Aquino cites Philam Life for its contribution to
national development
President Benigno S. Aquino III cited the
Philippine American Life and General Insurance Co. (Philam Life) for its
contributions to national growth particularly on education.
In his speech during it’s 65th anniversary in
Makati City on Thursday, the President assured Philam Life of government
support in doing its business recognizing the significance of its operation in
the Philippines.
Last year, the President said Philam Life spent
P15 million for various corporate social responsibility projects, the second
largest corporate social responsibility (CSR) contribution in the life
insurance industry.
The money helped coconut farmers in Davao
improve the marketability of their products as well as increasing the
environmental knowledge and scientific skills of elementary and high school
students in Antique, according to the President.
“This money paid for the school fees of over 500
schoolchildren in Lamitan, Basilan, and made sure that they had uniforms,
books, and school supplies,” he said.
“I would also like to thank you for the 65
classrooms that you will be building as part of your Philam Paaralan program
over the next five years. These classrooms will directly benefit over 3,000
students in that time, and thousands more in the future.”
At present, the Philippines has 66,000 classroom
shortage which is being address by the government through the public private
partnership program and with the help of the private sector.
Another contribution of Philam Life is its
P5-billion worth of educational plans released to plan holder since 2004, which
translates to thousands of dreams fulfilled for Filipino parents and their
children in the past eight years, the Chief Executive said.
Aside from education, Philam Life also poured
large amount of investments in infrastructure development and has been the
driving force in financing projects like the Skyway, the Manila-Cavite
Expressway (Cavitex), the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) and the Subic-Clark-Tarlac
Expressway (SCTEX).
The Philam Life, President Aquino said will
remain as one of the top insurance companies in the country. He asked the
company to continue to do its work in the best way possible to empower the
Filipino people towards national progress.
“Ventures that seek to empower Filipinos will
always have my admiration and, more importantly perhaps, support. After all,
our administration believes that if we invest in our countrymen and help them
stand on their own two feet, we will be able to better ensure success for all:
for Juan dela Cruz, for companies like Philam Life, and for the whole country,”
he said.
Philam Life which was established in 1947,
helped in the recovery of post-war Philippines up to its present status as the leader
in the life insurance industry. It is the largest life insurance company in the
country and the market leader for over 60 years.
Philam Life offers an extensive line of products
in the industry that provides solutions to various financial needs including
life protection, health insurance, savings, education, retirement, investment
as well as group and credit life insurance. (as/12:10pm)
Aquino declares June 29 a special non-working
day in Koronadal City, South Cotabato
President Benigno S. Aquino III has declared
June 29, which falls on a Friday, as a special (non-working) day in Koronadal
City in the province of South Cotabato in celebration of various events to mark
the Culmination Program of the Environment Month and the 2nd Tree Growing Festival.
The Chief Executive issued the declaration
through Proclamation No. 409 signed by Executive Secretary Paquito N. Ochoa Jr.
on June 18, to give the people of Koronadal the full opportunity to celebrate
and participate in the occasions with appropriate ceremonies.
In line with the National Greening Program of
President Benigno S. Aquino III and the celebration of the Environment Month
this June, Koronadal City government will hold its 2nd Tree Growing Festival.
As part of its effort to create a culture of caring
for the environment and to intensively campaign for the restoration and
preservation of forest areas, the city government is targeting to double the
figure from 131,028 forest and fruit trees planted in 522.78 hectares last year
to 250,000 in 1,000 hectares of land this year. (js)
Aquino confers Order of Sikatuna to outgoing
Malaysian Ambassador
President Benigno S. Aquino III conferred the
Order of Sikatuna with the Rank of Datu (Grand Cross, Gold Distinction) to
outgoing Malaysian Ambassador to the Philippines, Dato Seri Dr. Ibrahim Saad
during his farewell call, Friday.
The award was given to Dr. Saad following his
two-year tour of duty in the country in recognition of his vital contribution
in strengthening and deepening the bilateral relations between Malaysia and the
Philippines.
It also cited his outstanding and dedicated
service in the field of international relations and for representing his
government in the country.
The outgoing Malaysian Ambassador led in
facilitating high-level meetings between the two countries, pushed for efforts
to ensure the success of the Joint Commission Meeting (JCM) in Manila in April
2011, and the facilitation of the visits to the Philippines of Foreign
Ministers of Malaysia, other Cabinet Officials and distinguished members of the
Parliament.
He also contributed efforts to assist the
on-going negotiations for a lasting resolution of the conflict in Mindanao. The
Malaysian envoy played a very important role in enhancing economic cooperation
between the two countries making Malaysia a valuable partner of the Philippines
in trade and investment.
Dr. Saad has encouraged his Government to fully
support various Philippine initiatives in regional and multilateral fora in his
effort to bring the people of Malayisa closer to the Filipinos.
Dr. Ibrahim Saad is from the northern state of
Penang, a highly developed city also known as the Silicon City of Malaysia.
The Malaysian envoy started out in the academe,
graduating with a Ph.D. in Education from the University of Wisconsin in
America.
He later on joined the government as a member of
the State Assembly, became a deputy chief minister of and vice governor of
Penang before he moved to a higher post in the Prime Minister’s department.
Perhaps the call of the academe proved stronger
then, because he left politics again and went back to the world of academe,
becoming vice chancellor and president of a prestigious university in his
beloved city until the government recalled him into active service and he
accepted the post of Malaysian ambassador to the Philippines in 2010.
Also present during the event were Dr. Saad’s
wife Madame Datin Seri Dato Zainab Adb Kader and Foreign Affairs Undersecretary
Laura del Rosario, among others.
Malaysia is considered as one of the country’s
important partners, the 7th largest export market and 8th largest import market
of the Philippines. Malaysia is also the second main source of foreign
investments for the Philippines among all of the members of the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries. (jcl/3:00 p.m.)
Aquino monitors Pasig-Marikina River Channel
Improvement Project
President Benigno S. Aquino III inspected on
Friday the Pasig River to check on the construction and improvement of
revetments, parapet walls, and other structures, under the Pasig-Marikina River
Channel Improvement Project, in a bid to mitigate floodings in Metro Manila.
During the regular press briefing in Malacanang
on Friday, Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning
Office (PCDSPO) Secretary Ramon Carandang said Public Works and Highways
Secretary Rogelio Singson reported to the Chief Executive the substantial
completion of Phase 2 of the Pasig-Marikina River Channel Improvement Project.
"There have been projects ongoing with the
DPWH and the DENR (Department of Environment and Natural Resources) that are
part of a comprehensive program to prevent the kind of systemic flooding that
we’ve seen throughout Metro Manila," Carandang said.
"Phase II of the Pasig-Marikina River
Channel Improvement Project is about 99 percent complete. So that’s what we
saw, that’s what we looked at. Then there is Phase II-B which is about 87
percent complete. We began in Bahay Pangarap, and we went all the way up to the
Pasig-Marikina area, the Napindan Hydraulic Flood Control Structure," he
said.
The Pasig-Marikina River Channel Improvement
aims for the improvement of the river channel stretching from Pasig River in
Manila to the junction of the Pasig River and Marikina River.
In order to mitigate the flood damage in Metro
Manila caused by the overflowing of the Pasig-Marikina River Basin, the project
involves the creation of a detailed engineering design for flood control,
information campaign and the clearing of obstructions along river waterways
that impede the flow of water.
"Again, the idea here is to increase the
holding capacity of the river so that it doesn’t overflow so easily the next
time there’s a storm," Carandang said.
Carandang said the DPWH, the DENR and other
concerned government departments are coming up with a master plan for flood
management in Metro Manila and the surrounding areas.
“Basically, what causes flooding in Metro Manila
is when you have strong rains, the Wawa River tends to overflow into this
tributaries and eventually lead to Pasig River. And because the volume of water
is so great, you end up with floods in the Metro Manila area," he said.
Funded under a loan agreement between the
Government of the Philippines and the Japan International Cooperation Agency
(JICA), the project, under two contract packages with contractor Toyo
Construction Company Limited, was implemented by the DPWH Major Flood Control
Projects (Cluster 1)-Project Management Office under supervision of Project
Director Patrick Gatan, according to the DPWH in an earlier statement. (js)
