Aquino declares August 28 a non-working day in
Naga City for interment of DILG Secretary Robredo
President Benigno S. Aquino III has declared
August 28 which falls on a Tuesday as a special (non-working) day in the City
of Naga, Camarines Sur, in view of the interment of the late Interior and Local
Government Secretary Jesse M. Robredo who died in a plane crash off the coast
of Masbate on August 18.
The Chief Executive issued the declaration,
through Proclamation No. 461, signed by Executive Secretary Paquito N. Ochoa
Jr. on August 24 to give the people of the City of Naga the opportunity to
honor and show their respect for the late Secretary Robredo.
"Earlier, the City Government of Naga
issued a resolution requesting the Office of the President to declare Tuesday,
August 28, the day of Secretary Robredo’s interment, a non-working day. This is
to allow the people of Naga to participate in the State Funeral and pay their
last respects to their beloved former mayor and Secretary of the
Interior," according to Bulletin No. 8 released by the Committee on
Funeral Arrangements and Burial of the late Secretary Robredo.
The funeral mass for the late Secretary Robredo
will take place in the Basilica Minore de Nuestra Señora de Peñafrancia at 10
a.m. on Tuesday, August 28.
"This will be followed by the rendering of
full military honors at 11 a.m., and by the conclusion of the State Funeral at
Funeraria Imperial, where the remains of the late Secretary will be
cremated," the bulletin said. (js)
Aquino leads oath-taking ceremony for Chief
Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno
President Benigno S. Aquino III administered the
oath of office Saturday to incoming Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Maria
Lourdes Punzalan Aranal-Sereno after she was chosen to become the 24th Chief
Justice of the High Tribunal.
The President led the oath-taking ceremony
Saturday morning at Rizal Hall of Malacanang. Sereno was accompanied by her
husband, Mario Jose Sereno and their two children Maria Sofia and Jose Lorenzo.
Also present during Saturday’s oath-taking
ceremony were Rep. Erin Tanada, Budget Secretary Florencio Abad, Executive
Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr., Justice Secretary Leila de Lima, Bishop Efraim M.
Tendero, former SC chief justice Artemio Panganiban, SC’s associate justices
and former justices of the High Court.
In an interview after the ceremony, Presidential
Communication Operations Office Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said Chief
Justice Sereno will have an opportunity to push the reforms in the judiciary
especially those that started during the impeachment trial of the former chief
justice.
The appointment of Sereno to the High Court will
bring back the public trust and confidence to the country’s judicial system and
ensure equal protection of the law, Coloma said noting that those who have less
in life should have more in law.
Also during the same event, Justice Secretary de
Lima, one of the contenders for the post, congratulated Sereno adding the
Supreme Court will now be in good hands with her stewardship.
Sereno’s youth, dynamism and brilliance would
ensure that the country can look forward to a judiciary that would be worthy of
the people’s trust, she said.
Sereno, the country’s first woman chief justice,
was appointed by President Aquino on August 16, 2010 as the 169th Justice of
the SC. She was President Aquino’s first appointee to the SC.
Access to justice is one of the centerpiece
advocacies of Justice Sereno. One of her earlier works in law school included a
review of the interface between domestic laws and indigenous customary laws.
Prior to her joining the SC, she was engaged in
major international litigation as co-counsel for the Republic, after which she
joined the Asian Institute of Management as Executive Director of its
think-tank - the AIM Policy Center - where she pursued her interest in policy
reform and its impact on governance and the economy. (as)
Palace says Robredo’s successor must ensure DILG
reforms continue
President Benigno S. Aquino III will ensure that
reforms initiated by the late Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse
Robredo will continue when he chooses a successor to the interior and local
government post, a Palace official said on Saturday.
It was reported that there are groups apparently
lobbying for the post left by Secretary Robredo but Deputy Presidential
spokesperson Abigail Valte said the President will not be swayed by anyone
lobbying to get the position.
“The President has always made decisions based
on his personal assessment of what is needed in a particular department and
also based on his personal assessment of a person’s capability to carry out the
mandate,” Valte said in a radio interview Saturday over dzRB Radyo ng Bayan.
“If you remember what ES Ochoa said when he
first went to DILG last week, ang sinabi niya --- ‘Sisiguraduhin natin na ‘yung
mga reporma tumutuloy.’ Alam natin na temporary OIC si ES Ochoa. Moving
forward, the successor will also have to make sure that the reforms that were
started by Secretary Jess are continued,” she said.
One of the reforms that should continue is
eliminating red tape the way local government units conduct their businesses,
Valte said adding the Aquino administration was able to do it in departments
such as the Department of Trade and Industry in approving business permits.
Valet also noted that the Department of Interior
and Local Government under the leadership of Robredo recognizes the
achievements of LGUs on good governance and and this is something the
administration wants to continue.
“Secretary Robredo was responsible for making
sure that the LGUs would cooperate and would also streamline their system
pagdating doon sa mga mayor’s permit, sa mga business permit na binibigay ng
mga LGU.
So maraming mga LGU ang sumusunod sa shortened
system natin dahil din sa pagsusumikap ni Secretary Jess. These are the reforms
that we are also looking to continue,” Valte said.
Meanwhile, with regards to the ongoing
investigation on the plane crash that killed Robredo, Valte said the Civil
Aviation Authority of the Philippines has been strict in assessing the
competency of flying schools in the country, especially the aircraft involved
came from a flying school in Cebu.
Valte said that even before last week’s incident
happened, CAAP Administrator William Hotchkiss, upon assuming office, tightened
CAAP’s watch on the flying schools in the country.
Before the plane crash last Saturday, the
aviation school, which owns the plane used by Robredo, became involved in a
similar crash in Cebu. Robredo and two others died when their plane crashed off
Masbate last Saturday. (as/1:02pm)
Palace hopes for Ambassador Brady’s full
recovery
Malacanang said it hopes for the full recovery
of Philippine Ambassador to China Sonia Brady after she suffered a stroke in
her residence in Beijing this week. The Palace at the same time assured the
public that the country has enough personnel in China to maintain the country’s
interests there.
In a radio interview over dzRB Radyo ng Bayan on
Saturday, Deputy Presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said Brady is already
in stable condition and recovering in the hospital.
Valte said Malacanang was concerned about
Brady’s health the time it received a report from China. But she said they got
an assurance from the Department of Foreign Affairs that it is getting regular
bulletins from its post in Beijing about the condition of Ambassador Brady.
“At the moment ang concern is for her recovery.
We have very capable fellow workers in the Beijing post who can keep the
affairs going on a daily basis,” she said.
Brady was brought to a hospital last Wednesday
after she passed out in her residence in Beijing, according to the DFA.
President Aquino III named Brady the country’s
ambassador in China in May 27 this year.
Brady, who turned 70 last Wednesday, is serving
her second tour of duty as ambassador to China. She has served the same
position from 2006 to 2010.
The Aquino administration hopes that Brady, a
veteran diplomat, could find a peaceful solution to the Scarborough Shoal
dispute by employing diplomatic means to resolve the issue. (as/1:55pm)
