Stronger LP will sustain bureaucratic reforms
even beyond 2016, Aquino says
LA TRINIDAD, Benguet: Organizing a stronger
Liberal Party with the help of the people will ensure that the reforms
spearheaded by the present administration are sustained, President Benigno S.
Aquino III said on Monday.
Speaking during the oath-taking ceremony of the
new members of Liberal Party here, the President said LP can proudly present
party members and leaders who truly served the people and remained loyal to the
party.
“Niyaya namin kayo sa partido, salamat po sa
pagsapi n’yo sa amin. Hindi tayo nandito ngayon para magpasikat; nandito tayo
lahat ngayon para siguraduhing matatag po ang ating plataporma de gobyerno,”
the President told the new LP members.
The President stressed that creating a stronger
LP will ensure that there will be a new pool of leaders that will serve the
people even after he and other senior party leaders bowed out of office.
“Tunay na maninindigan dahil ito po ang tama.
Tunay na naniniwala na kaya nating baguhin ang ating nakagisnan. Ang kailangan
lang ay mayroong tumayo rito para sa ating lahat at manguna. Yan po ang
inaasahan namin sa inyong lahat,” he said referring to the new breed of
leaders.
The President noted that it would be regrettable
if the reforms initiated by his government will not be sustained. During the
event, President Aquino, the Liberal Party chairman, led the mass oath-taking
of 300 new LP members in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) at the
Benguet State University.
LP officials are committed to advance the
party’s political ideology and philosophy to sustainably increase the number of
its supporters in advancing the President’s rallying call for a righteous path.
Joining the President during the ceremony were
Transportation and Communication Secretary Mar Roxas, Interior and Local
Government Secretary Jessie Robredo, House Deputy speaker Erin Tanada and
Ifugao Rep. Teddy Baguilat.
The incoming LIberal Party members of the
Cordillera Administrative Region are composed of incumbent and local officials
and sectoral leaders from the provinces of Ifugao, Benguet, Mountain Province,
Abra, Kalinga and Apayao and Baguio City. (as/12:57pm)
Aquino declares July 4 as special non-working
day in Cadiz City, Negros Occidental
President Benigno S. Aquino III has declared
July 4, which falls on a Wednesday, as a special (non-working) day in Cadiz
City in the province of Negros Occidental in celebration of its 45th Charter
Day.
The Chief Executive issued the declaration
through Proclamation No. 411 signed by Executive Secretary Paquito N. Ochoa Jr.
on June 18, 2012 to give the people of Cadiz the full opportunity to celebrate
and participate in the occasion with appropriate ceremonies
On July 4, 1967, Cadiz was inaugurated as a city
by virtue of Republic Act No. 4894.
Cadiz City is a gateway and premier center of
agro-fishery resources of Negros Island. (js)
Gov't may charge ship-owner who hit Filipino
fishermen in West Philippine Sea, Aquino says
LA TRINIDAD, Benguet: President Benigno S.
Aquino III said he has ordered an investigation into the reported ramming
incident allegedly by a Chinese vessel that killed a Filipino fisherman adding
that the government may file charges against the owner of said vessel once the
investigation is completed.
“We are gathering all the necessary evidence ---
we are not accusing anybody at this point,” the President told reporters after
the oath-taking ceremony of the new Liberal Party members here.
“Once we have gathered the necessary evidence,
then if there was a ramming incident and iniwan yung mga tao sa dagat that is
in clear violation of the laws governing the seas. We can go to the appropriate
fora to file the necessary charges for justice for our fishermen,” the
President said.
The President said that there is still an
on-going operation to rescue four fishermen reported still missing. The
government is giving assistance to the three fishermen who were hospitalized
because of hypothermia.
The President also appealed to the public not to
finger-point and accuse anybody to avoid complicating the already tense
situation in the West Philippine Sea.
It was reported last week that a Chinese vessel
rammed a Philippine fishing boat north of the disputed West Philippine Sea
killing a Filipino fisherman and leaving four others missing.
According to the National Disaster Risk
Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) the said vessel might have
intentionally hit the fishing boat and left the Filipino fishermen at sea after
the incident.
Although the Department of Foreign Affairs
reported that there are no Chinese and Philippine vessels inside the Panatag
Shoal, the President reiterated that he’ll send back coast guard ships in the
contested area once the weather improves. (as/1:31pm)
Aquino says government to support Recto Bank gas
exploration
LA TRINIDAD, Benguet: Businessman Manuel
Pangilinan will have the government’s full backing regarding his plans to
expand the consortium undertaking gas exploration in the Recto Bank in the West
Philippine Sea as long as he complies with government guidelines, President
Benigno S. Aquino III said on Monday.
Recto Bank is part of the territory disputed by
the Philippines and China. “This is a major project. There will be a lot of
finances that are needed and it is incumbent upon him to source this financing
also. So, so long as it complies with the terms and conditions as stipulated in
the service contract, we have no issue with this venture,” the President said
after he spearheaded the oath-taking ceremony here of the new members of the
Liberal Party members.
With regards to the concerns on the
Philippines’s assertion of its sovereignty over the Recto Bank, the President
said there should be no question about it because the Philippine government is
the one issuing the service contract.
“It is our service contract. It is not a joint
service contract. So Mr. Pangilinan will be undertaking the venture based on
authorization coming from the Philippine government,” he said.
Pangilinan said the Philippine-based Philex
Petroleum Corp. (PXP) is preparing to work with the state-owned China National
Offshore Oil Corp. (CNOOC) on the project subject to a framework acceptable to
both the Philippine and Chinese governments.
The move is aimed at internationalizing and
de-politicizing the concession area while boosting the financial and
technological muscle for the project, he said.
But before pursuing the venture, Pangilinan
noted that his group should make it clear to both the Philippine and Chinese
governments that they were neither qualified nor authorized to talk about the
sovereignty issues.
Expanding the consortium is necessary because of
the large cost and technical capability involved in gas exploration, Pangilinan
said adding that it will need the companies that have expertise like CNOOC,
Shell or Exxon Mobil. (as/1:58pm)
Ochoa declines nomination for Supreme Court
Chief Justice
Executive Secretary Paquito “Jojo” Ochoa Jr.
declined his nomination for the position of Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.
In his letter to the Judicial and Bar Council
(JBC) dated June 22, 2012, Ochoa formally declined the nomination.
“The undersigned has received information that I
have been nominated for the position of Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of
the Republic of the Philippines,” the letter read.
“I respectfully decline the nomination,” it
added.
Reports revealed that a certain Egay Bigay was
responsible for Ochoa’s nomination.
It will be recalled that the JBC has extended
the submission of nominations for the Chief Magistrate post up to July 2 to
give more chance to the public to nominate their bets.
The deadline was supposed to end last June 18.
The JBC will be releasing the list of applicants
and nominees for the post on July 7. It is expected to submit a shortlist to
President Benigno S. Aquino III by the end of July. (jcl/3:00 p.m.)
