President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo declared today that the merger of Lakas-Kampi- CMD is a strong assurance to doubting Thomases of the “administration’s resolve and determination to push through with the national and local elections in 2010.”
“Cynics and detractors love to paint grim scenarios about the cancellation of the 2010 elections. Let this merger of Lakas and Kampi be tangible proof of the administration’s readiness, nay determination, to help ensure the elections will push through,” the President said.
In her speech during the joint meeting of the Lakas-CMD national directorate and Kampi national council at the Manila Hotel this morning, the President said the emergence of Lakas-Kampi- CMD as “one party is our finest weapon and best guarantee for success in the 2010 elections. “
With their merger, Lakas-Kampi is “moving as one, fighting as one as the instrument and vehicle for electing the best, the most qualified and the worthiest leaders of our country.”
She challenged the party members to strive for victory not just for the party but also for the entire nation and democracy. “Let us achieve victory in the context and manner of clean and credible elections worthy of Filipinos’ democratic traditions. After all, electoral reforms, especially automation are priority items in our administration’s 10-point agenda,” she stressed.
“Let us win not because we are powerful. Let us win because we are united. And ours is a program of performance and unity for the good of our people,” the President said.
At the launch of the merged party which was attended by hundreds of city mayors, congressmen and governors from the two political parties, the President walked from table to table shaking hands and exchanging brief notes with those in attendance.
In her well-applauded speech, the President repeated the phrase, “I need you all with me” to underline her message that the Lakas-Kampi- CMD unification should not just be for the purpose of winning the 2010 elections but providing quality service to the people.
She congratulated and thanked the National Consolidation and Unification Committee, headed by Political Affairs Secretary Gabriel Claudio, “for making this day happen.”
“Doubting Thomases and there were many, said the merger between the two biggest political parties would not come to pass. The road to this merger has neither been short nor easy. But we had made a great leap of faith and statesmanship today. Some of you with a certain degree of trepidation, tolerance and sacrifice… for your willingness to rise above boundaries to do what is right not only for the administration’s political cause but also for the nation maraming salamat,” the President said.
She described the merger of the two administration political parties as an ingredient to political harmony not only within the administration coalition but throughout the country.
“The call for national harmony and political civility must emanate from those who constitute the political majority and it must take root first in our backyard. Indeed our merged party is great enough to provide a critical mass and a veritable momentum towards national unity and solidarity,” the President said.
Hailing the Lakas-Kampi- CMD merger as both appropriate and timely, the President pointed out that the next 13 months will be the biggest push of our incumbent administration to clip poverty and unemployment and address the perennial concerns over infrastructure, health, education, services and other forms of needs in all our communities.
“I need you all with me on this so we can give our nation a legacy of lasting opportunities and foundations for peace, economic upliftment and the promotion of human dignity. With your help, government has been adequately able to protect our countrymen and women from the worst effects of the global financial downturn that has brought 2/3 of the world to its knees,” she said.
“As one party now, we shall, God willing drive the last fearsome effects of this global crisis away from our shores,” the President said.
She said that “to build a sustainable national economy in the face of the global economic crisis, I need you with me.”
“To work to create a consensus among political parties to ensure that a proper balance exists within national economic interests and our obligation as members of the economy of all mankind. I need you with me strong and united that is why here, at least in our homes, there is no other way forward but to be one, act as one and win as one,” the President said.
She said “rarely we will be unanimous in our thinking and opinions but I would hope that all of us will be disciplined enough to support the party stand.”
She asked the party members to strive to make the alliance between the local government units and the Armed Forces of the Philippines a major campaign plank especially in the local elections. She also asked the administration candidates to “take this up as a key governance thrust and to openly support and pledge to push peace and development and oppose collaborators of those who seek to use violence to overthrow government and to impose their obsolete ideology on the people.”
“In 2010, let us have none of our LGUs flirting with the enemies of the state. And let us show those who continue to do so as undermining their communities and their Republic. I am confident that with you working with me now” we can further strengthen our partnership in pursuit of our people’s welfare, she said.
She said her government has found it easier and more productive long drawn projects and services in areas where governors or mayors are not at odds with their congressmen or their governors. The merged party will have a mechanism for reconciliation or if necessary the adjudication of disputes at the local levels, she added.
She thanked the participants for the five resolutions they passed and then thanked them for “keeping faith in me as chair our merged parties.”
Palace assures local Influenza A/H1N1 infections under control
There is nothing worry about the new A/H1N1 infections, ranking palace officials said Thursday
Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita assured that the prevention and surveillance systems are in place to contain the spread of the new virus.
Ermita said the new cases are not enough reason to postpone the opening of class on Monday.
For his part, Deputy Presidential Spokesperson Anthony Golez said the situation in the Philippines in far from the situation in Mexico where community level outbreaks took place.
The Department of Health reported four more A/H1N1 cases raising the number of infections to 10.
The new cases, a 24-year-old mother, her one-year-old daughter; a 47-year-old male and a 13-year-old male, are the people who attended a wedding in Zambales, the same occasion where the infected Taiwanese nationals were also present.
“Three are Filipinos, and one is a foreign national. All are taking Oseltamivir and only have mild acute respiratory illness,” Health Secretary Francisco T. Duque III said in a statement.
On how the Taiwanese nationals caught A/H1N1 remains a mystery to health authorities.
DOH is waiting for the results of laboratory tests of some 50 people who also attended the Zambales wedding.
Palace cites 0.4 % RP economy growth rate in Q1
MANILA, May 28 (PNA) – Malacañang on Thursday cited the expansion of the Philippine economy by 0.4 percent in the first quarter of the year.
”A growth is still a growth as we have heard and seen the report but we should try to reflect the gross national product (GNP) which includes the number of remittances by the Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) which contributes greatly to the Philippine economy,” said Deputy Presidential Spokesperson Dr. Anthony Golez in an interview with reporters at the New Executive Building (NEB) in San Miguel, Manila.
Golez, however said, this is not yet a time to celebrate because it’s common knowledge that the global economic situation will improve by the second half of the year.
He said President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo will continue to focus, among others, in job generation.
Malacañang officials as well as Golez were reacting to earlier reports that the Philippine economy expanded by 0.4 percent in the first quarter of the year from 3.9 percent in the same period last year.
It was the National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB) which released the report.
Romulo Virola, secretary-general of NSCB attributed the growth in the economy to the positive contributions of construction, agriculture, transportation, communication and storage, mining and quarrying, and private Services.
On the expenditure side, Virola said little growth drivers were construction, import of non factor services, personal consumption expenditure (PCE), export of non factor services, and government consumption expenditure.
For the first three months of the year, Virola said the total OFW compensation amounted to P302.16 billion, up by 38.5 percent from P218.11 billion in the same period last year.
During the period, the total OFW deployment rose 44.7 percent to 367,931 from 254,123 from January to March last year.
The NSCB official said the economy also boosted by the disbursement of government funds for infrastructure projects, which rebounded to 3.8 percent from negative 0.3 percent recorded last year.
He added that private construction rebounded from negative 4.1 percent the previous year to 9.9 percent while infrastructure investments by the government managed to improve public construction to a lower negative 4.4 percent from negative 10.9 percent.
Virola said agriculture, fishery and forestry sector contracted by 1 percent in the first quarter after expanding by 0.9 in the last quarter with the declines of other crops, corn and sugarcane.
Industry registered its lowest growth for the last twenty years as it sank by 6.6 percent from 0.1 percent gain in the last quarter.
The substantial weakening of the manufacturing sector contributed immensely to the contraction of industry. Services sector posted no growth for the first quarter of 2009 compared to 0.2 percent recorded the previous quarter, as trade declined while other sub sectors slowed down.
Virola, however, said a big challenge to the economic managers during the remaining month of the second quarter is the fact that the economy is now teetering into recession as seasonally adjusted GDP sank by 2.3 percent, the lowest for the past 20 years.
Lim signs Manila City Ordinance 7177 into law; Councilor Isip-Garcia to bring fight before SC
“There is no perfect world. Everything must be a compromise.. . However, I firmly believe that we need not borrow from the future, especially if what we are going to borrow is fear,” Lim said after signing the new ordinance passed by the City Council more than a week ago.
He said his approval of the new city ordinance was one of the most difficult and painful things he had faced since he assumed office as local chief executive.
This developed as 6th District Councilor Ma. Lourdes Isip-Garcia said they would bring their fight to the Supreme Court (SC) and would file an amendatory ordinance on next Tuesday’s City Council session.
“Exactly 10 days ago, the City Council thrust onto my shoulder the difficult decision of approving or vetoing its proposed unnumbered Ordinance (7177), which amends Ordinance 8119 by creating a Medium Industrial Zone (1-2) and Heavy Industrial Zone (1-3). Thus, 7177 provides the continued stay of the highly contested oil depot of the ‘big three,’ namely Petron, Chevron, and Shell,” Lim said.
“I have remained steadfast in my principle that nobody is above the law and that the safety, security and well-being of the people are of paramount consideration in making a judgment call,” the mayor told Manila residents and pro- and anti-oil depot individuals at the City Hall Quadrangle.
Lim’s action was guided by recommendations made by a panel he created to study the pros and cons as well as the opinions stated by various quarters both for and against the continued operation of big industries in Pandacan, including the three biggest oil companies.
Before approving the ordinance, Lim held dialogues with the affected industries and different government agencies, among them the Departments of Energy, Labor and Employment, Trade and Industry, and Defense as well as with the Church, Pandacan residents and various chambers of commerce.
Two days before the deadline for him to decide was to lapse, Lim was invited by Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita to join them at the Pandacan terminals’ site, where President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo held a meeting with her Cabinet members.
There, Lim sat with at least nine of the Cabinet secretaries, who unanimously dismissed the apprehensions being raised on the continued operation of the oil depots.
The mayor, who, during one of the dialogues with the oil companies raised the question of threats to lives in case of terrorist attacks, conflagration or oil spill, felt that all such fears being raised were quelled when no less than the President herself went to the site of the oil depots and brought her official family with her.
Lim, in coming out with the decision, said that among the notable facts that he took into consideration is the adverse effect to the city’s economy and social programs of moving out the industries in Pandacan.
Lim termed his approval of the ordinance as "a judgment call," adding that the principle that guided him in doing so was to meet with all the stakeholders and after which he formed a committee that studied all the aspects of the situation.
"I also conducted an ocular inspection of the sites and, most of all, I asked the guidance of God to let Him show me the way. So, in making this decision, I assure you that the best interest of the people is what I had in mind,” he said.
Lim pointed out that he had to look at the issues concerning the Pandacan controversy in a holistic manner and he has seen them in terms of the interconnectedness of the environment, people and human activities.
“In other words, my decision is to strike a balance between the right of the people to a balance and healthy environment vis-à-vis the right to livelihood and sustainable development,” he said.
The mayor cited the huge taxes that are being collected from the operation of these industries help sustain the city government in providing free education in daycare centers as well as the more than a hundred public elementary and high schools and even the City College of Manila and the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila which offer free tertiary education.
He also mentioned the medical supplies, medicines and equipment in the city’s public hospitals and 50 health centers that are also funded out of the taxes being collected.
These are just some of the things that will have to be sacrificed if the big industries in Manila would go, Lim said.
On top of these, he said that there are at least 10,000 workers presently employed in several of the Pandacan industries alone and who will be displaced should the oil depots be relocated.
He also took note of pronouncements made by representatives from the oil companies that once they are forced to relocate, the expenses to be entailed will compel them to raise the prices of their products by at least P2 or P3 and that at least 12,000 tankers carrying flammable products will have to ply the streets of Metro Manila and Northern Luzon on a daily basis.
It was also noted that no major incidents, such as the fears being raised, have ever happened in Pandacan and that in fact, during fires in nearby residential areas, the firefighters from the depots are the first to respond.
Lim said that while special focus is being given on the so-called Big 3 players, there are actually a total of 145 huge industries operating in Pandacan and that vetoing Ordinance 7177 would displace all of them as well as all the Manila residents in their employ.
According to Lim, Vice Mayor Isko Moreno was right in saying that had then Mayor Lito Atienza only enforced Ordinance 8027 which was passed by councilors allied with him when he was still the mayor in 2001, the impact against the residents would have been cushioned. Ordinance 8027 originally gave the oil depots six months to relocate.
During that time, he said, there was still no worldwide economic recession.
However, instead of enforcing the ordinance, Atienza entered into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Energy department in 2002 and the oil depots were allowed to stay for another six months.
An administration measure was then passed by the City Council in January 2003 which led to the granting of special business permits to the three oil companies.
An action was then filed before the Supreme Court seeking to compel Atienza to enforce Ordinance 8027 but he maintained such ordinance had been superseded by the MOU.
In March 2007, the Supreme Court ruled that Atienza should enforce the ordinance, but still, Atienza failed to comply.
In conclusion, Mayor Lim said the people should not be ruled by fear, especially because speculations and apprehensions may not even happen.
“In the end, this issue (we now have decided) on is not only the economy or environment alone but about people trying to live peacefully, securely and as economically prosperous as possible,” he concluded.
Meanwhile, Councilor Isip-Garcia said they are bringing the case to the SC in an effort to protect the city and its residents from danger brought by the ordinance.
“We will go to SC to question the validity of Ordinance 7177. The ordinance has infirmities and violative of national laws such as Clean Air Act and Clean Water act. We will go to the Ombudsman to file case against the proponents of Ordinance 7177, Mayor Lim, Vice Mayor Isko Moreno and the majority councilors for knowingly causing undue injuries to Manilans, for exposing them to extreme pollutive industries,” Isip-Garcia said.
President congratulates Director Mendoza
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has extended her heartfelt congratulations to Brillante Mendoza for having won the best Director Award at the 62nd Cannes Film Festivals for his movie “Kinatay.”
“Being the first Filipino to have won such an award obviously makes Director Mendoza one of the best filmmakers of our time,” the President said.
“Director Mendoza’s winning movie depicts social realities and serves as an eye-opener for moral recovery and social transformation which my Administration has been pursuing even early on my Presidency,” she said.
The President stressed that Director Mendoza’s extraordinary feat brings pride to every Filipino and will be an inspiration to our filmmakers to strive harder for global recognition.
“His accomplishment and those of our other artists in the various disciplines who have been raking in honors for the country attest to the our people’s wealth of talents that enable us to withstand and overcome the challenges of our times,” the President added.
