President Aquino approves climate change
resolutions addressing environmental concerns of the country
President Benigno S. Aquino III last month
approved two resolutions aimed at mitigating the release of black carbon to the
environment and authorizing the design of a sustainable power system for more
efficient energy production.
The President last March 25 approved Resolution
6 by the Climate Change Commission, authorizing the dialogue with Worldwatch
Institute for the design of “Sustainable Power System: A Roadmap for the
Philippines."
Through the resolution, the Climate Change
Commission, which is in the process of carrying out the National Climate Change
Action Plan, officially invites Alexander Ochs, director of the Climate and
Energy Worldwatch Institute, to discuss his offer to help the country design a
sustainable power system.
The commission will coordinate with Director
Ochs and the Worldwatch Institute through the office of Climate Change
Commissioner Heherson Alvarez.
Aside from the power system design, the
President also approved Resolution 7, which endorses the Black Carbon or Black
Soot Mitigation Project submitted by the commission.
Through the black carbon mitigation project, the
Philippines could reduce pollution caused by diesel-fueled vehicles and
generators.
The Climate Change Commission recognizes the
need to address the problems brought about by black carbon and supports the
mitigation project being developed by the private sector and will be providing
the President with updates on the project.
The commission also mentioned that the country
has made advances in the development and use of renewable energy, as mandated
by President Aquino.
The Philippines, it said, leads the Asian region
in the development and use of renewable energy, which provides 35 percent of
the country’s entire energy production. Geothermal energy contributes 21
percent of the total energy mix, according to the commission. PND (as)
Aquino administration aggressively tackling
climate change: Coloma
President Benigno S. Aquino III approved last
month two resolutions tackling black carbon and authorizing the design of a
sustainable power system for a more efficient energy production, Presidential
Communications Operations Office Secretary Herminio Coloma, Jr. announced on
Tuesday.
The President last March 25 approved Resolution
6 by the Climate Change Commission, authorizing the dialogue with Worldwatch
Institute for the design of “Sustainable Power System: A Roadmap for the
Philippines.”
Through the resolution, the Climate Change
Commission, which is in the process of carrying out the National Climate Change
Action Plan, officially invites Alexander Ochs, director of the Climate and
Energy Worldwatch Institute, to discuss his offer to help the country design a
sustainable power system.
The President also approved the commission’s
Resolution 7, which endorses the Black Carbon or Black Soot Mitigation Project.
Through the black carbon mitigation project,
which is a private sector initiative, the Philippines could reduce pollution
caused by diesel-fueled vehicles and generators.
Climate Change Commissioner Heherson Alvarez
said the Aquino administration is determined to promote its program on climate
change mitigation and adaptation at the conference, “Building Green: An LGU
Imperative," to be held on April 23.
With the country’s reliance on coal and fossil
fuels, Alvarez said, the government should start a gradual and creative policy
shift to efficient and clean energy to achieve a low-carbon path for the
Philippines.
Alvarez noted that the country has made advances
in the development and use of renewable energy, as mandated by President
Aquino.
The Philippines, he said, leads the Asian region
in the development and use of renewable energy, which provides 35 percent of
the country’s entire energy production. Geothermal energy contributes 21
percent of the total energy mix, according to Alvarez. PND (as)
President Aquino instructs Secretary De Lima to
evaluate Napoles’ testimony
President Benigno S. Aquino III has instructed
Justice Secretary Leila de Lima to evaluate the testimony of Janet Lim-Napoles
to finally shed light on the multi-billion-peso pork barrel scam.
Napoles has asked the government to consider her
as a state witness in the P10-billion scam in exchange for her testimony.
In an interview with the media in Malacanang on
Tuesday, Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said De Lima informed the
President about the latest development in the case and the President instructed
her to listen to Napoles’ testimony and evaluate it.
“This is a significant development in our quest
to find the truth. A new avenue has been opened and that’s where Secretary
Leila de Lima and her team will now be investigating and evaluating the
credence of the testimony of Ms. Janet Napoles,” Lacierda told reporters.
Asked by reporters if Malacañang trusts Napoles,
Lacierda said the Palace will follow the same position taken by Secretary de
Lima.
Despite the sudden turnaround by Napoles, there
is still no assurance that she could become a state witness, he said, adding
that the Justice Department still has to evaluate her testimony.
The Office of the Ombudsman will also make a
similar evaluation but the final arbiter would be the Sandiganbayan, he
explained.
After a thorough evaluation, there must be an
application before the court to become a state witness and it will be up to the
court if Napoles can be considered as a state witness, he added.
Napoles, the alleged mastermind of the pork
barrel scam, has finally agreed to “tell all” about the controversy after
several months of silence.
Napoles, who is confined at a hospital and was
due to undergo surgery to have a myoma removed from her uterus Monday night,
spoke to De Lima about her plan to turn state witness.
De Lima said Napoles was apparently prompted to
execute an affidavit as she was to undergo surgery that night. PND (as)
Government addressing cronyism, says Palace
official
Malacanang said it is serious in addressing
cronyism in the country and battling it is part of ongoing reforms in the
bureaucracy.
“All of us are against cronyism. That is why the
President’s position is: we will free agencies of regulatory capture. That has
always been the position taken by this administration,” Presidential Spokesman
Edwin Lacierda said in a press briefing in Malacanang on Tuesday.
A new poll by the Social Weather Stations has
found that one out of five Filipinos still considers cronyism a "very
serious" problem under the watch of President Benigno S. Aquino III.
Respondents were asked the question: “Cronies
are those who use their friendship with the President to enrich themselves in
improper ways. How serious, in your opinion, is the cronyism in the present
administration?”
The survey found that 20 percent of respondents
consider cronyism “very serious,” the same level as in March 2012.
About 40 percent said cronyism is “somewhat
serious.” This figure is higher than the 37 percent posted in March 2012.
Some 17 percent of those surveyed said cronyism
is “a little serious” while 22 percent said it is “hardly serious.”
The SWS however said the public’s perception of
cronyism in the present administration has no correlation with their
satisfaction with the performance of President Aquino.
The survey, with 1,200 respondents, was taken
from March 27 to 30. It has a sampling error margin of ±3 percent for national
and ±6 percent for area percentages. PND (as)
Palace welcomes Supreme Court extension of temporary
restraining order on power rate hike
Malacanang on Tuesday welcomed the decision of
the Supreme Court to extend indefinitely the temporary restraining order (TRO)
that prevents the Manila Electric Company (Meralco) from imposing a power rate
hike.
“This is certainly something that we welcome,
considering that it is summertime, and there is an increased demand in power
consumption,” said Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda.
Meralco has been planning to increase
electricity rates to P4.15 per kilowatt-hour.
The High Tribunal first issued a 60-day TRO on
December 23, 2013, then issued another extension last February 18, which
expired Tuesday (April 22).
“The extension of the TRO will definitely be
welcomed by our countrymen,” Lacierda added. PND (ag)
