Palace: Temporary mass gravesites, return of NBI
teams to speed up burial of Yolanda victims
The setting up of temporary mass gravesites and
the return of National Bureau of Investigation forensic teams should speed up
the burial of fatalities from super Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan), Malacañang said
Saturday.
Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte
said the temporary burial sites will allow still-unidentified bodies to be
exhumed once forensic teams need to process them for identification.
"Nagsimula na kasi sila magkaroon ng
temporary mass site. At ang usapan nila ay pwede silang ma-exhume as needed
(The temporary mass burial sites are being established. Under the setup, the
bodies can be exhumed as needed)," she said on state-run dzRB Radyo ng
Bayan.
Citing information from Justice Secretary Leila
de Lima, Valte said concerned agencies met on the matter and have agreed on the
division of responsibilities.
On the other hand, she said the NBI Disaster
Victim Identification Team had returned to Tacloban City Thursday to resume the
processing of the remains. PND (jl)
Palace assures Yolanda survivors of aid beyond
relief goods
Malacañang on Saturday reassured survivors of
super typhoon "Yolanda" (Haiyan) they will continue to get aid this
year even after the distribution of relief goods ends in March.
Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte
said the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) will assess the
situation and come up with the appropriate assistance.
"Tinitingnan ng DSWD ang sitwasyon ng
pamilya. Patuloy ang assistance na binibigay lalo kung talagang kinakailangan
ito (The DSWD is assessing the situation of the affected families. It will
continue to give assistance especially to those that need it)," she said
on state-run dzRB Radyo ng Bayan.
She said the government may extend shelter
assistance to the affected families.
Valte said the government extended such help to
families in Zamboanga City who were displaced by fighting between government
forces and followers of Moro National Liberation Front founding chairman Nur
Misuari last September.
She said the DSWD is to end its distribution of
relief packs, including rice and canned goods, on March 31.
Yolanda tore through Visayas and Southern Luzon
last Nov. 8, leaving behind more than 6,100 dead. PND (jl)
Palace: DepEd, CHED looking into adjusting
school opening
The Department of Education (DepEd) and the
Commission on Higher Education (CHED) are now studying proposals to move the
opening of classes from June to August or September, Malacañang said Saturday.
Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte
said the Palace is now waiting for the two agencies to come up with their
findings and recommendations on the matter.
"We will defer to the position taken by
CHED. Sa DepEd, magka-iba ang posisyon ng dalawa when it comes to moving the
opening of classes to September (We will defer to the positions taken by the
CHED and DepEd when it comes to moving the opening of classes to
September)," she said on state-run dzRB Radyo ng Bayan.
"These are proposals being studued by both
institutions. Hintayin natin ang magiging resulta ng kanilang pagaaral (We will
wait for the results of their studies)," she added.
She said the DepEd and the CHED are separately
studying the matter since moving the opening of classes may have different
effects on students up to high school and on college students.
The DepEd has jurisdiction over schools up to
the high school level while CHED has jurisdiction over colleges and
universities.
"Iba ang sitwasyon ng grade school, ang
high school, iba ang sitwasyon ng college. Separate ang pagaaral na ginagawa ng
dalawang institution (The situation may be different for those in grade and
high school and for those in college, so the matter is studied separately by
the two agencies)," Valte said. PND (jl)
Palace assures sufficient security for Feast of
the Black Nazarene
Malacañang on Saturday assured the public of
sufficient security measures for the various activities marking the Feast of
the Black Nazarene in Manila's Quiapo district.
Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte
said police are working with the Manila city government to ensure the safety of
devotees and peace and order during the feastday.
"As in all years, buo ang suporta natin for
the security ng mga deboto for the Jan. 9 Feast of the Black Nazarene (As in
all years, we will fully support measures to ensure the security of devotees
for the Jan. 9 Feast of the Black Nazarene)," she said on state-run dzRB
Radyo ng Bayan.
Since Wednesday, devotees of the Black Nazarene
had been trooping to Quiapo to take part in activities honoring their patron.
The yearly feast will culminate on Thursday with
the traslacion, the procession where the Black Nazarene's image will be
returned to Quiapo Church from the Luneta.
Valte said that while the Manila city government
has allowed its disaster risk reduction council to handle the arrangements for
the event, the police will assist in enforcing the safety measures. PND (jl)
Palace says government to remain focused on
efficient tax collection
Malacanang reassured the public that there will
be no new tax policy to be imposed by the government and the Aquino
administration will continue to focus on efficient tax collection.
Some allies of the administration in Congress
have asked the President to adopt a new tax policy or restructure the tax
collection system.
Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte
said in a radio interview Saturday that as far the President is concerned
carrying out new tax policy would be a last resort.
“Insofar as new taxes are concerned, the
President would like to keep it as a last resort,” Valte told dzRB Radyo ng
Bayan on Saturday.
“Kasi in the three and a half years that he's
been in the administration, we've been able to keep revenue collections up. We
get by on this and so far successful naman ang BIR in raising its revenues over
and over again without passing the burden to income taxpayers.”
Asked if the Palace backs a study on carrying
out new tax policy, Valte said the Palace will leave the issue to the Bureau of
Internal Revenue.
“I’m quite sure that Commissioner Henares has a
few things in mind when it comes to implementing reforms to the tax system.
She's been implementing quite a few since she assumed office and more or less,
nagsu-suffice pa naman ang mga ito,” she said.
With regards to the issue of granting tax
amnesty for delinquent taxpayers, Valte said it’s up to the BIR to grant an
amnesty.
“It's the commissioner that can grant, at least,
certain things when it comes to taxpayers,” the Place official said. PND (as)
Palace: Government to continue pursuing
compensation claims for Tubbataha Reef damage
The Philippine government remains committed to
continue pursuing its claims for compensation on the damages made by a US
minesweeper on the Tubbataha Reef last year, a Palace official said.
“We're committed to pursuing compensation for
it,” Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte told dzRB Radyo ng Bayan in
an interview Saturday.
Valte said the Philippine government and US
authorities had good discussions on the issue of compensation.
However, the Palace official said there is a
third party who had filed a case before the Supreme Court. But she added that
on the part of the government, the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) was
able to file a comment when it was ordered to do so.
She also said that since there is a pending case
on the issue it is in the best interest of the government not to comment
further.
In July last year, environmental activists and
militant groups filed an urgent motion to ask the Supreme Court for a series of
Temporary Environmental Protection Orders (TEPOs) aimed at stopping US military
exercises and port calls of US warships in the Philippines.
Prior to the motion, a Petition for the Writ of
Kalikasan regarding the grounding case in the reef was filed by the group of
Palawan Bishop Pedro Arigo.
US minesweeper USS Guardian, coming from Subic
for a regular port call, ran aground the Tubbataha Reef on January 17, 2013.
The ship was on its way to Puerto Princesa, Palawan and then to Indonesia when
it got stuck in the reef.
The Philippines fined the US government P58
million for the damage to the reef.
The incident damaged an estimate of 4,000 square
meters of coral reefs in Tubbataha Reef, the largest marine protected area in
the country at 97,030 hectares.
The Tubbataha reef was included as a World
heritage Site by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization (Unesco) in 1993. It is said to be home to some 500 species of
fish and 350 species of coral as well as whales, dolphins, sharks, turtles and
breeding seabirds. PND (as)
