Tacloban city mayor acknowledges support
extended by national government
(TACLOBAN CITY, Leyte) Mayor Alfred Romualdez
acknowledged the support extended by the national government to his devastated
city in the aftermath of super typhoon “Yolanda”, hoping it would set the
record straight on some reports circulated by the national media following his
emotional appearance during a recent Senate hearing, City Administrator John
Tecson Lim clarified on Wednesday.
“May sound bite po na lumabas na baka ma-quote
nang mali na parang sinabi niya walang ginawa ang national government. No, he
actually recognizes that, and actually wants to thank everyone for it,” Lim
told reporters here, on behalf of Mayor Romualdez, after a meeting with the
Regional Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council (RDRRMC).
Lim said Mayor Romualdez would like to thank
everyone, not only the members of the RDRRMC, but all the personnel sent by the
local government units and the national government agencies from different
regions that responded to their cry for help.
A tearful Romualdez spoke before members of the
Congressional Oversight Committee on the Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction and
Management hearing at the Senate last Monday, where he disclosed that Interior
Secretary Mar Roxas initially denied him his request for additional manpower
from the national government until a written ordinance was accomplished to
legalize the said operation.
The issue immediately became a hot topic that
polarized public opinions which the local government of Tacloban would rather
not inflate, Lim said, hoping that those who are currently involved with the
ongoing relief and rehabilitation efforts in the area would not get affected by
it.
“There are some issues now in the national media
which he actually wished to just stay away from… Hindi naman po siguro
sinasadya ng mga istasyon (ng media) na ‘yon na naputol po ‘yung sound bite,”
Lim said.
“He asked me to personally convey to everyone
his extreme gratitude in the service that you have been providing Tacloban
City. He really appreciates the same and actually urges us to continue working
together, hand-in-hand, and be focused sa task natin na ito at hindi po
magpadala doon sa mga nangyayari doon,” he added.
Lim stressed that they truly appreciate all the
help they are getting from all sectors. “We can never thank you enough. Alam ko
parati na lang po ako thank you nang thank you. Pero, again, we cannot thank
you enough. Maraming-maraming salamat po,” he concluded. PND (hdc)
President Aquino to meet with Filipino community
for the second time in Japan
(TOKYO, Japan) For the second time since
assuming office, President Benigno S. Aquino III will be meeting with the
Filipino community here upon his arrival on Thursday.
It will be the first on his itinerary during his
three-day official visit here to take part in the Association of Southeast
Asian Nations (ASEAN)-Japan Commemorative Summit which will be held on December
14 (Saturday).
The President will have an opportunity to
interact with several of the 202,974 Filipino nationals living and working in
Japan.
This is the second time President Aquino will be
holding an event with the Filipino community here. The first was during his
visit in 2010 when he attended the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit in
Yokohama.
He is expected to address the Filipino
organizations who have been contributing a lot to the Philippine economy
through their remittances that reached USD 452,048,000 as of August 2013.
During the slated meeting to be held at the
Large Hall of the Arts Building of the National Olympics Memorial Youth Center,
the Filipino community will be handing over a symbolic check for Y1 million for
victims of super typhoon “Yolanda” (Haiyan) to the Chief Executive.
The President will also award the Presidential
Medal of Merit to National Historical Commission of the Philippines chairman
Ambeth Ocampo.
Philippine Ambassador to Japan Manuel Lopez will
deliver remarks as well as Joyce Ogawa, chairperson of the Philippine
Assistance Group representing the Kanto region and Jocelyn Yoshitomi,
chairperson of the Philippine Community Coordinating Council representing the
Kansai Region.
Filipinos comprise 10 percent of all foreign
nationals living in Japan and are its third largest population of foreign
nationals. Official data from the Japanese government show that there are
202,974 Filipino nationals in Japan of which 6,908 have no valid visas.
More than half of all Filipinos here are
permanent migrants, most of them are spouses, relatives of Japanese nationals
or permanent visa holders. About 46 percent of the entire Filipino population
here are Filipino temporary migrants comprising of overseas workers with
working visa (7%) and those without working visas (38%).
Temporary migrants with work visas are mainly
engaged in education, technical skills training, engineering, intercompany
work, among others. More than half of them are technical trainees while the
second largest group of Filipino workers here are engineers.
The President will depart Manila on Thursday. He
will be welcomed by Ambassador Lopez and other Embassy official upon his
arrival at the Tokyo international Airport, Haneda. PND (jb)
Department of Energy, Energy Regulatory
Commission working together to ease impact of impending power rate hike, Palace
says
The Department of Energy (DoE) is working with
the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) to ease the people’s burden on the
imposition of power rate adjustments brought about by the Malampaya shutdown, a
Palace said on Wednesday.
“The government’s foremost concern is to ease
the people’s burden on the imposition of power rate adjustments brought about
by the Malampaya shutdown,” Communications Secretary Herminio “Sonny” Coloma
Jr. said in a statement at the regular press briefing in Malacanang.
The ERC adopted the approach of the DOE for a
staggered implementation of the adjustment in three tranches so consumers won’t
bear the brunt on the increase, he said.
Coloma said the government is also considering
other options to ease the consumers’ burden including tighter monitoring of the
schedule of shutdowns of power generators.
“In this regard, the DoE has instructed the ERC
to look into the outages in several power plants that occurred while the
Malampaya repairs were taking place,” the Communications Secretary said.
Under the EPIRA law, both DoE and ERC are
mandated to ascertain that power rate adjustments are not driven by
anti-competitive or market abuse practices.
The maintenance shutdown of the Malampaya deep
water-to-gas facility in November and December will likely hike power rates,
according to officials. The Malampaya facility shutdown happens once every two
years.
The maintenance schedule of the Malampaya
facility, which harnesses inexpensive and indigenous energy source off Palawan,
was moved to November 9 up to December 8, around the same time other power
generating plants do their regular maintenance work.
The adjustment in electricity rates will be
reflected in the December billing, officials said. PND (as)
President Aquino orders Cabinet to speed up the
restoration of the economic and social conditions of the calamities-affected
areas
President Benigno S. Aquino III ordered the
Cabinet to speed up the restoration of the economic and social conditions of the
calamities-affected areas with the release of 238.6 million pesos to the
National Housing Authority (NHA) for the construction of permanent housing
units for affected families, Presidential Communications Operations Office
Secretary Herminio “Sonny” Coloma Jr. said.
“The President directed the Cabinet yesterday to
fast-track the restoration of the economic and social conditions of the
affected areas, following the ‘build back better’ principle, with emphasis on
attaining a higher degree of disaster resilience," Coloma said during the
regular press briefing in Malacanang on Wednesday.
Coloma said the President emphasized the need to
speed up the process of enabling the people in the affected areas to rebuild
their homes and resume productive livelihood and employment activities in
communities that are fortified and protected from the harsh impact of natural
disasters.
Budget Secretary Florencio Abad reported on
Tuesday the release of P238.6 million to the NHA for the construction of
permanent housing units for low and marginal-income families and informal
settlers affected by typhoon Yolanda, Coloma said.
"The Cabinet focused anew on the critical
immediate actions that are now being implemented to usher in the recovery phase
while the relief phase is tapering off. The full plan will be presented next
week in a forum with the country’s development partners," Coloma said.
"Socioeconomic Planning Arsenio Balisacan
presented National Economic and Development Authority’s framework for the
“phased, cumulative response” that defines the timelines for the “pathways to
recovery.” The NHA is gearing up for the “short-term action” of providing
permanent housing even while Department of Public Works and Highways is giving
attention to the “critical immediate action,” which is to build temporary
shelters and bunkhouses," he said.
During the briefing, the Communication Secretary
presented the “Pathways to Recovery” chart that enumerates the salient aspects
of “disaster impact,” “critical immediate actions” and “short and medium-term
actions.”
He said Interior and Local Government Secretary
Mar Roxas also presented to President Aquino a report on the local government
unit basic recovery requirements that form an integral part of the critical
immediate actions.
"This will cover 171 LGUs including 46
cities and 125 municipalities in the severely affected areas within a
50-kilometer radius of the path taken by typhoon Yolanda. Priority attention
will be given to the reconstruction of municipal halls, public markets, and multi-purpose
facilities that may also serve as temporary shelters and evacuation
centers," Coloma said.
Trade and Industry Secretary Gregory Domingo
presented a business recovery plan, which includes the grant of loans to
severely affected businesses, restoration of large businesses’ operations to
pre-Yolanda levels, promotion of labor-intensive industries, and provision of
duty-free access to the U.S. of local products from Yolanda-affected areas,
Coloma said.
Coloma said the Department of Trade and Industry
will also rebuild micro-distribution network, revive the “sari-sari” store
economy and restart local cottage and small-and-medium enterprise supply
chains.
"For his part, Presidential Assistant for
Rehabilitation and Recovery Secretary Panfilo Lacson informed the President and
the Cabinet that there is a very high degree of private sector interest in
investing in the redevelopment of the typhoon-affected areas and that he will
request for concrete project proposals from the private sector,” he said. PND
(js)
PNP to adjust curfew hours in Tacloban City in
light of Misa de Gallo next week
(TACLOBAN CITY, Leyte) In time with the Filipino
tradition of Misa de Gallo or ‘Simbang Gabi’, the Philippine National Police
(PNP) will be adjusting the curfew that is currently being implemented here,
Eastern Visayas police head Chief Superintendent Henry Losañes said on
Wednesday.
Losañes told reporters after a meeting with
members of the Regional Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council (RDRRMC)
that they will talk to the officials of the Catholic Church here soon to
discuss security preparations for the start of the annual Misa de Gallo next
week.
“After this meeting, if I have time and if the
Bishop is available, I will be visiting him to get the official schedule of the
Simbang Gabi so that we can adjust ‘yung time and implementation ng curfew natin,”
Losañes.
Misa de Gallo usually begins on December 16,
nine days before Christmas, where Catholics are expected to attend masses that
are held in the evening or at dawn as part of the tradition being observed by
Filipinos during the yuletide season.
The PNP has imposed a curfew in Leyte’s capital
city and in Guiuan, Eastern Samar from 8:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m. following a spate
of looting and other crimes reported in the aftermath of super typhoon
“Yolanda” last month. Such order remains effective until now.
“We will be adjusting ‘yung implementation ng
curfew natin para may time naman ang mga churchgoers na makapag-simba,” Losañes
assured, especially since the peace and order situation in Tacloban City has
already improved.
City Administrator John Tecson Lim, meanwhile,
expressed his gratitude to private organizations that are doing something to
infuse the Christmas spirit in their town even if a lot of people are still
coping with the effects of the disaster.
He thanked GMA-7’s Wish Ko Lang Foundation for
the Christmas tree they have set up in their city hall last Tuesday, as well as
the the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology and the Bureau of Fire
Protection for helping make this event a success.
“Kahapon po it was a very, very happy event.
There is now a Christmas tree set up by Wish Ko Lang Foundation in Tacloban
City Hall and we will try to put in some music ‘pag gabi para medyo may konting
spirit naman po (tayo ng Pasko),” he said.
He also announced that Robinsons supermarket and
department store, which was looted by some desperate citizens in the aftermath
of “Yolanda”, would finally open to resume its operations on December 19 next
week. PND (hdc)
President Aquino to leave for Japan, Thursday to
attend the Association of Southeast Asian Nations-Japan Commemorative summit
President Benigno S. Aquino III will leave on
Thursday for Tokyo, Japan to attend the Association of Southeast Asian Nations
(ASEAN)-Japan Commemorative summit, Presidential Communications Operations
Office Secretary Herminio “Sonny” Coloma Jr. said.
“Shortly after his arrival, the President will
meet with the Filipino community," Coloma said during the regular press
briefing in Malacanang on Wednesday.
"On the following day, the President and
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will meet to discuss among others the recovery and
reconstruction program of the government post-Typhoon Yolanda, Maritime
Cooperation, the Mindanao peace process and people-to-people exchanges,"
the Communications Secretary said.
On Friday evening, the President will join ASEAN
heads of state at a dinner to be hosted by Prime Minister Abe and his wife Akie
Abe at the Prime Minister's official residence.
Joining the President are Cabinet Secretary Rene
Almendras, Foreign Affairs Sec. Albert del Rosario, Finance Sec. Cesar
Purisima, Trade and Industry Sec. Gregory Domingo, Transportation and
Communications Sec. Joseph Emilio Abaya, Presidential Management Staff Sec.
Julia Abad and Coloma.
Aquino is expected to promote Philippine
economic interests in Japan, through the scheduled meetings with Japanese
business groups and delegations during his visit there. PND (js)
Tacloban City to probe existence of ‘migrant
vendors’
(TACLOBAN CITY, Leyte) Local government
officials here plan to look into profit-seeking individuals that are taking
advantage of the plight of their calamity-stricken residents and business
establishments, City Administrator John Tecson Lim said on Wednesday.
Lim said they are going to check on the
existence of the so-called “migrant vendors” who are currently exploiting the
high inflation rate on products being sold here following the onslaught of
super typhoon “Yolanda” last month.
“(Ang paniwala kasi nila) mas may pera na po
dito at mas gugustuhin po nilang magbenta dito dahil napakataas po ng presyo
(ng mga produkto) doon sa aming mga vendors,” Lim told reporters after a
meeting with the Regional Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council (RDRRMC).
Some of these individuals come from as far as
Mindanao and Luzon, based on their language, although some just come from
nearby provinces like Samar and elsewhere in the region, Lim observed.
“Napansin po natin ito dahil a little bit of a
survey would reveal that they don’t know how to speak the local dialect here
and talaga pong pumunta po sila ay nag-set up na lang po dito, given the fact
that we are still in the process, together with the DTI (Department of Trade
and Industry), of stabilizing the prices,” he said.
Lim said these migrant vendors are becoming a
problem not only to the consuming public, but also for the business community,
which is still trying to recover the losses they’ve incurred as a result of the
typhoon.
Prices of goods remain high in the city owing to
the damage wrought by “Yolanda” in major thoroughfares that affected the
transportation costs of some suppliers.
“(The) law of supply and demand is still here
right now but we are taking a look into this also,” Lim assured.
Lim said discussions with respect to the
stabilization of prices between their city council and the DTI continue so as
to keep the trade running. Imposing price regulations has been ruled out as an
option for the time being as the city government does not wish to “choke” the
businessmen.
“Medyo binabalanse po sa usapin po namin sa
price stabilization council ng city at ang DTI. Alam naman po natin, minsan
mahirap po na baka ‘pag bigla nating ni-regulate (ang presyo) ay ma-choke (ang
ating mga negosyante) and then we might end up na ‘yung tumatakbong trade ay
biglang tumigil,” Lim explained.
Tacloban City also plans to come up with
“indicators” just to determine how far they have gone in the normalization
phase. Lim said they have also drafted a letter addressed to the Bureau of
Internal Revenue Commissioner Kim Henares relaying the concerns of their
businessmen.
“Marami pa ring negosyante na natatakot. In
fact, may mga natatakot at nagko-complain kung bakit, given the fact na
nakasara pa sila, under state of calamity pa ay pinapadalhan na po sila ng
assessment notice ng BIR,” Lim noted.
He is hoping the BIR will at least send them a
representative that can speak to the businessmen during their weekly forum.
Lim, nonetheless, maintained they are doing everything they can to resolve
other pressing issues to achieve a “state of complete normalcy” in the city.
PND (hdc)
Palace expects police to immediately solve media
killing in Tagum City
Malacanang expects the Philippine National
Police to immediately act on a recent media killing in Mindanao following the
reported death of a broadcaster in Tagum City.
Communications Secretary Herminio “Sonny” Coloma
Jr. said the Philippine Information Agency-Region 11 confirmed the killing of
Rogelio “Tata” Butalid of Tagum City on Wednesday morning.
“Nagpaparating po tayo ng ating dalamhati sa
kaganapang ito at ang Philippine National Police po ay inaasahan nating
magsasagawa ng karampatang aksyon para matunton ang mga responsable sa
pagpaslang kay Ginoong Butalid,” Coloma said in a press briefing on Wednesday
in Malacanang.
Reports said Butalid of Radyo Nation Tagum was
shot at 9:15 a.m. on Wednesday right after his morning program at the radio
station.
Butalid was about to ride his motorcycle when
unidentified gunmen attacked him outside their radio station at Sobrecary St.
in Tagum City. He sustained seven gunshot wounds.
Butalid’s death came hours after Jonavin
Villalba, a radio reporter in Iloilo, was shot and injured.
Last week, radio station supervisor Michael Diaz
Milo was killed in Surigao del Sur. A week prior to the attack on Milo, Joas
Dignos, a radio commentator in Bukidnon was also shot dead. PND (as)
