President Aquino declares April 23 as a special
non-working day in Plaridel, Bulacan in celebration of Battle of Quingua
President Benigno S. Aquino III has declared
April 23, which falls on a Tuesday, as a special (non-working) day in the
municipality of Plaridel in Bulacan in commemoration of the “Battle of
Quingua.”
The Chief Executive issued the declaration by
virtue of Proclamation No. 558 signed by Executive Secretary Paquito N. Ochoa
Jr. on March 7, to give the people of Plaridel the full opportunity to
celebrate and participate in the occasion.
The Battle of Quingua was fought on April 23,
1899 in Quingua (now Plaridel, Bulacan) during the Philippine-American War. A
reconnaissance mission under Major Franklin Bell was attacked by a strong
Filipino force under Gregorio del Pilar.
The battle was one of the most significant
victories of the Filipinos during the war. PND (js)
Philippines working hard to comply with the
extractive industries transparency initiative standards
The Philippines is aggressively working to have
an international standard that will ensure greater transparency and
accountability in the payment and collection in the country’s extractive
industries.
In a press conference in Malacanang on Thursday,
Secretary Elisea Gozun, the Presidential Assistant on Climate Change, said the
country is currently working to comply with the Extractive Industries
Transparency Initiative (EITI) to make sure that companies engaged in
extractive businesses pay the right taxes and revenues for the benefit of the
people.
Under EITI’s compliance process, the Philippines
has to sign up and an international board will evaluate the country’s
application.
If the Philippine application is rejected, it
can’t move to the next phase, according to Gozun. In the next phase however, if
the Philippines is accepted, it will become an EITI candidate. Then, it will be
required to prepare a report which will be reconciled and validated by an
international validator accredited by the international board, she noted.
Presently, the Philippines is in the first
phase—candidacy. There are four requirements under this phase. First, the
government must issue an unevocable public statement of its intention to join
EITI. The government complied with the issuance of the Executive Order 79,
Gozun said.
The second requirement is that government must
appoint a senior individual to lead the implementation. President Benigno S.
Aquino III designated Gozun as the EITI Lead Senior government official.
The third requirement is the government’s
commitment to work with civil society and companies on the implementation of
EITI.
Among the remaining task that the government
must fulfill are the establishment of a multi-stakeholder group that will
oversee the implementation of the EITI and the crafting of a work plan that
contains measurable targets, costs and timetable for the implementation of
EITI.
To comply with EITI’s requirements, Gozun said
they have met with Bantay Kita, a federation of non-government organizations
(NGOs) all over the country, asking it to help the government with the
country’s EITI application.
Gozun also said they met the Chamber of Mines of
the Philippines and other large scale mining companies as well as the Petroleum
Association of the Philippines for the oil and gas sector.
‘”Nag-outreach tayo starting off with the
training of trainers and we actually had five regional consultations conducted
in different parts of the country where mining is active. We also had a meeting
with the indigenous people in areas where you have mining,” she said.
She also said her group met with the academe, as
well as with the religious groups.
The Philippines will benefit from participating
in the EITI by implementing an international-recognized transparency standard
that will benefit the country’s commitment to reform and anti-corruption, which
is all in line with the basic social contract of the President with the
Filipino people, Gozun said.
“We hope that this will also lead to
improvements to tax collection processes, as well as enhance the thrust and
stability in the extractive industries,” she added.
EITI, launched by former British Prime Minister
Tony Blair in 2002 at the World Summit for Sustainable Development, is an
international multi-stakeholder group that sets standards for transparency in
extractive industry payments and receipts.
It aims to strengthen governance by improving
transparency and accountability in extractive industries.
The first EITI international board was
established in October 2006. Currently, there are 37 countries participating in
the EITI, 20 of which are already compliant, and 17 are candidates, according
to Gozun. PND (as)
President Aquino briefed on status of on-going
Ternate-Nasugbu road project
TERNATE, Cavite) President Aquino was briefed by
members of the Department of Public Works and Highways – Bureau of Construction
led by Secretary Rogelio Singson on the status of the on-going Ternate-Nasugbu
road project here on Thursday.
The project, which costs P860,000,000 to build,
consists of the construction of a 303-meter underground tunnel, the longest in
the Philippines, that passes through the Puerto Azul resort in Nasugbu,
Batangas and connects to Ternate, Cavite.
The concreting of an existing 1.619 meter
two-way gravel road and the building of two bridges is also included in the
tunnel road project.
In his briefing, Singson said the tunnel road
project, which he called a "tourism road" would spur tourism and
livelihood industries and decongest traffic within the provinces of Batangas,
Cavite and other nearby locales.
"This is a six-kilometer tourism road that
will connect the tourism resorts of Nasugbu and it will be much closer to
traverse now using this Ternate-Nasugbu Road," Singson said.
"What normally would take maybe four hours
to go to Nasugbu using Tagaytay Road, we can now traverse Nasugbu at about three
hours using this road. So an hour and a half savings," he added.
According to Singson, the tunnel which has been
in construction since January 2009, will be completed and opened to public use
in July 2013.
After the short description on the tunnel road
project, the President, who arrived five minutes ahead of schedule at 1:55
p.m., walked the entire length of the tunnel to the other end to properly
inspect its construction.
He left for another engagement in Dasmarinas,
Cavite after 15 minutes. PND (rck)
Palace: Govt ready to deal with possible crisis
in the Korean Peninsula
Malacanang made an assurance on Thursday that
the government has a contingency plan in case the tension in the Korean
Peninsula escalates further and turns for the worse.
Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said in a
press conference in Malacanang on Thursday that he believes North Korea still
does not have nuclear weapons based on recent assessments, the Philippine
government is prepared to handle a crisis in case the tension in the region
eventually becomes a shooting war.
“We are doing our contingency plans in the event
that the situation takes a turn for the worse,” Lacierda said when asked about
the country’s preparedness should North Korea launched nuclear weapons, given
the Philippines’s proximity to the area.
At the same time, Lacierda said the Department
of Foreign Affairs (DFA) is currently updating its response plan for South
Korea and it is constantly communicating with Filipino communities in that
country.
“What I can only say right now is we’re drafting
the plan—the plans are being updated. Meron na tayong contingency plans before,
remember… I think during the start of our administration, nagkaroon ng issue sa
Korean Peninsula. So we’re looking at it again and the DFA is updating those
plans,” Lacierda continued.
The government has already identified areas of
convergence in case the situation in South Korea takes a turn for the worse, he
said.
The Palace official also allayed public fears
about the entry of American naval ships in the Philippines, which may annoy
North Korea, saying the ships are here for resupply and re-provision.
“Primarily they are here for rest and
recreation. They are here for re-supply of their… re-provision of supplies.
Primarily that’s what they come here for,” he said.
The primary concern of the government is the
Filipino communities affected by the tension in the Korean Peninsula and not
the American ships arriving in the country, Lacierda said.
North Korea has announced recently that it has
given its military a clearance to launch nuclear attacks on the United States.
In response, the US said it is deploying anti-missile defense in Guam to
counter Nokor’s aggression. PND (as)
President Aquino assures the completion of
infrastructure projects during his term to develop commercial and tourism
industries in Cavite
DASMARIÑAS CITY, Cavite) President Benigno S.
Aquino III assured that various infrastructure projects, including the Light
Rail Transit Line 1 Cavite Extension and road projects, will be completed
during his term in a bid to further develop the commercial and tourism
industries in the province.
In his speech during his meeting with local
leaders and the community at the Football Field of Dasmariñas National High
School in Barangay Burol here on Thursday, the Chief Executive said the
operation of the LRT Line 1 Cavite Extension is expected to start by 2015.
He said the line is expected to increase the
daily commuters of LRT1 to 250,000. The project aims to provide rapid and
reliable access to and from the densely populated residential communities south
of Manila and the various strategic commercial, industrial, and educational
districts in Metro Manila.
President Aquino also said more government
infrastructure projects are now in place to advance the development of Cavite.
"Dagdag good news pa po, inaprubahan na rin
ng NEDA (National Economic and Development Authority) nito lamang Enero ang
mahigit 35 billion piso para sa Cavite-Laguna Expressway. Oras na makumpleto
ang 47 kilometrong highway, magkakaroon ng alternatibong ruta ang mga motorista
na dating nagsisiksikan sa Aguinaldo Highway at ang biyahe Manila papunta Dasma
na madalas abutin ng 3 oras ay mahigit 1 1/2 oras na lang raw," he said.
He said that the government remains committed to
strengthen the country's fiscal position, intensify investments in
infrastructure and enhance the business and tourism sectors.
The President thanked the people of Cavite who
affirm his administration’s commitment to tread the straight and righteous path
in transforming the Philippines into a progressive nation.
"Ulitin ko lang po, maraming salamat po sa
pagkakataong paglingkuran kayo ng tapat. Maraming salamat po sa pagiging lakas
ng pamahalaan para maitulak ang bansa tungo sa malawakang pag-unlad. Wala pong
duda ang mga tagumpay sa tuwid na landas ay bunga ng inambag na sipag, tapang,
at malasakit ng mga Caviteno," he said.
The President assured the people that the
government continues to promote investments by both local businessmen and
foreign investors to accelerate the business industry and generate jobs for the
people of Cavite and other provinces.
The President, likewise, reiterated his
administration's commitment to strengthen its efforts in ensuring that the
benefits of the country's growth are both equitable and inclusive. PND (js)
