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)
