Aquino extends invitation to World Economic
Forum delegations to attend next year's summit to be held in Manila
NAY PYI TAW, Myanmar) President Benigno S.
Aquino III personally invited on Friday the delegations who attended the World
Economic Forum (WEF) on East Asia here to attend next year's summit set in
Manila.
President Aquino issued the invitation in his
remarks at the closing plenary of the 22nd WEF on East Asia held here. He
congratulated the government of Myanmar for successfully hosting this year’s
forum.
“We are hopeful that we can match the standards
set by Myanmar and duplicate their success,” President Aquino said. The
Philippines has already started its preparations for the 2014 WEF East Asia
Summit.
In his remarks, President Aquino also shared the
Philippines’ experience in addressing the issue of development. He said that
the government’s agenda “Kung walang corrupt, walang mahirap” resonated among
the Filipinos.
“This is the overarching philosophy that has
guided our reforms, our policies, and our social and economic resurgence, and
it is in line with this philosophy that we are fostering a business environment
in our country that is highly conducive to broad-based growth,” he said.
The President also said that a level playing
field assures potential investors that the foundations for success in the
Philippines are new ideas and hard work.
“That is the simple recipe behind the Philippine
revival, and we are excited to discuss it more thoroughly with all of you next
year, especially since we are accelerating our agenda of social inclusiveness
and equitable progress,” he said.
“I am certain that we can learn much from your
experiences in that regard. Thus, I am inviting all of you to visit the
Philippines to see with your own eyes the transformation that has taken place,”
he added.
President Aquino further said that their visit
to the Philippines will be a memorable experience if they will set aside some
time to explore some of the renowned tourist destinations in the country.
“For now, I suppose it is back to work for all
of us. Rest assured, I, along with the members of my Cabinet, will be at our
desk, finding even more ways to accelerate our reform efforts so that we can
surprise you even more during your visit next year,” he said.
“It has been a productive few days for a lot of
us, and I am hopeful that as we all depart this beautiful country, the lessons
we have shared and learned will endure; and that we can all look forward to
following through on the commitments we have made towards building a stronger,
more cooperative, and more inclusive world economy,” he added.
President Aquino also said that he and the
Philippine delegation enjoyed their short visit here in Nay Pyi Taw.
“And it has been a pleasure to witness a new chapter
unfolding in Myanmar’s history, in which all sectors and groups can participate
in improving peoples’ lives. We are encouraged by the notable steps being taken
to achieve greater political and economic openness in Myanmar,” he said. PND
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World Economic Forum on East Asia in Manila next
year preparatory to 2015 APEC meet
NAY PYI TAW, Myanmar) The Philippines’ hosting
of the World Economic Forum on East Asia next year would be preparatory to a
bigger hosting event ---the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) in 2015,
President Benigno S. Aquino III said.
In an interview with members of the Philippine
media delegation on Friday, President Aquino said that preparations for next
year’s WEF East Asia Summit are already underway, and that he expects the
country to be “very, very ready” by then.
“Hindi ko naman sasabihing today we are ready,
but by the time we will be hosting it, we will be very ready. And of course,
that is only preparatory for the bigger hosting event, which is APEC in 2015,”
the President said.
The Philippines will play host to the 2015 APEC
Summit. This year’s host is Indonesia, and in 2014, it would be China.
“Continuous ang mga meetings, designation of
people, ‘yung estimated na expenses, ang mga kakulangan natin na pinupuno. So
again, we expect to be very, very ready by the time we host it,” the President
added.
President Aquino on Friday attended the closing
plenary of the WEF East Asia Summit in Nay Pyi Taw, and he personally invited
the delegations who attended the forum here to come to the Philippines next
year. PND (co)
Aquino returns home after attending World
Economic Forum in Myanmar
President Benigno S. Aquino III arrived at the
Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal II on board a charter Philippine
Airlines flight around 12:40am Saturday following his attendance to the 22nd
World Economic Forum on East Asia in Myanmar.
During his trip, the President had a bilateral
meeting with President Thein Sein of Myanmar aimed at enhancing the relations
between the Philippines and Myanmar.
The President, in his first trip to Myanmar,
also met WEF founder and executive chairman Klaus Schwab. He also attended a
luncheon meeting hosted by the Ayala Corp.
During the luncheon, the chief executive asked
foreign businessmen to come to the Philippines as he showcased the
accomplishments of his administration.
President Aquino personally extended his
invitation to the delegates of WEF to the Philippines, which will host next
year’s forum.
The President also met with Aung San Suu Kyi,
the chairperson and general secretary of the National League for Democracy.
Accompanying the President in his Myanmar trip
were Foreign Secretary Albert Del Rosario, Trade Secretary Gregory Domingo,
Cabinet Secretary Jose Rene Almendras, Socio-Economic Planning Secretary
Arsenio Balisacan, Presidential Management Staff chief Julia Abad and
Presidential Protocol Chief Celia Anna Feria.
Other members of the delegation were Finance Secretary
Cesar Purisima, Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez, Budget and Management
Secretary Florencio Abad and Communications Secretary Ramon Carandang, who all
left ahead of the President. PND (as)
Aquino govt prioritizes modernizing the
military, says Palace official
The Aquino administration will remain focused on
attaining a minimum credible defense position to protect the country’s
sovereignty against both external and internal threats, a Palace official said
on Saturday.
In a radio interview over dzRB Radyo ng Bayan,
Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said the Aquino government has already
accomplished a lot in modernizing the country’s police and military.
Lacierda’s statements came in the midst of some
calls among lawmakers to increase the 2014 budget of the Armed Forces of the
Philippines and Philippine National Police so that they could readily respond
against external and internal threats.
But Lacierda said the current thrust of the
government is modernizing the Philippine police and military.
“In only a span of three years we have devoted a
substantial amount of money towards modernizing our armed forces,” Lacierda
said in the interview.
Under the AFP Modernization Law, the Aquino
administration was able to acquire a Hamilton class cutter from the US—the BRP
Gregorio del Pilar. The navy is also awaiting the arrival of another naval ship
from the US, he said.
The military also acquired several combat
helicopters from Poland with the first four choppers now being used by the Air
Force. There are additional deliveries of more choppers as well as jet fighters
most probably from South Korea.
“We are going to achieve what we have always
maintained, what the President has always said—a minimum credible defense
position; and if the lawmakers would wish to add to the budget of the AFP,
again, we are going through a budget deliberation process,” Lacierda said.
“It is within the process itself, as to their
discretion how they would like to assist in further modernizing our forces.”
He added that if Congress wants to add to the
budget for the military and the police, it would be a great help for the
country, as adding any amount should be in the budget process and budget
deliberations.
Modernizing the Philippine military is seen as a
necessity for the country as tension rises in the West Philippine Sea, and as
other claimant countries now aggressively pursue their respective claims to the
contested territory.
Among the concerns for the Philippines are the
alleged continuous patrols of China near the shoals within the country's
exclusive economic zone. PND (as)
Palace: Davao airport accident should not affect
country’s bid for aviation upgrade
The Davao airport mishap should not derail the
Philippines’ thrust for an aviation upgrade because similar accidents also
happen even in first world countries, a Palace official said on Saturday.
Some critics said the country’s aviation
industry is not ready for an upgrade following the accident in Davao where a
Cebu-Pacific plane skidded off the runway after landing.
“I don’t think that is a one-to-one
correspondence. And I don’t think that is proper --- the premise would justify
the conclusion,” Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said in a radio
interview over dzRB Radyo ng Bayan on Saturday.
“Ang nangyari diyan, nangyayari rin sa mga first
world countries, hindi lang ‘yan sa mga third world countries. Alam natin na
may mga aksidenteng ganito na nangyayari sa mga ibang bansa rin,” he added.
The government has been focusing on different
approaches in improving the country’s aviation industry and drawing a
conclusion out of the Davao incident would be irresponsible, he said.
On the contrary, the Palace official said the
Philippines is in fact getting commendations for its initiatives in modernizing
the aviation sector.
“We are taking the proper steps to ensure that
we are going to be out of that category and to ensure that we, the Philippines,
will be able to handle international standards in our aviation industry,” he
said.
The Philippines is undergoing a review by the US
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and EU Commission directorate general for
mobility and transport on the safety situation of its aviation industry.
In 2007, the FAA downgraded the Civil Aviation
Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) because of safety and management issues and
gave the Philippines a Category-2 status which capped US-bound flights from the
Philippines.
The country suffered another blow after the
European Union followed suit in 2010, barring Philippine carriers from its
airports.
Being under Category 2 doesn’t mean Philippine
carriers are banned from flying to the US, but they cannot add new routes until
all issues are resolved. PND (as)
