Palace confident 2014 budget bill to be passed
into law before end-2013
Malacañang on Saturday expressed confidence the
proposed P2.26-trillion budget for next year will be passed into law before the
end of 2013, so it will take effect immediately on Jan. 1, 2014.
Presidential Communications Operations Office
head Herminio Coloma Jr. said this will maintain the Aquino administration’s
streak of having the budget signed into law before yearend.
“Mataas ang ating kumpiyansa sa
pakikipagtulungan ng dalawang kamara ng Kongreso at ehekutibo, magaganap ang
layunin tulad ng unang tatlong taon, maisasaganap at maisasabatas ang
pambansang budget bago matapos ang taon para maging epektibo sa unang araw ng
2014 (We are very confident that with the cooperation of the two houses of
Congress and the Executive Department, the budget will be passed and signed
into law before yearend so it will take effect Jan. 1),” he said on state-run
dzRB Radyo ng Bayan.
The budget bill was earlier passed in the House
of Representatives and the Senate.
Under the present administration, President
Benigno Aquino III had signed the budget bill into law before yearend, to
ensure it goes into effect Jan. 1.
Coloma said the 2014 budget has provided for
social services especially for some 4.3 million families considered to be the
poorest in the country.
He said this includes an improved Conditional
Cash Transfer program to be implemented by the Department of Social Welfare and
Development.
The budget includes P12.3 billion to cover some
10.2 million youths aged 15 to 18 so they can finish high school and find
decent work.
Another P2 billion aims to help thousands of
families in the streets and 116,000 indigenous families who have no permanent
address.
Coloma noted the CCT is being implemented in
more than 1,600 towns and cities in 79 provinces.
He added it now covers more than 3.9 million
families, including 1.6 million in Luzon, 1.4 million in Mindanao, and 801,293
in the Visayas.
Meanwhile, Coloma said the budget includes P3.1
billion to provide P500 pension to each of some 479,000 senior citizens aged 77
and up. PND (jl)
President Aquino accepts resignations of LWUA
chief, DOF exec
President Benigno Aquino III has accepted the
resignation of two officials, including one who was linked to the
multibillion-peso Priority Development Assistance Fund mess.
Presidential Communications Operations Office
head Herminio Coloma Jr. said the President accepted the resignation of Local
Water Utilities Administration acting chairman Rene Villa.
“Personal na desisyon niya ito at tinanggap ito
ng ating pangulo na may kalakip na pasasalamat sa kanyang paglilingkod (Villa’s
resignation was a personal decision that the President accepted. The President
thanked him for his service),” he said on state-run dzRB Radyo ng Bayan.
He said Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr.
had said Villa tendered his resignation effective Nov. 30.
Earlier reports had indicated Villa worked as a
lawyer for Janet Napoles, who had been charged with plunder for the PDAF mess.
With Villa’s resignation, Coloma said President
Aquino will now wait for the recommendation of Public Works Secretary Rogelio
Singson on who will replace Villa.
“Ang LWUA pinangasiwaan ni Sec. Rogelio Singson.
Malamang hihintayin ang recommendation ni Sec. Singson hinggil dito (The LWUA
is under Public Works Secretary Rogelio Singson. President Aquino will likely
wait for Singson’s recommendations),” he said.
Coloma also said President Aquino accepted as
well the resignation of Grace Karen Singson as chief privatization officer of
the Privatization and Management Office.
Meanwhile, Coloma said the President appointed
Elizabeth Espino as executive director of the National Parks Development
Committee. PND (jl)
Palace: Government forces determined to free 17
other Abu Sayyaf captives
Malacañang on Saturday assured the public that
government forces are determined to free some 17 people still believed to be in
the hands of the Abu Sayyaf bandit group.
Presidential Communications Operations Office
head Herminio Coloma Jr. said this is part of their mission to implement the
Republic’s laws.
“Ang kanilang pagkabihag ay labag sa ating
batas, kailangan ipatupad ang batas ng Republika (Their continued captivity is
a violation of the Republic’s laws. The laws must be enforced),” Coloma said on
state-run dzRB Radyo ng Bayan Saturday.
He said the Armed Forces of the Philippines will
lead the efforts to ensure the captives’ freedom.
“Ganoon din lahat na determination ng pamahalaan
sa pamamagitan ng iba’t ibang ahensya sa pangunguna ng AFP para mailigtas ang
mga bihag (The government through its agencies led by the AFP is determined to
ensure the captives’ freedom),” he said.
The Abu Sayyaf is believed to be behind the
disappearance of Jordanian television journalist Baker Atyani, who regained his
freedom earlier this week.
Atyani went missing in June 2012 along with his
two Filipino crew, but his crew members regained their freedom much earlier.
PND (jl)
Injured air force personnel from Huey crash now
being treated in Tacloban
(TACLOBAN CITY, Leyte) The two Philippine Air
Force (PAF) personnel who suffered major injuries from a plane accident off
Lapaz town in Leyte last Friday have already been transferred via ferry to a
hospital here and are now getting immediate treatment, an information from the
PAF said.
They were identified as pilot Captain Aldwin
Gutierrez and passenger Sergeant Angelito Anterola. Ms. Noime Mongaya of the
Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), on the other hand, was
airlifted to Cebu to receive further treatment after sustaining a serious spine
injury.
The other injured DSWD staffer, Danny Franco
Bitara, was also brought to Tacloban by a team sent by DSWD Assistant Secretary
Vilma Cabrera. He and Mongaya were in Lapaz to pursue relief missions there.
Gutierrez’s co-pilot, Captain Eddie As-Il,
sustained minor injuries and so did crew members, Sergeant Cristobal Aromin and
Sergeant Querubin Perez, and passenger Sergeant Henry Roque. They remain
confined at the Burauen District Hospital.
The ill-fated Bell UH-1 Huey helicopter crashed
at around 3:45 p.m. on Friday. An engine trouble encountered by the pilots
while making an emergency landing was cited as the primary reason behind the
incident. PND (hdc)
Coloma welcomes participants of 40th Ship for
Southeast Asian Youth Program
Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr.
welcomed the participants of the 40th Ship for Southeast Asian Youth Program
(SSEAYP) who arrived in the country for the last leg of their Asian journey.
“I would like to welcome and best wishes to all
the participants of the Ship for Southeast Asian Youth Program. We welcome our
friends from other countries in the region,” Coloma said in an interview over
dzRB Radyo ng Bayan on Saturday.
“We hope this project has brought you closer
together and develop a heightened sense of awareness among you about the common
visions and dreams that we all share to make our region a region of prosperity
and peace.”
The participants started their journey in Japan
and arrived in several Asian countries like Vietnam, Thailand, Laos, Singapore,
and recently the Philippines before heading back for Japan.
The Ship for Southeast Asian Youth aims to
promote friendship and mutual understanding among the youths of the ten
Southeast Asian countries and Japan, to broaden their global perspective,
strengthen their spirit of international cooperation and practical skills for
international collaboration.
Organizers eye honing young leaders who are
capable of exercising their leadership skills in various fields in the
globalizing society and to contribute to the society in the areas such as youth
development.
Participants gather and share their experiences
onboard a ship, introducing each other about their countries, participating in
discussions and various exchange activities both onboard and in the countries
to be visited.
The program is based on the respective Joint
Statements issued in January 1974 between Japan and the Republic of Indonesia,
Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.
Brunei Darussalam, Vietnam, Laos, and Myanmar
and Cambodia later joined the program. PND (as)
