Thursday 27 September 2012

PIA News Dispatch - Thursday, September 27, 2012

Aquino administration assures it will continue to step up efforts for intensive disaster risk reduction and management procedures in the face of typhoons and calamities

The Aquino administration assured that it will continue to step up efforts towards a more intensive disaster risk reduction and management procedures in the face of typhoons and calamities.

Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda issued the statement during the regular press briefing in Malacanang on Thursday following the release of the latest survey by the independent pollster Pulse Asia, Inc. that showed that the national administration obtained a grade of 80 for its disaster preparedness efforts.

"We continue to study ways of improving our disaster preparedness and certainly we are grateful to the Filipino people for appreciating the efforts of the government and also of the President," Lacierda said.

The government underscored the contributions of the media entities for helping the government in the information dissemination, according to Lacierda.

Lacierda noted that the social media and the people helped mobilize assistance and rescue efforts to the victims of massive flooding in Metro Manila and nearby provinces during typhoons and habagat.

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DWSD) managed to immediately preposition the relief goods in affected areas because the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services (PAGASA) managed to immediately relay the accurate warnings to the government, the media and the public.

President Benigno S. Aquino III earlier directed the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) to improve its information dissemination campaign to immediately and accurately convey its warnings to the public during the times of calamities, Lacierda said.

In response to President Aquino's instructions, the DOST, in close coordination with the PAGASA, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology and other concerned agencies put up a responsive program for disaster prevention and mitigation in a bid to reduce casualties and property loss from extreme hazard events.

"These are all instructions coming the President. The President wanted DOST to 'laymanize' ito pong ating warning system na maiintindihan ng publiko at sa patuloy na coordination with media at lahat 'yan nagawa dahil sa utos po ni Presidente," he said.

The national administration received passing marks for its disaster preparedness efforts," the respondents said in the Pulse Asia survey, conducted on Aug. 31 to Sept. 7, 2012.

The administration obtained a grade of 80 out of 100, with 75 as the passing mark, for "disaster preparedness initiatives, speed of its response to the needs of calamity victims and effectiveness of such response.

The nationwide face-to-face surveys had 1,200 respondents aged 18 years old and above.

International agencies have tagged the Philippines as one of the countries most vulnerable to climate change. Recent storms, although not hitting land, had induced heavy monsoon rains that inundated major portions of the archipelago. The country experiences at least 20 storms annually. PND (js)


Government to remain focused on economy, reforms despite election preparations

The Aquino administration will remain focused on steering the national economy and carrying reforms in the bureaucracy even as the country prepares for the mid-term election next year, a Palace official said.

In a regular press briefing on Thursday in Malacanang, Presidential Spokesman Edwin Lacierda said the President and his Cabinet haven’t talked about carrying out a revamp and assigning new tasks in preparation for the election next year.

“We are enjoying a robust growth in our GDP [gross domestic product]. We intend to focus on the economy, in our commitment to bring about change and improvement in the lives of the Filipinos. The programs of government will still continue. As to specific responsibilities, if you’re referring to certain key officials, who are also members of some political parties, that has not been discussed yet,” Lacierda told reporters during the press briefing.

While Secretary Mar Roxas will be assuming his position as Secretary of the Department of Interior and Local Government next week, Lacierda said, the President hasn’t designated anyone for specific responsibilities to campaign for the election season, he said.

Although the administration prepares for next year’s election, Lacierda made an assurance that the administration remains committed to increase government spending for the next half of the year and to fund different programs.

“We’re hoping to also promote further our investments and consumer spending. But insofar as government resource for the campaign, there has been no discussion on that. We’re working towards attaining our targeted growth so, that’s the focus of the government right now,” he said.

The country posted 5.9 percent gross domestic product growth in the second quarter of this year, higher than the 3.6 percent recorded the previous year. The services sector remained the main driver of growth supported by the sustained growth of manufacturing and the rebound of construction.

On the demand side, growth came from the positive contribution, of all the expenditure items, except for changes in inventories, led by consumer spending and the improved growth of external trade.

Remittances from overseas Filipino workers pushed the growth of the country’s net primary income from the rest of the world to 4.5 percent from a decline of 1.1 percent last year. PND (as/4:36pm)