PIA Dispatch - Saturday, April 9, 2011

Conditional Cash Transfer program has extended assistance to 400,000 familes, says Coloma

The government’s intensified conditional cash transfer (CCT) program has already extended assistance to 400,000 families as it pursues its economic and social reforms to alleviate the condition of impoverished families.

In an interview over Radio ng Bayan, Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) Secretary Herminio “Sonny” Coloma said the CCT’s program of Malacanang through the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) is fast evolving, a strategy to immediately mitigate the burden of the poor families amid the global crisis.

Coloma attributed the significant positive result to the initiative of the Palace to allocate 21 billion pesos for CCT programs known locally as the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program for 2011.

The cash transfer program directly addresses the poverty problem, giving an average impoverished family a significant boost in annual income.

Apart from significant increases in school enrolment of poor children, the program improves the number of child immunization and prenatal medical care.

“Providing immediate financial help and attention to those families who are in dire need remains a top priority of President Aquino’s administration,” said Coloma.

The government expanded the coverage of the CCT program to reach out to more poor families across the country. “This is the first time that we have an extensive coverage of CCT. We have come out a way to identify only legitimate beneficiaries. The government identifies legitimate beneficiaries, determines where they live and where their children are studying, to make sure that we can give the cash assistance the soonest time under CCT program,” he said.

The intention of the CCT program is not only to give solution in the short run but also to frame concrete solutions in the long run. (PCOO)


‘Let us learn from our veterans,’ says Aquino

President Benigno Aquino III told Filipinos to learn from World War II veterans, especially from their wisdom and bravery to defeat the country’s biggest hurdles: corruption and poverty.

“Our generation has a lot to learn from our veterans. We would do well to emulate the spirit of service that they exhibited, especially now that we are facing new foes: corruption and poverty,” the President said in his address at the 69th commemoration of Araw ng Kagitingan (Day of Valor) in Pilar, Bataan on Saturday.

“Our triumph in this new battle is hinged on whether or not we can display the same bravery our heroes displayed back then. To all of our people: the strength of this country is in our hands.”

While the country still has a long way to go, the President said his administration will remain sincere in finding solutions to the problems that it inherited from the previous administration.

He reiterated that he remains the peoples’ servant encouraging them to continue helping each other to overcome adversities.

“Wala pong magbabago: Kayo pa rin ang Boss ko! Hiling ko lang po na manatili tayong nagtutulungan at nagdadamayan. Abot-tanaw na natin ang liwanag na gabay natin tungo sa katuparan ng atin pong mga mithiin,” the President said.

The chief executive also acknowledged the importance of continuously strengthening ties with the Philippines’ closest allies: the United States and Japan, noting that without the two giant powers, the country wouldn’t be more stable today.

Japan has been the Philippine partner towards economic progress, providing the country needed technology to cope with calamity, while the US, the President said, has shared a long history of cooperation and mutual defense.

“Time has proven that we can count on allies like them, and I am confident that they will stand by us should there be a threat again to our security and sovereignty, and that they support the path that we have taken towards transparency and progress,” he said.

President Aquino, who led the commemoration, was joined by US Ambassador to the Philippines Harry Thomas Jr. and Japanese Ambassador Makoto Katsura. Upon his arrival, the army accorded the President full military honors with a 21-gun salute.

Aside from Thomas and Katsura, Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin, Armed Forces chief of staff Lt. Gen. Eduardo Oban and Philippine Veterans Affairs Office administrator Gen. Ernesto Carolina were also present during the event. (PCOO)


Palace forms high-level crisis team to assist Filipinos in conflict areas abroad

Malacañang has created a high-level team to strengthen the government’s response mechanism for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) needing help in times of political conflict and natural disasters in their host countries.

Executive Secretary Paquito N. Ochoa Jr. said on Saturday Executive Order No. 34 was signed by President Benigno Aquino III on April 6 to help government agencies address in a timely manner the plight of OFWs caught in crises abroad.

“Natural disasters, civil unrest, armed conflicts and similar crises in foreign countries expose overseas Filipinos to immediate hazards and risks,” Ochoa explained.

“So, it is only imperative that we establish a measure and a system that would ensure the safety and welfare of our kababayans abroad.”

EO 34 establishes the Overseas Preparedness and Response Team (OPRT) under the Office of the President and replaces the Presidential Middle East Preparedness Committee (PMEPC), which was created under Executive Order No. 159 in 2002 to deal with the evacuation of thousands of Filipino workers in the Middle East at the height of the Iraq crisis.

The recent natural disasters that struck Japan and New Zealand and the political unrest in countries in the Middle East and North Africa underscored the need to expand the scope of the PMEPC and integrate agency policy plans for swift government response.
Under the EO, the OPRT is composed of the Executive Secretary as chairperson and the presidential adviser on Overseas Filipino Workers’ Concerns and secretaries of the Departments of Foreign Affairs, Labor and Employment, National Defense, Justice, the Interior and Local Government, and Budget and Management as members.

The high-level crisis team is tasked to draw up strategies and programs and formulate policies to appropriately respond to crisis situations affecting Filipinos abroad. It shall develop and adopt interactive operating arrangements among agencies to effect maximum coordination.

It may call upon any department or agency of the government or private sectors and coordinate or seek bilateral and multilateral partners for assistance in the formulation and implementation of plans, programs and policies.

“There is a necessity for various government agencies that take the lead in addressing the concerns of overseas Filipinos to focus on their real and actual capabilities in the efficient and effective delivery of services and resources to the overseas Filipinos workers, thereby insuring their safety and security especially in times of crisis,” the EO stated.

The OPRT will also establish a pool of crisis management and technical experts and trained personnel from the OPRT member-agencies to form rapid reaction teams, which shall then be deployed to crisis-hit areas where there are significant concentration of Filipinos, upon the authorization of the panel.

The panel will also conduct periodic review and assessment to update individual contingency plans submitted by the Philippine embassies and consulates general for proper policy and operational guidance, as well as undertake threat and environmental scanning, to ensure the safety and protection of Filipinos abroad.

The OPRT is further tasked to formulate and review contingency plans for the Middle East, Africa, Asia, Australia, the Pacific, the Americas, and Europe every six months.

Additional personnel to reinforce Philippine foreign missions may be dispatched upon the permission of the OPRT for the duration of at least three months to ensure systematic repatriation and relocation activities, among others, the EO said.

Aside from putting in place a monitoring mechanism to regularly gather and update information on the identities and locations of Filipinos in crisis-prone regions, the OPRT will also prepare a comprehensive communication plan to inform the public of the actions taken by the government.

The EO was reviewed and endorsed by the Office of the Presidential Adviser on OFW Concerns and the DFA, DOLE, DILG and DBM.

“We have likewise reviewed the relationship of the OPRT with other agencies which may be performing similar functions such as the DFA, DOLE and the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration, and we have determined that the OPRT will not duplicate or overlap with the functions of said agencies. On the contrary, the creation of the OPRT is supposed to coordinate and streamline the efforts and actions of Philippine personnel abroad,” Ochoa said.

“It is in the national interest that the safety and welfare of Filipinos overseas be accorded primordial importance,” he added. (PCOO)


Aquino assures World War II veterans of their health and financial assistance

President Benigno Aquino III vowed to protect the welfare of Filipino World War II veterans by ensuring they get the necessary health and financial assistance in the remaining days of their lives.

In his speech during the 69th commemoration of Araw ng Kagitingan (Day of Valor) Saturday in Pilar, Bataan, the President said his administration has been constantly monitoring the implementation of the Filipino Veterans Equity Compensation Act signed by US President Barack Obama in 2009.

The US law guarantees compensation to legitimate war veterans that totals $9,000 for non-US citizens and $17,000 for those who are American citizens. By the end of December last year, the President said 18,000 veterans have received compensations.

The defense department also acted on an anomaly discovered last February, in which according to the President, even the veterans who have died still received pension payments. He called them “ghost pensioners.”

Investigations revealed that there were some defects in the list of the Philippine Veterans Affairs Office (PVAO), which allowed dead pensioners to receive payments. So according to the President, the government instituted the Direct Remittance Pension Servicing System to secure and speed up the pension payments of the veterans.

Because of the new system, the government was able to pay half of the P4 billion unpaid pensions for the last seven years and in the process is helping around 30,000 veterans in 2009, the President said.

Another government focus is providing health care for the veterans. And for this year the Veterans Memorial Medical Center has intensified its operations by acquiring new equipment for its operating room and Medical Intensive Care Unit.

PVAO also adopted a policy accrediting hospitals for the veterans and their families. This entails P800 per day subsidy for hospitalization of every war veteran.

To help the veterans further, the Department of National Defense (DND), PVAO and PhilHealth have signed an agreement for extensive health coverage, President Aquino said.

The agreement gives health insurance to qualified veterans, and at the same time, PhilHealth has sped up the listing process with the help of the DND, which allotted P1 million for the system, the President added. (PCOO)


Government owned and controlled corporations are partners in spearheading priority programs

The government-owned and controlled corporations (GOCCs) have remitted a total of P30 billion to the National Treasury last February, a clear indication that these corporations are partners in spearheading the government’s priority programs.

In an interview over Radio ng Bayan Saturday, Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary (PCOO) Secretary Herminio “Sonny” Coloma said the Palace was elated over the significant increase of GOCC remittances.

He said President Aquino’s good governance and his efforts to implement measures to strengthen GOCC transparency and disclosure practices are the keys to the attain remittances’ increase.

The increasing number of remittances from GOCCs under the watch of President Aquino diminishes the public perception that these so-called corporations “operate as independent republics,” noted Coloma.

“For the past years, the dividends and remittances from GOCCs reached the level of P10 billion. This February, remittances reached P30 billion or three times more. This only shows the good effect of President Aquino’s good governance. The money will be used in the government’s priority programs,” he said.

“It is important that the national government and GOCCs work together to bring essential public services to our people,” Coloma continued. “It will be better if they act as partners of the national government.”

In his earlier speech, President Aquino said the “dividends and other remittances from GOCCs will allow the government to frontload its expenditures and speed up the implementation of anti-poverty programs, among others.”

President Aquino added that his administration will work doubly hard to strengthen GOCC transparency and disclosure practices to conform to international best practices. (PCOO)