President Aquino challenges Filipinos to remain
steadfast in achieving common goal of an improved democracy to avoid errors of
the past
President Benigno S. Aquino III challenged
Filipinos to remain steadfast in achieving the common goal of an improved
democracy to be able to avoid the needless suffering that took place during
Martial Law.
In his speech at the launching of Senate
President Juan Ponce Enrile's autobiography, aptly called "Juan Ponce
Enrile: A Memoir" held at The Peninsula in Makati City on Thursday, the
Chief Executive said the book will empower the future generations to avoid the
errors of the past.
President Aquino thanked the 88-year-old Enrile
for sharing his thoughts, ideas and viewpoint that undoubtedly will enrich all
of the Filipino people.
"By putting forward his recollections and
his opinions, Manong Johnny bears witness to some of the most tragic and
controversial events of our history, including Martial Law. His committing his
memories and opinions to paper is a contribution to the historical
record," the President said.
"How we bear witness may lead to our making
opposite conclusions: It also extends the dividing line not just within, but
across, generations," he added.
However, the President assured the younger
readers of the book that "being exposed to opposing views is the hallmark
of a true democracy."
"In a democracy, where thoughts can
contend, we must embrace the challenge and the opportunity those competing
ideas represent. The challenge is, to engage people with different views
without being tempted to resort to oppression. The opportunity is to discover
that we can share a common goal," he continued.
"That goal is an improved democracy, one
that arose from a vibrant democracy -– where debate inspires innovation, and
innovation serves the common good," the President further stressed.
The President, who received the first copy of
Enrile's autobiography, said he looks forward to reading the book the soonest
possible time.
"I expect there will be many things Manong
Johnny and I will certainly disagree on but I assume there will be points that
we can agree on," he said.
The ABS-CBN published Enrile's memoir. PND (js)
President Aquino leads inauguration of C-3
Quezon Avenue Interchange Project
President Benigno S. Aquino III formally opened
on Friday the C-3 (G. Araneta Avenue) -- Quezon Avenue Interchange Project
aimed at easing the traffic congestion in the area.
In a speech during the inauguration, the
President said he’s happy that the Department Of Public Works and Highways
(DPWH) was able to reduce the original budget allocation for the project—from
P694 million to P430 million by improving the project design and carrying out
competitive bidding.
The project was also completed 100 hundred days
ahead of schedule, the President said adding that it was originally expected to
be completed by early December.
The President noted that the money saved from
the project could be spent to fund other undertakings.
He also expressed his gratitude to the DPWH, the
project contractor and other entities that helped in the completion of the
project.
“Talagang nagamit nang tama ang kaban ng
bayan... Siyempre sa pamumuno at sa kooperasyon na rin ni Speaker [Feliciano
Belmonte] at ng Kongreso at hindi pa tayo nagtatapos dito. Meron pa tayong
three years and nine months para mapaganda, lalo na dahil babalik ako dito sa
Quezon City, para hindi na tayo lahat nata-traffic at saka gumaan na lalo ang
hanapbuhay at ginhawa ng ating mga kababayan,” the President said.
Under the project, a 440 meter, two-lane
underpass was constructed along Quezon Ave. crossing C-3 (G. Araneta Ave.) in
Quezon City. This also include a pump room housing three submersible pumps with
an advanced discharge capacity of 277 liters per second and a power generating
set for flood control. Diaphragm walls were also constructed to serve as
retaining walls.
The contractor, under the supervision of the
DPWH, also improved the existing road, installed street lights, drainage
facilities and traffic signs in the area.
Over 100,000 vehicles traverse the area every
day, Public Works and Highways Secretary Rogelio Singson told the President
during the project briefing.
Singson said that each motorist could save P6 a
day in fuel consumption resulting to monthly savings of P20 million. In one
year, the saving would be P240 million, he said.
With those figures, the government could recover
the P430 million spent for the project in two years, Singson said. PND
(as/12:50pm)
President Aquino appoints new government
officials
President Benigno S. Aquino III has appointed
new officials in the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD),
Philippine National Oil Company (PNOC) and Civil Aviation Authority of the
Philippines (CAAP).
The appointments were announced by Deputy
Presidential Spokesperson Abigail Valte during a regular press briefing at
Malacanang on Friday.
The Chief Executive signed the appointment
letters of Teodulo R. Romo Jr. as DSWD Assistant Secretary; Javier R. Jimenez
as Acting DSWD Assistant Secretary and Felino D. Castro V as Acting Director
III of the DSWD. Romo will replace Parisya H. Taradji while Jimenez will
succeed Mateo G. Montaño. Castro, on the other hand, will replace Jaime P.
Eclavea.
He appointed Marcelo Nicomedes J. Castillo and
Leonardo C. Reynoso as Director IV of the DSWD.
The President Aquino also appointed John Cu
Unjieng Andrews as Deputy Director-General of CAAP which is under the
Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC). He replaced John Roa
Andrews and his term of office is co-terminus with the appointing authority.
Other presidential appointees are Antonio M.
Cailao, Dante B. Canlas, Bob D. Gothong, Victor S. Ziga, Ma. Gladys C. Sta.
Rita, Potenciano V. Larrazabal Jr., Pedro A. Aquino Jr. and John Jimenez Arenas
as members of the Board of Directors of the PNOC. Their term of office would
end on June 30, 2013.
The Chief Executive, likewise, appointed Cailao
as PNOC President and Chief Executive Officer.
He likewise appointed Ma. Gladys C. Sta. Rita,
Herminio M. Alcasid Sr., Maria Carmina Cruz, Rizalina V. Lumbera and Ebert T.
Bautista as the Board of Directors of PNOC-Development and Management
Corporation. PND (js)
Malacanang says Coco Levy Task Force to come up
with recommendations following Supreme Court ruling
The Presidential Task Force on the Coco Levy Fund
(PTFCL) will reconvene on October 5 to finalize its recommendation to President
Benigno S. Aquino III following a recent ruling of the Supreme Court on the
contested coco levy funds, a Palace official said on Friday.
The SC awarded the government with finality the
24-percent bloc of San Miguel Corp. (SMC) shares bought using coconut levy
money.
The President has asked the PTFCL to come up
with a report and a recommendation on the issues surrounding the coco levy fund
in light of the ruling of the SC, Deputy Presidential spokesperson Abigail
Valte said in a press briefing at Malacanang on Friday.
The PTFCL is composed of the Presidential
Management Staff (PMS), National Anti-poverty Commission (NAPC), Presidential
Commission on Good Government (PCGG), Department of Agriculture (DA),
Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR), Department of Finance (DOF), Department of
Budget and Management (DBM), and Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA).
Valte said the task force could now be guided by
the recent SC ruling in coming up with a recommendation to the President. The
ruling, at least, sets a clearer parameter for the task force to work on, she
added.
Asked by reporters if the President welcomed the
SC ruling, Valte said the Chief Executive can’t comment at this time and he
wants to see first the recommendation of the task force.
“The President would also like to see first the
recommendations of the task force because it’s not just about welcoming the
ruling but really, since we are in government now, it’s about taking concrete
actions to address the issues that have come about because of the finality of
the ruling of the Supreme Court,” Valte said.
Valte said that among the issues that have to be
addressed include the custody of the coco levy fund. There are legislative
initiatives calling for the creation of a particular trust fund for the coco
levy, she added.
In SC’s unanimous decision last September 4, it
denied with finality a motion for reconsideration filed by the Philippine
Coconut Producers Federation (COCOFED), Maria Clara Lobregat, and others last
February 14. The petitioners wanted the funds declared as public.
In its ruling in January, the SC upheld but
modified a decision by the Sandiganbayan declaring SMC shares, having been
bought with coco levy money, as public funds. The shares were registered under
the names of Coconut Industry Investment Fund (CIIF) and its holding companies.
The coco levy fund came from taxes imposed on
coconut farmers during the Martial Law years by alleged cronies of the former
strongman President Ferdinand Marcos.
The fund was reportedly used by the Marcos
cronies to purchase the Coconut Planters Bank and a majority stake in the food
and beverage giant SMC, which is currently a diversified conglomerate.
The shares being contested is valued at P84.3
billion last January, and being held in escrow in United Coconut Planters Bank
(UCPB). PND (as/2:53pm)
President Aquino assures Filipinos of
government's commitment to address corruption and cleanse the bureaucracy
President Benigno S. Aquino III assured the
Filipino citizenry of the government’s unyielding efforts to address corruption
and cleanse the bureaucracy as he bared the administration’s long-term programs
focused on the delivery of basic services and ensuring the safety of the
people.
In his speech during the inauguration of the
North Rizal Water System Project East La Mesa Water Treatment Plant in Payatas
Road, Barangay Payatas, Quezon City, Friday morning, President Aquino
underscored the importance of implementing reforms in governance and the
support from the Filipino people.
“Patunay po ang araw na ito: sa pagtatanggal ng
bulok sa sistema, sa pagsasala sa mga burak sa burukrasya, sa kalakhang kilos
natin upang linisin ang pamahalaan, dumadalisay ang daloy ng pagseserbisyo
natin sa bayan. Diretso ang pakinabang sa tao, at nag-uumapaw ang serbisyong
dapat lamang na matanggap ng mamamayang Pilipino,” the President said.
“Malinaw po: Dito tayo dinadala ng tapat at
malinis na pamamahala. Dito tayo binibitbit ng pagtutulungan at pagsasama-sama.
Naway patuloy tayong sumuong sa iisang direksyon, at tiwala po ako: Kakayanin
ng mga Pilipino ang hamon ng anumang alon. Mararating ng Pilipinas ang anumang
pangarapin nating destinasyon. Sa tuwid at malinis pong pamamahala, tiwala pa
rin tayong magagamit natin ang tubig upang higit pang mapaginhawa ang buhay ng
mga Pilipino. Tuloy ang daloy ng mga inisiyatiba natin para makapaghatid ng
malinis na inuming tubig, at mapababa ang peligrong hatid ng baha,” he
continued.
The Chief Executive also expressed the
government’s willingness to accomplish various programs aimed at the delivery
of safe and potable water for the people through the coordination with the
various concerned agencies such as the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage
System (MWSS).
“Nitong Hulyo lang po nang makumpleto natin ang
Angat Water Utilization and Aqueduct Improvement Project Phase II, na nagpabuti
at nagpalawak sa supply natin ng tubig sa Rizal, Cavite, at Bulacan. At sa
parehong buwan, nagkapirmahan na rin ang MWSS at ang Provincial Government ng
Bulacan para sa Bulacan Bulk Water Supply Project upang tugunan ang
pangangailangan ng tubig sa malaking bahagi ng kanila pong probinsya. Nitong
buwan lang pong ito, naaprubahan na rin ng NEDA Board ang Angat Dam and Dike
Strengthening, para naman mapatatag ang estrukturang ito laban sa kalamidad.
Masusing pag-aaral at komprehensibong plano—dito po nakaangkla ang mga proyekto
natin para sa mamamayan,” President Aquino said.
He discussed the approved master plan by the
National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) to solve the flooding
problem in the metropolis and nearby provinces. This include the five billion
peso-worth high-impact solutions to the perennial problems on flooding.
“Nitong buwan lang, aprubado na rin ng NEDA
Board ang ating Master Plan for Flood Management in Metro Manila and
Surrounding Areas. Para po ito sa pangangasiwa natin sa baha, kabilang na ang
ilang priority structural at non-structural measures, na isasagawa hanggang
taong 2035. Baka natanong ninyo, bakit hanggang 2035? Siyempre po, may
watershed na kasama ito. Watershed, ang ibig sabihin puno, po. Punong itinanim.
‘Yung punong itinanim hintayin nating lumaki, tumayog, para mahigop ‘yung tubig
‘pag baha,” the President stressed.
“Long term po ang planong ito; pero sinisimulan
na ang ilan sa ating mga inisyatiba. Ang target -- sa loob ng 15 to 18 months,
makapaghatid na ng ginhawa sa ating mga kababayan. Ang paunang pondong
gagamitin rito: limang bilyong piso para sa mga high-impact at agarang tugon sa
baha; P1.6 billion para sa pag-upgrade ng mga pumping stations sa Metro Manila,
na karamihan ay gawa pa po noong panahon ni Magellan yata; at 270-million pesos
naman para sa pagbili natin ng iba’t ibang dredging equipment. Kung mapapansin
po ninyo, hindi lang paunang lunas ang tugon natin sa ating mga serbisyong
panlipunan—pangmatagalan ang ating mga solusyon. Hindi po natin hahayaan na ang
mga problemang dinatnan natin ay mapagdaanan pa ng mga susunod na henerasyon,”
the President added.
Witnessing the event were national and local
officials that include Public Works and Highways Secretary Rogelio Singson,
Quezon City Representative Winston Castelo, Marikina City Mayor Del de Guzman
and Rodriguez Mayor Cecilio Hernandez, among others.
Also in attendance were Government Corporate
Counsel Atty. Raoul Creencia, Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System
chairman Dondie Alikpala, MWSS administrator Gerry Esquivel, Manila Water Co.,
Inc chairman of the Board Fernando Zobel de Ayala, Manila Water CEO Gerardo
Ablaza and Manila Water group director of operations Geodino Carpio. PND (jcl)
