details will be made available upon release of the memorandum order.
The Executive Secretary reiterated that the Aquino Administration is serious in adopting long-term fixes to the systemic flaws that were uncovered during the probe by the Incident Investigation and Review Committee.
Ochoa had earlier assured the Chinese Government that the administration was already “taking steps to implement the reforms needed” to avoid a repeat of the incident and ensure the safety of locals and foreign guests.
“What should be understood is that we’re not just fixated with fault-finding, we’re focused on flaw-fixing as well,” Ochoa said.
“We have already acknowledged that there were lapses that occurred during the Aug. 23 incident. Now that we’ve identified those we should hold accountable, it’s time to move on and adopt measures to make sure that these lapses do not happen again,” added. (PCOO)
Aquino to keynote 36th Philippine Business Conference
President Benigno S. Aquino III will keynote Friday, the 36th Philippine Business Conference and Expo at the Fiesta Pavilion of Manila Hotel. He will be introduced by (former trade secretary) and Chairman of the Council of Business Leaders, Jose T. Pardo.
Aside from Pardo, the President will be met by Dr. Francis Chua, president of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry; Benjamin Philip G. Romualdez, chairman of the 36th PBC; Sergio Ortiz-Luis Jr., chairman of PCCI; Atty. Miguel Varela, chairman emeritus of PCCI; Donald G. Dee, vice chairman, PCCI; Edgardo Lacson, honorary chairman, PCCI; Ramon Ang, vice president for investments, PCCI and Leonis Martijn Keekstra, general manager of Manila Hotel.
Welcome remarks will be given by Dr. Alfonso Uy, president, FFCCCII to be followed by a message from Jaime Laya, president of the Philippine Trust Bank & Company and an induction of the PCCI Board of Directors and Officers for 2010.
This will immediately be followed by the awarding ceremonies that include a testimonial for Roberto C. Amores, chairman of the 35th PBC; special recognition to Benedicto Yujuico, president; Confederation of Asia Pacific Chambers of Commerce and Industry; special citation to Lester Lino, Philippine Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry; special citation for Ramon Ang, San Miguel Corp., media scholarship awards for four awardees; the three National and Most Promising IP Awards; PCCI E3 (Excellence in Ecology and Economy award; Most Outstanding Chamber awards to six awardees; and the Most Business Friendly Local Government Unit Awards to six awardees.
Romualdez will present the Conference resolutions of the 36th PBC and Expo and then a PCCI President’s Report from Chua and the signing and presentation of the signed MOA of Business Matrix Program Partners to the President.
After his keynote address, the President will have photo op with the 34-member delegation of the Texas Trade and Tourism Mission to the Philippines. (PCOO)
Aquino turns over housing units to Ondoy, Pepeng victims
BARAS, Rizal: Some 2,800 families of this province’s eight municipalities who lost their homes to typhoons “Ondoy” and “Pepeng” now have a place they can call their own.
No less than President Benigno S. Aquino III turned over the housing units to them in simple ceremonies held at the Southville 9 Housing Project here Thursday afternoon.
The President led the distribution of housing certificates to an initial batch of 16 beneficiaries representing the eight municipalities of the housing project including Antipolo City (217 families), Angono (98 families), Baras (123 families), Binangonan (331 families), Cainta (16 families), Cardona (25 families), Tanay (141 families), and Taytay (67 families).
The 16 beneficiaries are: Esmeralda Sanceda and Joel Mendoza from Baras, Alfredo Mendoza, Judith Miles, Joseph Cabañez and AmaliaAgad from Cardona, Francisco Sicosana and JimlynAlcantara from Tanay, Judith Lomongo and Ma. Lorna Nojan from Angono, Gina Padrigene and Rolando Salmona from Taytay, Armando Espiritu, Jr. and Emmanuel Maniquiz from Antipolo; and TeresitaFeo and Martin Recuerdo, Jr. from Binangonan.
In his speech, President Aquino welcomed the new homeowners
"To all of you, welcome home. May God continue to bless your new homes as havens of safety and respite and may this be the start of your fruitful futures for you and your families," the President said.
Joining the President were Vice-President Jejomar C. Binay, Chairman, Housing and Urban Devt Coordinating Council (HUDCC); and Rizal local government executives led by Governor Casimiro “Jun-Jun” A. Ynares III, M.D.; 2nd District Representative Isidro “Jun” S. Rodriguez, Jr.; Baras Mayor Wilfredo C. Robles; and Vice Governor Frisco S. San Juan Jr.
Situated in Barangay Pinugay, some 50 kilometers southeast of Manila, the Southville 9 Housing Project is a joint undertaking of the Provincial Government of Rizal and the NHA to develop a 25-hectare property as a housing relocation site for the Rizal residents who were displaced by Typhoons “Ondoy” and “Pepeng” last year.
Through a Memorandum of Agreement executed last April, both parties agreed to construct 2,800 housing units at 40 square meters per lot. Built at a cost of P175,000 per unit, the project will be amortized by the project beneficiaries for a period of 30 years.
As of October, some 2,600 housing units were constructed and 1,018 family-beneficiaries have already been relocated. Full occupancy of the housing units is expected by the end of this year.
The President’s visit to the Southville 9 Housing Project comes on the eve of the NHA’s 35th Anniversary on October 15, 2010. (PCOO)
Aquino calls on SC to exercise judicial prudence
President Benigno S. Aquino III today called on the Supreme Court to exercise judicial prudence “at a time when the Filipino people deserve confidence-building measures from all our institutions.”
The President was reacting to the status quo ante order on Executive order No. 2 granted by the High Tribunal to Bai Omera Dianalan-Lucman of the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos, who was among those affected by the EO 2 he issued last July.
The EO recalls and revokes the midnight appointments of the previous administration.
“We had to issue EO 2 because there were people who accepted illegal appointments, knowingly, thereby becoming part of a conspiracy to impede and to thwart our people’s clamor for a return to good governance,” the President stated.
He said he has put in people “who shared our aims. Our appointees allowed us to discover questionable deals, which we immediately stopped. For instance, our appointees uncovered close to a billion pesos worth of anomalous contracts that had been entered into during the past administration. We have cancelled those contracts and saved the government hundreds of millions of pesos.”
He said while the SC order applies only to one of four petitioners “let me be clear about its far-reaching consequences. By focusing on the minutiae of the case, the SC effectively turned back the clock. It dishonors the decency of those who had the courtesy to resign.”
“The potential result of this will be chaos and paralysis in the Executive Branch of government as the legitimacy of officials appointed to replace those already removed will be cast in doubt,” the President stressed.
He said the order will embolden hundreds of similarly-situated appointees of the previous administration, who had already been replaced, resigned or recalled to demand their reinstatement or retention. “And having returned to their previous posts, what can we expect from people who accepted illegal appointments to begin with,” he asked.
The Chief Executive said “the order has the potential to derail or even nullify our efforts to uncover and reverse midnight deals, streamline the bureaucracy and implement reforms to bring back good governance. It will enable those who had participated in midnight deals to at the very least, cover their tracks if not complete acts inimical to public interest.”
Going beyond the Executive branch, he said, “the order comes shortly after the SC issued a similar status quo ante order preventing the House of Representatives from acting on the impeachment complaints against Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez. The members of the House protested what they believed was an intrusion into their own constitutional powers,” he added.
He said the Executive kept silent when the SC prevented the House from continuing its impeachment proceedings.
“That recent action of the Supreme Court tests the limits of its constitutional authority and this latest order could precipitate a clash with another separate, co-equal branch of government,” the President emphasized.
He stressed that “our democracy was built on the constitutional principle of the separation of powers, hence the three branches of government. We therefore appeal, as a co equal branch of government, for the Supreme Court to consider the implications of its order.”
The President said the order comes at a time when “we had already taken significant steps forward and public confidence in our institutions is being restored. We have saved the Filipino people billions of pesos by rescinding contracts that have been uncovered after the midnight appointees have been removed from office. The economy is on an upturn. This order can set back all of these achievements,” he added.
Asked if he was confident about getting the SC’s cooperation, the President said “we are all at the service of our people. We hope they can broaden their view and see the implications of this singular act.” (PCOO)
President Aquino cites private-public partnership in uplifting lives of Filipinos
BARAS, Rizal: President Benigno S. Aquino III cited today the invaluable contribution private-public partnerships have in uplifting the lives of Filipinos.
In his speech keynoting the turnover of housing units to residents affected by the onslaught of typhoons “Ondoy” and “Pepeng” here last year, the President said that through these partnerships, there is no other direction the country’s progress can take but up.
The President led the ceremonial turnover of housing units to an initial 16 residents of the province held at the Ynares gym located at the Southville 9 Housing Project here this afternoon.
The project is a joint undertaking between the Provincial Government of Rizal and the NHA under a Memorandum of Agreement executed in April 2010, to develop a 25-hectare property as a housing relocation site consisting of 2,800 housing units at 40 square meters per lot.
Built at a cost of P175,000 per unit, the housing units will be amortized by the project beneficiaries for a period of 30 years.
As of 12 October 2010, some 2,600 housing units were constructed and 1,018 family-beneficiaries have already been relocated. Full occupancy of the housing units is expected by the end of this year.
The President said that the tie-ups between the national and local governments, the private sector and non-governmental organizations has turned these housing units into livable communities complete with useful amenities such as a school, a barangay hall, a multi-purpose hall, a day care center and livelihood facilities which the residents can use to augment their income.
“Lahat po ng ito ay bunga ng maigting na pakikipag-ugnayan ng local na pamahalaan sa mga pribadong sektor at mga NGOs. Maraming salamat po sa inyo. Kayo ang patunay na sa mga ganitong public-private partnerships, walang ibang direksyon ang ating bayan kundi kaunlaran lamang (All of these are the result of the partnerships between the local government, the private sector and non-governmental organizations. Thanks to you, you are proof that through these public-private partnerships, the only direction our country’s progress can take is up.)” the President said.
“And that’s not all. We vow to add 15 more classrooms to the existing school here so that our children do not have to squeeze themselves in during their classes. We will also put up a health center to ensure that the medical and health needs of our children and our families are met,” he added.
“Lahat po ng ito, magagawa lamang kung bawat isa sa atin ay buong-pagkukusang mag-aambag sa katuparan ng ating pinapangarap na maunlad na pamayanan. Lahat po ng ito ay walang-tigil na isinusulong ng ating administrasyon dahil nagtitiwala kaming buhay ang diwang People Power, at handa ang bawat Pilipinong magbayanihan upang tapusin na ang kahirapan,” the President said. (PCOO)
