Aquino accepts credentials of incoming
ambassadors-designate of Brazil, India, and Nigeria
President Benigno S. Aquino received three
incoming envoys who submitted their credentials as they formally assume their
positions as ambassadors of their respective countries.
First to submit his credentials to President
Aquino during simple ceremonies at the Music Room of the Palace, Wednesday, was
Ambassador-designate of Brazil George Ney de Souza Fernandes who expressed his
country’s commitment to further develop trade and investments between Brazil
and the Philippines. He underscored technical cooperation in agriculture,
agrarian reform, bio-fuels and management of natural resources. as well as
implementation of existing cooperation agreements on bio-fuels and agriculture.
Following was the presentation of credentials of
Ambassador-designate of India Amit Dasgupta to President Aquino also at the
Music Room of the Malacanang Palace.
Prior to his tour of duty to the Philippines,
Ambassador Dasgupta was the Consul General of India in Sydney, Australia. The
diplomatic ties between the Philippines and India was established in 1949.
India has an embassy in Manila while the
Philippines has an embassy in New Delhi. The two countries has forged a Treaty
of Friendship in July, 1952.
Nigerian Ambassador-designate to the Philippines
Akinyemi Farounbi also met with the Chief Executive to formally submit his
credentials.
The Nigerian envoy Farounbi was a broadcasting
guru and an astute politician who was a recipient of National Merit Awards.
The Philippines has been sending workforces to
Nigeria primarily involved in the oil, gas and construction industry, while
Nigerians come to the Philippines to pursue their higher education studies.
Records show that as of end of the year 2011,
there are 7,240 Filipinos in Nigeria, mostly professionals and spouses of
Nigerian nationals. (jcl/11:40 a.m.)
Aquino declares September 12 a special
non-working day in the municipality of Siquijor
President Benigno S. Aquino III has declared
September 12 which falls on a Wednesday as a special (non-working day) in the
municipality of Siquijor in commemoration of its 40th year as the capital town
of the province of Siquijor.
The Chief Executive issued the declaration
through Proclamation No. 458 signed by Executive Secretary Paquito N. Ochoa Jr.
on August 14 to give the people of Siquijor municipality the full opportunity
to celebrate and participate in the occasion with appropriate ceremonies.
Previously, the capital of Siquijor province was
Larena. In 1972, the municipality of Siquijor became the capital town by virtue
of Proclamation No. 1075. (js)
Palace hopeful of Responsible Parenthood bill
passage
Malacanang hopes that lawmakers find a common
ground to eventually pass the Responsible Parenthood bill being pushed by the
Aquino administration as they introduce amendments to the proposal.
“We certainly hope that RH Bill (Reproductive
Health Bill) will be passed. An RH Bill that is acceptable to a great segment
of the population,” Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said in a regular
press conference on Wednesday in Malacanang.
Lacierda said that while there are pro-RH and
anti-RH, he said the period of amendments is the right time for reasonable
lawmakers to come together and discuss what possible amendments can be done to
the proposal.
The Palace spokesman also welcomed the proposal
of House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte to exclude hard core pro- and anti-RH
lawmakers in the technical working group preparing the amendments to the bill.
Belmonte wants to include only the moderates in
preparing the amendments to the RH bill or the Responsible Parenthood bill to
avoid problems.
At the same time, Lacierda said the Palace can’t
put a timetable on the passage of the bill adding everything now depends on the
House leadership when to close the amendments and other debates on the
proposal.
In the Senate, Sen. Panfilo Lacson predicts
majority of the senators would vote for the RH Bill or Responsible Parenthood
Bill pending before them and Lacierda said Lacson is in a better position to
identify and gauge the sentiments of each and every senator.
Among President’s Aquino’s five-point position
on responsible parenthood include non-support to abortion, giving couples the
right to choose how to manage their families, respect for individual’s right
with regards to family and sacredness of life and providing the poor informed
judgment on family planning.
The state also has an obligation to provide its
citizens with options regarding natural and modern methods of family planning.
(as)
Malacanang optimistic about reaching goal of
rice self sufficiency in 2013
The Aquino government remains optimistic that it
will achieve its goal of rice self-sufficiency by 2013 with the implementation
of various projects for farmers in Luzon whose crops were damaged by
floodwaters and heavy rains due to typhoons and the southwest monsoon, a Palace
official said.
Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda issued
the statement during a regular press briefing in Malacanang on Wednesday amid
news reports about the claim of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) that the
Philippines will miss its target of attaining rice self-sufficiency next year
due to infrastructure constraints.
The Department of Agriculture is providing free
rice seeds and crop insurance to farmers in Luzon whose crops were damaged by
floodwaters and heavy rains due to typhoons ‘Ferdie’ and ‘Gener’ and the
Habagat 2012, according to Lacierda.
"They were given certified seeds and also
they were given free insurance. We will expect a harvest sometime in December
on those planted this time or after the habagat. So we, and Agriculture
Secretary Proceso Alcala, are very confident that we will attain rice
self-sufficiency by 2013," Lacierda said.
Alcala earlier said the performance of the
agriculture sector grew by one percent during the first six months of the year.
To offset crop losses, he said the DA will encourage farmers to plant a third
crop of rice immediately after the current main season.
Alcala further said that there is no need to
import additional rice this year as there is sufficient supply. In fact, he
said harvest of palay during the first six months of the year has reached 7.89
million metric tons (MT), which is 4.2% higher than last year’s 7.58 million
MT.
The prospects are also bright for the second
semester palay production, based on a survey of standing crops and on farmers’
planting intentions, according to the DA’s Bureau of Agricultural Statistics
(BAS).
The DA-BAS forecasts that 3rd and 4th quarter
palay production may reach 3.56 million MT, and 6.36 million MT, respectively,
for a total of 9.92 million MT.
In all, palay production for 2012 may reach 17.8
million MT, which would be another record harvest, and 6.7% more than last
year’s output of 16.68 million MT. (js)
Palace hopeful of peace deal with MILF as Kuala
Lumpur talks open
Malacanang expressed optimism on Wednesday that
the government and the Moro Islamic Liberations Front (MILF) could forge a
peace deal this year as peace negotiators from both sides enter what they hoped
to be “the final, crucial stages of negotiations.”
Government and MILF negotiators resumed
discussions on unresolved issues in the 31st round of Formal Exploratory Talks
in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia this week.
“We are optimistic that a framework will be
signed by both the MILF and the government peace panels. The talks have
progressed substantively. Now we’re on the issues—the remaining issues na ang
pinag-uusapan ngayon,” Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said in a regular
press conference in Malacanang.
Both panels have been open and both sides have
been cooperating to deal with the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters of Umbra
Kato, Lacierda said.
“There have been close coordination as well. So
we are hoping that, in accordance to what Secretary Ging Deles said, that
hopefully we will have a signed agreement within this year,” he added.
In a statement this week, Presidential Adviser
on the Peace Process Teresita Deles said the government peace panel “remains
cautiously optimistic on the prospects of signing a GPH-MILF peace agreement
this year.”
This optimism comes from the “strong desire from
both sides of the table to sign a peace agreement in the earliest possible
time,” Deles added.
Both the government and the MILF panels have
shown their determination to forge an agreement by doing serious preparations
for every round of peace negotiations, including coming up with solutions to
address the difficult issues still being discussed on the table, Deles said.
In their previous joint statements, the
government and MILF said their technical working groups have reached a
consensus on the issues on power sharing and revenue generation and wealth
sharing arrangements and the proposed new autonomous political entity that will
replace the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao.
But there are difficult issues up for
discussion, Deles admitted and these consist of power and wealth sharing,
territorial scope, and normalization to include disarmament, demobilization,
and reintegration of the MILF forces.
The MILF leadership has also been cooperating
with the government in dealing with the attacks of the Bangsamoro Islamic
Freedom Fighters in Maguindanao and North Cotabato since last month.
The MILF cut its ties with Umbra Kato’s renegade
group last year declaring them “bougat” or one who defies or does not obey an
order and engages in lawless actions. (as)
