Malacanang says passage of Sin Tax Bill is a vital step in improving,
expanding health safety nets for Filipinos
The move
of the Senate to pass the Sin Tax Bill is a vital step forward in improving and
expanding public health safety nets for all Filipinos, a Palace official said
on Wednesday.
Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda
issued the statement during the regular press briefing in Malacanang on
Wednesday after the Senate passed the Sin Tax Bill, which was certified as
urgent by the President Tuesday night.
"This complements the Aquino
administration’s relentless pursuit of universal health care which underscores
the belief that healthcare should be a right and not a privilege in our
country," Lacierda said.
"We
commend the unshakable commitment of Senator Franklin Drilon who steered this
important piece of legislation through this long, drawn out process, and all
the senators who voted for the measure," he stressed.
The
Aquino government also thanked the countless advocates in government and civil
society for pursuing this urgent reform.
"Recognizing and advancing the protection
of public health is a commitment present in the Aquino administration’s social
contract with the Filipino people. This goes beyond government, however, and
begets the responsibility of all citizens to contribute to this cause,"
Lacierda said.
The Sin
Tax Bill aims to generate government revenues in a bid to strengthen the
country’s health care system. PND (js)
President Aquino declares November 26 as special
non-working day in Dasmarinas, Cavite in commemoration of its Foundation Day
President
Benigno S. Aquino III has declared November 26, which falls on a Monday, as a
special (non-working) day in the city of Dasmariñas in the province of Cavite,
in commemoration of its Foundation Day.
The Chief
Executive issued the declaration through Proclamation No. 486 signed by
Executive Secretary Paquito N. Ochoa Jr. on October 4 to give the people of
Dasmariñas City the full opportunity to celebrate and participate in the
occasion with appropriate ceremonies.
Dasmariñas was incorporated into a city by
virtue of Republic Act No. 9723 which was signed by then President Gloria
Macapagal-Arroyo in 2009. Residents ratified RA No. 9723 in a plebiscite held
in November, 2009. PND (js)
Aquino appoints government peace panel chairman
Leonen as Associate Justice of the Supreme Court
President
Benigno S. Aquino III appointed on Wednesday government peace panel chairman
Marvic Mario Victor F. Leonen as Associate Justice of the Supreme Court (SC), a
Palace official said.
Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said
in a statement during the regular press briefing in Malacanang on Wednesday
that the Chief Executive appointed Leonen after having received the short list
from the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) and interviewing each nominee.
The JBC
earlier recommended to President Aquino seven candidates for a vacant Supreme
Court associate justice post.
Leonen,
49, is the chairman of the government peace negotiating panel with the Moro
Islamic Liberation Front and former Dean of the University of the Philippines
College of Law. He received his Bachelor of Laws from the University of the
Philippines and Master of Laws from the Columbia University in New York.
The
newest appointment to the tribunal fills the seat vacated by Maria Lourdes
Sereno who was appointed Chief Justice, Lacierda said.
Last
August, President Aquino appointed Supreme Court Associate Justice Maria
Lourdes Punzalan Aranal-Sereno as the 24th Chief Justice.
Lacierda
said President Aquino views his appointment of Leonen as "a contribution
to his vision of an empowered, independent, and reformist Judiciary."
"Dean Leonen had contributed
significantly to the cause of a just, dignified, and lasting peace with our
Muslim brothers and sisters while keeping with the spirit and letter of the
Constitution. The appointment of Dean Leonen is one that the President views as
a lasting legacy of his administration, consistent with his desire of a
Judiciary imbued with the highest standards of independence, probity and
integrity," Lacierda stressed.
"A
revitalized Supreme Court, with the renewed confidence and public trust of our
people, is essential to the fulfillment of the President’s Social Contract with
the Filipino People: a truly impartial judicial system that delivers equal
justice to rich or poor," he said.
The
historic signing of the Framework Agreement between the Government of the Philippines
and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front occurred during the chairmanship of
Leonen.
Last
October, the GPH-MILF Framework Agreement was signed to serve as a roadmap for
the creation of a Bangsamoro entity that will replace the current Autonomous Region
in Muslim Mindanao and lay down the groundwork to achieve lasting and genuine
peace in Mindanao. PND (js)
Aquino government hopes signatories to Kyoto
Protocol would be able to resolve Climate Change issues in Doha
The
Aquino government hopes that the countries that are signatories to the Kyoto
Protocol would be able to resolve several issues surrounding Climate Change
when the representatives meet during a conference in Doha, Qatar, a Palace
official said on Wednesday.
Climate
Change Commission (CCC) vice-chairman Mary Ann Lucille Sering said during the
regular press briefing in Malacanang on Wednesday that the future of the Kyoto
Protocol will be tackled during the "18th session of the Conference of the
Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
(UNFCCC)" and the "8th session of the Conference of the Parties
serving as the Meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol."
The
events will take place from November 26 to December 7, 2012 at the Qatar
National Convention Centre in Doha, Qatar.
The Kyoto
Protocol is the only international treaty limiting greenhouse-gas emissions
that expires in 2012.
"This is a very important conference for
us, especially developing countries like the Philippines, because we will talk
about the Kyoto Protocol. There is a talk of extending the second commitment
period," Sering said.
"Last year, Canada, one of the big
developed countries, pulled out of the Kyoto Protocol. Ang isa namang magandang
balita namin is Australia who was a late signatory of the Kyoto Protocol
already signified its intention to still be part of the second commitment
period," Sering said.
The
Philippines wants the second commitment period would span from 2013 to 2017.
"Ang
posisyon ng Pilipinas ay sana limang taon lang ang second commitment period, at
ma-review na kaagad kung gaano na ba karami ang na-reduce na greenhouse gas na
tinatawag nito. Ano pong ibig sabihin nitong Kyoto Protocol second commitment
period? ‘Pag hindi po kasi kami nagkasundo, ang buong mundo, maraming
implikasyon ‘yan," she said.
"So
kung wala tayong Kyoto Protocol second commitment, maaaring ang tinatawag
nating pag-increase ng temperatura ay hindi na natin mapipigilan ito, at ito’y
masamang pangitain dahil tumitindi na talaga ang pagbabago ng klima. Ang
projection natin 2020 pa, pero nararamdaman na natin ngayon; ‘yung impact nang pag-init
ay lalong iinit; ang pag-ulan ay lalong pag-ulan," she said.
Last
August 16, President Benigno S. Aquino III, who is the Climate Change
Commission (CCC) chairman, signed into law the People's Survival Fund (PSF)
Bill to enable the government to effectively address the problem of Climate
Change.
The Chief
Executive signed Republic Act No. 10171 otherwise known as "An Act
Establishing the People's Survival Fund to provide long-term finance streams to
enable the government to effectively address the problem of Climate Change,
amending for the purpose Republic Act. No. 9729, otherwise known as the Climate
Change Act of 2009," and for other purposes."
The
People's Survival Fund Law amended the Climate Change Act of 2009 by
establishing the People's Survival Fund with an initial P1 billion per year.
"Ito
ay intended to help local government to do feasibility studies, to do their
land-use planning, to make sure na nakapasok ang vulnerability
assessment," Sering said.
The
Climate Change Commission, which is attached to the Office of the President, is
an independent and autonomous agency with the same status as that of a national
government office. It is the sole policy-making body of the government tasked
to coordinate, monitor and evaluate the programs and action plans of the
government relating to climate change.
It has
formulated the National Framework Strategy on Climate Change, the National
Climate Change Action Plan, and guidelines for a Local Climate Change Action
Plan. PND (js)
