Aquino receives Queen Sofia of Spain in
Malacañang
President Benigno S. Aquino III received Tuesday
evening visiting Queen Sofia of Spain in Malacanang who arrived in the country
for a five-day visit.
The President and Queen Sofia had a meeting at
the Palace’s Music Room immediately after the Queen of Spain arrived in
Malacanang and signed the Guest Book.
After the meeting, President Aquino hosted a
dinner for the Spanish monarch.
Queen Sofia arrived at the Ninoy Aquino
International Airport on board the Emirates Air flight on Monday afternoon.
Prior to her meeting with the President, the
Queen had several engagements Tuesday morning. She met non-government
organizations, Spanish institutions and personnel working for the United
Nations agencies in the Philippines.
After that, she visited the historic Intramuros
and the National Library for the inauguration of a joint photography exhibit by
Spanish and Filipino artists. Queen Sofia is also scheduled to visit the
University of Santo Tomas.
While in the country, she will visit the
Spanish-assisted projects in Manila and in the provinces. On Wednesday, she
will fly to Legaspi City to unveil the statue of Jose Maria Penaranda, the
first governor of Albay.
She will also visit an evacuation center, a
hospital and inspect Spanish-government emergency and disaster response
projects in the province.
On Thursday, Queen Sofia will go to Zamboanga
City to visit a housing project where she will also inspect several
Spanish-funded projects in the province.
Queen Sofia is scheduled to return to Spain
Friday evening.
Last year, the Spanish government released 28.9
million Euros in forms of grants and loans for the Philippines. Among the
projects funded by the Spanish assistance include basic social needs,
environment, culture and development, gender and development, and the
prevention of conflict and peace-building. (as/7:31pm)
Aquino welcomes Queen Sofia of Spain, says both
countries are co-equals in pursuit to fulfill potential of Filipinos and
Spaniards
President Benigno S. Aquino III welcomed Her
Majesty Queen Sofia of the Kingdom of Spain to Malacañang on Tuesday as part of
the visiting monarch’s five-day trip to the Philippines which began on July 2.
The President hosted a State Banquet in honor of
the Queen of Spain at Malacañang’s Rizal Hall. Guests composed of government
officials, and the diplomatic corps, among others were present to welcome Her
Majesty.
In a toast, the President cited the bilateral relations
between the Philippines and Spain saying both countries are now co-equals in
pursuing the goal of “fulfilling the vast potential of our peoples.”
“Today, the Philippines and Spain stand
shoulder-to-shoulder in pursuing the ultimate goals of both our nations ---of
fulfilling the vast potential of our peoples,” the President said.
“And we are working together---whether in trade,
sports, defense, or in tourism---in all the vital spheres of human endeavor,”
he added.
The President said that while bilateral trade
with Spain has been steadily increasing with 2011 trade figures pegged at
$329.6-million, Spain has been making further contributions to the Filipinos
lives through their Official Development Assistance and numerous humanitarian
programs.
He cited Spain’s ODA which, he said, has helped
finance livelihood and housing programs for Filipinos on the grassroots level.
“In a substantial way, Spain is working with
Filipinos, to empower Filipinos to be more productive, educated, healthy
citizens that (National Hero Dr. Jose Rizal) so deeply wanted them to be,” the
President said.
The President also mentioned the 1.4-million
Euros donated by Spain to the victims of typhoon Sendong in Mindanao which “has
gone a long way towards rebuilding the lives and communities of our countrymen
who were affected by the disaster.”
“For this, we are very sincerely grateful,” the
President stressed.
The President said the visit of Her Majesty
Queen Sofia was “a new history being made” that highlighted “a partnership
between two nations with shared democratic ideals; of friendship based, not on
nostalgia, but a principled commitment to the positive strength that can be
derived from divergent histories, but with a shared, and affectionate, cultural
affinity.” (rck)
Her Majesty the Queen of Spain underscores the
role of the Philippines in development
Looking beyond the many historical, social and cultural
links Spain and the Philippines share, Her Majesty Queen Sofia of the Kingdom
of Spain said on Tuesday that her country now sees the Philippines as a
valuable partner in strengthening trade between Spain and the Asian region.
In her remarks during a State Banquet hosted by
President Benigno S. Aquino III in her honor in Malacañang on Tuesday, Her
Majesty Queen Sofia said the Philippines is a “priority country” in the
development of trade relations with other Asian countries.
“The Crown, the government and the people of
Spain see the Philippines not only as a sister country with whom we share many
historical, social and cultural links because of our common past but also as a
key partner in Asia to boost development we are fully committed to,” Her Majesty
Queen Sofia said.
“The Philippines has been and will always be a
priority country for the Spanish cooperation for development,” she added.
She assured the President of her country’s
continued support in the President’s campaign against corruption and the
occurrence of “frequent” natural disasters.
“We will also stand by the Filipino people to
overcome the frequent natural disasters that the country suffers just like the
case of typhoon Sendong last December,” Her Majesty Queen Sofia stressed.
“Mr. President, I cannot but praise your
determination and that of your government to get the millions of Filipinos out
of poverty and your commitment to transparency, good governance and
accountability,” she said.
“You can count on the Spanish cooperation on
your endeavor,” Her Majesty Queen Sofia concluded. (rck)
TESDA to vigorously expand in Central
Luzon-based Freeport Zones with skilled workers
Echoing the principle of President Benigno S.
Aquino III to foster the investment and business climate in Central Luzon, the
Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) vowed to
aggressively expand its stake in Central Luzon-based Freeport Zones by ensuring
a pool of highly-qualified and skilled workers.
TESDA Director General Joel Villanueva said the
authority sealed the pledge by signing various memorandum of agreement with the
Clark Development Corporation (CDC), Subic Bay Metropolitan Administration
(SBMA) and the Authority of the Freeport Area of Bataan (AFAB).
Villanueva said TESDA also inked separate
agreements with 90 companies operating in the Freeport Zones and 40 technical
vocational education and training (TVET) for the delivery of the dual training
system (DTS).
He said the agreement with CDC, SBMA and AFAB
covers the sharing and updating of labor market information such as job
opportunities from companies, list of graduates of technical vocation
institutions and list of certified workers.
“The MOA also formalizes our agreement to
conduct industry studies to determine proper TVET interventions, and to help in
our policy-making work on skills prioritization, training, upgrading and
re-tooling of workers,” Villanueva said.
“We want to expand our stake on businesses in
the country’s growth corridors such as Freeport Zones that can easily serve as
catch basin of our graduates,” he added.
Under the agreement, TESDA and industry locators
in the three Freeport Zones will regularly exchange information and updates on
their programs.
Villanueva said the TESDA will provide the list
of technical and skills development graduates, the registry of workers who have
been assessed and certified, and relevant guidelines related to the DTS.
The Freeport Zones in turn will give an
up-to-date list of job vacancies or job opportunities, result of assessment and
study about the manpower requirements of locators and comprehensive and
up-to-date directory of Freeport locators, list of groups or associations among
industry locators and relevant studies that TESDA can utilize in the planning
of their programs.
“We hope this partnership with the industry
players will serve as model to other regions for effective implementation and
provision of TVET programs and services,” Villanueva said.
Following the MOA signing on July 4, Villanueva
also graced the opening of the TESDA Jobs Fair in San Fernando, Pampanga where
around 4,000 job-seekers and 100 local and overseas companies and recruitment
agencies participated.
The Job Fair was organized in partnership with
JobsDB, DOLE-III, Philippine Overseas Employment Agency, local government units
through the Public Employment Service Office, Labor Departments of CDC, SBMA,
AFAB and the City of Government of San Fernando. (js)
President Aquino receives outgoing Cuban Ambassador
in Malacanang
President Benigno S. Aquino III received
outgoing Cuban Ambassador to the Philippines, His Excellency Juan Carlos
Arencibia Corrales, who paid a farewell call on him following a productive and
successful tour of duty in the country.
The Cuban Ambassador met with President Aquino
in simple ceremonies at the Music Room of the Malacanang Palace on Wednesday
morning.
Also present during the event were Foreign
Affairs Undersecretary Erlinda Basilio, Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary
Patricia Ann Paez and Foreign Affairs Director Anthony Reyes.
The long-standing relations between the
Philippines and Cuba has brought relevant developments beneficial to their
people in various fields that include health, science and technology,
agriculture, education, culture and sports, among others.
The Cuban government has been helping other
countries in the field of public health, particularly in the fight against the
relentless scourge of diseases, many of them preventable and curable, that has
claimed thousands of lives worldwide.
Ambassador Corrales arrived in the Philippines
on September 23, 2010 as the Ambassador-Designate of the Republic of Cuba to
the Republic of the Philippines.
The Cuban envoy has served as Senior Diplomatic
Officer in both Asia and Africa.
Last July, 2011, the Philippines and Cuba
celebrated the 65th anniversary of the establishment of their diplomatic relations
which contributed a lot to a better understanding and mutual support between
the two governments and people. (jcl/ 12:15 p.m.)
Aquino government assures a well-defined mining
policy consistent with 1987 Constitution
The Aquino administration assured that it would
come up with a well-defined mining policy consistent with the 1987
Constitution, a Palace official said on Wednesday.
Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda issued
the statement during the regular press briefing in Malacanang following reports
that some governors and stakeholders plan to challenge the Aquino
administration's new mining policy before the Supreme Court (SC) the moment it
is signed.
"We can't preempt anyone from filing a
lawsuit. What is important is that we are making sure that the Executive Order
(EO) on mining will stand constitutional scrutiny," Lacierda said.
Lacierda noted that the administration is
presently conducting extensive consultations with mining stakeholders before
finalizing the draft EO.
"We don't have yet the final EO but it has
been discussed. It would be released soon," Lacierda said adding that the
new mining policy is undergoing "fine-tuning" in certain provisions.
The government is pushing efforts for the
crafting of the new mining policy that will be beneficial for both the
government and mining investors.
The Chamber of Mines of the Philippines claimed
that the mining industry lost significant amount of mining investments last
year because of the absence of a new mining policy in the country.
With the crafting of the new mining policy, the
Aquino administration hopes that the new measure will generate more revenues
for the government in the face of a high demand for metallic resources. The new
EO also aims to balance out concerns on environment protection and economic
gains. (js)
Palace denies report that Chinese and Taiwanese
fishermen were spotted in Benham Rise
The Aquino administration said the Chinese and
Taiwanese fishermen are not fishing in the Benham Rise, an undersea landmass in
the Pacific Ocean recently declared by the United Nations Convention on the Law
of the Sea (UNCLOS) as part of the Philippine territory.
Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda issued
the statement during the regular press briefing in Malacanang on Wednesday
following reports that Chinese and Taiwanese poachers were spotted in the
Benham Rise.
"There are no Chinese poachers in Benham
Rise. Also there are no reports of Taiwanese fishing activities there,"
Lacierda said.
"We are the only country that was allowed
to fish blue fin tuna. There’s a regional pacific management body in charge of
fishing in the Pacific waters," he said.
The government has no plan to put up structures
in the said Philippine territory to prevent foreign fishermen from exploring in
the area, according to Lacierda.
"We have the Coast Guard and BFAR vessels
plying the area. In fact, we have improved the capability of the Coast Guard
that’s why walang intention to put up structures. But it’s being
monitored," Lacierda said.
The United Nations has approved the Philippines'
territorial claim to Benham Rise, an undersea landmass in the Pacific Ocean
potentially rich in mineral and natural gas deposits.
Benham Rise was found off the coast of Aurora
province, Northeastern part of Luzon Island. It is part of the Philippine
continental shelf and its 200 Nautical Mile Exclusive Economic Zone.
Benham Rise, also known as Benham Plateau, is a
13-million hectare undersea region east of Luzon. The plateau is a massive
formation of basalt, a common volcanic rock, and is described in a study as a
thickened portion of the Philippine Sea plate's oceanic crust.
On April 8, 2009, records revealed that the
Philippines filed an official claim with the UN Commission on Limits of the
Continental Shelf in New York.
The UNCLOS decided that Benham Rise belongs to
the Philippines. (js)
Social alleviation programs will benefit the
poor in the long term, Palace says
Malacanang said it expects the government's
social alleviation program to benefit the poor in the long term as the economy
continues to perform well.
In a media briefing in Malacanang on Wednesday,
Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said the recent figures on declining
hunger incidence in the country might swing in the short-term but social
programs of the government will have positive effects in the long term.
“The effect of our social (poverty) alleviation
programs will kick in and naniniwala kami na as we address the concerns of our
constituents, maaayos ‘yan,” Lacierda said.
Lacierda also said the Aquino government is
confident that the country’s agricultural output will increase in the next
quarter.
“We are confident na itong next quarter ay mas tataas
ang kalagayan ng ating mga kababayan,” he said.
A survey, released by the Social Weather
Stations (SWS) on Tuesday, found that Filipinos who say they experienced hunger
recently have dropped.
According to the Second Quarter Social Weather
Survey, conducted last May, hunger among Filipinos dropped from a record high
earlier this year, from 23.8 percent last March to 18 percent.
Respondents from across the nation were asked if
they experienced hunger in the last three months. Those who said they experienced
hunger were then asked about the regularity of their experience, and were
classified under Moderate and Severe hunger.
Moderate Hunger, or those who experienced it
"only once" or "a few times," is down from 18 percent to
13.7 percent. Meanwhile, Severe Hunger rating dropped from 5.8 percent to 4.8
percent, according to SWS. (as/4:47pm)
President Aquino to keynote League of
Corporation Foundations Corporate Social Responsibility Expo 2012
President Benigno S. Aquino III will keynote the
League of Corporation Foundation's (LCF) Corporate Social Responsibility Expo
2012 that will be held at the SMX Convention Center of the Mall of Asia in
Pasay City on Thursday.
The two-day event themed “Transforming the
Business of Giving Back,” aims to highlight how businesses can operate by
balancing social, environmental and economic responsibility within an
ethical-moral framework while ensuring sufficient financial return for
sustainability.
The LCF, a steadfast promoter of the practice of
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) for nation building, is a network of over
70 operating and grant-making corporate foundations and corporations that
promotes and enhances the strategic practice of Corporate Social Responsibility
among its members and the larger business community, towards sustained national
development.
Some of the big member companies of the group
are the San Miguel Corp., Sagittarius Mines Inc., Toyota Motor Philippines
Corp., Metrobank Group, Ayala Foundation, Lopez Group Foundation, Aboitiz Foundation,
Energy Development Corp., and PLDT-Smart Foundation.
Over 600 delegates from diverse sectors are
expected to attend the Expo, consisting of CSR practitioners, executives,
entrepreneurs, government representatives, academicians and civil society
partners. (rck)
Aquino vows to address drug manufacturing,
health care issues
President Benigno S. Aquino III made an
assurance Wednesday that his government will look into the concerns of the
pharmaceutical manufacturing and health care sectors in the country
particularly law-mandated price control and monopoly issues.
During the Wallace Business Forum Roundtable
discussion on Wednesday in Makati City, the President said he believes that if
the Philippines has exactly the same medicine being sold in another country,
there has to be some parity of price.
“We would want to see everybody, meaning the
consumer and the producer getting a fair share and we will review… we are
classical economists, so we’d like the marketplace to determine. But when there
are distortions in the marketplace, I think, the government really has to
intervene,” the President said.
President Aquino was reacting to concerns raised
by the pharmaceutical companies saying price distortions as well as a law
regulating the prices of medicines affect their business.
The President also said he’ll ask the Department
of Health to come up with statistics about the actual number of Filipinos who
never get to see a health professional. Industry experts said six out of 10
Filipinos do not get to see a health professional in their lifetime.
Mentioning his administration's healthcare
thrust, the President said that currently the country has 82 percent coverage
for universal healthcare. The government is now focusing on the level that
represents the informal sector of the society that is difficult to find and
enroll in the program.
But the overall goal is to achieve 100 percent
universal healthcare coverage by 2014, according to the President. The
government, he said, has launched recently the Z type cases that will be
covered by PhilHealth which will include people suffering from more serious
illnesses.
“We launched the catastrophic or the Z type
cases that will also be covered by PhilHealth. So more people being covered for
more diseases having access to more services, is not a plan, it’s actually a
reality at this point,” he said.
In an industry overview, Carlito Realuyo, the
head of Sanofi-Aventis in the Philippines said Pharmaceutical Association of
the Philippines (PHAP) supports the majority of Aquino administration’s
healthcare agenda specifically RA 9711, the Mexico City Declaration, the
Universal health care and the public-private partnership (PPP).
PHAP also supports moves increasing fees that
encourage the government to fast track the approval of Food and Drugs
Administration’s (FDA) revenue retention so the agency can build capacity and
improve services and enforcement, Realuyo said.
But he said they are against price regulation
implemented in 2009 and the congressional initiatives aimed at creating a drug
regulatory board.
“We commend and are very proud that your
Excellency endorsed the Mexico City Declaration or the principles for a
voluntary code of business ethics in the bio-pharmaceutical sector during the
last Apec meeting in Hawaii,” Realuyo said. (as/6:03pm)
Aquino vows support for convergence program of
agricultural and environmental agencies
President Benigno S. Aquino III renewed his
support to the convergence program of the Department of Agriculture, Department
of Agrarian Reform and Department of Environment and Natural Resources saying
he is excited about the outcome of the program.
The government wants to ensure that trees
planted under the convergence initiative grow and reach maturity, the President
said during the Wallace Business Forum Quarterly Round Table in Makati City on
Wednesday.
Communities involved in the program will guard
the coffee and cacao trees and are given stipends, the President said adding
within a year and a half to three years, the trees will mature and will be
ready for harvest.
The government started implementing the program
in Northern Mindanao and in other areas and has so far covered 128,000 hectares
planted to coffee, rubber, cacao and various forest species, according to the
President.
“We are very, very excited. Some of the informal
settlers actually will be resettled. They have a preference for upland areas.
So you have a solution for the informal settlers. You have a solution for
protecting the forest and therefore the flood-control program as well,” he
said.
“So this is really convergence of so many
problems and the attendant solution is something that we are very excited
about. And we will really support this particular program.”
CEO of Nestle Philippines Inc., said they are
committed to developing the country’s agriculture because they believe they
have an obligation to the Philippine society where Nestle operates.
For this reason Miller said Nestle has signed an
agreement with DENR, DA and DAR to help the country’s agriculture sector and
help farmers earn a living.
So far, stakeholders were able to plant two
million coffee seedlings to 2,000 hectares of lands nationwide. They were also
able to train 2,500 farmers and held two investors’ fora.
“I believe that by working together we can truly
bring about change. This is a long-term commitment I believe from the
government and certainly from the industry. We believe also that to attract
foreign direct investment the industry needs large quantities of quality and
competitively priced agriculture produce. And here, I think the government is
already playing a very important role,” Miller said.
The convergence initiative was created through
the joint efforts of the DA, DENR, and DAR to develop a common framework for
sustainable rural development by putting together the resources of the three
agencies to maximize the impact on countryside development. (as/7:09pm)
