President Aquino to lead 66th Philippine Air
Force Anniversary in Pampanga Monday
President Benigno S. Aquino III will lead rites
commemorating the 66th Anniversary of the Philippine Air Force that will be
held at the Clark Air Base in Angeles, Pampanga on Monday, July 1.
Joining the President will be Department of
National Defense (DND) Secretary Voltaire T. Gazmin and Armed Forces of the
Philippines (AFP) chief-of-staff Gen. Emmanuel Bautista.
The PAF, according to Col. Miguel Ernesto Okol,
PAF spokesperson, will mark this momentous occasion with a flyby of the 66 PAF
planes over the CAB airfield.
The flyby will consist of nine T-41D Mescaleros,
three S-211 jet aircraft, two OV-10 Broncos, two Aermacchi SF-260TP, three
NOMADs, three Fokker F-27, three Lockheed C-130s, six UH-1Hs, one Sikorsky
S-76A, one Bell B-205 helicopter, one Huey II, six W-3A Sokols, and four MG-520
attack choppers.
This year's flyby is larger by 23 aircraft than
the 43 participating planes in last year's 65th anniversary of Philippine Air
Force.
The PAF was founded on July 1, 1947, two years
after the end of World War II.
The PAF traces its lineage to the Philippine
Army Air Corp which was established in 1941. PND (rck)
President Aquino kept tabs on movement and
effects of Typhoon 'Gorio'
Concerned about the damage typhoon “Gorio”
(international codename: Rubia) may wreak over the Philippines, President
Benigno S. Aquino III kept a close watch and keenly monitored the storm’s path
since early Sunday morning, Deputy Presidential Spokesperson Abigail Valte said
on Sunday.
In a press briefing aired over government-run
radio station dzRB Radyo ng Bayan, Valte said the President took a personal
hand at directing concerned government agencies providing necessary assistance
to affected residents in the storm’s path.
“The President was monitoring the effects of the
weather or the path of the storm until, I think, past midnight po (until)
kaninang madaling araw at ina-update ng mga iba’t ibang ahensya ang Pangulo
kung ano na po ang mga nagawa sa mga rehiyon na apektado,” Valte said.
She pointed out that the Philippine Coast Guard,
the Department of Social Welfare and Development, the Metro Manila Development
Authority and the National Disaster and Risk Reduction Management Council were
alerted days before “Gorio” made land fall.
“Nakita nga po natin sa mga balita na meron nga
pong mga stranded na ating mga kababayan sa mga pantalan dahil nga hindi
pwedeng maglayag dala ng sungit ng panahon. Lalo na sa Region VII, hindi ho
talaga pinayagang maglayag ang mga maliliit na vessels at ang mga pampasaherong
barko,” Valte said.
“Sa NCR po naghanda ang MMDA para sa mga
disaster preparedness natin at na-activate nga ang mga teams, kahapon pa po
ito. Naghanda ang DSWD ng mga 137.78-million pesos worth of emergency relief
resources consisting of standby funds and some 39,959 family food packs, other
food and non-food items,” she added.
“Maganda naman ang mga naging preparasyon natin.
So far, the NDRRMC has reported na walang casualty at sana po it stays that
way. They will be updating us soon. Malapit na sila ulit maglabas ng kanilang
situation report,” Valte said further. PND (rck)
President Aquino to keep addressing challenges
on the country's economic growth
President Benigno S. Aquino III will continue
addressing the challenges to the country’s economic growth, Malacañang said on
Sunday, as the Chief Executive officially marks his fourth year in office.
In an interview over government-run radio
station dzRB Radyo ng Bayan, Deputy Presidential Spokesperson Abigail Valte
said the public can expect the President to focus on achieving sustainability
of the country’s economic growth and on how the government can make it more
inclusive.
“The President has always spoken about this;
what are the challenges to economic growth? One, it’s sustainability; and,
second, to continue and make it more inclusive so that everybody will
experience their share in economic growth. So these continue to be the
challenges that we face for the next half of the President's term,” Valte said.
Asked on how the President plans to accomplish
these targets for the remainder of his term, Valte said: “You know, the
President is always open to receiving inputs or suggestions from stakeholders
on different issues of the day that is being faced by the presidency.”
“So, in the same way that we deal with
stakeholders, patuloy naman din po ‘yung mga pag-uusap. Bukas naman po tayo sa
mga input mula sa mga iba’t ibang sektor,” she added.
Valte also mentioned that the activities of the
President will pretty much remain the same toward the next half of his term
which include attending public engagements and working on pressing issues that
require his attention.
President Aquino is scheduled to lead rites in
commemorating the 66th Anniversary of the Philippine Air Force that will be
held at the Clark Air Base in Angeles, Pampanga on Monday, July 1. PND (hdc)
