President Aquino lauds Filipino micro-enterprise consortium's steps to uplift lives of Filipinos through microfinance
President Benigno S. Aquino III lauded on Tuesday Filipino micro-enterprise consortium PinoyME for its pioneering efforts at helping government’s poverty-alleviation programs by providing enterprising Filipinos in poor communities with innovative and cost-effective opportunities to link up with the mainstream market and thereby uplift their quality of life.
The President congratulated PinoyME for heeding his mother, former President Corazon Aquino’s call “to continue tapping into the spirit of People Power so that we may create better lives for our less fortunate countrymen.”
“And I must congratulate PinoyME for doing just that (heeding his mother’s call) through their continued work toward giving our countrymen more opportunities to defeat poverty through their own efforts—specifically through microfinance and micro-entrepreneurship,” the President said.
“These activities of PinoyME have been a significant help in our administration’s efforts to alleviate poverty. Through your help, less fortunate Filipinos are able to earn additional income. This reduces their dependency on state subsidies, and strengthens their resistance to external shocks such as calamities or family emergencies,” he added.
He likewise lauded other microfinance institutions “for taking the lead in promoting a lasting way of lifting the poor out of poverty.”
“In their own right, they are also revolutionaries,” the President said noting that “the risks they have taken in lending to the poor who have long been considered unbankable…has developed a unique model in which profits can be made while the lives of the poor are improved.”
“In short, they changed the paradigm of banking all over the world,” the President said.
He vowed that his administration would “continue the revolution that my mother started in making entrepreneurship among the poor a strategy for poverty alleviation.”
“We will make micro-entrepreneurship one of the key elements of our framework for poverty reduction and inclusive economic development. Most of all, we will work to institutionalize the National Strategy for Microfinance that was formulated in 1998,” the President said.
He added that he would make sure that the goodness brought forth by microfinance and micro-entrepreneurship would never be used for political patronage.
“And we will likewise consolidate the remaining credit programs for the poor under the more competent branches of government to make them more efficient and effective,” the President said. (PCOO)
Ochoa leads MOA signing for P12.9 billion hydropower project in Isabela
Executive Secretary Paquito N. Ochoa Jr. on Wednesday led the signing of a memorandum of agreement (MOA) for the establishment of a P12.9 billion hydropower and irrigation project in Isabela which will generate 100 megawatts and irrigate 41,700 hectares of new areas to boost food sufficiency.
The MOA was signed at the launching of Isabela’s Local Convergence Agro-Enterprise Cluster, a project of the Convergence Initiative undertaken by the Departments of Agriculture, Agrarian Reform, and Environment and National Resources (DA-DAR-DENR), in partnership with the provincial government, Mindano Grains, PhilMaize, S/N Aboitiz, and the Filipino-Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Once completed, the project will generate power for the towns of Ilaguen, San Agustin and Tumauini, and provide irrigation to new areas in the municipalities of Ilagan, Gamu, Jones, Tumauini, Cauayan, San Mariano, San Agustin and Benito Soliven.
“This project is not only a prime example of the rewards of the Convergence Initiative, but of Public-Private Partnerships the President and our administration are so optimistic about,” Ochoa said. “Such a project is necessary if we are to address one of the biggest issues facing us today: rice self-sufficiency.”
According to the Executive Secretary, the project is line with the Aquino Administration’s agenda of empowering farms and rural enterprises to become vital components in the government’s drive to achieve food security and more economic growth in the countryside.
“Our presence here today is evidence enough that we are taking this as an unwavering commitment to our people. We will uplift the welfare of our farm and rural workers, and, in the process, we will establish the systems and infrastructure so that food self-sufficiency is realized during and beyond our term,” Ochoa said.
To achieve this goal, he said, the government has started taking steps to move away from heavy dependence on rice imports and clear the bottlenecks in the bureaucracy that impede efforts of agencies to achieve the shared objectives.
One such step is the DA-DAR-DENR National Convergence Initiative, a multisectoral and integrated approach wherein three rural development agencies will undertake joint planning, programming and budgeting. They will also have a common or well-coordinated effort at all levels from the grassroots up to the level of the department heads.
“The projects we are kicking off today are examples of what can be achieved if the goals of the Convergence Initiative are realized,” Ochoa said.
Ochoa was joined by Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala, Agrarian Reform Secretary Virgilio De Los Reyes and Environment Secretary Ramon Paje and Isabela Gov. Faustino Dy III, NIA Administrator Antonio Nangel, Filipino-Chinese Chamber of Commerce Chairman Alfonso Uy, PhilMaize Chairman Roger Navarro, Mindanao Grains CEO Roderico Bioco, and S/N Aboitiz CEO Emmanuel Rubio at the signing ceremony that coincided with the week-long celebrations of the 25th anniversary of the EDSA People Power Revolution.
Also present were Isabela Representatives Napoleon Dy, Ana Cristina Go, Giordi Aggabao and Rodolfo Albano Jr.; and Mayor Benjamin Dy.
“As we celebrate the EDSA Power Revolution, it is best to honor the event by devoting ourselves to making sure that we greatly reduce those who are poor, those who suffer the pangs of hunger and those whose poverty denies them and their children an opportunity to secure a bright and stable future,” Ochoa said. (PCOO)
Aquino urges youth to instill spirit of volunteerism for nation building
President Benigno S. Aquino III called on the Filipino youth to instill in them the spirit of volunteerism in serving others as he noted the very important role they play in nation building.
In addressing the participants during the Youth Day dubbed as “Pilipinas Got Bukas” at the Rizal High School in Pasig City on Wednesday, the Chief Executive urged the youth to practice the attitude of “concern for others,” which, he said, is a key to the nation’s progress.
The President stressed that the same spirit of “concern for others” was the evident formula used by Filipinos in ending the regime of dictatorship in 1986.
“Ang Edsa Revolution ay pagsasama-sama ng sambayanan… magkakatabi kahit di man magkakakilala pero pinanindigan na ngayon na ang panahon para tumayo, lumaban para sa kalayaan, may malasakit sa kapwa,” the President said.
“Yung malasakit sa kapwa ang magdadala sa atin sa pag-angat. Yung pag-unawa, pag-intindi, pakikisama, pag-aaruga sa ating kapwa… yan ang susi para mapabilis ang ating inaasam-asam na Bagong Pilipinas,” he noted.
President Aquino vowed to uplift the standard of living of the people, especially those underprivileged, to ensure that their children would stay in school and pursue education for a better future.
He said that a total of 13,000 additional classrooms will be built within the year 2011 apart from the health, shelter and financial support from the government in efforts to ensure a more equipped society in the near future.
“Plipinas Got Bukas” was organized by the Edsa People Power Commission (EPPC) in cooperation with the YES Pinoy Foundation headed by actor Dingdong Dantes for the 25th anniversary of Edsa People Power. It was participated in by Yes Pinoy members, “EDSA babies”, students, youth leaders and organizations with the aim to engage the youth towards volunteerism for change.
One of the event highlights was the gathering of thousands of young people on the oval of the world’s largest secondary school (Rizal High School) to form a human banner symbolizing their readiness to take on the future.
Also part of the celebration is the EDSA Babies Exposition featuring exhibits from various youth-oriented groups from the government and private sector. Top celebrities including Ogie Alcasid, Regine Velasquez and Jaya will perform for free at the SM North Skydome.
Later in the day, hundreds of top graduating high school and college students will gather for a night of fellowship that will feature musical performances and inspirational talks by young leaders also at the SM North Skydome. (PCOO)
Aquino asks Binay to study issue of Marcos burial at 'Libingan'
President Benigno S. Aquino III has asked Vice President Jejomar Binay to decide on the issue of burying the late President Ferdinand Marcos at the Libingan ng mga Bayani citing his “personal bias” on the matter.
In an interview with the members of media after attending the Youth Day dubbed as “Pilipinas Got Bukas” in celebration of the 25th anniversary of the People Power Revolution at the Rizal High School in Pasig City on Wednesday, President Aquino said he has decided to inhibit himself from deciding on whether former dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr. should finally be allowed to be buried at the Libingan ng mga Bayani (Heroes’ Cemetery) in Taguig City.
He said he will let “somebody who has less personal attachment” to decide on it.
“I have talked to the Vice President and I asked him if he could be the one to decide on the case dahil sa akin nga maski ano pa ang desisyon ko sasabihin namemersonal ako,” the Chief Executive noted.
He said that Vice President Binay also has a strong opinion on the issue but his decision would gain less criticism on being bias. As a human rights lawyer, he helped found the Movement of Attorneys for Brotherhood, Integrity and Nationalism, Inc. (MABINI) before he was appointed as Officer-in-Charge of Makati City by then President Corazon C. Aquino.
The Chief Executive said that the Vice President would give it a fair hearing before coming up with a decision. (PCOO)
EDSA 25 festivities on air at NBN 4
In line with this week’s celebration of the 25th anniversary of the peaceful and world-renowned 1986 EDSA People Power Revolution, the government –run National Broadcasting Network (NBN 4) on Wednesday started airing programs that allow every Filipino, especially those not born yet at the time the bloodless revolution that ousted a dictatorship took place, to grasp the significance of this day.
Among these is a TV special that was first aired in 1995, called “EDSA: The World Remembers.” This will be aired once again at NBN 4 on Wednesday and will ran through until the 27th.
This TV special, according to Maria Montelibano, head of Edsa 25 celebration, in a press briefing on EDSA’s 25th anniversary held last week in Malacanang, features many world leaders like Vaclav Havel, Raul Alfonsin, former US President Bill Clinton and former Congressman Stephen Solarz giving their homage and tribute to the Filipino people for starting a peaceful revolution.
Other EDSA 25 special programs of NBN 4 include “The Challenge of EDSA,” “Kalayaan (People Power),” and “Winning the Peace.”
“Puso at Diwa Ni Ninoy” and “Ninoy: The Heart and the Soul” are special documentaries on the late Senator Benigno Aquino, Jr., whose death sparked the peaceful end to the dictatorship of the late Former President Ferdinand Marcos.
On Friday, Feb. 25, NBN 4 will air its live coverage of the festivities commemorating EDSA at 25.
Following is the schedule of the EDSA 25-related programs at NBN 4:
February 23, 2011 (Wednesday)
TIME PROGRAM
10:30 AM - 11:30 AM EDSA: The World Remembers
01:00 PM - 02:00 PM The Challenge of EDSA
05:30 PM - 06:00 PM Kalayaan (People Power)
10:05 PM - 11:30 PM Winning the Peace
February 24 (Thursday)
09:30 AM - 10:00 AM Kalayaan
12:00 NN - 01:30 PM Puso at Diwa ni Ninoy
01:30 PM - 02:00 PM Kalayaan
04:00 PM - 05:00 PM Challenge of EDSA
07:00 PM Ninoy: The Heart and the Soul
February 25, 2011 (Friday)
07:30 AM - 04:30 PM EDSA Coverage
06:00 PM - 07:00 PM EDSA: The World Remembers
February 26, 2011 (Saturday)
10:30 AM - 01:30 PM Puso at Diwa ni Ninoy
02:00 PM - 03:00 PM EDSA: The World Remembers
04:00 PM - 05:30 PM Winning the Peace
February 27, 2011 (Sunday)
02:00 PM - 03:00 PM EDSA: The World Remembers
February 28, 2011 (Monday)
09:30 AM - 11:30 AM Puso at Diwa ni Ninoy
01:00 PM - 02:30 PM Ninoy: The Heart and the Soul
04:00 PM - 05:00 PM Winning the Peace
