New World Bank VP for East Asia and Pacific pays
courtesy call to President Aquino
President Benigno Aquino III on Friday met with
new World Bank Vice President for East Asia and Pacific (EAP) Axel van
Trotsenburg during a courtesy call at Malacanang’s Music Room.
This is the first visit of Trotsenburg to the
Philippines since he assumed his post on February 1, 2013.
Joining Trotsenburg were other World Bank
officials namely Motoo Konishi, country director for the Philippines; Sergio
Pimenta, director of EAP International Finance Corporation; and Jesse Ang,
resident representative at International Finance Corporation.
President Aquino, meanwhile, was joined by his
economic team led by Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima, Budget Secretary
Florencio Abad and Socio Economic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan.
Trotsenburg’s meeting with President Aquino aims
to tackle how World Bank could best align its emerging assistance strategy with
the country’s inclusive growth agenda in the next three years.
The World Bank official is also expected to
share with the President the Bank Group’s new twin goals of reducing extreme
poverty globally by 2030 and building shared prosperity for the bottom 40
percent of the population in every country. The said twin goals were endorsed
in April by the Board of Governors of the World Bank.
Under the theme, Making Growth Work for the
Poor, the World Bank has been supporting the Government’s Philippine
Development Plan.
As of May 2013, the Philippines portfolio in
World Bank amounted to US$2.04 billion with an additional US$910 million in
commitments from the Bank’s private sector arm, the International Finance
Corporation. PND (jb)
President Aquino will not resort to propaganda
as a form of communication and continues to uphold people’s right of access to
information, Malacanang says
President Benigno S. Aquino III will not resort
to propaganda as a form of communication and continues to uphold the people's
right of access to information, Presidential Communications Operations Office
(PCOO) Secretary Herminio “Sonny” B. Coloma Jr. said on Friday.
"The President does not equate good news for
propaganda," Coloma told representatives of the Association of Accredited
Advertising Agencies (4A's) during the courtesy call in his office in
Malacanang on Friday.
Coloma said President Aquino wants the
communications group to adequately inform, educate and enlighten the citizenry
about matters of national importance and empower them to deepen their civic
engagement.
"Knowledge is power. But you don't have to
dictate the people to achieve that. We also recognize the importance of social
media platforms to reach out to the people. Now we are working on how to use it
effectively, especially in dealing with disasters. We have to effectively
communicate to the grassroots level," Coloma said.
Coloma told the representatives of 4A's that the
PCOO continues to develop and implement necessary guidelines and mechanisms
pertaining to the delivery and dissemination of information relating to the
policies, programs, official activities and achievements of the President and
the Executive Branch.
The PCOO serves as the premier arm of the
Executive Branch in engaging and involving the citizenry and the mass media in
order to enrich the quality of public discourse on all matters of governance
and build a national consensus.
The 4A's paid a courtesy call on Coloma to
present the First Cannes Grand Prix Award, won by a Philippine advertising
agency DM9 JameSyfu.
This is the first time in the history of the
Cannes Festival that a Philippine ad agency won a Grand Prix Award. DM9
JameSyfu won for its work on 'TXT BKS' for Smart Communications, a public
service campaign that made innovative, cost-effective use of old cell phones by
using SIM cards to store entire textbooks for underprivileged students.
Ace Saatchi & Saatchi Manila won two golds
in Branded Content and Entertainment, as well as a Silver and a Bronze in Media
for "Screen Age Love Story" for Philippine Long Distance Telephone
Company. Saatchi also took home a Bronze in Media for "Olympic Shirt
Flag" for Ariel.
McCann Worldgroup Philippines won two Silvers in
Radio for 'Press' and 'Hold' spots for the Philippine Cancer Society.
TBWA\Santiago Mangada Puno won a Silver in
Design for client Boysen's 'The Biggest Air Filter' EDSA beautification program
and a Bronze in the same category for Ayala Land's Koi Fish Feed Invite.
Y & R Philippines' Dengue Bottle for
Maynilad netted a Silver in Media, a Bronze in Outdoor, and a Bronze in Promo
& Activation for its advocacy to drum up awareness of anti-dengue measures
in underprivileged communities.
The 4A's representatives thanked the Aquino
government, through Coloma, for granting their request to visit Malacanang and
present the Cannes festival awards. They also assured Coloma of the
association's all out support for the government in nation-building. PND (js)
Govt to monitor rice price adjustments
The government will conduct strict monitoring of
rice prices to prevent traders from unreasonably jacking up the price of the
major staple. It said however that the increase in rice prices would be
temporary.
Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte
said in a press briefing in Malacanang on Friday that concerned government
agencies will do the monitoring, adding that the price increase is seasonal and
will go back to original prices once the harvest season starts.
The increase is part of a natural cycle of rice
supply, Valte noted. Rice farmers have just started to plant palay and the
National Food Authority (NFA) has been assessing its buffer stock in
preparation for the lean season, she added.
This week, the Department of Trade and Industry
asked the Department of Agriculture to investigate the reported P1 to P2 hike
in rice prices in Metro Manila and the possible triggers of the increase.
Based on the report of the Bureau of
Agricultural Statistics, the price of regular milled rice ranged from P32 to
P34 a kilo as of July 9, up from the P30-per-kilo price recorded since 2012.
There were also reports of price adjustments of
other products such as mango (P80 per kilo as of July 9, from P70 a week ago);
pechay (P50 from P40); and eggplant (P50 from P40).
The DTI reported that prices of other basic
commodities either remained stable or slightly went down. The price of refined
sugar remained stable while the prices of powder-filled milk went down, the
report noted. PND (as)
Govt working to secure OFWs in Libya after
rescue of abducted nurses, says Palace
Malacanang said Libyan authorities were able to
rescue the three Filipino nurses abducted in Libya last Wednesday and the
Philippine government is working with the Libyan government on how to secure
Filipinos in that country.
In a press briefing in Malacanang on Friday,
Deputy Presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said the Department of Foreign
Affairs (DFA) confirmed that one female and two male Filipino nurses were
abducted on July 8 at about 9 pm but were rescued by Libyan authorities on
Friday.
“Sa kagandahang palad, na-rescue na sila at ang
impormasyon ng DFA ay babalik silang tatlo sa Tripoli para makapagpahinga,”
Valte said.
“From there, handa naman ang ating mga opisyal
sa ating embahada para magbigay ng tulong na kakailanganin ng tatlong nurse.”
Because of the kidnapping incident, Valte said
the Philippine ambassador to Libya has been coordinating with Libya’s Ministry
of Labor Affairs on how to tighten security or to assure the security of
Filipinos there.
It was reported that the three nurses were
abducted by a Libyan male in downtown Sebha on July 8 at about 9 pm.
One of the male nurses was able to escape and
sought help from a Libyan family, who called the police for assistance.
In 2011, the DFA called for the evacuation and
mandatory repatriation of OFWs in Libya due to security concerns there. The
government said there are more than 2,000 OFWs working in Libya. PND (as)
President Aquino declares July 23 as special
non-working day in Nabunturan in Compostela Valley in commemoration of 'Araw ng
Nabunturan'
President Benigno S. Aquino III has declared
July 23, which falls on a Tuesday, as a special (non-working) day in the
municipality of Nabunturan in the province of Compostela Valley in
commemoration of the "Araw ng Nabunturan.“
The Chief Executive issued the declaration
through Proclamation No. 617 signed by Executive Secretary Paquito N. Ochoa Jr.
on July 8 to give the people of Nabunturan the full opportunity to celebrate
and participate in the occasion with appropriate ceremonies.
On July 23, 1957, Nabunturan became a
municipality by virtue of Republic Act No. 2038. PND (js)
Palace: Agencies could defend P2.268-trillion
national budget for next year
Malacanang said government agencies are ready to
defend in Congress the P2.268-trillion proposed budget for 2014, which was
approved by President Benigno S. Aquino III this week.
Some lawmakers have already mentioned that they
will scrutinize the budget proposed by the administration.
In a press briefing in Malacanang on Friday,
Deputy Presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte was asked how confident that
Palace is about the possibility that politics will come into play when Congress
tackles the 2014 national budget.
As a response, Valte said: “Handa naman ang mga
ahensiya natin at ang mga proponents ng mga programa na ipagtanggol ang budget
ng kanilang department.”
Valte especially mentioned the conditional cash
transfer (CCT) program of the government. She said the Palace expects the
Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) to defend the CCT well in
Congress, when lawmakers scrutinize the program.
As the government carries out the CCT, Valte
said there is a joint congressional oversight committee that assesses DSWD on a
very regular basis about the disbursements of the CCT.
Asked why the President finally approved the
2014 budget, Valte said the reason is the government’s limited resources.
“The President wanted to make sure that the
sectors needing the most attention will be supported by the programs and the
programs will be supported by appropriate funds,” she said.
The President approved Thursday the
P2.268-trillion proposed budget for next year with minor adjustments. The
Palace said the major thrust of the administration remains inclusive growth.
The Aquino government is looking at enhancing
social protections and creating opportunities for employment by focusing on job
generating sectors like manufacturing, tourism, infrastructure, and agriculture,
among others.
Malacanang said the administration is confident
that it could fund the P2.268-trillion budget proposed by the President for
2014 because the executive department has studied it thoroughly. PND (as)
