Malacanang says measures in place to shield the
country from Ebola virus
The Palace made an assurance on Saturday that
the Department of Health has the capability to monitor possible carriers of
Ebola virus that may enter the country.
In an interview over dzRB Radyo ng Bayan on
Saturday, Deputy Presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said the government
has a standard procedure especially in monitoring airports to track people who
may have the disease.
She said the DOH is on high alert to make sure
that that Ebola virus could not enter the country.
The DOH has gained experience and capability
from it's preparations on previous threats like the MERS-CoV, Valte said.
"At siguro dahil na rin doon sa mga naunang
experience natin with other contagious viruses that we have dealt with, mas
naging matibay ang mga procedure natin and of course, I’m referring to the
MERS-CoV," the palace official said.
"Nagkaroon ulit ng pagsasanay. Kumbaga ang
mga procedure na nasa manual lang natin dati, naisabuhay na ng DOH. In short,
the DOH has had practice with it."
Right now the DOH is strictly monitoring migrant
workers arriving in the country, assessing their origin, and always ready to
carry out quarantine measures, especially those coming from countries with
reported Ebola infections.
Asked if the President still has confidence with
the DOH to handle the issue, Valte said the President trusts health officials
in tackling the Ebola virus having worked with them when the threat of MERS-CoV
was high.
"Alam naman po ng Pangulo na ginagawa lahat
ng mga taga-DOH ang mga tamang procedures para maabatan ang pagpasok
nito," she said.
Health officials have also issued advisories on
the importation of exotic animals from Africa which could carry the virus, according
to Valte.
The DOH has also issued an advisory to the armed
forces because some of its personnel serve as peace keepers in Liberia where
Ebola infection has been reported. PND (as)
Government already doing preparations for 2015
APEC Summit, says official
The government is already doing the necessary
preparations for the country's hosting of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation
(APEC) Summit next year.
In an interview Saturday over dzRB Radyo ng
Bayan, Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said the government is
already building and rehabilitating infrastructures to be used during the
summit.
"Ongoing ang construction natin doon sa
isang venue natin na napili, iyong sa Iloilo at iyong dito naman sa Manila ay
ongoing na rin ang mga rehabilitation sa isang building na kinakailangan natin
to hold the concluding event of the summit," Valte said.
The venue for the leaders' summit, the business
sector and the APEC CEO summit is also being prepared, she said.
The President has already chosen different
venues where the meetings will be held but Valte said the details are still
being finalized and the Palace will do the announcement once everything is
threshed out.
At the same time, Valte said the organizing council
for the summit has started capacity building workshops to ensure that
departments and agencies are ready to host and receive guests from 20
member-economies of the APEC.
"So ngayon nga tini-train na natin ang
ating mga departments kasi ang mga department natin mga kanya-kanyang
magho-host iyan ng mga ministerial, ng mga senior officials meetings at saka
mga technical working groups meeting," Valte said.
"So sinisigurado nating handa sila kapag
dumating na po iyong kanilang toka."
The country hosted the World Economic Forum on
East Asia last May and it will be followed by the APEC summit next year.
The Philippines's hosting the 2015 APEC summit
is seen to boost investment in the country.
The country last hosted APEC summit in 1996
during the presidency of Fidel Ramos. PND (as)
Palace welcomes private sector assistance in
addressing energy sector concerns
Malacanang welcomed the proposal of the
Federation of Philippine Industries (FPI) which offered its assistance in
addressing the country's energy concerns.
The FPI said it is ready to assist the
government in fixing the country's problems with regards to the supply of
electricity.
The organization offered to lend the government
it's generating capacities to address the impending power shortage next year.
"That’s a very welcome proposal and
expression of support from that particular federation and we are quite certain
that Secretary Petilla and the rest of DOE will be coordinating with them to
see what they can do to help, now that they’ve expressed na handa po silang
tumulong," Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said in an
interview over dzRB Radyo ng Bayan on Saturday.
With regards to proposals to use renewable
energy to solve the country's energy woes, Valte said those are all good
suggestions but the concern is cost in carrying out such projects.
Although the use of solar energy as well as wind
power is gaining traction, Valte said such sources of renewable energy is too
costly for companies and ordinary consumers.
Hydroelectric power plants and coal powered
plants are still the preferred sources of power because these are cheaper, she
said.
In his state of the nation address (SONA) this
week, President Aquino said he has instructed Energy Secretary Jericho Petilla to
coordinate with Congress, power generators, consumers and other stakeholders to
address the concerns in the energy sector.
Petilla announced recently that the country may
experience shortage in the supply of energy in the summer of 2015. PND (as)
