Aquino hails governance experts as contributors
to nation building, backbone of bureaucracy
President Benigno S. Aquino III hailed the
members of the University of the Philippines’ National College of Public
Administration and Governance (UP-NCPAG) as “contributors to nation-building”
and the “backbone of our bureaucracy” for joining government efforts in
implementing reforms to eradicate corruption.
In his speech keynoting the commemoration of the
UP-NCPAG’s 60th anniversary held simultaneous with the International Conference
on Public Administration and Governance at the EDSA Shangri-La Hotel in
Mandaluyong City on Wednesday, President Aquino lauded UP-NCPAG’s advocacy to
nurture graduates to become world-class and competent civil servants and
leaders, guided by competence, integrity, professionalism, compassion and high
ethical standards.
“After all, through the years, the National
College of Public Administration and Governance has done more than its share of
producing graduates who contribute to nation-building, and who help nurture
institutions in government and in civil society. This is the institution we
turn to, if we want to find some of the greatest, unheralded heroes of our
bureaucracy,” the President said.
“This is why I made it a point to be here today:
many of you, in one way or another, represent the backbone of our
bureaucracy—people of excellence who work tirelessly with dedication and
professionalism, so that we can truly change this country for the better. As
your President, I know that if our administration succeeds in instituting
widespread reform in this country, it will have been because of people like
you; and I want to thank you for your service,” he added.
The NCPAG counts today the likes of Senator
Antonio Trillanes IV, Environment Secretary Ramon Paje, Quezon City Mayor
Herbert Bautista, Rizal Governor Jun Ynares, Makati City Mayor Junjun Binay,
former Supreme Court Spokesperson Ismael Khan, Representative Dante Liban,
former congressman Leandro Verceles and former Cavite Vice Mayor Alvin Mojica
as among its many distinguished alumni who have served or are serving in
government.
Established in 1952 as the Institute of Public
Administration, the UP-NCPAG has been active in developing the discipline of
public administration in the Philippines, strengthening it as a profession, and
in serving as a social critic and support to government and non-governmental
organizations for policy advice and technical assistance.
This year’s conference theme: “Tradition and
Transformation,” highlights the significance of reviewing legacies of the past,
challenges of the present and agenda of the future for the study and practice
of public administration and governance. (rck)
President Aquino vows to go after corrupt
officials in government
President Benigno S. Aquino III vowed on
Wednesday to continue his advocacy to rid government of corruption and
eradicate poverty by pursuing the removal and prosecution of other corrupt
officials in government and implementing further reforms in order to sustain
the momentum gained from his advocacy.
In his speech keynoting the International
Conference on Public Administration and Governance, a gathering of governance
experts, at the EDSA Shangri-La Hotel in Mandaluyong City, the President
enjoined all Filipinos to join him in this campaign.
“Clearly, our reforms have won us momentum. And
it is up to us, to all of us—whether in the private or public sector—to
maintain this momentum,” the President said.
“There remain serious challenges ahead. The
problem of poverty is one that must be solved. There are still corrupt
officials who will be prosecuted and jailed. The changes we envision are
massive, and these changes cannot be enacted by a single office. We have to do
it together,” he added.
He pointed out that by endeavoring to achieve
this feat as a whole would ensure that this “dream” would be completed faster.
“Through our shared efforts, we are beginning to
realize the dreams we share with the Filipino people. We have, in fact, been
steadily and noticeably upgrading the Filipino dream. With your help -- imagine
the impossibilities we can make possible, and achieve,” the President said.
(rck)
Aquino declares july 23 a special non-working
day in the City of Batangas in Batangas province
President Benigno S. Aquino III has declared
July 23, which falls on a Monday, as a special (non-working) day in Batangas
City in the province of Batangas in celebration of its 43rd Foundation Day.
The Chief Executive issued the declaration
through Proclamation No. 397 signed by Executive Secretary Paquito N. Ochoa Jr.
on June 6 to give the people of Batangas City the full opportunity to celebrate
and participate in the occasion with appropriate ceremonies
Batangas became a city on July 23, 1969 through
Republic Act. No. 5495. The city is known as the Industrial Port City of
CALABARZON (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon). (js)
Malacanang taps multi-agency cluster to
implement developmental programs to address child labor issues
Malacanang bared the Aquino government’s
programs in addressing child labor issues in the country and ensure the safety,
well-being and literacy of the younger generation of Filipinos.
In a regular press briefing in Malacanang on
Wednesday, Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said a multi-agency cluster
has been tapped to implement various developmental programs aimed at vigorously
addressing child labor. The cluster is composed of the Department of Social
Welfare and Development (DSWD) and the Department of Labor and Employment
(DOLE), among others.
“Meron pong ginagawang kampanya ang DSWD and
DOLE… both agencies will be engaged in the Human Development and Poverty
Reduction Cluster in addressing the issue of child labor,” Lacierda said.
He noted the respective roles of each agency in
carrying out the program that features the national campaign to declare 80
barangays as child labor-free by the end of this year.
“On the part of the DOLE there is a national
campaign to declare 80 barangays of five poor regions as child labor-free by
the end of 2012," Lacierda said, adding that part of the campaign is to
reduce by 75 per cent all worst forms of child labor,” Lacierda said.
“Dito po sa DSWD right now, ang main program ay
ang CCT… the Conditional Cash Transfer, we are now covering seven million five
hundred one thousand four hundred thirty seven children and the program
continues to invest in the children to make sure they are healthy and are in
school,” he added.
Apart from these, Lacierda further said that
parents are also being trained to take care of their children and make sure
that they understand the rationale in making them healthy and educated.
“There are CCT parent-beneficiaries attending
family development sessions where they are taught good and responsible
parenthood… they are also taught why children should be kept healthy and in
school and not working,” Lacierda noted.
The initiative is part of the government’s
celebration of the World Day Against Child Labor which was observed last
Tuesday, June 26.
The program forms part of the Aquino
administration’s “very determined" resolve to make every barangay of the
country's over 1,500 municipalities child labor free to achieve its goal of
reducing by 75 percent of all worst forms of child labor by 2015.
The effort is also anchored on the Millennium
Development Goals of achieving universal education which is contingent to
freedom from labor and allow children to attend school and perform well.
(jcl/2:40 p.m.)
.
Government to continue assisting residents of Pag-asa Island
The Philippine government said it would continue
to provide assistance for the educational needs of the children in Pag-asa
Island despite China’s objection, a Palace official said on Wednesday.
“They are Filipinos. And we will provide them
(assistance)…The President has mentioned no one should be left behind. We will
provide them services as the public official would inform us the needs of their
community,” Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said in a press conference in
Malacanang.
“I think, it is irresponsibility on our part if
we do not provide services to our fellow Filipinos in that particular
municipality,” he said.
China may say whatever it wants to say and the
Philippine government has no control over it, Lacierda said.
“We know what our position is. The Philippine
government is fully aware that it wants to have a peaceful resolution on the
Panatag Shoal. And therefore, we are going to make statements which will
promote a peaceful dialogue between the two countries,” he added.
The municipality has been there since the Marcos
administration and it’s never been questioned, Lacierda said adding that the
construction of a school should not be an issue.
On Tuesday, China warned the Philippines against
the operation of a public elementary school on Pag-asa Island in the West
Philippine Sea.
China’s foreign ministry spokesman told a press
briefing in Beijing that China “opposes any illegal activity that may infringe
on China’s sovereignty.”
The Philippine government on the other hand said
the Kalayaan group of Islands, which includes Pag-asa, is an integral part of
the Philippine territory as declared in Republic Act 9522 and other relevant
Philippine laws. (as/3:05pm)
Palace welcomes reclassification of Ifugao Rice
Terraces by World Heritage Committee
The Aquino administration welcomed the decision
of the 36th Session of the World Heritage Committee to formally remove the Rice
Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras from its List of World Heritage in
Danger due to improvements in conservation efforts.
"This is a victory for the joint public and
private sector initiative to protect one of our most valuable natural
treasures, which in 1995 became the first-ever property to be inscribed in the
cultural landscape category of the World Heritage List," Presidential
Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said in a statement issued on Wednesday.
According to a report from the United Nations
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)- National Commission
of the Philippines, the 36th Session of the World Heritage Committee noted that
the Philippines had successfully met the desired state of conservation through
successful landscape restoration and conservation, protection and planning, and
proper management.
Since 2001, when the Rice Terraces was officially
listed as one of the world’s treasures at risk, the Philippines has vigorously
acted to save and protect the site.
"Over the years, the collaboration between
the government and other private stakeholders has systematically conserved the
rice terraces and its watersheds, while promoting or re-introducing the site’s
ancestral traditions that are crucial to its sustained development,"
Lacierda said.
Lacierda said the government commended the
efforts of the Ifugao Provincial Government, its Ifugao Cultural Heritage
Office, the UNESCO NatCom, and other agencies that have contributed to this
continuing success.
"With this reclassification and future responsible
stewardship, Filipinos may take pride once more in having one of our own as a
globally-recognized and important cultural landscape," he said. (js)
