Aquino leads launch of $400-M Globe Telecom
Submarine Cable System
President Benigno S. Aquino III led the launch
Friday night of Globe Telecom’s $400 million Southeast Asia-Japan Submarine
Cable System that is expected to enhance telecommunication connectivity between
the Philippines and the rest of the world.
In his message during the event held at the
Globe Tower in Taguig City, the President thanked the telecom company for
modernizing its infrastructure to the benefit of the Filipino public as well as
the country’s economy.
“For all this, I extend my gratitude and
congratulations to Globe. Hand in hand with your ongoing Network Modernization
Program, I am extremely confident that you will improve your services even
more,” the President said.
“It makes me optimistic that, soon enough, other
telecommunications companies will follow suit and help provide the nation
seamless and reliable connectivity.”
According to the President, Globe has lived up
to its brand with the launching of the new project. He expressed hope that the
company would continue working to make the latest technological innovations
available to the Philippines especially for future generations.
The submarine cable system, which spans at least
8,900 kilometers underwater, will strengthen the region’s connectivity with
other cable systems. It was laid out to avoid quake prone areas in the Pacific
to protect the region during strong earthquakes.
In 2006, connectivity in Asia was compromised
when two earthquakes off the coast of Taiwan damaged the cables.
With this modern telecom infrastructure, the
President said he expects more reliable text messaging and voice services, and
higher-speed Internet links between the countries linked with the Globe’s
system.
The President said the banking and the BPO
sectors will also benefit from this improved communications capacities, adding
that it will become another selling point for the country’s growing fields like
medical transcription, engineering services, and animation.
This will also greatly enhance the government’s
capabilities to serve the people, he added. For instance, the cable system
broadens its access to government services such as Project NOAH—or the National
Operational Assessment of Hazards, which allows the public to be more informed
about disaster mitigation.
Improved access to the internet also means
easier public access to timely updates from government agencies such as PAGASA,
the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority, and the Official Gazette, the
President said.
He pointed out that the system will also make it
easier for the 10 million Filipinos living or working abroad to connect with
their relatives here in the Philippines, strengthening family ties.
“And many of us have corresponded with a
relative working in a faraway country, trying to make life better for their
loved ones back home. What this cable promises us goes beyond infrastructure;
it promises to make the Philippines—a country with 10 million overseas
workers—a country even more closely knit than before,” the President concluded.
PND (as)
Palace welcomes conclusion of Zamboanga crisis
The Palace confirmed the conclusion of the
military operations in Zamboanga City against the followers of Moro National
Liberation Front (MNLF) leader Nur Misuari following the announcement of the
defense department that the MNLF-Misuari faction is now a “defeated force.”
In a radio interview on Saturday over
government-run radio station dzRB Radyo ng Bayan, Deputy Presidential
spokesperson Abigail Valte said the Palace has always maintained that it’s up
to the leaders on the ground when to declare the conclusion of the military
operations.
“We were dealing with the situation that it will
be the officials on the ground who will be making the announcement based on
their assessment. Remember that our task from Day One is to ensure the safety
of the hostages that were taken; to ensure their safe recovery, as well as to
get civilians out of harm’s way and that has already been accomplished,” Valte
said.
Valte also mentioned the P3.8 billion allocation
announced by the President for the reconstruction of Zamboanga City after the
widespread devastation.
She said this will include the rebuilding of
homes of families who lost their houses to the heavy fighting between the
government forces and the MNLF.
It was reported that Vice President Jejomar
Binay said they were drafting a Public Partner Partnership for the housing
projects in Zamboanga City to help the people restart their lives.
With regards to calls by some groups to
intensify government efforts to protect children in the evacuation centers,
Valte said different government agencies are working together to address the
concern.
Recent reports said there are cases of sexual
assault, prostitution, and the trafficking of children in evacuations centers
in Zamboanga City.
“We acted swiftly, as well as the local
government in that case of the six-year-old that was allegedly molested by a
family member in the evacuation center. The action there was very swift and, in
fact, the suspect is already under the legal process,” Valte said.
“The DSWD, along with other agencies on the
ground, are working to ensure that the children there, not just for their
safety physically, but also the psychological state ng ating mga kabataan na
nandoon,” she added.
The Department of Education is also a major
partner, Valte said, noting that the department started training teachers to
enable them to guide their students in light of the Zamboanga City situation.
PND (as)
Palace defends conditional cash transfer program
implementation, says fighting poverty takes time
Malacanang defended the implementation of the
conditional-cash-transfer program saying fighting poverty is a continuing
thrust of the Aquino administration and eliminating the menace will not happen
overnight.
Former National Treasurer Leonor Briones said on
Friday that the government spent more than P120 billion in dole outs to the
poor in the past six years but the initiative hasn’t made an impact in solving
poverty in the country based on recent studies.
As a response, Deputy Presidential Spokesperson
Abigail Valte said tackling poverty is a continuing process as far as the
Aquino administration is concerned.
“It’s a continuing work. It’s something that we
continue to do because, as Ms. Briones knows herself, and I’m pretty sure that
she knows this very well by now, poverty alleviation is not something that is
solved overnight,” Valte said over government-run radio station dzRB Radyo ng
Bayan, Saturday.
“It takes time to address, and that’s exactly
what we have been doing,” she added.
Valte said that based on the administration’s
targeting program, the government has been expanding the coverage in the fifth
quintile or the poorest of the poor of the population so that more people get
government support on that demographic area.
“‘Ang poverty alleviation is not just about
giving them money… It’s making sure that the family and their children will
have the tools available to them to be able to rise up from their current
status,” she said.
The CCT was a direct support program for the
poor by the Department of Social Welfare and Development that started in 2008
under the Arroyo administration.
Poor families are given the cash grant ranging
from P500 to P1,400 on condition that they keep their children in school and
undergo regular health checkups, especially pregnant women.
The CCT’s budget, which started at P298 million
in 2008, has grown steadily through the years. Congress wants to increase it
from P45 billion this year to P62.5 billion next year. PND (as)
Aquino replaces Danilo Lim at Bureau of Customs
President Benigno S. Aquino III appointed Jessie
Dellosa as deputy commissioner of the Intelligence Group of the Bureau of
Customs replacing Danilo Lim who resigned from the bureau.
Dellosa’s appointment was signed by the President
on Friday, Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said in a radio
interview over government-run radio station dzRB Radyo ng Bayan on Saturday.
Dellosa, a native of Sorsogon, was appointed by
President Aquino as Armed Forces of the Philippines chief of staff in 2011. He
belongs to the Philippine Military Academy Class of 1979.
He served as commanding officer of the Special
Reaction Unit of the Presidential Security Group that protected the late
President Corazon Aquino against several coup attempts during her term.
Other appointments include Primo B. Aguas as
Deputy Commissioner for Management Information Systems and Technology Group,
replacing Maria Caridad T. Manarang; Agaton Teodoro O. Uvero as Deputy
Commissioner for Assessment and Operations Coordinating Group, replacing
Prudencio M. Reyes; and Director Myrna Chua of the Department of Budget and
Management (DBM), as deputy commissioner for the Internal Administration Group.
PND (as)
