President Aquino confers Order of Sikatuna on
outgoing Japanese Ambassador
President Benigno S. Aquino III on Tuesday
conferred the Order of Sikatuna with the rank of Datu, Katangiang Ginto (Grand
Cross, Gold Distinction) on outgoing Japanese Ambassador Toshinao Urabe.
Ambassador Urabe, together with the Japanese
Embassy’s Deputy Chief of Mission Tetsuro Amano and Political Minister Hironori
Shibata, paid a farewell call on the President at the Music Room of Malacañang
Palace.
Present during the conferment ceremony were
Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario and Cabinet Secretary Rene
Almendras.
Ambassador Urabe was cited for “his significant
contribution to the peace process and development in the conflict-affected
areas in Mindanao."
Last March 20, Ambassador Urabe signed eight
grant contracts with recipient organizations for various social development
projects in conflict-affected areas in Mindanao. These projects were funded
through the Grant Assistance for Grassroots Human Security Projects (GGP)
implemented by the Japanese Embassy as part of the Japan-Bangsamoro Initiatives
for Reconstruction and Development (J-BIRD).
The Order of Sikatuna is an Order of Diplomatic
Merit conferred upon individuals who have rendered exceptional and meritorious
services to the Philippines. PND (ag)
International Red Cross Chief calls on President
Aquino
International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)
President Peter Maurer paid a courtesy call on President Benigno S. Aquino III
in Malacañang Palace on Tuesday.
Maurer is in the Philippines to evaluate efforts
to rebuild communities destroyed by Typhoon Yolanda last year. On Monday
(August 25), he visited the district hospital in Basey, Samar, which is being
repaired with the help of the ICRC and the Philippine Red Cross (PRC). He then
proceeded to Santa Cruz, Giporlos in Eastern Samar where storm-resilient
shelters have been built.
Accompanying the ICRC chief during his courtesy
call were Alain Aeschliman, head of the ICRC Operations for East Asia and the
Pacific; Graziells Leito-Piccolo; and Paul Maucle, head of an ICRC delegation
that visited Basey, Samar.
Also present were Health Secretary Dr. Enrique
Ona, Social Welfare Secretary Corazon Soliman, Presidential Adviser on the
Peace Process Teresita Quintos Deles, and Presidential Assistant for
Rehabilitation and Recovery Panfilo Lacson.
During the meeting, Maurer also gave the
President a souvenir picture of former president Corazon Aquino with former
ICRC president Cornelio Sommaruga.
The photo was taken when Cory Aquino visited the
ICRC Headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland in 1988. PND (ag)
Majority of Filipinos still supportive of
President Aquino, says Palace official
President Benigno S. Aquino III still has the
support of the majority of Filipinos and he remains determined to carry out
reforms that would benefit the country, a Palace official said on Tuesday.
"Kung ating tutunghayan ang mga public
opinion surveys, talaga namang lumalabas doon na may suporta ang Pangulo mula
sa mayorya ng ating mga mamamayan," Presidential Communications Operations
Office Secretary Herminio Coloma, Jr. said a press briefing in Malacañang.
He was asked if the failure to draw more
rallyists to Monday’s anti-pork barrel rally means strong support for the
Aquino administration.
On the President’s reaction to Monday's mass
action, Secretary Coloma said what is important to the Chief Executive is the
implementation of reforms.
"Ang mahalaga nga para sa Pangulo ay ang
pagpapatuloy ng reporma at pagbabago. Hindi naman ito nakukuha lamang sa isang
insidente o isang episode o isang rally," he said.
He noted that in more than four years President
Aquino has been in office, many reforms have already taken root.
"Marami na ring nakapapansin ng pagbabago
sa iba’t ibang larangan ng ating lipunan at ‘yon nga ang panawagan ng Pangulo,
na dapat ipagpatuloy ito dahil dumadami na rin naman tayo," he said. PND
(as)
President Aquino still reviewing draft
Bangsamoro Law
President Benigno S. Aquino III is still
reviewing the draft of the Bangsamoro Basic Law that was submitted to him last
week, a Palace official said Tuesday.
"Patuloy na pinag-aaralan ng Pangulo ang
inihaing draft Bangsamoro Basic Law," Presidential Communications
Operations Office Secretary Herminio Coloma, Jr. said in a press briefing in
Malacañang.
"Ang susunod na hakbang ay ang agarang
paghain nito sa Kogreso bilang urgent legislative measure. Merong sense of
urgency dito, dahil sa nailatag na timetable ng Bangsamoro peace process,"
he added.
According to Coloma, Presidential peace adviser
Teresita Deles said both the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front
(MILF) peace panels have already agreed on significant issues, and that is why
they decided to forward the draft to the President.
The draft Bangsamoro Basic Law was submitted to
President Aquino on Wednesday evening.
Once the draft law is approved by Congress, a
plebiscite will be held and a transition authority will be created in
preparation for the conduct of an election in the Bangsamoro in 2016.
President Aquino has vowed to push for the
conduct of a fair and democratic poll in the region before he leaves office in
2016. PND (as)
