President Aquino appoints Solicitor General
Francis Jardeleza as new Supreme Court Associate Justice
After serving the administration for more than
two years as its primary counsel, Francis Jardeleza moves up to the Supreme
Court after President Benigno S. Aquino III signed his appointment to replace
retired Associate Justice Roberto Abad, Malacañang has announced.
“President Aquino has appointed Solicitor
General Francis H. Jardeleza as Associate Justice of the Supreme Court. The
appointment was transmitted to the Supreme Court this morning, 20 August 2014,”
read Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Herminio Coloma,
Jr.’s note sent to reporters on Wednesday.
Jardeleza bested four other nominees for the
post -- Court of Appeals Associate Justices Apolinario Bruselas and Jose Reyes
Jr., Commission on Audit Chair Grace Pulido-Tan, and Quezon City Regional Trial
Court Judge Reynaldo Daway, despite not being included in the initial shortlist
submitted by the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) to the Supreme Court.
The JBC, however, eventually included Jardeleza
on its list after his third attempt to make it in the selection process, with
the Supreme Court granting his petition for certiori and mandamus.
Jardeleza had served as the Aquino administration’s
Solicitor General since February 2012, following his stint as Deputy Ombudsman
for Luzon from July 2011.
He graduated with honors from the University of
the Philippines College of Law in 1974, placing third in the bar exams the same
year, before obtaining his Masters of Law degree in 1977 from the Harvard
School of Law.
He is a member of the Integrated Bar of the
Philippines, the Philippine Bar Association, the American Bar Association, and
the Inter-Pacific Bar Association. In 1997, he was admitted to the New York
Sate Bar and the US Eastern and Southern Districts of New York. PND (hdc)
President Aquino swears in 39 newly promoted
Police Generals
President Benigno S. Aquino III on Wednesday
inducted into office 39 newly promoted Police Generals in a ceremony held at
the Rizal Hall of Malacañang Palace.
Promoted to the equivalent military rank of
lieutenant general were Police Deputy Directors General Leonardo Espina and
Marcelo Garbo, Jr.
Also promoted were Police Directors Ronaldo
Purugganan, Francisco Uyami, Jr., Francisco Don Montenegro, Charles Calima,
Jr., Benjamin Magalong, Ricardo Marquez, Jamie Morente, Rodrigo de Gracia,
Melito Mabilin, Getulio Napeñas, Jose Jorge Corpuz, Catalino Rodriquez, Jr.,
Juanito Vaño, Jr., Edgardo Inking, and Danilo Constantino. A Police director
has the equivalent military rank of major general.
Also joining them were Police Chief
Superintendents Richard Albano, Asher Dalina, Prudencio Tom Bañas, Jose
Getiles, Robert Kiunisala, Ferdinand Sevilla, Abelardo Villacorta, Edgar
Basbas, Rodel Calungsud, Diodado Valeroso, Edwin Erni, Manolito Labador, Oriel
Bragais, Wilfredo Franco, David Ombao, Ferdinand Yuzon, Ronaldo Asuncion, Rene
Ong, Antonio Viernes, Reuben Theodore Sindac, Augusto Marquez, Jr., and Danilo
Pelisod. The rank of Police chief superintendent is equivalent to the rank of
brigadier general in the military.
After the oath-taking ceremony, the newly promoted
generals and their respective families had a photo opportunity with the
President. With the President during the ceremony was Interior and Local
Government Secretary Mar Roxas. PND (ag)
Palace announces new appointments
President Benigno S. Aquino III has appointed
new officials of various government agencies, the Palace announced on
Wednesday.
Presidential Communications Operations Office
(PCOO) Secretary Herminio Coloma, Jr. informed members of the Malacañang Press
Corps in an email of the appointment of Jan Co Chua as an PCOO Undersecretary.
New appointees at the National Security Council
were Ma. Carmina Acuña as Assistant Director General; Lorenzo Clavejo as
Director V; and, Ruperta Salvanera as Acting Director III.
Other new appointees were Christine Antonio as
Director IV for the Public-Private Partnership Center of the Philippines under
the National Economic Development Authority; Allan Montaño as member of the
Board of Trustees of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration representing
the Labor Sector; Benjo Santos Benavidez as Acting Director IV of the
Department of Labor and Employment.
Also appointed were Ma. Vilma Diez as Acting
Director III of the Department of Health; Raul Serrano as member of the Board
of Directors of the Development Bank of the Philippines; John Eulalio
Nepomuceno Aparis II as regular member of the Sangguniang Panglungsod of Ormoc
City, Leyte; and Alberto Escobarte as Acting Director IV of the Department of
Education (DepEd).
A total of 17 new School Division
Superintendents under DepEd, were also appointed: Ruby Abundabar, Miguel Mac
Aposin, Roel Bermejo, Wilfredo Cabral, Reynaldo Guillena, Juliet Jeruta,
Evangeline Ladines, Esperanza Laya, Portia Mallorca, Cesar Medina, Ponciano
Menguito, Jorge Reinante, Cecille Bernadette Rivera, Carlito Rocafort, Joel San
Luis, Josilyn Solana, and Alma Ruby Torio. PND (ag)
Naming of Mount Hamiguitan as UNESCO World
Heritage Site is boon to Davao Oriental, Governor says
The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and
Cultural Organization’s (UNESCO) inscription of Mount Hamiguitan range wildlife
sanctuary as a World Heritage Site is a boon to Davao Oriental, Governor
Corazon Malanyaon has said.
Mount Hamiguitan was recently inscribed in the
UNESCO World Heritage Site during a UNESCO Conference in Doha, Qatar, Governor
Malanyaon said during a press briefing after she paid a courtesy call on
President Benigno S. Aquino III on Wednesday morning.
"It was declared as a World Heritage Site
because of its outstanding universal value. It has a huge biodiversity. It was
the endemism actually that caught the attention of the UNESCO people," she
said.
Endemism is the ecological state of a species
being unique to a defined geographic location, such as an island, nation,
country or other defined zone, or habitat type.
Mount Hamiguitan, home to about 2,000 people,
boasts of pygmy or bonsai forests.
According to the UNESCO, Mount Hamiguitan
showcases terrestrial and aquatic habitats at different elevations, and
includes threatened and endemic flora and fauna species, eight of which are
found only at the mountain range. These include critically endangered trees,
plants and the iconic Philippine eagle and Philippine cockatoo, it said.
The designation of Mount Hamiguitan as a
heritage site is good news to Davao Oriental as it will open a lot of
opportunities for the province, especially in terms of eco-tourism, she said.
“It is one gift that we would like to share to
the world and also a way of showcasing our concern for our environment,” the
governor added.
The UNESCO encourages the identification,
protection and preservation of cultural and natural heritage around the world
considered to be of outstanding value to humanity.
To fulfill this initiative, the international
body adopted in 1972 an international treaty called the Convention concerning
the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage. PND (as)
Davao Oriental already in rehabilitation stage
after Typhoon Pablo, says Governor
Davao Oriental is making headway in rebuilding
communities devastated by Typhoon Pablo in December 2012, Governor Corazon
Malanyaon said on Wednesday.
“We are now in the reconstruction and
rehabilitation stage. So much is going on there in Davao Oriental now, so
parang alive na alive talaga ang tatlong towns. Everybody seems to have work.
Everybody seems to be involved in all the activities,” Malanyaon said during a
press briefing after paying a courtesy call on President Benigno S. Aquino III.
She was referring to the towns of Boston,
Cateel, and Baganga, where about a thousand housing units are being turned over
every 15 days.
"We hope to turn over at least 60 percent
of the total housing requirement for our typhoon victims by the second
anniversary of Typhoon Pablo in December," she said, adding that they aim
to build a total of 24,000 housing units for the victims.
The governor said they have also begun efforts
to give the typhoon victims permanent livelihood in agriculture and fisheries.
“Nakikita ko talaga na everybody talagang
nagtatrabaho. Everybody has been given the opportunity to earn income.
Construction is a boom there. We are going to construct a lot of housing units,
school buildings, barangay halls, ‘yung mga daycare center, and even mga
infrastructure like roads, bridges, and all that,” she said.
Typhoon Pablo hit Davao Oriental on December 4,
2012, claiming hundreds of lives and displacing thousands of families. The
typhoon also destroyed billions of pesos worth of infrastructure and
properties.
The magnitude of the devastation prompted
President Aquino to create a special task force led by Cabinet Secretary Rene
Almendras to facilitate a smooth disaster response mechanism for all the
affected areas.
Last February, the people of Davao Oriental
thanked President Aquino for mobilizing the entire national government
machinery to address their urgent concerns following the onslaught of the
Typhoon Pablo. PND (as)
Ninoy Aquino's martyrdom must inspire young
generation of Filipinos, says Palace official
The Palace has encouraged the public to educate
future generations of Filipinos about the martyrdom of former senator Benigno
Aquino Jr., father of President Benigno S. Aquino III.
"Let us pledge to transmit his thoughts and
the reasons he took his fateful stand to the generations who were not yet
around in 1983, but who continue to enjoy the freedom of choice, thought, and
expression that he fought and died for, and which characterizes our country
today," Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said in a statement on
Wednesday.
Secretary Lacierda asked the people to pause in
prayer and reflection, and revisit Ninoy Aquino’s undelivered arrival statement
available in the original English and Filipino translation on the Official
Gazette.
Thirty-one years ago, Ninoy Aquino came home to
prove that the Filipino is worth dying for, Lacierda said.
With his martyrdom, Ninoy Aquino joined the
ranks of other heroes such as Dr. Jose Rizal, Jose Abad Santos, and Aquino’s
fellow victims of Martial Law who stood for national freedom and integrity, he
added.
Ninoy Aquino was assassinated on August 21, 1983
after arriving from several years of living in exile in the US.
Three years after his death, his widow, Corazon
Aquino was swept to power following the bloodless 1986 People Power Revolution
that toppled the Marcos dictatorship. PND (as)
Mindanao to boost cacao production
Mindanao will boost the production of cacao in
the region to capitalize on the dwindling cacao supply in the global market,
Mindanao Development Authority Chairwoman Luwalhati Antonino said.
"We are trying to jump-start the cacao
industry in Mindanao because of the diminishing supply of cacao in the world
market, and Mindanao has a very big chance to catch up to be a big supplier of
cacao," Secretary Antonino said in a press briefing in Malacañang on
Wednesday.
She noted that it was only in the 1960s when
Mindanao started planting banana trees.
“Now we are one of the major suppliers of banana
and we intend to do that with cacao as well,” she said, adding that they are
planning to intercrop cacao trees among the region’s two million hectares of
coconut trees.
Planting cacao trees in 5 percent of the total
hectares of coconut trees will mean 100,000 hectares of cacao and that will
have a big share in the market, she said, adding that the initiative will
create 1,000 jobs for the people of Mindanao.
Antonino also announced that Mindanao is ready
to break India's record in planting the most number of trees in an hour.
India has a record of 1.9 million trees planted
in one hour and Mindanao aims to plant 4.6 million trees in an hour on
September 26.
One million of these will be cacao trees, she
said.
The Aquino administration has said it intends to
carry out a targeted approach to improve the lives of the people in the
agriculture sector. One of its major thrusts is intercropping to boost the
productivity of farmers. PND (as)
