Lady Legislators call on Aquino in Malacañang
The Association of Lady Legislators (ALL) of the House of Representatives called on President Benigno S. Aquino III in Malacañang on Tuesday to personally express their group’s support for the plans and programs of the administration.
Twenty-seven out of the 65 ALL members, led by its president and Pangasinan 4th District Rep. Georgina de Venecia, held the open forum type meeting-cum-working lunch with the President at the Premier Guest House.
In her opening remarks, De Venecia told the President that the ALL are willing to partner with his administration’s advocacy protecting the rights of women and children, the environment, and in improving the lives of Filipinos by stamping out corruption and poverty.
“Kami ay narito upang ipahayag ang aming pag-supporta sa mga magandang layunin ng ating pamahalaan para sa bayan,” De Venecia said.
In response, the President thanked the ALL for their support saying, their presence was highly appreciated.
He noted that Congress was in recess and that it “was a big thing to sacrifice time you should be spending with your constituents to be here.”
“So your presence here today is doubly appreciated,” the President said.
The ALL members who were present were: Reps De Venecia, Linabelle Villarica (4th Dist., Bulacan), Mercedes Alvarez (6th Dist., Negros Occidental), Bai Sandra Serma (1st Dist., Maguindanao), Imelda Calixto-Rubiano (Lone Dist., Pasay City), Bernadette Herrera-Dy (Bagong Henerasyon Party-List);
Ma. Amelita Villarosa (Lone Dist., Occidental Mindoro), Herminia Roman (1st Dist., Bataan), Daryl Grace Abayon (Aangat Tayo Party-List), Marlyn Primicias-Agabas (6th Dist., Pangasinan), Emmeline Aglipay (Democratic Independent Workers’ Association Party-List), Thelma Almario (2nd Dist., Davao Oriental);
Ma. Victoria Sy-Alvarado (2nd Dist., Bulacan), Rachel Arenas (3rd Dist., Pangasinan), Catalina Bagasina (Association of Laborers and Employment Party-List), Eleonor Bulut-Begtang (Lone Dist., Apayao), Anna York Bondoc (4th Dist., Pampanga), Jane Castro (2nd Dist., Capiz);
Julieta Cortuna (A Teacher Party-List), Ma. Theresa Bonoan-David (4th Dist., Manila), Imelda Quibranza-Dimaporo (1st Dist., Lanao del Norte), Abigail Faye Ferriol (Kalinga Party-List), Ana Cristina Go (2nd Dist., Isabela), Cinchona Cruz-Gonzales (CIBAC Party-List), Catalina Leonen-Pizzaro (ABS Party-List) and Lani Mercado-Revilla (2nd Dist., Cavite). (PCOO)
MTRCB refers ‘Willing Willie’ child abuse case to its Adjudication Committee
Acting on numerous complaints, the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board has referred the child abuse case currently hounding Willie Revillame, actor and host of the game-show “Willing Willie” to the Hearing and Adjudication Committee “for appropriate disposition.”
The complaint stemmed from the March 12, 2011 episode of the show aired over TV5 “where a six-year old boy contestant was shown to be gyrating and impersonating the body movements of a macho dancer.”
In its website (http://mtrcb.gov.ph/2011/03/briefer-on-willing-willie/), MTRCB chair Grace Poe Llamanzares said this new case leveled at Revillame is in “accordance with the Board’s duty to enforce the Constitutional mandate that the State shall defend the rights of children from all forms of neglect, abuse, cruelty, exploitation, and other conditions prejudicial to their development.”
She reminded other networks who employ children to take extra steps to ensure that their rights are fully protected against any form of abuse.
“The Board further emphasizes that whenever children are featured in television programs, producers are mandated to observe legal standards stipulated in R.A. 7610 to avoid “psychological abuse xxx cruelty, sexual abuse and emotional maltreatment” and “any act by deeds and words which debases, degrades or demeans the intrinsic worth and dignity of the child.” Llamanzares said. (PCOO)
Aquino orders Cabinet members to submit accomplishment reports—Malacanang
President Benigno Aquino III instructed the members of his Cabinet to submit their accomplishment reports for the first quarter of the year to inform the public about their accomplishments.
Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Herminio “Sonny” Coloma said in an interview over the state-run radio station dzRB Radyo ng Bayan on Tuesday morning that the President’s instruction is in light of recent Social Weather Station (SWS) survey.
Coloma said the President discussed the latest ratings of both SWS and Pulse Asia surveys that assessed the performance of his administration.
“The President has asked the members of his Cabinet to submit their accomplishment reports for the first quarter of the year to inform the people about the programs and initiatives these government agencies have been doing,” Coloma said.
“This is to fulfill the President’s pledge about important points in his program for the Filipino people. The administration wants the people to know that all of the initiatives that this government has been doing is a response to their needs.”
Meanwhile, the Palace downplayed the slight dip in the satisfaction ratings of the President in the Pulse Asia survey noting that the drop wasn’t significant.
Coloma said they compared Pulse Asia and SWS surveys adding that the systems used by the two survey agencies are entirely different.
“It’s not an apple to apple comparison. To make the comparison fair, the figure to be analyzed is the approval rating itself,” he said referring to the Pulse Asia survey.
“For the SWS, the approval rating dropped to 69 from 64. So it’s the same, if we compare it with Pulse Asia, it dropped by only five percent.”
The SWS survey found that while most Filipinos approve of Aquino, his net satisfaction rating is down 13 points to +51 (69 percent satisfied minus the 18 percent dissatisfied) from last November’s +64 (74 percent satisfied, 10 percent dissatisfied).
The survey was conducted March 4 to 7. (PCOO)
Aquino gov’t assures PHL to remain investor-friendly destination for business
The Aquino government assured on Tuesday that the Philippines will strive to remain an investor-friendly destination by continuously improving its policies to attract more businesses.
Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said in a press conference in Malacanang, that the economic managers have been carrying out the policy direction set by the President to make sure that the playing field for businesses is fair for all the stakeholders.
“Rules will not be changed in midstream and that’s the greatest concern of business investors,” Lacierda said.
“The economic managers have been addressing the concerns of the business community in making sure that the rules that we have right now are rationalized and are consistent with one another,” he added.
Lacierda was reacting to a question about a survey done by the ASEAN Business Advisory Council (ASEAN-ABAC) in the second half of 2010, which found that the ASEAN region is an attractive place for trade and investment in a post-global crisis world economy.
The survey, conducted by the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore, collated 355 usable responses from a diverse mix of businesses across firm-size categories and nationalities of ownership based in ASEAN countries.
The survey found that 85 percent of the respondents indicated that their firms have plans for investment or investment expansion in at least one ASEAN country.
About half of the respondents identify an ASEAN country as the most attractive in the country for their firms’ offshore direct investments between 2010 and 2011.
The leading investment destinations include Vietnam, followed by Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia. The Philippines ranked second lowest with Brunei. (PCOO)
Aquino tells DOJ, VP to look into cases of OFW drug trafficking
President Benigno S. Aquino has ordered Vice President Jejomar Binay and Justice Secretary Leila de Lima to look into cases of overseas Filipino workers involved in drug trafficking and find out how and why they managed to leave the country undetected by airport scanners and other technologies.
The President issued the order in the wake of the inevitable execution by lethal injection on Wednesday of three Filipino drug mules in China.
In a press briefing, Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said while the scheduled execution seemed inevitable, the government remains hopeful that China will reconsider. But then, “we recognize and respect the laws of China on such cases,” Lacierda said.
The Chinese embassy said on Monday night that there is still no final word from Beijing regarding the Philippine government’s petition for the stay of the execution, according to Lacierda.
He said the thrust right now is to have greater coordination between China and the Philippines to make sure that there will be no similar incidents, where one inmate claims to have been duped by another Filipino into carrying a baggage that he/she did not know contained illegal drugs.
“My understanding is that the 70 plus Filipinos in China who are in the death row have had commutation of sentence. In other words, within two years of good behavior they will no longer be executed. This was discussed between the President, Vice President Binay and me after the Cabinet meeting last Monday,” Lacierda said.
The President met Vice President Binay and Secretary de Lima Monday and asked them to study the drug trafficking problem and identify the recruiters who use OFWs as drug mules.
Lacierda said deployment agencies like the Philippine Overseas Employment Authority and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration must make sure that OFWs deployed abroad are protected from being turned into drug carriers by private individuals or recruitment agencies.
Lacierda said the Aquino administration is issuing a stern warning against those using OFWs in their drug trafficking and human trafficking activities. He said the government will go after these individuals and recruitment agencies and make sure they get punished. (PCOO)
