Aquino visits victims of EDSA bus blast, vows to bring perpetrators to justice
President Benigno S. Aquino III assured the victims of a bus bomb explosion at Edsa Buendia in Makati that authorities will get to the bottom of the incident and vowed to bring the perpetrators to justice.
The Chief Executive made the assurance on Tuesday night when he visited the victims at the St. Luke’s Medical Center at The Fort in Taguig City and at the Ospital ng Makati.
The President also said the government will shoulder the medical expenses of all the victims and ordered the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) to conduct a stress debriefing of the victims before they are discharged from hospital.
“The President was able to talk to the survivors and they related what they have experienced. They are still in trauma and cannot remember everything that happened,” said Social Welfare and Development Secretary Dinky Soliman, who accompanied the President.
Soliman said the youngest victim is 19 while the oldest is 76.
From The Fort, the President proceeded to the Southern Police District (SPD) headquarters, also in Taguig, to personally check the damaged bus, where the bomb explosion took place.
He was with Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Raul Bacalzo, Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) chairman Francis Tolentino, Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo, National Capital Region Police Director Nicanor Bartolome and Southern Police District Director, chief Supt. Jose Arne de los Santos.
The President, in a chance interview at the SPD, appealed to the public not to jump to conclusions yet as authorities are still investigating the incident.
He stressed that it is unfair to link the blast to the spate of car-jacking cases with murder and then paint them as reflections of a peace and order breakdown in the country.
The bus was moved to the SPD headquarters Tuesday evening to allow investigators from the crime laboratory to conduct further technical investigation. (PCOO)
Aquino cites business foundation’s role in uplifting lives of the poor
President Benigno S. Aquino III thanked all the officers and members of the Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP) for their social commitment and active participation in creating a meaningful social change and embracing the idea of true corporate social responsibility in uplifting the lives of the marginalized sectors.
Addressing the 40th annual membership meeting and foundation day celebrations of the PBSP with the theme: “Celebrating 40 Years of the Great Philippine Merger for Social Development,” the President hailed its officers and members for their continued assistance to provide relief and seek solutions to reduce, if not eliminate, the long-decade problem of poverty.
“To the Philippine Business for Social Progress, thank you for proving me right. Thank you for your social commitment and for actively participating in uplifting the lives of the vulnerable sectors of our society,” the Chief Executive said in his speech at the Dusit Thani Hotel in Makati City.
The President noted that the PBSP is very important for him because he worked in the organization after the assassination of his late father, Senator Benigno Aquino Jr.
“PBSP was not naive. PBSP took a realistic view of what needed to be done to accomplish its goal. It took the discipline that you need to run a corporation and to apply that discipline to the projects to various disadvantage communities,” he said.
The President pointed out that PBSP responded without hesitation when he called upon all Filipinos in his first State of the Nation Address in July last year to make a commitment and participate in the fight to reduce poverty in the country.
As a private sector, he said, PBSP plays a vital role on his call not just as an economic driver but also as catalyst for positive changes in the lives of the Filipinos.
In exchange for their continued partnership to the government, the President assured them that his administration “will continue to operate under the banner of transparency and accountability, under daylight, under the guidance of his parents that gave birth to the freedom and democracy that our people currently enjoy.”
Meanwhile, Manny Pangilinan, PLDT chair and PBSP chairman of the board of trustees, presented to the President the organization’s symbolic renewal of commitment and support to the administration’s development agenda.
Afterwards, the President presented the plaques of recognition to the pioneer members of PBSP, namely: Washington Sycip of the accounting firm SGV, Sixto Roxas III, Jose M. Soriano Jr. of Atlas Consolidated Mining, and Don Emilio Abello (posthumous) of Meralco.
The President also presented plaques of recognition for active service to Ambassador Bienvenido Tan Jr. of Philippine Tobacco and Modern Glass, and Ma. Luisa Perez-Rubio, respectively.
The recognition in creating impact to uplift the lives of the Filipinos was given to Angelo King Foundation for the 200th building they built.
PBSP, the country’s oldest and largest business group into social development, is a pioneer in Asia as a corporate-driven development foundation. Since its establishment in 1970, PBSP has been involved in corporate citizenship and social responsibility practices.
In the past 40 years of existence, PBSP has raised P5.2 billion, benefited 6.4 million Filipinos, and assisted over 6,500 social development projects such as in education, health, sustainable livelihood and micro, small and medium enterprise development, farmland area resource and coastal resource management, disaster coordination and risk reduction and caring for the rainforests and watersheds. (PCOO)
Quality education a vital tool for nat’l development, says Aquino
President Benigno S. Aquino III on Wednesday said quality education, which he described as a vital tool for national development and social change, must be able to develop not only competitive citizens but also people exposed to the realities of the world
In his keynote address at the 10th Biennial Conference of the International Council of the Universities of St. Thomas Aquinas (ICUSTA) at the UST Chapel, the President said this is the kind of quality education exemplified by the University of Santo Tomas (UST) that the government wants educational institutions in the country to follow.
“For four centuries, the University of Santo Tomas has educated the best this country has to offer,” he noted. “But when we look back at the long list of distinguished individuals this institution has produced, it is not merely education that sets them apart, but principles,” the President said
UST, the President noted, has made it a noble mission to instill Catholic principles to its students while at the same time giving them quality education, thus producing “people who have learned to balance their intellect on an unshakeable foundation of morality.”
“The formation of the human mind requires a curriculum that is not merely empirical, contingent and relative, but one that is humanizing,” he added.
The President said he is determined to work hard to give Filipinos a better life as he noted that many leave the country to seek jobs overseas due to lack of opportunities here.
“The duty to give back is not forgotten, but it is largely overshadowed by pressures of mere survival,” he said, adding that this is the reality most Filipinos face today .
To avoid this exodus, he stressed, the mismatch between job openings and university courses is now being addressed by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) through a temporary moratorium on the creation of new higher education institutions and programs, particularly in over subscribed fields such as in business administration, nursing, teacher education and hotel management.
He said the CHED has started to take action to review and fix the higher education institutions systems in the country to make them more efficient, such as forging ties between HEIs and employers which will ease the burden of job hunting on new graduates.
“As the youth of today grow more mature and become more politically aware, we must respond. We must reinforce their enthusiasm and efforts with the reward they deserve: a better Philippines, a home that they can both love and reside in, a place where they are not required to disconnect with their families just to earn a decent living,” he said.
The ICUSTA, founded in 1993 by Dr. Gerardo Rocha Vera, is committed to the promotion of truth and trust in reason and knowledge for serving humanity and the transmission of the Thomastic way of inquiry. (PCOO)
All efforts aimed at uncovering bus blast culprits, says Aquino
Authorities are leaving no stone unturned to determine the culprits in Tuesday’s deadly bus bombing in Makati City which claimed five lives and injuring scores of passenger’s.
In an interview at the 10th Biennial Conference of the International Council of the Universities of St. Thomas Aquinas (ICUSTA) at the UST Chapel Wednesday, President Benigno S. Aquino III said the government’s intelligence cluster is reassessing all reports to find any indication that may lead to those responsible for the bombing.
“The intelligence cluster is meeting this whole day to reassess all the intel that has come through their various desks. We are trying to correlate all these data again, revisit again to find out if there were any indications of any group that were planning this,” the Chief Executive said.
Aquino noted that at present, they will not point to any particular group behind the bombing.
“We are not even sure that the rebel terrorist is the most appropriate, there are certain sectors that are saying that it might be an extortionist group also,” he said.
“So, until we have the data and solid evidence, I think we and nobody else can make any pronouncements”, he added.
Initial investigation showed the blast occurred shortly before 2 p.m. just as the Newman Goldliner bus with license plate TXJ 710 had stopped at the northbound loading bay of EDSA corner Buendia Ave. near a station of the Metro Rail Transit (MRT). (PCOO)
Aquino fetes outstanding DSWD employees, stakeholders
President Benigno S. Aquino III on Wednesday cited the outstanding employees and stakeholders of the Department of Social Welfare and Development during the agency’s 60th founding anniversary at its headquarters in Quezon City.
In his speech, the President said this year’s Program on Awards and Incentives for Service Excellence (PRAISE) as well as the Pagkilala sa Natatanging Kontribusyon sa Bayan (PaNata Ko sa Bayan) awardees were prime examples of people and institutions who never thought twice about giving themselves selflessly in the service of their less fortunate countrymen.
“Allow me to greet the winners of the PaNata Awards which the DSWD recognizes as those individuals or groups who never thought twice about giving their time, effort and themselves in assisting their less fortunate countrymen),” the President said.
“We also heap praises on those who received the PRAISE Award, the employees who have shown utmost dedication to the service and who have become examples to others),” he added.
This year’s eight PRAISE awardees are: Eduardo Dalagan, Best Support Staff, Sub-Professional Category, Region X; Loreta Anas, Best Support Staff, Professional Level, Region XI; Lanuza, Best Technical Staff, Sub-Professional Category, Region V; Nestor Estampa, Best Technical Staff, Professional Level, Region XI; Aileen Cuevas, Social Welfare Officer III of Haven for Women, Field Office VII; . Rebecca Santamaria, Best Division Chief, Support Category, Region XI; Primitivo Rufin, Best Division Chief, Technical Category, Region X; and, Ester Versoza, Best Manager, DSWD Field Office XI Director.
The PaNata Ko sa Bayan awards, which include the "Salamat Po" awards, are in recognition of the agency’s development partners, resource agencies and volunteers who assisted the Department in the delivery of services, as well as NGOs with the best practices.
This year’s awardees are:
A. International Partners/Donors category
• United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)
• United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)
• United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
• United Nations World Food Programme (UN-WFP)
• Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)
• Agencia Española de Cooperacion Internacional Para El Desarollo (AECID)
• New Zealand Aid (NZAID)
B. Local Donors category
• SM Foundation, Inc
• Kabisig ng Kalahi, Inc.
• Ronald McDonalds House Charities
• Jollibee Foundation, Inc.
• Petron Foundation
• Tzu - Chi Foundation, Inc.
• US Peace Corps
• Hospicio De San Jose - Best Non-Government Organization
Special recognition awards were also given to individuals and organizations who have supported DSWD’s programs and projects resulting in the improvement of lives of beneficiaries of the Department.
This year’s winners are: Pangasinan 4th District Representative Georgina De Venecia, Manila Bulletin Publishing Corporation Chairman of the Board Dr. Emilio Yap, the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank and the Australian Agency for International Development. (PCOO)
President Aquino vows to pursue DSWD anti-poverty programs
President Benigno S. Aquino III vowed to support and pursue the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s anti-poverty programs to ensure that the entire Filipino community will get to experience change in government.
Speaking at the DSWD’s 60th Founding Anniversary held at its headquarters in Quezon City on Wednesday, the President said these programs which include the Conditional Cash Transfer program, as well as the Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan - Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services (KALAHI-CIDSS) and the Self-Employment Assistance Kaunlaran (SEA-K) will get appropriate government funding so that its implementation will reach more beneficiaries.
The Chief Executive stressed that funds for these programs against poverty would be used properly with absolutely no wastage.
“Sisiguruhin din nating walang tagas ang ating bulsa: walang masasayang na pera, at ang tanging makikinabang sa bawat sentimo ay taumbayan lamang,” the President said.
The Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) program also known as Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) is a poverty reduction strategy that provides cash grants to extremely poor households to allow the members of the families to meet certain human development goals.
KALAHI-CIDSS is the Philippine government’s flagship poverty-alleviation project implemented by the Department of Social Welfare and Development through the financial support of the World Bank. It entrusts the poor with greater powers, supports poor LGUs in local development, and invests heavily on people, not just projects.
The Self-Employment Assistance-Kaunlaran (SEA-K) program is the Department of Social Welfare and Development's comprehensive approach and investment in social capital towards poverty alleviation. SEA-K, as the project is known, aims to provide the poor and disadvantaged sector of the society with timely access to credit and development opportunities. (PCOO)
