President Aquino tells Philippine Science High
School graduates: We need scientists!
President Benigno S. Aquino III called on the
graduates of the Philippine Science High School (PSHS) to dedicate a part of
their lives into working towards bettering the lives their fellow Filipino
brothers and sisters.
In his speech keynoting the 46th commencement
exercises and 50th founding anniversary of the PSHS in Quezon City, the
President said the Philippines needs more people like them – experts in the
science field – to help make the country a better place for everyone.
“Ang tanong ko nga po: Sino kaya sa inyo ang
gagamit ng talento upang tugunan ang mga problema ng ating bansa? Sino kaya sa
inyong mga guma-graduate ngayon ang makahahanap ng solusyon sa mga problemang
kinakaharap, hindi lamang ng Pilipinas, kundi ng buong sangkatauhan—mga hamon sa
sakit, sa kalikasan, sa nagbabagong anyo ng pamumuhay sa mundo? Ilan kaya sa
inyo ang magkakamit ng mga award, ng mga scholarship sa ibang bansa at sa ating
sariling bansa; ilan kaya ang yayaman at aasenso dahil sa kaalamang natutuhan
dito sa 'Pisay' (PSHS) At ilan kaya sa inyo ang pipiliing tumanaw ng utang ng
loob sa ating mga Boss—sino kaya ang magiging susunod na Secretary Jun Abaya o
Propesora Iye Ferrer? Ilan kaya ang maglilingkod, ilan kaya ang magbubuhos ng
oras, pawis, at talino upang iangat ang antas ng pamumuhay ng ating mga
kababayan?,” the President said.
“Magsilbi sanang paalala ang araw na ito:
Kailangan kayo ng ating bayan. Umaasa nga po ako: Sa mga susunod na panahon,
bilang mga alumni na magtatagumpay sa larangan ng agham, ay maninindigan kayo
para sa interes ng nakakarami. At ang pagbabagong tinatamasa natin ngayon—itong
pagbabalik ng integridad sa gobyerno, itong patuloy na pag-arangkada ng
ekonomiya, itong lumalawak na pagkakataon para sa ating mga kababayan—ay simula
pa lang ng katuparan ng matatayog na pangarap natin para sa bansa,” he added.
He said that with everyone doing their share and
pitching in, the Philippines can become great again and recognized for its
talent.
“Sa ngayon, kinikilala na tayo ng mundo bilang
modelo ng mabuting pamamahala; kung magpapatuloy tayo, sa inyong pakikiambag,
ay kikilalanin tayo bilang ehemplo ng malawakang kaunlaran. Alam naman po
natin: Ang tagumpay ng isang lahi ay nagbubukal sa kakayahan nitong tumuklas ng
bagong kaalaman. Ang pag-angat ay nakakaayon, hindi sa pagpapatangay sa agos ng
panahon, kundi sa pagiging pugad ng inobasyon. Gamit ang siyensya—at sa tulong
ng bawat scholar ng 'Pisay' (PSHS) —mangunguna ang Pilipino,” the President
said. PND (rck)
Palace says government focused on achieving
inclusive growth
The Aquino administration remains focused in
attaining inclusive growth in accordance with the development priorities of the
government, a Malacanang official said Wednesday.
Presidential Communications Operations Office
Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. issued the statement in response to the recent
survey conducted by research group Ibon Foundation, showing that many Filipinos
struggle to pay for basic goods, such as food and medicine.
“The government remains focused in achieving inclusive
growth by reducing poverty and increasing social protection in accordance with
the Philippine Development Plan,” Secretary Coloma said in a statement.
“Concerned government agencies are continuously
monitoring the movement of prices of basic commodities, and is taking decisive
steps to protect the citizens’ purchasing power, especially the most vulnerable
sectors of society,” he added.
Secretary Coloma said that the Aquino
administration takes cognizance of the results of Ibon’s survey from January 16
to 24 with 1,500 respondents.
During the survey period, 54.8 percent of the
respondents said they had difficulty in buying enough food in the past three
months, while 53 percent had difficulty in buying medicine or paying for
medical treatment.
Coloma, however, noted that in the 2014 national
budget, the government allotted P87.1 billion for Universal Health Care,
specifically preventive healthcare services and for the health insurance
coverage of 14.7 million poor and near-poor families.
In addition, he said, P79 billion was also
earmarked to ensure delivery of meaningful social protection services
particularly under the expanded P62.6-billion Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino
program.
Secretary Coloma also pointed out that the Ibon
survey was conducted during the period when inflation had gone up to 4.2
percent, caused mainly by pressures exerted by global developments especially
the tapering policies of the US Federal Reserve that affected the peso-dollar
exchange rate.
“Our economic managers remain confident that
inflation will be kept within the Development Budget Coordination Committee
target ranging from three to five percent,” he said.
According to Ibon's latest survey, many
Filipinos have difficulty in spending for basic goods, such as food and
medicine. The survey also showed that 43 percent respondents said that they had
difficulty paying for transportation expenses. PND (co)
President Aquino nixes transfer of Philippine
Science High School campus
President Benigno S. Aquino III himself assured
students and teachers of the Philippine Science High School (PSHS) that its
main campus will remain on Agham Road in Diliman, Quezon City.
President Aquino made the assurance during the
46th commencement exercises and 50th anniversary of the prestigious school on
Wednesday.
“Alam kong may mga agam-agam ukol sa
nababalitang paglilipat ng inyong campus. Ako na mismo ang magsasabi sa inyo:
Mananatili ang'Pisay' (PSHS) sa Agham Road,” he said.
He stressed that Mayor Herbert Bautista, who was
also present during the event, will be the first one to oppose the reported
transfer.
“Si Mayor Herbert nga ho ang unang tututol kapag
ililipat ito. ‘Di ba marami hong nag-aagawang maglagay ng campus sa kanilang
mga lugar, papayag ba siyang alisin ang main campus ng Philippine Science High
School sa Quezon City? Palagay ko hindi,” the President added.
The PSHS campus in Diliman was its first campus,
which was established in 1964. At present, there are 13 campuses of PSHS
operating nationwide. Of which, four were constructed under the Aquino
administration.
President Aquino said Department of Science and
Technology Secretary Mario Montejo is targeting to build PSHS campuses in all
16 regions in the country by 2016. PND (jb)
Bureau of Customs making its data publicly
available for greater transparency, says Palace
The Bureau of Customs starts to make public
available data to ensure transparency in its transactions, the Palace said on
Wednesday.
Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said the
Bureau of Customs is part of the government’s Open Data task force and has
started publishing new data for greater transparency.
“The one thrust of Commissioner John Sevilla is
to open up all the data in the website, sa dashboard ng data.gov.ph at saka may
sarili silang portal, ilalabas doon ang mga presyo, ang mga duties, kung sino
ang nag-i-import,” Lacierda told reporters in a press briefing in Malacanang.
“All these for the purpose of the public to
verify kung ‘yung mga Customs duties na binabayaran, for instance, specific
consignees are correct.”
During the launching of the Good Governance
Summit last January, when the Open Data was also launched, Commissioner Sevilla
invited everyone to look into the BOC’s data and the bureau got good reception
from the public, he said.
The new BOC thrust made a basis for everyone
who’s interested on Customs data to visit either the Customs website or go to
the Customs dashboard of data.gov.ph, Lacierda said.
The idea is to open to the public data and
information to ensure transparency, he said.
“We follow the sunlight principle, ‘pag naarawan
‘yan, mas mabuti sa atin. So lahat ‘yan may plano ang Bureau of Customs na
ilabas ang mga datos na hindi naman confidential ang nature. So ilalabas ‘yan
for everyone to see kung tama ba ang binabayad ng mga consignees,” he added.
PND (as)
Palace thanks Prime Minister Razak for his
commitment to Mindanao peace
Malacanang expressed its gratitude to Malaysian
Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak for Malaysia’s assistance in facilitating the
peace talks between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF)
that resulted to the scheduled signing of a final peace accord between both
sides.
The Department of Foreign Affairs announced the
attendance of Prime Minister Razak despite the ongoing crisis in Malaysia in
connection with the missing Malaysian airliner with more than 200 passengers
onboard.
“We know for a fact that Malaysia is undergoing
a crisis owing to the fact of the disappearance of the Malaysian airline. Be
that as it may, Malaysia is fully aware of its international commitments and we
thank them that despite the difficulty that they’re encountering, that they
have accepted our invitation to grace the signing of the Comprehensive
Agreement on the Bangsamoro,” Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said in a
press briefing in Malacanang on Wednesday.
In a press release Tuesday, the DFA said the
Malaysian prime minister will witness signing of Comprehensive Agreement on the
Bangsamoro on Thursday in Malacanang.
Prime Minister Najib Razak will undertake a
working visit to the Philippines on March 27, Thursday, upon the invitation of
President Benigno S. Aquino III, the DFA said.
Prior to the signing ceremony, the prime
minister will meet with the President to briefly discuss matters of mutual
concern between the Philippines and Malaysia.
Malaysia has been the facilitator of peace
negotiations between the Philippine government and the MILF since 2001, and has
hosted the talks in Kuala Lumpur. It is also the leader of the International
Monitoring Team observing the government-MILF ceasefire.
In October 2012, Prime Minister Najib Razak
visited the Philippines to witness the signing of the Framework Agreement on
the Bangsamoro.
President Aquino met Prime Minister Najib during
the Philippine leader’s state visit to Malaysia last month. PND (as)
Palace doing last minute preparations for the
signing of Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro Thursday
Malacanang said it is finalizing the
preparations for the signing of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro
at the Palace grounds on Thursday afternoon.
In a press briefing in Malacanang on Wednesday,
Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said a big tent will be erected at the
Kalayaan grounds where the signing will take place.
“The reason for holding it there, outside of the
Palace itself, is that we had to find a place within the grounds to accommodate
over a thousand guests,” he told reporters.
During the signing of the Framework Agreement on
the Bangsamoro in October 2012, the event was held at the Palace’s Rizal Hall.
Lacierda said the signing will be at 4:00 p.m.
Thursday and they expect the guests to start arriving around 2:00 p.m.
There will also be areas for the Muslim to say
their prayers at the Kalayaan Hall in Malacanang.
Lacierda didn’t provide details about the
ongoing security preparations but he said there will be a number of usherettes
from different agencies who will help.
Among the agencies extending their assistance
will be Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP)
Presidential Management Staff, and the Protocol Office.
“There will also be a station where all the
invited guests—some of them will be pre-cleared but there will be a station for
some of the guests to undergo security check,” the Palace official said.
Officials who are expected to deliver their
respective statements include Presidential peace adviser Teresita Deles and
MILF Chairman Al Haj Murad Ebrahim.
President Benigno S. Aquino III and Malaysian
Prime Minister Najib Adjul Razak will witness the signing. PND (as)
