President Aquino honors soldiers at AFP
anniversary celebration
President Benigno Aquino III honored Armed
Forces soldiers who had given exemplary service during the Zamboanga crisis and
the recent back-to-back earthquake and super typhoon Yolanda disasters in Bohol
and Eastern Visayas, respectively.
Coinciding with the 78th anniversary celebration
of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, President Aquino awarded 49 soldiers,
two civilian employees and two ROTC cadets in recognition of their invaluable
contributions to the fulfilment of their mandate.
"Sa patong-patong na pagsubok na dinaanan
ng bansa ngayong taon, taas-noo ninyong maipagmamalaki sa ating mga ninuno at
sa mga kababayan natin ang ipinakita ninyong tapang, sigasig, at pananagutan sa
serbisyo,” the President said of the outstanding soldiers.
Among the soldiers awarded was Private First
Class Ian Paquit of the 3rd Scout Ranger Company, 1st Scout Ranger Regiment,
who was given a Medal of Valor posthumously for his courage, dedication and
sacrifice that contributed to the clearing and capture of rebels in Zamboanga
City crisis.
Despite being wounded in an encounter on
September 13, Paquit led a defense operation in Barangay Sta. Barbara on
September 24 but was shot in his left neck resulting to his death. The
operations resulted in the capture of 41 Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF)
fighters and 15 more killed. Soldier Paquit's award was received by his father,
Eduardo Paquit.
Fourteen soldiers were also awarded with the
Distinguished Conduct Star, the second highest military award, for their
conspicuous acts of gallantry; while eight other soldiers, two of them
posthumously, received the Gold Cross Medal.
Other soldiers and civilians were awarded for
their exemplary achievement in performing their duties. Some 2,000 soldiers
were already awarded in line with their contributions in the operations in
Zamboanga City while other award are in the pipeline to ensure that all
soldiers involved in combat and administrative operations will be recognized.
"Nagpapasalamat din ako para sa halos 200
bihag na na-rescue natin mula sa masasamang puwersang naghasik ng karahasan sa
Zamboanga, at para sa panunumbalik ng kaayusan sa lungsod. Sa ngalan ng mga
kababayan nating niyanig ng malakas na lindol sa Cebu, Bohol, at kalapit na
probinsya, maraming salamat sa mabilis ninyong pagresponde. Gayundin, maraming
salamat sa pagsagip at paghahatid ninyo ng ayuda sa mga biktima ng bagyong
Yolanda," he said.
"Pinatunayan ninyo sa buong mundo na gaano
man kalaking hamon ang idulot ng mga mapagsamantala at ng mga dumarating na
sakuna, anumang banta o peligro, gaano man kalayo at kaliblib na pook, basta’t
tumbasan lamang ng tapang at dedikasyong tumulong, maaaruga at makakabangon ang
mga Pilipino," he added. PND (jb)
Aquino declares January 10 as special
non-working day in Koronadal City, South Cotabato in celebration of its
Foundation Day
President Benigno S. Aquino III has declared
January 10, 2014, which falls on a Friday , as a special (non-working) day in
the city of Koronadal in the province of South Cotabato in celebration of its
74th Foundation Day and the 14th Hinugyaw Festival.
The Chief Executive issued the declaration
through Proclamation No. 695 signed by Executive Secretary Paquito N. Ochoa Jr.
on December 16 to give the people of Koronadal City the full opportunity to
celebrate and participate in the occasion with appropriate Koronadal City,
popularly known to locals as Marbel, is the capital of the province of South
Cotabato.
Koronadal was once populated by the B’laan and
Maguindanao tribes.
Before World War II, people from Luzon and the
Visayas settled in the place under the auspices of the National Land Settlement
Administration 1939.
The Municipal Council Resolution No. 32, Series
of 1948, mandated and proclaimed January 10 of each year as the Municipal Town
Fiesta commemorating the foundation of Marbel Settlement District of the
National Land Settlement.
In 2000, Koronadal became a component city of
South Cotabato by virtue of Republic Act No. 8803 otherwise known as "An
act converting the municipality of Koronadal, South Cotabato province, into a
component city to be known as the City of Koronadal."
Hinugyaw Festival is celebrated every year in
Koronadal City to pay homage to the first settlers who came to the city before
the Japanese invasion in 1941. PND (js)
President Aquino inspects 3 Agusta Naval
helicopters, vows continuous AFP modernization
President Benigno Aquino III inspected three
newly-acquired AgustaWestland 109 Power Helicopters of the Philippine Navy
during the 78th anniversary of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP)
Friday.
In his speech, President Aquino vowed to
continue the modernization in the AFP by acquiring more ships and helicopters
to perform a variety of missions such as economic zone protection, surface
surveillance, search and rescue and maritime security operations.
"Sa harap nga po ng mga pagsubok, malaki
ang inaasahan sa ating mga kawal. Kaya naman marapat lang na bigyan kayo ng
estado ng sapat na kapasidad upang tumugon sa inyong tungkulin. Hindi na po
manhid ang gobyerno sa pangangailangan ninyo; ang tugon natin: tuloy-tuloy na
modernisasyon," he said.
The AW-109 helicopters cost P1.33-billion. Two
more of these aircraft are expected to be delivered in 2014 for a contract
price of P850.91 million.
Aside from the helicopters, two new Sikorsky Air
Ambulance units and other assets of the AFP were displayed at the AFP
Grandstand during the ceremony.
President Aquino said the government will also
be acquiring two more C-130 aircrafts aside from the three operational units
the military are using.
He added that more maritime ships will be
acquired aside from the existing BRP Gregorio del Pilar and BRP Ramon Alcaraz.
"Makakaasa kayong mula sa pagbili ng iba
pang bagong kagamitan, hanggang sa pagpili ng inyong mga pinuno; mula sa paglalatag
ng oportunidad sa inyong pamilya, ngayon hanggang sa inyong pagreretiro,
isinusulong ng gobyerno ang mas makakabuti sa inyong kapakanan," he said.
PND (jb)
Leytenos must celebrate Christmas despite
massive destruction of super-typhoon 'Yolanda,' Leyte official says
(TACLOBAN CITY, Leyte) Governor Dominic Petilla
encouraged his constituents to celebrate Christmas , saying the areas that were
devastated by super-typhoon Yolanda are fast recovering.
"Ang Christmas naman nasa puso ng tao. It
is an opportunity for us to renew our strength na pinakita nating mga
Leyteno," Petilla said in an interview late Thursday.
The outpouring support of the Aquino government,
international and local organizations and citizens play a crucial role in
helping Tacloban City and various municipalities in the province of Leyte to
immediately recover from the disaster, Petilla said.
"Ang dami nating regalo galing sa labas na
tumulong sa atin. Andiyan ang mga relief na galing sa mga kindhearted and
generous na mga tao na tumutulong sa atin," Petilla said.
Petilla thanked the Aquino government for coming
out with a strategic plan to restore the economic and social conditions of the
areas devastated by Yolanda (internationally known as Haiyan).
The National Economic and Development Authority
said the recovery and reconstruction for areas devastated by the typhoon will
require a total of P361 billion in investments.
"The estimated total investment
requirements for recovery and reconstruction shall cover shelter and
resettlement (P183.3B), public infrastructure (P28.4B), education and health
services (P37.4B), agriculture (P18.7B), industry and services (P70.6B), local
government (P4B) and social protection (P18.4B)," Economic Planning Secretary
Arsenio M. Balisacan said in a statement.
"This amount will be disbursed over four
years, in line with a phased, cumulative and flexible implementation of the
Reconstruction Assistance on Yolanda (RAY) Plan," Balisacan said.
“The government has allocated about P34B for the
critical immediate actions, which are now underway. Another P100 billion is
forthcoming in 2014,” Balisacan said. PND (js)
Aquino signs P2.265-trillion 2014 national
budget aimed at achieving inclusive growth
President Benigno S. Aquino III signed Friday
the P2.265-trillion 2014 General Appropriations Act (GAA), which he said is
aimed at achieving inclusive development anchored on good governance.
“We are continuously improving on the strategy
we laid out when we began treading the straight path,” the President said in
his message after the signing.
“Through proper spending—and through cooperation
with partner institutions—we will equip the government with the wherewithal to
respond to any situation confronting our country. This is still the basis of
our goal to ensure that each peso in our national coffers redounds to
equivalent benefits for our bosses—the Filipino people.”
To attain inclusive growth, the President said
his administration continually increases the budget for social services at
P841.8 billion—more than 20 percent higher than the 2013 budget.
The government has also expanded the scope of
the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program, allocating P62.6 billion for 4.3
million poor families, and for 4.3 million students that the government will
support until high school.
The 2014 national budget also allocated P44.6
billion for the construction and rehabilitation of more than 43,000 classrooms,
the President said.
Also as a way to empower the people move out of
poverty, the government allotted P35.3 billion for the healthcare needs of 14
million families under the National Health Insurance Program.
The administration also focuses on the economy
to ensure continued growth and eventually create more opportunities for the
people, he said. This is the reason why the government allocated P593.1 billion
for the country’s economic services sector. The amount represents a 16.5
percent growth from the previous year, and is equivalent to 26.2 percent of the
country’s entire budget.
Foremost in the government’s priority
allocations is in the infrastructure sector, the President said noting that
around 3.2 percent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product will go to roads and
bridges, ports and airports, farm-to-market roads and irrigation projects, and
electrification for far-flung areas.
To develop the agriculture sector, the
government allotted P10.7 billion for the increased productivity of 1.3 million
farmers. This is in addition to the budget earmarked for agricultural
infrastructure.
The government has also allocated P5.5 billion
for promoting Philippine tourism, he said.
The crafting of the 2014 national budget
embodies the promise the government made to the people: where there is no
corruption, there will be no poverty.
“The reforms we are implementing in government
do not end with our abolition of PDAF. We crafted the National Budget for 2014
to strengthen the transformation of the management of our nation’s coffers,” he
said.
For instance, this is the first time the
government implemented the Performance-Informed Budgeting System, mandating
agencies to meet their performance targets outlined in the General
Appropriations Act. This ensures accountability of agencies and departments to
the people.
The government is also finalizing the
"GAA-as-Release Document" system to speed up the implementation of
programs and projects, he said, noting that next year, around 90 percent of the
budget will be released to agencies.
This way, there will be no need for allotment
release documents, known as SARO, which means the government can rely on
agencies to begin implementing their initiatives as soon as the first day of
the new year.
To empower the people in their role in crafting
and implementing the national budget, the government has expanded the scope of
Grassroots Participatory Budgeting, known as “Bottom-Up Budgeting" —from
595 cities and municipalities in the 2013 Budget, to 1,225 under the 2014
Budget, the President said.
This initiative gave rise to P20 billion worth
of programs and projects crafted in partnership with communities and civil
society organizations—much higher than the P8 billion worth of projects
recorded in the previous year, the chief executive said.
Without the help of key allies, the crafting of
the 2014 national budget wouldn’t be possible, he said. The President expressed
his gratitude to the members of Congress for supporting his administration’s
agenda.
He also thanked the employees of the Department
of Budget and Management who helped to successfully craft the 2014 national
budget.
“Above all, I want to thank the Filipino
people—our Bosses—who, despite the great challenges we have all faced, continue
to trust and to work with us in treading the straight path. You remain the
source of strength and the guide for every step we take,” he said.
“As one nation, let us move forward and steer
the Philippines towards the inclusive progress we have all been aspiring for.”
PND (as)
Government holds Christmas party for 2,500
children who survived Yolanda
(TACLOBAN CITY, Leyte) Some 2,500 children who
survived the super-typhoon "Yolanda" (Haiyan) received early
Christmas gifts from the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).
In partnership with the International Container
Terminal Services, Inc. Foundation, the DSWD organized a Christmas Party for
the children who lost their respective homes following the devastation of
Yolanda which hit Central Philippines on November 8.
The DSWD, together with the foundation, gathered
the children at the Tacloban City Convention Center where they were given food
packs and Christmas gift.
Some 2,000 children from 17 villages of Tacloban
City and 500 children-evacuees who are temporarily staying at evacuation
centers joined the party on Friday.
ICTSI deputy executive director Filipina Laurena
said the children, age four to six years old, participated in parlor games.
Each child received a teddy bear stuff toy while
the their guardians received Noche Buena packages from the DSWD and the
Foundation. The guardians also received condiments and one whole chicken from
Andoks. Mister Donut also sent personnel to the party to distribute some of of
their food products for the children.
Emphasizing the need to provide a stress
debriefing for children who survived the calamity, Laurena said the DSWD and
the Foundation decided to organize the party to help them recover from the
trauma. PND (js)
