President Aquino declares May 22 as special
non-working day in Gingoog City, Misamis Oriental in celebration of its annual
fiesta
President Benigno S. Aquino III has declared May
22, which falls on a Wednesday, as a special (non-working) day in the city of
Gingoog in Misamis Oriental in celebration of its annual fiesta.
The Chief Executive issued the declaration
through Proclamation No. 577 signed by Executive Secretary Paquito N. Ochoa Jr.
on May 15 to give the people of Gingoog the full opportunity to celebrate and
participate in the occasion with appropriate ceremonies.
Gingoog City celebrates its annual fiesta on May
22 every year to honor its patron saint, Sta. Rita de Cascia. The feast of Sta.
Rita was introduced by the Augustinian Fathers in the early 18th century. PND
(js)
Palace says Philippines may try other options to
repair relations with Taiwan
The Philippine government will remain open to
trying other actions to fix its relations with Taiwan following the death of a
Taiwanese fisherman off Batanes last week, a Palace official said.
The President sent an emissary to personally
deliver an apology but was rejected by Taiwan noting the insincerity on part of
the Philippines.
In a press conference in Malacanang Friday,
Palace reporters asked Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte whether
the government is considering other diplomatic solution to address the
country's diplomatic row with Taiwan.
As a response Valte said: “At this point, one,
‘yung nakikita naman natin really is to avoid action to escalate tensions and
second, as Secretary Lacierda mentioned yesterday, we have done enough. We’ve
gone the extra mile to not let the exchanges that we have deteriorate.”
The Philippine government has already expressed
regret at the unfortunate incident and at this point the Aquino administration
is preparing contingencies for the possible impact of the sanctions imposed by
Taiwan.
While the government has not received any
reports of maltreatment or discrimination of Filipinos in Taiwan, the Palace
official reiterated its appeal to the Taiwanese people to spare the Filipinos
working in the state because they have nothing to do with last week’s shooting
incident.
Filipino citizens in Taiwan should not bear the
brunt of the incident since their intention there is to work and not to make
trouble, she said.
“We appeal for calm also, and the appeal still
goes out that our citizens will not be harmed,” Valte said.
Regarding the plans of some Filipino overseas
workers in Taiwan to return home, Valte said the labor department already
mentioned a contingency plan in case there is an exodus of Filipinos from
Taiwan.
The Department of Labor and Employment has been
looking for alternative markets that could absorb Filipinos that will be
affected by the present tension, she said.
Valte said that based on government figures, 72
percent of OFWs in Taiwan are employed in the manufacturing sector.
“By looking for other alternative markets, would
be to see which other markets also have a high number or high openings for the
manufacturing sector. I think this has been previously mentioned,” she said.
“The Labor department has deemed it fit to look
into other alternative markets that are capable of absorbing the number of OFWs
who may wish to come back or who may have to leave their places of employment
in Taiwan," she said.
Among the possible markets would be South Korea,
Middle East, and Malaysia, Valte said.
The justice department has spearheaded an
investigation, based on the instructions of the President, to determine what
happened in the Philippine-Taiwan border and know if anyone could be held
accountable for the death of the Taiwanese fisherman.
Coast guard personnel involved in the incident
said they were forced to shoot and disable the boat of the Taiwanese after they
ignored warnings and appeared attempting to ram the boat against the
Philippine’s patrol vessel.
On Thursday, an 11-man investigating team from
Taiwan arrived in Manila supposedly to investigate the incident. Justice
Secretary Leila de Lima said the Taiwanese can’t just investigate without
proper coordination with local authorities, but will be allowed to observe, as
long as their in intention is to ensure that the Philippines would thoroughly
investigate the incident and determine who’s accountable.
On the other hand, she said a team from the
National Bureau of Investigation will go to Taiwan to assess the fishing boat
involved in the confrontation off Batanes. The team will also get statements
from the crewmembers of the Taiwanese fishing vessel to piece together what
really happened, she added.
Coast guard personnel involved in the incident
said they were forced to shoot and disable the boat of the Taiwanese after they
ignored warnings and appeared attempting to ram the boat against the
Philippine’s patrol vessel.
The Taiwanese fishermen, they said intruded the
Philippine territorial waters. PND (as)
