Aquino government assures that mechanisms and
programs are now in place to mitigate hunger in the country
The
Aquino government assured that mechanisms and programs are now in place to
mitigate hunger in the Philippines, a Palace official said on Tuesday.
Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda
issued the statement in a press briefing in Malacanang following the release of
the study conducted by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI)
indicating that hunger remains a serious concern in the country.
The Washington-based
institute said that out of 120 countries listed, 41 had Global Hunger Index
(GHI) scores of less than five and 79 had scores of five and above. Not
included in the list were the more developed countries in Europe and North
America, Australia, New Zealand and Japan.
In the
group of 79, the Philippines was in 31st place with a GHI of 12.2.
"I
think if you go to through the methodology provided by the Global Hunger Index,
it was a discussion of data culled between the years 2005 to 2010. It did not
discuss the figures on 2011 or 2012," Lacierda said.
"But
nonetheless just let me answer that point, currently the DSWD (Department of
Social Welfare and Development) has been doing a number of programs to mitigate
hunger. For instance, the DSWD has a supplemental feeding ---that is directly
given to 49,000 daycare centers nationwide and these are being prepared by the
parents themselves," he said.
Lacierda
noted that many poor families are benefitting from the Aquino government's
Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) program.
"There was an impact evaluation by the
CCT or the conditional cash transfer by the Social Weather Station and it
showed that 30 percent of the CCT is used to buy food, particularly rice,"
he said.
The
government also started a process to enhance its sustainable development
program to directly address the hunger situation in the country, according to
Lacierda.
"Then we have the NEDA (National Economic
Development Authority) Social Development Committee and the Human Development
and Poverty Reduction Cluster are jointly meeting to develop an instrument for
early warning on critical areas where hunger exists. "That’s where we
monitor before it becomes a malnutrition situation, we are developing early
warning signals on that," he said. PND (js)
Aquino to issue an Executive Order creating a
Transition Commission upon completion of the comprehensive Framework Agreement
President
Benigno S. Aquino III will issue an Executive Order creating the Transition
Commission after the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF)
negotiators finish the annexes of the recently signed Framework Agreement.
The
government and the MILF singed on Monday the Framework Agreement aimed at
putting an end to 40 years of Muslim rebellion in the south. The event was
witnessed by the President, Malaysian Prime Minister Dato Sri Mohd Najib Bin
Tun Abdul Razak, MILF chairman Al Haj Murad Ibrahim and other partners.
In a
regular press briefing on Tuesday, Presidential Spokesman Edwin Lacierda said
the Palace hasn’t worked on the EO and will wait until the negotiators have
completed the annexes.
During a
press conference in Malacanang immediately after the signing of the Framework
Agreement, government chief negotiator Marvic Leonen said they initially target
to finish the annexes before the year ends or much earlier.
Lacierda
also appealed to the skeptics to back the Framework Agreement particularly
after the tremendous support given by the Muslim communities in the country.
“You have
seen a broad-based support from the Bangsamoro community and while we are
celebrating here in Manila for the signing there was also a celebratory mood in
Camp Darapanan and in various parts of Mindanao,” Lacierda said.
“It shows
a broad-based support for the Framework Agreement and we have always said this:
let us give peace a chance.”
The
Palace official also clarified the financial support of the Aquino
administration for Mindanao particularly the transition for a new autonomous
entity.
The
government allocated P21 billion for the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao
(ARMM) for 2012, Lacierda said. The President likewise mentioned an P8.5
billion fund called the Transition Investment Support Plan for Mindanao during
Monday’s event.
Lacierda
said the money will be used to fund broad-based projects such as
electrification, construction of seaports, fishing ports day care centers and other
programs. PND (as/3:02pm)
Palace reassures rehabilitation work to improve
facilities of NAIA- I on-going
Malacañang said on Tuesday that the
rehabilitation work to improve the facilities of the Ninoy Aquino International
Airport (NAIA), particularly Terminal 1, is ongoing to ensure that the
country’s premiere international airport is at par with world standards.
In a
press briefing in Malacañang, Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said the
government is fully aware of the renovations that have to be done on the
airport premises to ensure the comfort and safety of travelers and has taken
these concerns of the riding public to “heart.”
“We are
certainly continuing to rehabilitate the NAIA…the rehabilitation plans are
being reviewed right now. There are engineering details that need to be
finalized and approved. So tuloy-tuloy po ang gagawin nating renovation sa NAIA
1,” Lacierda said.
“We are
always cognizant of the concerns of travelers and certainly we‘ll take this to
heart. But what we are saying is rehabilitation work to improve the situation
of NAIA 1 are ongoing,” he added. PND (rck)
