President Aquino back at work
After taking a brief break during the holidays,
President Benigno Aquino III is back at work on the first week of 2014,
Malacañang said Friday.
Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte
said the President is attending mainly to paperwork and is getting briefing
notes on various issues.
"He's actually back to work, he's attending
to paperwork," Valte said at a media briefing.
The President had taken a brief vacation in
Baguio City but went back to work last Dec. 30, leading rites marking the
martyrdom of national hero Dr. Jose Rizal.
President Aquino also appealed to Filipinos to
stay on the straight path in his New Year message, saying 2014 is a crucial
time for his administration. PND (jl)
Palace: No legalization of marijuana soon
Unless Congress amends the law, Malacañang does
not see the Philippines going the way of some states in the US in legalizing
the use of marijuana, even for medicinal purposes.
Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte
said marijuana is considered a prohibited substance under the Philippines'
Dangerous Drugs Act.
"It's proihibited under the Dangerous Drugs
Act. It will remain as such until Congress amends it otherwise," she said
at a media briefing Friday.
Marijuana had been recently legalized in
Colorado in the United States.
Valte said that while it is up to Congress
whether to amend the present law to legalize marijuana, the substance will
continue to be banned here.
But for now, she stressed Philippine law
enforcers will continue to enforce the Dangerous Drugs Act, which outlaws the
drug.
"As of the moment, the executive department
implements the law as it is," she said. PND (jl)
Philippine competitiveness achievements
validates government efforts to create regime of opportunities, Palace says
The improvement of the Philippines in
competitiveness ranking is a manifestation of the Aquino administration’s
efforts to create a regime of opportunities by institutionalizing good
governance and fostering a level playing field, a Palace official said on
Friday.
"The Aquino administration has capped yet
another successful year in terms of raising the country’s competitiveness. The
National Competitiveness Council reports that, while many challenges remain,
our country has made great progress towards its goal to move from the
bottom-third of global competitiveness rankings to the top third by 2016,"
Deputy Presidential Spokesperson Abigail Valte said during the regular press
briefing in Malacanang.
"At this point, the Philippines has made it
to the middle-third of global tables and, in certain cases, has risen above the
median," Valte said.
International observers are recognizing the
achievements of the country in terms of the country’s competitiveness, reports
said.
"Out of eight major competitiveness reports
released in the previous year, the Philippines recorded gains in seven of them,
while holding ground on one. To name a few developments, our country has gained
six places in the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Index, going
from 65th to 59th," Valte said.
"We moved up 30 places, from 138th to
108th, in the International Finance Corporation’s Ease of Doing Business Index,
making the largest jump worldwide. And we moved up eleven places in
Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index, going from 105th to
94th," Valte stressed.
According to Valte, much of these gains were
results of new programs and initiatives by the government over the last 12 to
18 months. President Aquino created the Task Force on Ease of Doing Business
that aims to minimize and cut red tape in business operations.
"This, among other measures, played a
prominent role in our country’s marked improvement in making it easier for
businesses to open shop in the Philippines," Valte said.
"Our progress will not stop here. These
developments serve as impetus for the government and the private sector to work
harder together, to pursue our shared goal of individual empowerment, collective
excellence, greater national competitiveness, and of a society where, truly, no
one is left behind," Valte concluded. PND (js)
Removal of special allotment release order to
benefit the country, says Palace
The government could now speed up building major
infrastructure projects that benefits the country with the removal of special
allotment release orders (SAROs), Malacanang said on Friday.
“It will be easier for them (agencies) to
front-load projects, at least ideally within the first week of January, you can
already award projects,” Deputy Presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said in
a press briefing in Malacanang on Friday.
Valte said that with the current system,
agencies can do their pre-procurement activities immediately after the approval
of the national budget and not wait for several weeks before starting the
process.
She said that ideally, by first week of January,
agencies can start issuing notice of award.
In previous years, agencies have to wait for the
special allotment release orders or SAROs before they can start pre-procurement
process, she said, noting that the SAROs serve as the green light for the
agencies.
“More importantly binabawasan nang pagtanggal
nung requirement ng GAA as a release document ang red tape or the papers that
have to be accomplished and submitted; and you lessen opportunities for
corruption because there is less red tape,” Valte said.
Asked how the abolition of SAROs shield
government projects from anomalies, Valte said government agencies are now more
transparent and responsible.
At the same time, they have to follow the legal
process when it comes to procurement, disbursement, and liquidation. This
safeguard is in addition to the audit and assessment being done by the
Commission on Audit, she said.
While the government is removing SAROs, Valte
said special purpose funds and lump sum funds still need SARO given their lump
sum nature.
Calamity fund for instance need SARO because
certain criteria mandated by law has to be met before a request is approved,
according to Valte.
The Palace official also said that the
Department of Budget and Management is already in the process of computerizing
the issuance of SAROs for lump sum items to speed up the process. PND (as)
Palace: President Aquino orders agencies to find
ways to bring down power costs
President Benigno Aquino III has ordered
concerned agencies to find ways to bring down power costs, Malacañang reassured
the public Friday.
Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte
also said the government's hands will not be tied by business interests as it
looks for solutions to the problem.
"It's a cause of concern. The President has
already given instructions to relevant agencies to see what they can do,"
Valte said at a media briefing.
She also reiterated the government is open to
any initiative to amend the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA) of 2001.
However, she said the government will also have
to scrutinize various suggested solutions before it can get fully on board.
Valte also noted the government is not allowed
to run its own power plants because of the EPIRA. "The EPIRA prevents
government from being a power generator," she said.
"While you believe the executive (department)
has so much perceived power, we are limited by what the law says. There is no
magic wand to wave," she added.
In the meantime, she said the Palace is studying
the gist of bills on the issue that are presently pending in Congress.
"We look at the stage they are in and we
look at the meat of the proposal," she said, adding these will be
considered when the appropriate Cabinet clusters propose measures to be part of
the priority list. PND (jl)
Palace reiterates respect for Ombudsman,
judiciary's independence on PDAF cases
Malacañang on Thursday reiterated it will
respect the independence of the Ombudsman and the judiciary in handling the
cases against personalities linked to the alleged misuse of the Priority
Development Assistance Fund (PDAF).
Presidential Communications Operations Office
Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said that while the Palace shares the people's
wish for the cases to be resolved the soonest, it does not intend to impose any
deadline on the resolution of the cases.
"Hindi naman po tayo pwedeng mag-impose ng
deadline o timetable. Ginagalang po natin ang independence ng Ombudsman at
iyong separation of powers po ng Executive from the Judiciary kaya nagpapahayag
lang po tayo ng pakikiisa sa pag-asa ng mga mamamayan na gagalaw itong proseso
ng pagkakaroon ng katarungan hinggil doon sa umano'y maling paggamit ng public
funds (We cannot impose a deadline or timetable for the resolution of the
cases. We respect the independence of the Ombudsman and the separation of
powers between the executive and judiciary. But we merely share the hopes of
Filipinos that the cases involving the alleged misuse of PDAF will move
quickly)," Coloma said at a media briefing.
For now, he said the complaints lodged by the
government against some personalities are still being evaluated by the Office
of the Ombudsman.
He noted President Benigno Aquino III's New Year
message where he said justice in the PDAF case is close at hand referred to the
legal progress of the case from investigation to the filing of complaints
before the Ombudsman.
Also, he stressed there is no pressure from the
Palace on the Ombudsman and the judiciary on the matter.
"Wala pong hinahangad na ganyan kaya nga po
doon sa ating pahayag ay ine-emphasize iyong paggalang sa independence ng
Tanggapan ng Ombudsman na nilikha ng Konstitusyon para maging independienteng
taga-usig ng mga usapin hinggil sa mga government officials (There is no such
pressure on the Ombudsman. That is why we are emphasizing our respect for the
Ombudsman's independence)," he said. PND (jl)
