President Aquino welcomes ABAC representatives
to Malacañang
President Benigno S. Aquino III played host to
visiting representatives of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)
Business Advisory Council (ABAC) by personally welcoming them to Malacañang
Palace on Monday night.
Joining the President were Finance Secretary
Cesar Purisima, Trade Secretary Gregory Domingo, Communication Development and
Strategic Planning Secretary Ramon Carandang, Presidential Management Staff
Chief Julia Abad and Cabinet Secretary Jose Rene Almendras.
The ABAC representatives, who numbered close to
54 and represented the 21 APEC member countries, included ABAC Philippines
members Doris Magsaysay Ho, Tony Tan Caktiong, Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala and
Guillermo Luz.
In his welcome remarks, Almendras said the
meeting showed the Philippines’ intent to be a responsible member of APEC and
was appropriate as the country’s economy was on the upswing owing to the
President’s reforms to improve governance through weeding out graft and
corruption in government.
“The gathering we now have here is an assurance
of the Philippines’ intent to fully cooperate and be a responsible member of
APEC and the global economy,” Almendras said.
“Not only is this venue ideal, but the timing is
more than appropriate considering the economic prosperity the country is
experiencing,” he added.
The APEC Business Advisory Council was
established in November 1995 as a permanent body composed of business leaders
from Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation member economies to serve as an
independent voice of business within the APEC process.
ABAC’s main task is to review the progress of
APEC’s work on trade and investment liberalization. PND (rck)
President Aquino directs law enforcement
agencies and government instrumentalities to ensure free, orderly, honest,
peaceful and credible May elections
President Benigno S. Aquino III has ordered the
deputation of law enforcement agencies and instrumentalities of the government,
including the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to ensure free, orderly,
honest, peaceful and credible conduct of the May 13, 2013 automated national
and local elections.
The directive was issued by virtue of Memorandum
Order (MO) No. 52 signed by Executive Secretary Paquito N. Ochoa Jr. on January
9, 2013.
The Commission on Elections (COMELEC), through
its Resolution No. 9589 (s. 2012), resolved to request the concurrence of the
President in the deputation of law enforcement agencies and other
instrumentalities of the government, including the AFP, for the conduct of the
May elections.
Pursuant to Section 2 (4), Article IX-C of the
Constitution, the COMELEC is empowered to deputize, with the concurrence of the
President, law enforcement agencies and instrumentalities of the Government,
including the AFP, for the exclusive purpose of ensuring free, orderly, honest,
peaceful, and credible elections.
The Chief Executive directed the law enforcement
agencies and other concerned agencies to coordinate and cooperate with the
COMELEC in the performance of their duties and functions.
The MO No. 52 shall take effect immediately. PND
(js)
Malacanang maintains its version of FOI Bill
will remain true to its vision of allowing access to information ‘vital to
public interest’
Malacanang maintained that its version of the
Freedom of Information Bill that is still pending in both Houses of Congress
remains true to its vision of allowing the public to easily access information
“vital to public interest” as long as government work is left unhampered.
In a press briefing in Malacanang on Tuesday,
Deputy Presidential Spokesperson Abigail Valte said that this is the “balance”
the FOI Bill hopes to achieve between granting access to government
informationn without impeding the normal flow of government work and processes.
“Meron pong access ang publiko to the
information that is vital to public interest but without hampering necessarily
the work of government. From the get-go, that was the balance that we wanted to
strike and we believe that we were able to put it down in the version that we
submitted to the Lower House and to the Senate,” Valte said.
She pointed out that the claims of some quarters
that provisions introduced by Malacanang, particularly on executive privilege
and national security, would prohibit the public’s access to information was
incorrect as these two provisions were recognized exceptions “by way of
jurisprudence.”
“So hindi po namin din naiintidihan kung ano ang
kanilang ibig sabihin ‘nung sinabi nilang ang version daw po ng Malacañang ay
nililimitahan ang kalayaan para doon sa impormasyon na hinahanap ng ating
publiko,” Valte said.
“Kasi isa po ako sa mga nagtrabaho doon sa study
group na inatasan ng Pangulong Aquino na aralin ang mga existing versions at
ang mga version po ng ibang jurisdiction at hindi po namin masasabi na
nililimitahan nito ang access,” she added. PND (rck)
Aquino leads Philippine Army change of command
President Benigno S. Aquino III led the change
of command of the Philippine Army Tuesday in Fort Bonifacio expecting the new
army chief to carry out the reforms in the service for the benefit of the
people.
The President acknowledged the outstanding
leadership of former Army chief Lt. Gen. Emmanuel Bautista adding his successor
must be equally capable. General Bautista assumed the post of chief of staff of
the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).
A decorated officer like Lt. Gen. Noel Coballes
could perform the same feat achieved by General Bautista, the President said
during Tuesday’s change of command ceremony.
“Mataas ang tiwala’t kumpiyansa ng sambayanan sa
iyo, Lieutenant General Coballes, kaya naman umaasa akong hindi ka madidiskaril
sa iyong sinumpaang mandato,” he said.
The President said he’s excited about the
improvements and development that the Armed forces could have with the approval
of the New AFP Modernization Act, which will provide P75 billion in the next
five years.
Under the present government, the AFP had a lot
of improvement like the acquisition of a new Navy ship, helicopters, military
trucks and other vehicles as well as modern firearms for the soldiers, the
chief executive said.
Another challenge is achieving an ideal
population-to-soldier ratio, the President said. He added that since 1986 the
number of soldiers remains the same despite the tremendous increase in the
population.
“Ang atin pong tugon: ang ipadama sa
kasundaluhan na nasa likod nila ang pamahalaan; na habang ibinubuwis nila ang
kanilang buhay sa serbisyo ay nariyan ang estado upang pangalagaan ang kanilang
kapakanan,” he said.
Part of this is providing soldiers with better
skills through active deployment and training, as well as rest and recreation
particularly for those who came from battle.
The chief executive also noted the important
role that the police and the military will play during this year’s midterm election.
“Ang pagharap ng sambayanan sa panibagong
sangandaan sa halalan sa Mayo, ay hudyat din ng panibagong hamon para sa ating
kasundaluhan. Habang kaliwa’t kanan ang pagbuhos ng mga patalastas, at ang
paminsan-minsang pagtatagisang-dila ng mga kandidatong nangangampanya,
tungkulin ng ating mga pulis at sundalong mapanatili ang kapanatagan sa ating
taumbayan,” the President said.
A native of Tuguegarao, Cagayan, Coballes was
born on February 7, 1958. He started his military career upon his graduation
from the Philippine Military Academy on February 1980.
Posted mostly in Mindanao, Coballes led the
assaults for the capture of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front’s (MILF) Camp
Omar and Camp Abubakar. Coballes is a recipient of five Gold Cross Medals for
his gallantry in battle.
He also took military courses in the US and had
participated in trainings and seminars in the US, Mongolia, Thailand, India and
Australia.
The 55th Army chief is married to the former Ms.
Lorna Paglinawan of Kauswagan, Lanao del Norte and the couple has four
daughters.
Also present during Tuesday’s event were Vice
President Jejomar Binay, Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin, Interior and Local
Government Secretary Manuel Roxas, Transportation and Communication Secretary
Joseph Emilio Abaya and Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary
Sonny Coloma. PND (as)
President Aquino faces a busy schedule in Davos,
Switzerland
ZURICH, Switzerland) President Benigno S. Aquino
III will kick off his five-day visit here by meeting a number of key business
leaders in an effort to promote the Philippines as an investment haven.
President Aquino and his official delegation
will arrive on Thursday morning at the Zurich-Kloten International Airport, and
will immediately proceed to Davos, Switzerland, for the World Economic Forum's
(WEF) Annual Meeting.
Prior to his attendance to the WEF Annual
Meeting, President Aquino will first meet with the executives of Volkswagen. He
will also have a meeting with Managing Director Christine Lagarde of the
International Monetary Fund.
This will be followed by his attendance to the
WEF activity on “Partnering Against Corruption Initiative.”
On the second day of his visit, the President
will also meet with Klaus Schwab, founder and executive chairman of the World
Economic Forum, to be followed by a meeting with the Global Business
executives.
He will also participate in various WEF
activities on “Informal Gathering of World Economic Leaders--Defining the
Imperatives for 2013,” “Global Physical Infrastructure,” and “Resilience
Diversity.”
The President will also have an interview with
John Defterios, editor, Cable News Network Emerging Markets and anchor of
Global Exchange.
President Aquino will cap his visit in
Switzerland with a meet and greet with members of the Filipino community at the
Zurich Renaissance Hotel prior to his return to the Philippines.
The President's visit to Switzerland is his
first since he assumed office in June 2010.
His attendance to the WEF Annual Meeting will
provide him the opportunity to exhort leading businessmen of Switzerland and
other stakeholders attending the annual meeting for them to explore business
opportunities in the Philippines especially now that the country is open for
business. PND (co)
