RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil – President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s global engagements have provided economic links that help shelter the Philippines from the full brunt of the present global economic meltdown.
“One key to keeping our economy strong has been a strong engagement with other countries,” the Press Secretary said.
Remonde pointed out that the President does not take vacations when she travels abroad but works tirelessly “to ensure the stability of our Philippine economy and that our allies and security partners understand our positions and interests.”
“The visits are international, but the beneficiaries are always the people of the Philippines,” Remonde stressed.
In Japan –
A Memorandum of Understanding was inked by Finance Secretary Margarito Teves and Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) President Hiroshi Watanabe for JBIC to guarantee up to 1 billion US dollars yen-dominated foreign (Samurai) bonds with the Department of Finance is going to float in the Japanese capital market in the next two years.
Marubeni Corporation, one of Japan’s largest trading companies, has committed 500 million dollars for the expansion of the Light Rail Transit (LRT) Line 2; and 100 million dollars for the Air Traffic Control Project Package 1 that will provide new communications, navigation, surveillance/air traffic management systems to Philippine airports.
Other commitments secured include the supply of high performance construction and machinery for large-scale infrastructure development and mining operations; supply of agricultural machinery for increased agricultural productivity and improvement of food self-sufficiency.
The corporation also committed 40 windmill units for Burgos, Ilocos Sur.
Aruze Corporation, the world leader in the manufacturing of gaming machines, has committed 4 billion dollars to 6 billion dollars for the construction of a hotel resort and convention complex in the Philippines.
Japan’s Trade and Industry Minister Toshihiro Nikai, in a meeting with President Arroyo, sought RP cooperation in the implementation of Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA) projects to have the Comprehensive Asian Development Plan as part of the stimulus plan of Japan for Asia. The plan includes infrastructure and industrial development.
Minister Nikai expressed satisfaction with the implementation of the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA) and said he is optimistic about its smooth implementation. He also said Japan will support the promotion of tourism exchange between Filipino and Japanese youths.
President Arroyo’s visit to Brazil, the first by a Philippine President, has provided an impetus for enhanced RP-Brazil relations.
The four-day, three-city trip to Brazil, netted five signed agreements and a joint statement between the Department of Agriculture and the Brazilian Association of Girlondo Breeders.
The President ended her nine-day trip to Japan and Brazil June 25 (Brazil time) after meeting with the officials of the Compania Vale da Rio Dose, a Brazilian mining firm that committed some P600 million for the exploration of gold and other mineral deposits in Masbate.
750,000 will benefit from 4P- Palace
More than 750,000 families will benefit from the “Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program”(4P) by next year, Malacanang announced on Friday.
Tungpalan also said that NEDA is negotiating with some multi-lateral banks to widen the scope or coverage of the 4Ps in an effort to provide financial assistance to more Filipino families.
While in Brazil, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo asked Congress to "institutionalize the 4Ps by passing a law establishing, regulating and funding it."
The President said a law institutionalizing the 4Ps, which was established two years ago by a mere administrative order, would bolster its effectiveness and widen its scope or coverage.
A household-beneficiary can receive as much as P1,400 for a maximum of three children, plus P500 per month for nutrition and health expenses and P300 per month per child with a maximum of three children per household for educational expenses.
The conditions are: parents must ensure that their children attend school at least 85 percent of the time, and receive vaccinations and health care.
Parents are also required to attend responsible parenthood seminars, mother's classes, and parent effectiveness seminars.
Palace adopts stringent precautionary measures vs. A(H1N1) influenza virus
MANILA, June 26 – Malacañang officials have adopted stringent preventive measures to ensure that the centuries-old official residence of the country's No. 1 citizen remains free from the A(H1N1) influenza virus.
For one, posters announcing precautionary measures against the novel flu strain have been posted in strategic places within the Palace compound, which also serves as headquarters to some of the country's major state offices.
Hand sanitizers also have been installed in comfort rooms and other strategic places in various Malacañang offices.
An 8-inch by 11-inch flyer, posted on a wall at the New Executive Building (NEB), briefly states some key measures on how to avoid the A(H1N1) infection.
These are: 1. Observe proper hygiene; 2. Increase your body resistance; and, 3. Social distancing, such as avoiding crowded places and staying at home if you are sick.
”Of course, we will do the same thing that other government agencies have already done. We will see what happens and how the rank-and-file employees won’t get infected,” Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said in a recent press briefing.
Ermita assured that all Palace employees would be kept informed in case of any symptom which may need immediate medical attention.
Among the offices headquartered at the Malacañang complex are the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), Office of the Press Secretary (OPS), OPS-News and Information Bureau (NIB), OPS-Radio Television Malacañang (RTVM) and Presidential Anti-Smuggling Group (PASG).
Malacañang Palace is the official residence of the President of the Philippines. It is located along the northern bank of the Pasig River in Manila.
It is called "Palasyo ng Malakanyang" in Filipino, Malacañan Palace when referred to as the official residence of the President of the Philippines, and simply Malacañang when referred to as the Office of the President.
The term "Malacañang" is a metonym for the Philippine President's administration, or the Executive branch.
Malacañang Palace is depicted on the verso (back) side of the present-day P20 bill.
Today, the Malacanang Complex consists of Malacañang Palace itself, Bonifacio Hall (formerly the Premier Guest House used by the late President Ferdinand Marcos' successor Corazon C. Aquino as her office, and by Joseph Ejercito Estrada as his residence); Kalayaan Hall (the former Executive Building built under the American administration); Mabini Hall (the Administration Building), and the New Executive Building (built by President Aquino), among other smaller buildings.
Across the Pasig River is Malacañang Park, which contains a golf course, park, billets for the Presidential Security Group, as well as a Commonwealth-era presidential resthouse (Bahay Pangarap) and recreation hall.
Rallyists often congregate at the western end of nearby Mendiola Street to air their grievances against the government.
Duque: country’s mild A (H1N1) patients responding positively to treatment
Health Secretary Francisco T. Duque III today reported 134 more mild cases of A (H1N1), noting that all are responding positively to their treatments. These additional cases bring the total count of confirmed cases of the novel virus to 861.
The total sum, on the other hand, of fully recovered patients still stands at 634 or 74% of the total number of confirmed cases reported since May 21.
“The number of fully recovered patients is the same as the previous update because the present reported cases are still getting treatment and recuperating either in hospitals or their homes,” Duque explained.
The additional 134 cases involved 60 males and 74 females. The age range of these cases is 2-58 years old, with 16 as median age. One hundred eighteen (118) of the new cases are Filipinos, the remaining 16 are foreigners. Twenty (20) of these cases have a history of travel to a country affected by A (H1N1).
Meanwhile, as of June 24, the World Health Organization reported 55,867 cases with 238 deaths from 102 reporting countries.
ICS Renewables assumes ownership of Amlan power plant
The Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corporation (PSALM) yesterday turned over the 0.8-megawatt (MW) Amlan Hydroelectric Power Plant to its new owner, ICS Renewables Inc., in a simple affair held at the PSALM offices as part of the Corporation’s eighth anniversary celebration.
PSALM President and Chief Executive Officer Jose C. Ibazeta and ICS Renewables President Juan Eugenio L. Roxas signed the Joint Certificate of Turnover and the Deed of Absolute Sale to formalize the privatization of the power facility located in Sitio Pasalan, Bgy. Silab, Amlan, Negros Oriental.
PSALM also received from ICS Renewables USD230,000 as full payment for the Amlan power plant. The amount was the winning offer of the Filipino-owned company for the Visayas-based hydropower facility in a bidding conducted by PSALM last 10 December 2008. The amount exceeded the reserve price set by the PSALM Board for the generating asset.
On 08 January 2009, ICS Renewables was officially declared the winning bidder after it received from PSALM the Notice of Award and Certificate of Effectivity for the Amlan asset.
ICS Renewables, which expressed interest to participate in the bidding for the 55-MW Naga Land-Based Gas Turbine (LBGT) Power Plant, is a newly-incorporated company engaged in the manufacture of alternative fuels. The firm is also involved in acquiring, developing, owning, leasing, subleasing, operating and managing real and personal property of every kind and description, including but not limited to, properties using alternative fuels and other environment-friendly device or equipment.
The Amlan plant is the first power facility to be constructed in Negros Oriental. It is designed to operate as a base-load plant, supplying power to the town of Amlan and nearby villages.
Proceeds from the sale of the Amlan power plant will be deposited in the government’s coffers and will be used to pay a portion of the USD6.278-billion debt of the National Power Corporation.
PNOC’s biofuels unit signs a 1,000-hectare jatropha plantation development pact with 2 grower-partners in Negros Occidental
True to its mandate of promoting and accelerating the use of biofuels in the country to reduce dependence on imported fuel, the biofuels arm of the Philippine National Oil Company (PNOC) - the PNOC Alternative Fuels Corporation (PNOC-AFC), has signed a pact with the Ilog Diversified Multi-Purpose Cooperative and Katilingban Sang Katawhan Sa Katayoyon Nga Kauswagan Sa Kabankalan, Inc. (5Ks) for the establishment of an aggregate area of 1,000-hectare jatropha plantation in Kabankalan, Negros Occidental.
“The partnership that we have forged separately with our grower-partners Ilog Diversified Multi-Purpose Cooperative and 5Ks marks the beginning of our collaborative effort towards establishing a most viable and sustainable biofuel feedstock in the country. We all intend to pool and commit our resources together to attain our production target of jatropha to fast track the country’s biofuel initiative,” said Genaro Rafael K. Alvarez III, PNOC-AFC chairman.
Under the Memorandum of Agreements (MOA), the project that the PNOC-AFC will be funding involves an aggregate area of 500 hectares of jatropha plantation within the landholdings of Ilog Diversified Multi-Purpose Cooperative and another 500 hectares with 5Ks.
"The funds for the project will be released to PNOC-AFC's grower-partners in accordance with the Work and Financial Plan. The market for the jatropha seeds that will be produced from the plantation will not be a problem since the PNOC-AFC will be the assured market," said Alvarez.
In addition, the PNOC-AFC shall supply the jatropha seedlings and other farm inputs as well as pay for the labor during the planting process. The Company will likewise provide technical assistance for the setting up of the plantation and help in its maintenance for 18 months.
Meantime, the grower-partner will manage the plantation together with PNOC-AFC. It will also provide the necessary labor inputs for the plantation establishment and maintenance while complying with all the permitting requirements from appropriate government agencies.
“Being the leading proponent of jatropha production in the country, we are not only keen on providing a cost-competitive alternative feedstock for our biofuels industry, but we are also opening alternative venues for business enterprise as well as creating new job opportunities for our marginalized farmers in the countryside,” noted Alvarez.
In line with the government’s policy of reducing dependence on imported oil and utilizing indigenous renewable energy sources, the PNOC-AFC has a mandate to explore, develop and accelerate the use of alternative energy to enhance the country’s energy security.
Bidding for selection of IPPAs fails as reserve price unmet
The bidding for the appointment of independent power producer administrators (IPPAs) to manage the contracted capacities of the National Power Corporation in the coal-fired Sual and Pagbilao power plants hit a bump as the two participating parties failed to meet the reserve price set by the Board of the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corporation (PSALM).
In the first bidding exercise for the selection of IPPAs conducted by PSALM yesterday (26 June 2009), the two participating bidders — San Miguel Energy Corporation (SMEC) and Therma Luzon Inc. — both passed the technical and financial requirements set by PSALM’s Bids and Awards Committee (BAC). Their offers for the contracted capacities of the Sual and Pagbilao power plants, however, came up short of the reserve price which the BAC did not disclose.
Despite the setback, PSALM remains confident that IPPAs will be appointed before the year ends as it begins preparations for a new round of bidding.
PSALM is also set to implement Phase II of its IPPA selection process, which will involve the IPP contracts of the Casecnan, Bakun, and San Roque hydropower plants. The contracted capacities of these power facilities are 140 MW, 70 MW, and 95 MW, respectively.
