Palace says government ready to respond to
typhoon-affected areas in Palawan
Quick
response teams from the government are currently on standby to respond to
communities needing assistance as Typhoon Auring passes through Palawan area, a
Palace official said on Friday.
Deputy
Presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said she hopes that the government’s
preemptive measures will hold and will be adequate to meet any of the effects
of the tropical storm.
Valte
stressed that government agencies had carried out preemptive evacuation in
low-lying areas in the typhoon’s path and also issued warnings to fishermen to
avoid going to sea since the weather disturbance might affect small vessels and
sea crafts.
She added
that the National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council (NDRRMC) was also
put on red alert.
As
response to Typhoon Auring, the Department of Social Welfare and Development
has some P500,000 worth of standby funds. It also has P1.3 million worth of
relief supplies ready to be released in Region IV-B.
Based on
a report from the NDRRMC, Typhoon Signal No. 2 was issued in southern Palawan,
while Typhoon Signal No. 1 is currently in effect in other areas in Palawan,
Valte said. PND (as)
President Aquino declares January 23, as special
non-working day in Bulacan in commemoration of the First Philippine Republic
President
Benigno S. Aquino III has declared January 23, which falls on a Wednesday, as a
special (non-working) day in the province of Bulacan in commemoration of the
First Philippine Republic (also known as the Malolos Republic).
The Chief
Executive issued the declaration through Proclamation No. 523 signed by
Executive Secretary Paquito N. Ochoa Jr. on December 10 to give the people of
Bulacan the full opportunity to celebrate and participate in the occasion with
appropriate ceremonies.
On June
12, 1898, the Philippine independence was proclaimed and The Act of Declaration
of Philippine Independence was read at the Emilio Aguinaldo's ancestral home in
Cavite.
After
gaining the independence, the Malolos Congress convened on September 15, 1898
and produced the Malolos Constitution.
On
January 23, 1899, the First Philippine Republic (also known as the Malolos
Republic) was inaugurated at the Barasoain Church in Malolos, Bulacan. Emilio
Aguinaldo was declared its first president. PND (js)
Aquino government elated over slow down in
annual average inflation rate
The
Aquino administration expressed elation over the report of the National
Statistics Office (NSO) that the country’s annual average headline inflation
rate slowed down to 3.2 percent in 2012 from 4.6 in 2011, a Palace official
said.
"This is the slowest pace inflation has
grown on a year-on-year basis since 2008," Deputy Presidential
Spokesperson Abigail Valte said in a statement issued on Friday.
Citing
the NSO report, Valte said the monthly inflation rate for December increased
marginally to 2.9 percent from November’s 2.8 percent.
"The
rate is considerably lower than the 4.2 percent inflation rate of December
2011. According to NSO, this was due to higher annual rates in the food and
non-alcoholic beverages and alcoholic beverages and tobacco indices,"
Valte said.
"Considering the strong performance of
the Philippine economy, which grew at 7.1 percent in the third quarter of 2012,
the inflation rate has remained stable and well within the 3 to 5 percent
target set in the Philippine Development Plan (2011-2016)," she said. PND
(js)
Palace condemns Cavite shooting rampage
Malacanang condemned on Friday the shooting
rampage in Kawit, Cavite that killed nine people and injured 11 others noting
that the carnage will certainly fuel the government’s relentless efforts to
clamp down on loose firearms.
A suspected drug addict went on a shooting
rampage in Cavite Friday morning attacking his neighbors with a .45-caliber pistol.
The incident happened in Barangay Tabon 1 in
Kawit, Cavite, at around 9:30 a.m. The suspect, who traded shots with
responding policemen, was shot to death by the authorities at around 11 a.m.
In a briefing at Malacanang on Friday, Deputy
Presidential Spokesperson Abigail Valte said the Palace is condemning the
attack considering that some of the casualties are children and given the large
number of deaths.
“As of the moment, what we can say is that this
incident will certainly fuel the efforts of the PNP into its drive against
loose firearms,” she said.
Ronald Bae, the suspect, entered several houses
and shoot everyone inside including children, according to witnesses. The
police also found sachets containing suspected drugs inside the slain suspect’s
house.
Witnesses also said Bae was assisted by a
certain John Paul in the rampage. They said John Paul helped Bae reload his
pistol.
The
Cavite provincial government has raised P100,000 for the immediate arrest of
Bae’s alleged accomplice. PND (as)
DOH already looking into reports of
deteriorating hospital equipment, buildings, Palace says
The
Department of Health is already validating a report by the Commission on Audit
saying that P43-million worth of equipment were found rotting in several state
hospitals.
In a press briefing in Malacanang on Friday,
Deputy Presidential Spokesperson Abigail Valte said she spoke with Health
Undersecretary Ted Herbosa who said that the DOH is currently assessing the
specific observations made by the COA.
“Undersecretary Herbosa told me that he will be
validating the specific claims, the specific observations of the COA, and they
will be acting appropriately on it,” she said.
Valte said that hospital equipment not being
utilized and being left to deteriorate because there is no qualified personnel
to operate the said tools is a matter of concern.
“The DOH is now, as we speak, validating the
specific observations of the COA, and rest assured that the DOH will be taking
appropriate steps to make sure that there is no wastage of public funds,” she
said.
In its 2011 report, COA said that hospital
equipment, buildings and other facilities amounting to P42.6 million were either
unutilized or idle due to defects, incompatibility, non-conduct of repair and
maintenance and lack of manpower training.
Among the hospitals mentioned by COA in the
report were Philippine Orthopedic Center, the Tondo Medical Center and the San
Lazaro Hospital.
COA also said that unused machines and buildings
owned by government hospitals are located in the Cordillera Region, Cagayan
Valley, Central Luzon, Bicol Region and the Zamboanga Peninsula.
State auditors made recommendations for the
health department to immediately conduct repairs on items that can still be
salvaged. PND (as)
President Aquino appoints more government
officials
President
Benigno S. Aquino III has appointed new officials in various government
agencies, a Palace official said.
Deputy
Presidential Spokesperson Abigail Valte announced the appointments during the
regular press briefing in Malacanang on Friday.
Valte
said the Chief Executive signed last December 21 the appointment letter of
Angelita Gregorio-Medel as undersecretary of the Department of Social Welfare
and Development. Her term of office is co-terminus with the appointing
authority.
President
Aquino also appointed Catherine Jennifer Francis P. Gonzales as undersecretary
of the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC), Valte said.
The other
presidential appointees are as follows:
-
Edilberto D. Tayao as Acting Director IV of the Department of Public Works and
Highways, replacing Sinaolan T. Macarambon
- Maria
Karen S. Olidan as Director III of the DOTC, replacing Jaime Raphael C.
Feliciano
- Dinna
Anna Lee L. Cartujano as Acting Director III of the Department of National
Defense, replacing Iluminada G. Afuang
- Isidro
Antonio C. Asper as member representing the labor sector of the Technical
Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) Board for a term expiring on
November 25, 2015.
-
Ferdinand B. Sales as Acting Director of the Securities and Exchange Commission
under the Department of Finance, replacing Benito A. Cataran. PND (js)
