Malacañang allays fears of 'open skies' policy
Malacañang allayed fears that its “open skies” policy would be detrimental to the local airline industry saying the contents of the Executive Order was studied carefully to “put forward our reform agenda.”
In a press briefing in Malacañang on Monday, Deputy Presidential Spokesperson Abigail Valte said the soon-to-be-released EO would protect local carriers once enforced.
“What we’d like to assure everybody is that the contents of the EO on the government’s open skies policy were studied carefully and it is not a product of something that happened on a whim or caprice. So, we believe that this will put forward our reform agenda,” Valte said.
“(And) knowing the officials who were behind the drafting of that EO, they would make sure that the local carriers would be protected,” she added.
Under the EO, foreign carriers will be allowed to service domestic routes and fly into such airports as those found in the provinces of Cebu, Davao, Zamboanga and Laoag.
According to President Benigno S. Aquino III, once implemented, the policy is expected to further boost the country’s tourism industry and the economy.
The President on Thursday led the awarding ceremonies for Cebu Pacific’s 50 millionth passenger at the departure lounge of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3 in Pasay City.
During the event, he assured players of the local carriers that opening the country’s sky to international aviation industry will definitely provide opportunities for them that will redound to further boost the country’s tourism industry and the economy.
“I am aware of the concerns of our local carriers and I can assure you that as we liberalize aviation, it will be undertaken in a way that will open up opportunities for competitive and world class domestic carriers like the Cebu Pacific,” the President said.
He added that once the open sky policy is implemented, local carriers would benefit from it because more visitors from the neighboring countries will be coming in.
“Once implemented, we expect more international airlines to enter the market. Aside from opening our doors to more visitors that will strengthen our tourism, this will also allow us to enjoy a free market for products to further boost our economy. This, of course, will redound to thousands of additional jobs, which in turn will provide decent living to many Filipino families,” he said. (PCOO)
Preparations set for rainy season - Palace
In anticipation of the rainy season, Malacañang assured the public that necessary preparations are already in place to avert any damage typhoons may cause the Philippine soil.
In a press briefing at Malacanang on Monday, Presidential Deputy Spokesperson Abigail Valte said that concerned agencies such as the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council (NDRRMC) and the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical Astronomical Services Administration- (PAGASA) under the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), among others, are in constant coordination to ensure that preparations are in place for the coming rainy season.
“Just like the flooding in the CARAGA region, the agencies concerned were on hand to coordinate, that will remain the same… we will continue to implement pre-positioning and the constant updates from Pagasa-DOST just to make sure that we are where we are supposed to be”, Valte said.
Valte also said Pagasa, the government’s lead weather forecasting agency, has been issuing a seven-day weather forecast posted in their official website (www.pagasa.dost.gov.ph).
“Pagasa has a seven-day forecasting system that is already in place and an hourly forecast should it be needed, all those concerned have to do is go to the Pagasa website to check it,” Valte said.
At least 10 tropical storms hit the country last year, the strongest was super typhoon “Juan” (international name “Megi”), which ravaged the northern provinces of Isabela, Cagayan, Tuguegarao and neighboring provinces. (PCOO)
Cabinet identifies 25 priority legislative measures
The Aquino Cabinet on Monday identified 25 priority legislative measures that will have to meet Presidential approval before submission to Congress during the Legislative Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC) scheduled this month.
In a press briefing, Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Office Secretary Ramon Carandang said the proposed priority bills were clustered into five groups of general relevance, ranging from economic, social services, good governance security and rule of law, among others.
“These are all tentative… we may have more or less.” Carandang said following the workshop of cabinet members presided by Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa and attended by Vice-President Jejomar Binay and other cabinet secretaries.
The criteria for the selection of these legislative measures, according to him were based on their relevance to the President’s 16-point agenda.
Carandang said the measures were chosen based on their “doability and how easy these will get passed.”
There are also proposals he said to amend the Local Government Code specifically on economic provisions but stressed that there was no talk on charter change during the meeting.
Carandang added that there were no new tax measures proposed as the President had earlier said that new taxes are not among his priorities but rather on enhancement of existing measures to improve tax collection.
“We are trying to rationalize them (proposed measures) before we present them to the President,“ he said.
The President earlier said he hoped to convene the LEDAC before the end of the month, noting that Cabinet officials had asked for an extension to next week to submit the priority bills to be proposed by their respective departments.
Ochoa on Friday said the Presidential Legislative Liaison Office has received a list of 147 proposed laws from various departments and 41 from the Joint Foreign Chambers of Commerce of the Philippines.
The cabinet meeting/workshop today trimmed down the list to 25. (PCOO)
