Aquino receives World Bank officials in
Malacanang
World Bank officials met with President Benigno
S. Aquino III during a courtesy call on Tuesday at Malacanang’s Music Room.
Among the World Bank officials who called on the
President include Perla Cox, vice president of the East Asia and the Pacific
Region; Motoo Konishi, country director for the Philippines; Alejandro Cedeno,
special assistant to the vice president; and Carl Hanton, communications
manager.
As of December 31, 2011 the Philippines
portfolio amounted to $1.8 billion for 25 active projects. Sectors benefiting
from the World Bank-supported projects in the Philippines include
infrastructure, social protection, health, basic education, rural development
and environment.
The World Bank, a vital source of financial and
technical assistance to developing countries like the Philippines, partners
with the different countries to reduce poverty and push development.
Aside from providing low-interest loans, it also
facilitates financing through trust fund partnerships with bilateral and
multilateral donors. It also assists developing countries by providing them
policy advice, research and analysis as well as technical assistance.
Established in 1944, the World Bank is
headquartered in Washington, D.C. and has more than 9,000 employees in more
than 100 offices worldwide.
On hand to join the President during the
courtesy call were Budget Secretary Florencio Abad and Finance Secretary Cesar
Purisima. (PCOO)
Aquino appoints more officials in government
President Benigno S. Aquino III has appointed
new officials in various government agencies, a Palace official said.
The appointments were announced by Deputy
Presidential Spokesperson Abigail Valte during the regular press briefing in
Malacanang on Tuesday. She also announced that President Aquino has approved
the promotion of four officials of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG).
The Chief Executive signed the appointment
letter of Bernadine T. Siy as member of the Board of Directors of the
Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) to replace Antonio Jose U. Periquet.
Siy will serve the unexpired term of Periquet
ending on June 30, 2012. Prior to her appointment, Siy served as the president
of the Fil-Pacific Apparel Corporation.
President Aquino also appointed Maria Isabel G.
Ongpin, Felice P. Sta. Maria, Fernando Zobel de Ayala and Augusto F. Villalon,
as members of the National Museum, representing the private sector. The
appointees’ term will end on March 24, 2014.
Maria Corazon G. Jorda-Apo has been appointed by
the President as Director IV of the Department of Tourism. A graduate of
Bachelor of Science in Tourism from the University of the Philippines in 1985,
Jorda-Apo served as Acting Director IV of the Department of Tourism since 2010
until her appointment.
The President likewise signed the appointment
letters of Atty. Joerich M. Cuevas as Register of Deeds I, Iligan City, Lanao
del Norte and Atty. Merlita O. Elepanio as Register of Deeds II, San Carlos
City, Pangasinan, both in the Land Registration Authority under the Department
of Justice.
Teodoro M. Gatchalian has been appointed as
Acting Director IV of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority
(TESDA) to replace Irene M. Isaac.
Other Presidential appointees to the National
Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Management Council under the Department of
Agriculture are the following:
- Ely L. Ramos and Jose Jimmy T. San Jose were
named as members of the National Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Management
Council, representing the fisherfolk and fishworkers sector for Luzon.
- Efren R. Mellida and Jerry Elegio M. Monday
were named as members of the National Fisheries and Aquatic Resources
Management Council, representing the fisherfolk and fishworkers sector for
Mindanao.
- Regino G. Cabana as member representing the
Commercial Fishing, Aquaculture Operators and Processing Sector for the large
-scale commercial fishing sector.
- Roberto A. Baylosis as member representing the
Commercial Fishing Aquaculture Operators and Processing Sector for the
medium-scale commercial fishing sector.
- Dominic R. Salazar as member representing the
Commercial Fishing Aquaculture Operators and Processing Sector for the
small-scale commercial fishing sector.
- J. Lorenzo S. Vergara as member representing
the Commercial Fishing Aquaculture Operators and Processing Sector for the
Aquaculture Sector.
- Edgar B. Lim as member representing the
Commercial Fishing Aquaculture Operators and Processing Sector for the Fishery
Products Processing Sector.
- Carlos C. Baylon and Noel A. Armada as members
representing the Academe.
- Dinna L. Umengan as member representing the
non-government organizations (NGOs) having national coverage involved in
fisheries.
Meanwhile, President Aquino also promoted Cecil
R. Chen, Lino H. Dabi, Rodolfo D. Isorena and Luis M. Tuason Jr., of the
Philippine Coast Guard, under the Department of Transportation and
Communications, to the rank of Rear Admiral. (PCOO)
Aquino swears in newly-appointed generals and
flag officers of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and officials of Autonomous
Region in Muslim Mindanao
President Benigno S. Aquino III swore-in a new
set of newly-appointed generals and flag officers of the military led by Armed
Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Chief of Staff General Jessie Dellosa and the
officials of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) who will be
working with the government to ensure the realization of its social contract
with the Filipino people.
In simple ceremonies held at the Rizal Hall of
the Malacanang Palace on Tuesday, the President administered the oath of office
of Dellosa and some 28 generals and flag officers of the AFP and the Regional
Legislative Assembly of the ARMM.
Earlier this year, the Commission on
Appointments (CA) has confirmed the fourth star rank of Dellosa who is the presently
the 43rd Chief of Staff of the AFP.
Prior to his appointment as AFP Chief, General
Dellosa headed the AFP Northern Luzon Command, based in Tarlac. He held the
position of Commander for the Army’s 2nd Infantry Division based in Tanay,
Rizal and also served as Deputy Commander of the AFP Central Command based in
Cebu City.
Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin witnessed
Dellosa’s oath-taking as well as the group of the newly-appointed generals and
flag officers.
Also in attendance were Interior and Local
Government Secretary Jesse Robredo and Presidential Political Adviser Ronald
Llamas, among others.
Among those who took their oath before the
President were the assemblymen of the Regional Legislative Assembly (RLA) of
the ARMM. The assemblymen represent the various congressional districts of the
ARMM and sectoral groups that include women, indigenous cultural communities
and agriculture.
The ARMM has a unicameral RLA headed by a
Speaker. It is composed of three members for every congressional district. The
current membership is 24, where six are from Lanao del Sur including Marawi
City, six from Maguindanao, six from Sulu, three from Basilan and three from
Tawi-Tawi.
The RLA is the legislative branch of the ARMM
government. The regular members, three members per district and sectoral
representatives, have three-year terms with a maximum of three consecutive
terms.
It exercises legislative power in the ARMM,
except on the following matters: foreign affairs, national defense and
security, postal service, coinage and fiscal and monetary policies,
administration of justice, quarantine, customs and tariff, citizenship,
naturalization, immigration and deportation, general auditing, national
elections, maritime, land and air transportation, communications, patents,
trademarks, trade names and copyrights, foreign trade, and may legislate on
matters covered by the Shari’ah , the law governing Muslims.
The RLA members will serve as the transition
team in ARMM until the May 2013 elections.
The assemblymen were appointed four months after
the appointment of ARMM Governor Mujiv Hataman as head of the transition team
last Dec. 18. (PCOO)
Good governance benefits economy, people,
government says
Good governance, the Aquino administration’s
guiding principle, ensures that public-private agreements are mutually
advantageous and safeguard the people’s interest.
Socioeconomic Planning Secretary and NEDA
Director-General Cayetano W. Paderanga Jr., said during the 45th Annual Meeting
of the Board of Governors of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) that the country
improves a lot in the area of governance since President Aquino assumed the
presidency in 2010.
President Aquino led last week the opening
ceremonies of the 45th Annual Meeting of the ADB thanking the financial
institution for continuously assisting the country in combating poverty and
pushing reforms.
The Philippines, Paderanga said, has improved
its competitiveness ranking based on the Transparency International Corruption
Perception index and the World Economic Forum Competitiveness Rankings.
With its current ranking, the Philippines is
considered an emerging market economy in the region and is poised to become an
influential economy in the coming years, Paderanga said.
The country’s potential lies in the key growth
areas of agribusiness, business process outsourcing and tourism, he said.
The Public-Private Partnership (PPP), being spearheaded
by the Aquino government, is also considered by experts as the catalysts for
change and development. The PPP gained momentum with the approval of the Daang
Hari-SLEX Link Road, they said.
The Philippines hosted this year’s meeting of
the ADB Board of Governors with the theme “Inclusive Growth through Good
Governance.”
The government hopes that ADB’s annual meeting
in the Philippines would result to additional investment in the country as well
as the influx of more foreign tourists. (PCOO)
Aquino government welcomes move of House of
Representatives to prioritize human resource development and environmental
protection
The Aquino administration welcomed the decision
of the House of Representatives to prioritize human resource development and
environment protection, a Palace official said on Tuesday.
Deputy Presidential Spokesperson Abigail Valte
issued the statement during the regular press briefing in Malacanang on Tuesday
after House Speaker Feliciano “Sonny” Belmonte Jr. said the lawmakers are
determined to propose more new statutes or update existing laws to promote
human development, particularly for the country’s labor force.
"We recognize the prerogative of the
Speaker as well as the majority leader when it comes to the pace of the
discussion of the bills that are pending," Valte said.
In August, 2011, President Benigno S. Aquino III
presented 13 additional priority measures to the members of the
Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC) in a bid to ensure
the sustainability of his reform agenda. The proposals focus on human development,
infrastructure development, economic development, sovereignty and security, and
good governance.
The 13 proposed measures, on top of the 22 bills
submitted during the first LEDAC meeting in February, 2011, are consistent with
the administration’s policy directions as laid out in the Philippine
Development Plan (PDP), in pursuit of the Aquino administration’s 16-point
agenda or Social Contract with the Filipino People.
"I just want to mention that there are also
economic bills that are part of the priority measures that were passed by the
Executive," Valte said.
Last Monday, May 7, the Congress reconvened to
resume the sessions.
“Even as we continue to focus on reforms for
good governance and other concerns, we will never deviate from reinvigorating
our national policies on human development, promoting investments and
protecting the environment,” Belmonte said in a statement.
Among the 13 proposed measures by the Aquino
administration are the adequate protection for house help, expansion of science
and technology scholarship programs, amendments to the Rural Electrification
Law, sin tax, amendments to the Human Security Act and the Data Privacy Act,
and the responsible parenthood (RP) bill.
The President’s proposals also include the
expanded consumer protection, reorganization of the Philippine statistical
system, amendments to the PTV-4 law, provision for the delineation of the
specific forest limits of public domain, stiffer penalties for stealing and
tampering with government risk reduction and preparedness equipment, and
amendments to the Lina Law or the Urban Development Housing Act of 1992. (PCOO)
