Aquino welcomes UAE Foreign Minister
President Benigno S. Aquino III welcomed the United Arab Emirates Foreign Minister, His Highness Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan who called on the Chief Executive in Malacañang on Wednesday.
His Highness Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan was accompanied to Malacanang by His Excellency Assistant Minister Khalid Al Ghaith and UAE Ambassador to the Philippines Moosa Al Khajah.
Joining the President in welcoming Sheikh Abdullah at Malacañang’s Music Room were Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo, Office of Middle East and African Affairs (OMEAA) Assistant Secretary Virgilio Reyes, Jr and Chief of Presidential Protocol and Presidential Assistant on Foreign Affairs Miguel Perez-Rubio.
In a statement, the Department of Foreign Affairs said the one-day visit of Sheikh marks the 30th year of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Philippines and the UAE.
Because of this, the DFA said, “the Philippines will take the visit as an opportunity to reaffirm the importance of ties between the two countries, advance the well-being and welfare of Filipino workers in the UAE, invite the UAE to do business in the Philippines, and seek development assistance for the southern Philippines.”
The DFA added that aside from a government delegation, Sheikh Abdullah was accompanied by “business leaders, including officials of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development, and the Abu Dhabi Petroleum Investment Corporation, among others.”
“The UAE business delegation will be meeting and networking with Philippine businessmen and government officials from the energy, trade, development and investments sectors at the sidelines of Sheikh Abdullah's meetings,” the DFA said.
Upon his arrival at the palace grounds, Sheikh Abdullah was accorded military honors by members of the Presidential Security Group Honor Guards.
He was then ushered to the second floor of Malacañang where he signed the Palace Guest Book before a closed-door meeting with the President in the Music Room.
The UAE is the Philippines' second largest trading partner in the Middle East and the second top destination of overseas Filipino workers in the region. (PCOO)
Aquino’s call for more private-public partnerships gains more ground
President Aquino’s call on the private sector to engage in more public- private partnership (PPP) to help improve the lives of Filipinos, gained ground with the country’s largest fastfood chain, Jollibee Foods Corp. entering into a marketing agreement with onion growers of Impasugong, Bukidnon, the first time onions are being grown in Mindanao.
Jollibee commits to buy all the big-sized onions, measuring two inches or more that it would use for the pizza production of its subsidiary, Greenwich and its other fastfood chains. The smaller onions will be sold by the farmers to wet markets in Bukidnon and the neighboring province of Cagayan de Oro.
The first onion harvest, which coincided with the World Food Day celebration in the province on Tuesday was attended by officials from the Department of Agriculture, headed by DA Undersecretary for Operations Joel Rudinas and Region 10 Director Lealyn Ramos; Gladess Bondoc and Imelda Esteban of the Kaanib Foundation Inc.(who took charge of organizing the farmers), Joseph Curry and Pedro Terry Tuazon III, country representative and manager, respectively, of the Catholic Relief Services, an NGO based in the United States; David Wolf of the US Department of Agriculture; Bukidnon Governor Alex Calingasan, Impasugong Mayor Mario Okinlay; Jollibee Foundation Executive Director Ma. Gisela Tiongson-Velasco; Gilda Maquilan of JFC for corporate communications and the participating farmers and their families.
In an open forum later, the farmers complained that because the province has very little sunlight “since our climate is just wet and very wet, we can’t produce the big-sized onions that Jollibee needs.” They asked the company if it would be amenable to buying their smaller sizes as well.
DA Secretary Proceso Alcala, in a speech read by Undersecretary Rudinas, thanked all the private participants for giving the World Food Day celebration, with the theme United Against Hunger, “a more global and multi sectoral flavor.”
“Everyone, including government, agri-fishery stakeholders, civil society groups, private organizations and global institutions must bond together to address and prevail over the challenge of ensuring food for all,” Alcala said.
The presence of hunger despite increased investments in food production, significant advances in agri-fishery technologies and lower food prices, is truly unacceptable and points to one truth: “we must do more,” Alcala said.
Projections made by the Food and Agriculture Organization showed that the world needs to produce 70 percent more food by 2050 to meet increased demand of a growing population, Alcala said.
The DA’s core agenda combines the government’s social and economic objectives and makes the principles of free enterprise, poverty alleviation and social equality work in a synergistic manner, continued Alcala.
He said there are now drought-resistant and submergence-tolerant seeds of palay plus irrigation facilities that are being upgraded alongside the building of more small water impounding projects so that more water will be available during the dry season.
To protect the agriculture sector from import surges, he said, the DA is setting up trading posts or bagsakan and processing centers where farm products can be sorted and rated according to quality so that they all command better prices in the local markets.
“We consider this first onion harvest a monumental milestone in solidifying the partnerships among the DA, the private sector and other institutions and NGOs in pursuit of plucking out many of our countrymen from the clutches of poverty, of despair and of hopelessness at the soonest time possible,” Alcala added. (PCOO)
Shell countersuit will not deter gov’t from pursuing tax evaders -- Palace
Despite the counter-charges filed by Pilipinas Shell against officials of the Bureau of Customs (BOC), the Aquino Administration is determined to curb smuggling and plug leakages in revenue collection.
In a news briefing in Malacanang, Presidential Spokesperson Abigail Valte said not even the move of the giant multinational will deter the government from waging an all- out war against smugglers and tax evaders.
“It will not be an obstacle (for government) to catch tax evaders and smugglers,” she said referring to the counter suit filed by Pilipinas Shell against the BOC which had earlier slapped a P24.5 billion tax evasion case against the petroleum company.
Valte recalled that President Benigno S. Aquino III, in his inaugural address, said he will strengthen collections by the Bureau of Internal Revenue and fight corruption in the BOC to fund projects for public welfare such as health and education.
In the President’s State of the Nation Address last July 26, Valte recalled, the President identified smuggling as one of the key issues he will address.
Curbing the menace, which has been estimated to cost the government more than P100 billion in lost revenue, he said, will significantly reduce the budget deficit.
Last week, the BOC filed charges against Pilipinas Shell for allegedly not paying excise and value added taxes (VAT) for import shipments of catalytic cracked gasoline (CCG) or light catalytic cracked gasoline (LCCG), which it allegedly “misclassified” as tetra-propyle,
Pilipinas Shell said on Tuesday it will file a case against “corrupt and incompetent” Customs officials who misled the Aquino administration into filing the tax evasion case against the oil company. (PCOO)
Palace downplays destabilization plots
No amount of destabilization efforts will stop the Aquino administration from pursuing its resolve to advance good governance and uplift the state of the lives of marginalized Filipinos.
In a media briefing in Malacanang, Deputy Presidential Spokesperson Abigail Valte said no member of the Armed Forces is involved in the advertisement of the group who called themselves Solidarity for Sovereignty.
The said group came out with a full-page advertisement on Tuesday questioning the constitutionality of the last automated elections, among others, claiming that soldiers from the three main branches of the AFP were among their signatories.
However, Valte said this was denied by AFP spokesperson Brig. Gen. Jose Mabanta Jr. during their conversation this morning.
“Nakausap po natin kanina si General Mabanta, ang spokesperson ng AFP, at ang sabi po niya is that there is no truth to that. Na wala pong miyembro ng Sandatahang Lakas na pumirma doon po sa ad na iyon,” Valte said.
Just like in the case of past administrations, Valte said there are groups who will always declare their dissatisfaction.
“Ngunit gayunpaman, hindi po kami magpapatinag doon sa aming pagtutuloy ng pagbabalik ng good governance sa ating pamahalaan,” Valte said. (PCOO)
Friend or foe to get due process under Aquino administration – Palace
It doesn’t matter if you’re friend, ally or foe.
The Aquino administration will provide them fair treatment and due process to anyone facing charges.
Malacañang made this assurance today in the wake of insinuations that fugitive Senator Panfilo Lacson will not have a hard time with his case since he is a friend of President Benigno S. Aquino III.
“Uulitin ko lang yung laging sinasabi ni Pangulong Aquino na ‘friend or foe’ we will ensure that he will get due process,” Deputy Presidential Spokesperson Undersecretary Abigail Dela Fuente-Valte said during a press briefing Wednesday.
Valte was referring to Lacson, who is still the subject of a manhunt of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI).
Lacson has been issued an arrest warrant by the Manila Regional Trial Court for his alleged involvement in the double murder of publicist Salvador “Bubby” Dacer and his driver, Emmanuel Corbito in November 2000.
Valte emphasized that the Palace does not see as a failure the efforts of law enforcement authorities to arrest and locate Lacson.
“As to whether or not lalabas po siya (Lacson) dahil iniisip niya na friendly itong administration, nasa kanya ang desisyon na yun but we wish to reiterate that whether it is Senator Lacson or somebody else, he will be treated fairly and accorded due process by the Aquino administration,” Valte said. (PCOO)
