Aquino government allocates funds for livelihood assistance to displaced workers in Northern Mindanao
CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) Secretary Herminio “Sonny” B. Coloma Jr. said that the government has allocated necessary funds to help the affected workers here to recover from the ill-effects of the devastation wrought by tropical storm “Sendong” that hit the Northern Mindanao region over the past weeks.
In an interview with local media at the City Central School here, on Tuesday, Coloma said that the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) led by Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz will be releasing at least three million pesos for livelihood assistance to the displaced workers in the area.
“Within this week, for some 327 affected workers dito sa area na ito ay magre-release ang DOLE ng three million pesos na livelihood starter kit para matulungan sila na magbagong tatag ng kani-kanilang mga buhay,” Coloma said.
Apart from the starter kit, the locals will also be given food and salaries as they rebuild their houses in authorized, strategic areas under the “Food-for-Work” program.
“Dadagdagan pa rin po ito ng food-for-work program kung saan bibigyan po sila ng pagkain at suweldo habang itinatayo nila ang kanilang bagong tahanan siyempre sa mga otorisadong lugar lamang,” Coloma said.
Also with Coloma who flew in to the typhoon-affected areas were Social Welfare and Development Secretary Corazon “Dinky” Soliman, Health Secretary Enrique Ona and Secretary Baldoz.
The typhoon hit northern Mindanao the past week leaving enormous devastation to the lives and properties of people living in the area. (PCOO)
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Aquino government conducts programs to ease pain and trauma of victims of typhoon Sendong
CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – The Aquino government has been focusing on programs to release the stress and trauma of the victims, especially the children, of typhoon “Sendong” that hit Northern Mindanao the past week.
In an ambush interview with local media at the City Central School here, Tuesday, Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) Secretary Herminio “Sonny” B. Coloma Jr. said that the government has been coordinating with various volunteer groups to conduct programs that would ease the pain and trauma of the victims due to the tragic devastation wrought by the tropical storm “Sendong.”
“Tayo ay nakipag-ugnayan sa Gawad Kalinga at iba pang mga citizen volunteer groups para maibsan ang trauma na naganap sa mga kabataan. Sa kanilang musmos na isipan ay kailangan naman na magkaroon ng alaala ng kapaskuhan na hindi naman puro pasakit at dalamhati. It is very important that we give them an opportunity to ease the pain and the trauma brought about by the calamity,” Coloma said.
At least 300 children participated in the "party-like" activity here that aims to give them relief from the harsh emotional and psychosocial effects of the calamity.
Coloma also shared President Benigno S. Aquino III’s assurance of the government’s readiness to extend assistance to the victims.
“Gusto po iparating ng ating Pangulong Noynoy Aquino na ang ating pamahalaan ay nakahandang gawin ang lahat ng nararapat, unang-una gusto natin na magkaroon ng katiyakan na hindi na mauulit ang ganitong klaseng trahedya sa buhay ng ating mga mamamayan, bagamat nariyan yung climate change challenge at ang La Nina… dapat po handa tayo,” Coloma said.
“Kalimutan na muna ang paninisi at ang harapin natin yung pagbabagong tatag ng mga komunidad na nasalanta ng kalamidad,” he added.
Coloma went to Cagayan de Oro and Iligan City with other Cabinet officials, that include Social Welfare and Development Secretary Corazon “Dinky” Soliman, Health Secretary Enrique Ona and Labor and Employment Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz, to assess the situation and distribute assistance to the people in the affected areas.
Tropical storm “Sendong” hit Northern Mindanao early December that left hundreds of millions pesos damage to properties and infrastructure and claimed the lives of close to a thousand. (PCOO)
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Coloma bares efforts of Aquino government to rebuild, reconstruct typhoon-affected areas in Northern Mindanao
ILIGAN CITY – Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) Secretary Herminio “Sonny” B. Coloma Jr. bared the various concerted efforts of the Aquino government to rebuild, reconstruct and bring back to normal the lives of the locals here who were greatly affected by the devastation of the tropical storm “Sendong.”
Coloma made this statement in his opening message during a press conference at the Gazpachos Restaurant here on Tuesday, as he stressed the need for “as many hands, hearts, and feet” to further speed up the ongoing rehabilitation efforts.
He said that some of his fellow cabinet officials that include Social Welfare and Development Secretary Corazon “Dinky” Soliman, Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz and Department of Health Secretary Enrique Ona, flew in to the typhoon- affected areas to personally lead the management of assistance for the people.
“Ibabalita ko lamang po sa inyo na bukod sa amin dalawa ni Secretary Dinky Soliman, naririto rin po sa Iligan si Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz ng DOLE at si Secretary Enrique Ona ng DOH...”. Coloma said.
“There is so much more to be done and we need as many hands, hearts and feet to do the work and we must do it in a unified and integrated fashion para mas mabilis po at mas effective ang tulong natin sa ating mga kababayan,” he stressed.
The PCOO chief said that his office is presently coordinating with various youth and citizen volunteer groups for the conduct of the “Bayani Challenge” in January 2012, where they will launch a massive volunteerism effort to rebuild the houses of the affected people in the area.
“Ang tanggapan po naman namin ay nakikipag-ugnayan sa mga youth and citizen volunteer groups na sa halip na hintayin pa ang summer camp in April… ia-advance na po namin dahil mas urgent ang pangagailangan ng pag-rebuild. Gusto ko lamang po na i-point-out dito na ang ating pamahalaan ngayon ay ini-encourage ang local government initiative at kami naman po sa national government ay nandito lang para magbigay ng suporta, ang inaasikaso po ng ating pamahalaan ngayon is to integrate and to align lahat ng mga government and volunteer efforts,” Coloma explained.
Coloma also said that Secretary Baldoz, together with some officials of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) and the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC), went to Hinaplanon town to attend to the needs of the victims there.
“Si Sec. Baldoz po ay nagtungo sa Hinaplanon kasama ang DOLE, OWWA and NLRC staff. Meron pong OFW family na namatayan doon na binibigyan ng benefits ng OWWA at earlier doon po sa may tinatawag na ground zero ay nag-distribute din sila ng relief goods courtesy of the Filipino Chinese Chambers of Commerce,” Coloma said adding that the health department is also busy in monitoring the situation to ensure the safety of the locals.
“Si Secretary Ona naman po kasama ang kanyang epidemiology team headed by Assistant Secretary Dr. Eric Tayag at kanilang mino-monitor ngayon ang leptospirosis at anti-tetanus campaign to ensure the health of the citizens after the typhoon and the floods… so iyon po ang pinag-tutulungan namin,” Coloma said.
Tropical storm “Sendong” hit Northern Mindanao the past week leaving close to a thousand fatalities and millions of pesos of damage to agriculture and infrastructure in the area, particularly in the low lands of Cagayan de Oro and most parts of Iligan. (PCOO)
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Aquino says government is working for export of new aquatic product to counter global economic slowdown
President Benigno S. Aquino III said the government will work for the export of an aquatic product as part of its aggressive thrust to find new markets for the country’s export as a response to the sluggish global economy.
Appearing at the ABS-CBN News Channel (ANC) Television on Tuesday evening, the President said the current focus of his administration is to find new markets for Philippine products to counter the poor demand for semiconductor and electronics products, which are the country’s major income generating exports.
“I was showed this aquatic product exported by a country in North America and it sells for quite an expensive amount. I am told now that we have the same thing. It’s a very simple canning process and we have the resource,” the President said.
“It’s really just a question of doing the processing aspect, inculcating a certain behavioral attitude in the people in that area. It’s a new export product that I’m very keen to start working on,” he added.
The Chief Executive said Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala made an assurance that the export of the product is feasible and that he’ll work for the local processing and marketing of the product overseas.
The President admitted that there might be adjustments in the government’s growth targets given the sudden changes in the global economic landscape as he noted the slowdowns in the US, the European Union and the devastating effects of natural calamities to the Japanese economy.
To counteract these changes in 2012, he said his administration is embarking on a more aggressive spending particularly on infrastructure as well as marketing the country’s tourist destinations.
For instance, he said that the government has just recently bidded out the Daang-Hari-SLEX road project, which is part of the public-private partnership (PPP) project of the government.
There will be two more projects under the PPP in the pipeline that will hopefully be awarded by the first quarter, the President said.
Another major infrastructure projects is the school building program, a build-lease-transfer and operation for the Department of Education (DepEd), he said.
“We’re targeting at least 20,000 for PPP school classrooms. So we might… with a little bit of luck, baka by 2013 tapos ‘yung 66,000 classroom needs,” he said.
The government is also focusing on agriculture, he said, adding that the administration is investing about 50 percent more for rice self-sufficiency programs to increase rice production. (PCOO)
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Aquino to groom successor who’ll sustain reforms in government
President Benigno S. Aquino III said he wants a successor who will sustain the momentum he has set in government when he steps down in 2016.
During an interview over ABS-CBN News Channel (ANC) on Tuesday evening, the President said it is important that the reforms he has initiated in the bureaucracy are sustained in the future so that the country doesn’t go back to its previous state.
He also said that maintaining these gains needs collective efforts of the people and the public shouldn’t solely rely on their leader to realize it.
“The point is if we are able to really transform the country, sulit. So siyempre yun ang target, that we will be successful in training our successor and the successor is an inheritor of something that is so good that people are so used to that system that there’s no possibility of backsliding,” the President said when asked about how he views retirement in 2016.
Expressing his views over anointing a successor, the President said he always encounters question from some community leaders asking him how these reforms are continued after his stint as President.
“I responded in this manner: ‘Kako kung iaasa ninyo sa akin lahat, ‘di wala naman talagang mangyayari sa atin. Mangyari na ang mangyayari, maski gaano ako ka-health conscious, tatawagin tayo ni Lord at some point in time. So it has to be a collective effort,’” he said.
The President mentioned some allies he wants to be in the legislature as the country gears up for the mid-term election in 2013. Having more allies in Congress means speedier implementation of the administration’s economic and political agenda, he said.
Some of the names mentioned by the President include former Akbayan Rep. Risa Hontiveros-Baraquel, Customs chief Ruffy Biazon, Sen. Antonio Trillanes and former general Danilo Lim.
“I said four and that’s a third of the whole slate who is supposed to foster the interest of the nation as a whole. We have such a broad coalition. We’d like to say that they’re all equal partners,” he said.
The President’s interview Tuesday focused on his views for the coming year and his accomplishments in 2011. (PCOO)
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Coloma defends emergency text alert system from criticisms
Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Herminio “Sonny” Coloma fended off allegations that the government didn’t use existing emergency text alert system to warn the residents of the cities of Cagayan de Oro and Iligan that resulted to massive loss of lives.
Coloma explained that the text alert system, which was set to caution communities during bad weather conditions, wasn’t used in Cagayan de Oro and Iligan cities because the typhoon signal during the time of flashfloods was not at the required threshold alert level for issuing such warning. The threshold alert level is storm signal number three.
Coloma issued the statement in view of a report published in a major broadsheet that the text alert system has not been used.
He said in the cabinet meeting held last December 19, the President and members of the cabinet agreed to set up a dual-alert system that will include both a typhoon signal and a rainfall-flood alert.
The Department of Science and Technology- Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (DOST-PAGASA) has been authorized to procure monitoring equipment to track water levels in the country’s 18 river basins all throughout the year.
“The emergency text alert system using the number 1456 was used to warn Bulacan residents of rising flood waters caused by typhoon Pedring last September,” Coloma said with regards to the massive flooding in Bulacan last September.
Coloma said that as agreed upon with the telecommunications companies last June, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) will send the text alert message to the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) that will in turn pass on the directive to the telcos.
The Philippine Information Agency (PIA), an attached agency of the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO), composed the message and passed this on to Undersecretary Benito Ramos, the NDRRMC executive director.
Region 3 DRRMC chair and OCD Director Josefina Timoteo commended the PIA “for its essential role” during typhoons Pedring and Quiel, noting that “the timely information given by the PIA saved thousands of lives.”
Flash floods triggered by Sendong killed more than 1,200 people, mostly in the cities of Cagayan de Oro and Iligan in Northern Mindanao. Authorities said hundreds are still missing. (PCOO)
