Aquino declares July 2 a special non-working day
in Pasig City to mark its Founding Anniversary
President Benigno S. Aquino III has declared
July 2 which falls on a Monday as a special (non-working) day in Pasig City in
celebration of its 439th Founding Anniversary.
The Chief Executive issued the declaration
through Proclamation No. 410 signed by Executive Secretary Paquito N. Ochoa Jr.
on June 18 to give the people of Pasig City the full opportunity to celebrate
and participate in the occasions with appropriate ceremonies
Known as one of the oldest towns in the
Philippines, Pasig was created by the Augustinians 439 years ago.
Pasig was the former capital of the province of
Rizal until 1975 when the Metro Manila Commission was created under
Presidential Decree No. 824. By virtue of PD No. 824, Pasig is presently one of
the city-municipalities of Metro Manila. (js)
Palace congratulates 'coach Spo' of Miami Heat
Malacañang extended its congratulations to the
Filipino-American head coach of the Miami Heat, Erik Spoelstra, for
successfully steering his team through the National Basketball Association
(NBA) championship after beating the visiting Oklahoma City Thunder in a
decisive game five last Thursday (Friday morning in Manila).
Deputy Presidential Spokesperson Abigail Valte
conveyed the message over Radyo ng Bayan (DZRB) Saturday, saying that while the
government doesn’t want to pick a side over the competing teams, they would
like to give a congratulatory shoutout to the Fil-Am basketball coach.
“Congratulations to Coach Erik Spoelstra. We did
not want to… As I mentioned earlier, we do not take sides but special mention
and a very big congratulations to Coach Erik Spoelstra,” Valte said.
Valte also welcomed Spoelstra’s reported
statement that he would bring the NBA trophy to the Philippines. “That would be
good. Maraming fans si ‘Coach Spo’ dito sa Pilipinas that would like to also
convey their congratulations and I’m sure a lot of fans will be excited,” she
said.
With the Miami Heat’s recent victory, the
41-yearold Spoelstra becomes the first Asian-American head coach to have won an
NBA championship. He is often regarded by fans as the “Heart of the Heat” and is
well-respected among the team’s staff and players.
A proud Filipino, Spoelstra has been visiting
the Philippines during NBA’s off-season to promote a healthy and active
lifestyle among youths through basketball clinics via the NBA FIT program. He
was welcomed by President Benigno S. Aquino III last year when he paid a
courtesy call in Malacañang.
Spoelstra is the son of Elisa Celino, a Filipina
from San Pablo, Laguna, and Jon Spoelstra—an American of Dutch and Irish
descent—who was an NBA executive for the Portland Trail Blazers, Denver
Nuggets, Buffalo Braves and New Jersey Nets.
Financial Action Task Force upgrades Philippines
The Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC)
reported that the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) responded positively to the
initiatives of the Philippine government to enhance its transparency and
accountability mechanisms in financial transactions, a Palace official said on
Saturday.
In an interview aired over government-run dzRB
Radyo ng Bayan on Saturday, Deputy Presidential Spokesperson Abigail Valte
issued the statement following reports on the non-inclusion of the Philippines
in the FATF’s black list of non-cooperative countries.
In his letter to President Benigno S. Aquino
III, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Amando M. Tetangco, Jr., in his
capacity as Chairman of the AMLC, said that the FATF has recognized the reforms
instituted by the Philippine government by upgrading the Philippines from the
“dark grey list” to its “grey list.”
According to Governor Tetangco’s report, the
FATF took notice of the passage of key legislative reforms certified as urgent
by the President. In particular, the bills recently signed into law – “An Act
To Further Strengthen The Anti-Money Laundering Law” and “The Terrorism
Financing Prevention And Suppression Act of 2012” – strengthened the capability
of government to identify and prevent financial transactions related to illegal
activities and those that undermine global security.
"These reforms enabled the Philippines from
being classified and downgraded to the “black list,” which would have resulted
in stricter inspections of financial transactions in the country, delayed
remittances, and higher transaction fees,” Valte said.
Valte reiterated that transparency and
accountability are among the foremost guiding principles of the Aquino
administration.
"And while we recognize that more needs to
be done to strengthen our existing anti-money laundering and anti-financial
terrorism measures, we take the satisfaction expressed by the FATF as
affirmation of the institutional reforms that we have constantly
advocated," she said.
The Financial Action Task Force was established
by the G-7 Summit that was held in Paris in 1989 in response to mounting
concerns over money laundering. This inter-governmental body sets the standards
and promotes effective implementation of legal, regulatory and operational
measures for combating money laundering, terrorist financing and other related
threats to the integrity of the international financial system. (js)
Palace lauds conviction of Indonesian terrorist
involved in Bali resort bombings in 2002
Reiterating its strong and unequivocal
condemnation of terrorism, the Aquino administration lauded the conviction of
Indonesian terrorist Umar Patek who helped in building explosives used in the
deadly 2002 Bali nightclub attacks.
In an interview aired over government-run dzRB
Radyo ng Bayan on Saturday, Deputy Presidential Spokesperson Abigail Valte issued
the statement following reports that Patek was sentenced to 20 years in prison
by an Indonesian court last Thursday.
Patek, 45, a leading member of the
al-Qaida-linked network Jemaah Islamiyah, was found guilty of all charges by
the West Jakarta District Court of violating the country’s anti-terror law for
his role in the October 12, 2002 Bali resort island attacks that killed 202
people.
"That’s a welcome development— the
conviction of Umar Patek. Anti-terrorism is a global effort. Kasama tayo doon
sa mga bansang lumalaban sa terorismo," Valte said.
"Magandang balita po ito lalo na para doon
sa mga pamilya ng mga naging biktima sa Bali bombing," she said.
Reports said the five-member judge panel
concluded that Patek played an important role in building the explosives used
in the Bali bombings. He was also sentenced for his involvement in a Jakarta
church attack on Christmas Eve in 2000 that killed 19.
“The acts of the defendant have created many
victims and caused deep suffering to the victims’ families,” the verdict said. (js)
