New Zealand envoy pays farewell call on
President Aquino
Outgoing New Zealand Ambassador to the
Philippines Reuben Levermore paid a farewell call on President Benigno S.
Aquino III at the Music Room of Malacañang Palace on Thursday.
Levermore, who is ending his tour of duty to the
country, was accompanied by officials of the New Zealand Embassy in Manila,
namely deputy head of mission Justin Allen, and manager of the New Zealand Aid
Programme Hannah Walton-France.
Also present were National Economic and
Development Authority Secretary Arsenio Balisacan, Foreign Affairs
Undersecretary Laura del Rosario, and Foreign Affairs official Aileen Mendiola
Rau.
Levermore has been ambassador to the Philippines
since February 2012.
During his stint, he helped maintain
multilateral ties between the Philippines and New Zealand.
In 1999, Levermore joined the New Zealand
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, where he gained experience in
multilateral trade negotiations. He was also assigned to the New Zealand
Mission to the European Union in Brussels and became Private Secretary for
Trade Negotiations to New Zealand Trade Minister Tim Groser.
Levermore also worked in London as a financial
markets advocate while on leave from the Ministry. PND (jb)
Government issues new policies to ease traffic
woes in Metro Manila
Concerned government agencies met on Thursday
and came up with policies to ease traffic congestions in Metro Manila.
Effective immediately, all “colorum” and
out-of-line buses traversing EDSA and travelling in Metro Manila will be
apprehended and fined, Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary
Herminio Coloma, Jr. said during a press briefing in Malacañang.
The Land Transportation Franchising and
Regulatory Board (LTFRB), in cooperation with the Metro Manila Development
Authority (MMDA), will also continue to study the routes of provincial and city
buses in Metro Manila, Coloma said, adding that other matters discussed during
the meeting will be consulted with Metro Manila mayors next week.
As for the port of Manila, Secretary Coloma said
concerned government agencies and port users will impose new policies to
normalize the traffic situation at the port by August 16.
“Nananawagan ang pamahalaan sa lahat ng port
users na magsagawa ng regular na operasyon kahit na araw ng Linggo,upang higit na
mapabilis ang paglalabas ng mga kargamento mula sa pantalan ng Maynila. Patuloy
ang pakikipag-ugnayan sa mga lokal na pamahalaan upang maibsan ang suliranin ng
congestion sa Port of Manila at sa mga lansangan,” he said.
He further said that trucks-for-hire still using
green plates will be allowed to operate while applying for provisional
authority (PA) with the LTFRB until August 15.
By August 16, trucks without provisional
authority will be apprehended and fined, he said.
Meanwhile, trucks owned by private individuals
or organizations for their own use may apply for exemption from the provisional
authority requirement. The exemption will last three years and is renewable.
“For the next three months, the government shall
give the exemption for free. Despite the issuance of a PA or exemption,
green-plated trucks will continue to be covered by the existing truck ban and
other traffic regulations,” he said.
Present during the meeting were Finance
Secretary Cesar Purisima, Trade Secretary Gregory Domingo, Transportation and
Communications Secretary Joseph Abaya, Public Works Secretary Rogelio Singson,
MMDA Chairman Francis Tolentino, LTFRB Executive Director Roberto Cabrera, and
Port Authority General Manager Juan Sta. Ana. PND (ag)
Doubts, speculations not helpful in crafting
Bangsamoro Basic Law, says Palace official
The Palace on Thursday appealed to those sowing
doubts and speculations to avoid actions that will not help bring lasting peace
to Mindanao.
Reacting to questions on the hurdles faced by
the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in finding an
acceptable draft of the Bangsamoro Basic Law, Presidential Communications
Operations Office Secretary Herminio Coloma, Jr. said both sides remain
determined to come up with a draft bill.
"Patuloy na sinisikap ng Philipppine at
MILF panels na magkasundo sa isang draft Bangsamoro Basic Law," Coloma
said during the daily press briefing in Malacañang.
He said government chief negotiator Miriam
Coronel Ferrer has declared that both the government and the MILF are
determined to come up with an acceptable draft.
"Kaya dapat lang po siguro na iwasan iyong
mga maliligalig na ispekulasyon hinggil diyan dahil patuloy pa rin naman po sa
pagsisikap na makabuo nitong Bangsamoro Basic Law," he said.
Asked by reporters if there is a need to change
the Constitution to accommodate the demands of the MILF, Coloma said both sides
are working on finding a common ground and are not concentrating on areas that
are unacceptable to both panels.
The government and the MILF last March signed
the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro, which aims to end armed conflict
in Mindanao.
A draft bill of the Bangsamoro Basic Law is
currently being ironed out by both sides before it is submitted to Congress.
The Palace hopes that once the draft bill is
passed and becomes a law, there would be enough time to hold a plebiscite and
organize the Bangsamoro Transition Authority.
The Bangsamoro Transitional Authority will govern
until the election of the first official leaders of the Bangsamoro political
entity in 2016. PND (as)
President Aquino graces premiere of documentary
on Jewish asylum seekers in the Philippines
President Benigno S. Aquino III attended the
premiere screening of the documentary "Rescue in the Philippines: Refuge
from the Holocaust", a film on Jews fleeing persecution in Nazi Germany
during World War II.
In his message during the film screening in
Malacañang on Thursday, the President said there are important lessons in the
story of the Jewish escape to Manila.
First, it is the imperative of all men to take a
stand against wrongdoing, and second, everyone must do his or her part to
provide a new life, a better life, to all those who would be deprived of life,
whether by tyranny or by poverty, he said.
"And last, that the measure of our humanity
is our ability to give of ourselves, even, and perhaps most importantly, when
it hurts," he said.
Thursday's event paid tribute to that time in
Philippine history when the administration of Manuel L. Quezon took care and
sheltered Jews fleeing Nazi persecution during World War II in Europe.
"We Filipinos, who once extended a helping
hand to our Jewish brothers and sisters in the face of oppression, now receive
the same, as we work to build back better and overcome emerging challenges in
the wake of Haiyan," the President said.
The Chief Executive said he hopes that all those
who watch the documentary, whether in classrooms and homes in the coming years,
would continue to adopt the spirit of volunteerism to help their fellowmen.
He also extended his gratitude to the people
behind the documentary, such as Russ Hodge, Cindy Scott, Dr. Barbara Sasser,
and Peggy Ellis, and the rest of their team, as well as other Jewish
organizations for helping the survivors of Typhoon Yolanda.
The people behind the film and Jewish
organizations arranged for the donation of $2.5 million worth of prosthetics,
as well as raised about $1.4 million for the typhoon victims.
"Rescue in the Philippines: Refuge from the
Holocaust" is a one-hour documentary on how the Philippines became an
asylum to some 1,300 Jews, who escaped Nazi tyranny during the Second World
War.
The rescue was orchestrated in 1939 by then
Philippine Commonwealth President Manuel L. Quezon, US High Commissioner Paul
McNutt and US Army Col. Dwight Eisenhower. PND (as)
