Aquino: Govt programs continue to benefit
Cebuanos
BOGO CITY, Cebu) This province has improved a
lot since the government had succesfully carried out reform measures and
infrastructure projects that benefit the people, President Benigno S. Aquino
III said on Friday, during his visit here.
In his message during his meeting with the
community and local leaders, he said Cebu surpassed the 112,437 target
households under the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (PPP) and currently it
has 117,340 household beneficiaries under the program. It’s more than 104 percent
increase in the target beneficiary families in Cebu, the President said.
But the President said he received reports
saying some local Cebu politicians are using the PPP to intimidate people and
in the end gain support this coming election.
No one could coerce the beneficiaries because he
said the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) is the leading
department implementing the PPP, he said.
In comparing the current program to the previous
administration, the President said that in the past the government had 800,000
families under the program. But under the Aquino administration the government
has 3.8 million family beneficiaries under the said program.
The original target is 4.4 to 4.6 million family
beneficiaries, he said.
The President also mentioned completed projects
as well as a much better peace and order situation in the province. He noted
that there are some 18 irrigation projects in Cebu that benefit farmers in
Argao, San Fernando, Balamban, Consolacion, Toledo, Cebu, and Carcar and other
towns in the province.
If previous leaders had harness the potentials
of Cebu, the province could have achieved more progress, the President said.
Development has been stunted by traditional politics in Cebu, he said.
Cebu could achieve more developments if its
leaders were aligned with the present administration, he said.
“Kami po naman sa pambansang pamahalaan ay
ginagawa ang lahat na puwedeng gawin para itaas ang antas ng buhay ng ating mga
komunidad ngunit kailangan namin ng mga kakamping pareho ang tuon, pareho ang
paniniwala at parehong nasa tamang lugar ang puso upang masigurong hindi
nasasayang ang ating mga pinaghihirapan sa lokal na antas,” he said.
Also, among the infrastructure projects now
benefiting or could eventually help the people of Cebu are the Cebu North
Hagnaya wharf road, Quano Avenue, and the Mactan Circumferential Road.
He added that previous Cebu leaders neglected
providing necessary healthcare to Bogo City residents and patients had to
travel some three hours going to Cebu City to seek medical attention, President
Aquino said. Today, the government is doing everything to help more people
under its universal healthcare program.
Fighting crime has improved in Cebu the
President noted. From 8,429 crimes committed in 2010 it dropped to 5,759 in
2012, he said.
In 2010, the police only resolved 17.57 percent
of crimes but in 2012 it improved to 34.76 percent, the chief executive said.
The President arrived in Cebu Thursday and
visited the cities of Lapu-Lapu, Bogo, Toledo and Cebu on Friday. PND (as)
Government to experiment bus-rapid-transit
system in Metro Manila, says Aquino
LAPU-LAPU CITY, Cebu) The government is planning
for an experimental phase of the bus-rapid-transit (BRT) in Metro Manila to
fine tune the system before it is implemented in Cebu City, President Benigno
S. Aquino III said on Friday.
But the President clarified during an interview
with the media at the groundbreaking of a road project in Mactan that he wants
to make sure that the BRT experimental phase wouldn’t cause much traffic
congestion in Metro Manila.
He said the government must do interventions to
avoid disrupting the normal flow of traffic while it is doing the experiment
for the BRT.
“Nagmungkahi ako na bago natin dalhin diyan,
kailangan i-minimize natin ang abala sa mga mamamayan. Sa Metro Manila, more or
less mas maraming infrastructure, may capacity ma-absorb: kapag nakuha ang
isang lane, makukuha nang ibang lanes ang necessary traffic, mababawasan pa nga
ang traffic because of the rapid transit system,” the President said during the
interview.
Because of these available infrastructures, the
government should concentrate in Metro Manila before BRT is carried out in Cebu
City, he said.
Cebu officials also supported the construction
of the light rail system (LRT) in the city but the President said there are
disadvantages of an LRT
construction because the government has to
address many concerns.
There are problems in right of way, or
historical buildings affected by the construction, and also demolition of local
population at the path of the rail system, he said. The government also has to
reconcile the interest of local leaders and various sectors before an LRT
system is built, he added.
“Kung walang cooperation ‘yung tao,
mapapahirapan tayong ilagay ang project. We really need to move a lot of
people,” he said.
Should the bus-rapid-transit system be better,
the government will focus on pushing the system rather than other proposed
systems, the President said. The government will see to it if the
bus-rapid-transit should be implemented immediately, save fuel, and ensure less
pollution in the metro.
Funding the system wouldn’t be a problem given
the country’s better standing among creditors as a result of its credit rating
upgrades, he said.
“Alam naman ninyo ang appreciation of the peso
versus the dollar. And, basically, sinasabi nga na kapag umutang tayo ngayon,
na-invesment grade status pa tayo, maraming magpapautang sa atin at saka mas
makakamura tayo,” he said.
“Funding is the least of the problems, pero
hindi naman porke’t may pera, tapon-dito, tapon-diyan. Hindi tapon, kailangan
sigurado tayo. Pinondohan natin ito, may pakinabang,” he added. PND (as)
Palace says Aquino government remains in focus
to ensure inclusive growth
The government will continue to focus on sectors
that sustain economic growth in the country to maximize its benefit to the
people, Malacanang said on Saturday.
To achieve inclusive growth, the government is
concentrating on areas considered as drivers of growth, Deputy Presidential
spokesperson Abigail Valte said in a radio interview over dzRB Radyo ng Bayan
on
Saturday.
“We have already identified several areas where
we can continue to form more resources, katulad nang tourism at agriculture,
because that’s really one of the main things that we’re looking at right now is
job generation,” she said.
The government has an extraordinary thrust on
the country’s tourism sector given its big potential for job generation, Valte
said.
“Kasi for every tourist that comes and spends a
certain amount of money, merong magbe-benefit na taxi driver, merong
magbe-benefit na nagbebenta ng souvenirs. So it’s the chain reaction that we’re
looking for," she continued.
The Aquino administration is concentrating on
those identified areas for it to be able to generate more jobs for the benefit
of more people, she noted.
Reacting to the suggestion of the International
Monetary Fund for the Aquino government to relax foreign ownership rules in the
country to improve business climate, Valte said the administration was able to
enhance the business environment even without changing the Constitution.
“In the past two years and 10 months that the
President has been in office, we’ve been able to make major changes in
business,” Valte said.
“We’ve been able to make major improvements in
the business climate without having to undergo the shift in the policy on
foreign ownership because that’s just not a mere policy, that’s embodied in the
Constitution, and to change that would require a Charter Change, which we all
know that it’s not in the priority of the administration,” she added.
The Aquino government will continue to do more
to improve the business climate in the country without changing the country’s
charter, she said. PND (as)
Govt agencies working together to push tourism
Different government agencies are working
together to push the country’s tourism sector particularly by identifying
popular spots and improving infrastructure, a Palace official said on Saturday.
“Sa tourism natin, it’s not just the tourism
department who is making the push... What is happening is that there is a
convergence among the different line departments to push tourism,” Deputy
Presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said in a radio interview over dzRB Radyo
ng Bayan on Saturday.
The government identifies the area, creates
infrastructure so that more tourists can go to such potential destination,
Valte said.
“Pagdating naman doon sa mga paliparan, the DOTC
[Department of Transportation and Communication], the DOT [Department of
Tourism] have been working on improving our airports, and we appreciate the
feedback that is coming from the citizens,” she said.
“We’re continuing to improve our airports, in
particular, if you see, the DOTC has been continuously bidding out either
reconstruction or rehabilitation projects for different airports in our
country,” she added.
With regards to flight delays being experienced
by passengers, the DOTC and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) are
addressing the issue, Valte said.
Transportation and Communication Secretary
Joseph Emilio Abaya is on top of everything and has been addressing these kinds
of concerns in the airline industry, Valte said.
To further develop the Philippine tourism
sector, President Aquino recently inaugurated a tourism road in Dipolog City
and last Friday he led the groundbreaking of the a circumferential road in
Lapu-Lapu City. PND (as)
