BRASILIA, Brazil – President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo arrived at the Brasilia Military Airbase here on Wednesday as part of her four-day, three-city state visit to Brazil to further strengthen 49 years of diplomatic and bilateral cooperation between the Philippines and Brazil.
The President’s chartered Philippine Air Lines flight, which came from Recife City, the jump-off point of her visit to Brazil from June 22 to 26, landed shortly after 4 p.m. (Brasilia time).
Upon deplaning, the President was accorded full military honors, including a 21-gun salute by the Brasilia honor guards.
She was welcomed by Minister for Institutional Security General Jorge Armando Felix and chief of Brasilia protocol from the Itamaraty (Ministry of External Relations) Ambassador George Prata.
The President was joined by First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo and members of her Cabinet -- Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap, Trade Secretary Peter Favila, Press Secretary Cerge Remonde, Foreign Secretary Alberto Romulo, and Energy Secretary Angelo Reyes.
After being treated to a display of Brasilian military marching precision, the President and her party left for the Salao Presidencial (Presidential Lounge).
From there the presidential delegation proceeded to the Brasilia Alvorada Park Hotel, the President’s official residence during her stay here.
She met members of the Filipino community who came out to welcome her at the Brasilia Alvorada Park Hotel.
The Philippine Embassy in Brasilia reported that as of Dec. 31, last year, there were about 379 Filipinos in Brazil, 98 of them missionaries. Some 20 Filipino seafarers have settled permanently in Brazil’s port cities.
The rest of the Filipinos in Brazil are businessmen, self-employed entrepreneurs, domestic helpers, students, and overseas workers on contract with telecommunications, oil drilling and other transnational companies.
The President shook hands, posed for souvenir photographs and listened to the OFWs recount their experiences in Brazil. In all more than 50 Filipinos have made Brazil, particularly Brasilia, their second home.
The President appeared overwhelmed by the warm welcome her fellow countrymen extended to her, and thanked them for their support and for meeting her.
Press Secretary Remonde earlier said that the highlight of President Arroyo’s state visit would be the signing of six memoranda of understanding (MOUs) between the two countries in the fields of agriculture and bio-energy that would further develop stronger and better linkages between the Philippines and Brazilian business communities.
Tropical storm Feria maroons close to 3,000 people in Bicol ports
LEGAZPI CITY, June 24 - Close to 3,000 passengers were marooned in various ports across the Bicol peninsula for the past two days, as tropical storm Feria slowed down while passing Masbate province and moving towards Batangas and Mindoro, the Office of Civil Defense (OCD)-Bicol told the Philippines News Agency, Wednesday.
Bernardo Alejandro, OCD regional director, said the Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA) in Bicol suspended maritime operation after the weather bureau hoisted signal number 2 in Bicol on Tuesday.
MARINA report said the suspension stranded some 2,619 passengers, 48 trucks, 49 cars, 44 buses, and 13 sea vessels in major ports across the region.
Affected by the suspensions were 2,051 passengers bound for the Visayas who were stranded in Matnog port while the rest were passengers bound for the island provinces of Catanduanes and Masbate stuck at the ports of Tabaco City and the towns of Pilar, Bulan in Sorsogon.
OCD said power outages were reported in the second District of Sorsogon, Masbate and Ticao island in Masbate.
The report said all major roads and bridges across Bicol were passable to all types of vehicles.
Albay Gov. Joey Sarte Salceda said disaster councils were activated as public storm signal number 2 was hoisted in Albay, suspending classes in the elementary and high school levels in all schools across the province.
Salceda said he directed municipal disaster councils to initiate evacuation of residents living in low lying areas in case water in rivers channels swells due to rains.
Salceda said as a precautionary measure to prevent loss of lives he directed the various town disaster councils affected by flooding to set up holding areas as temporary evacuation sites for residents affected by flooding and landslide.
DOH: No reason to panic on low-level outbreak
By: Bradley De Leon
Health Secretary Francisco Duque III on Wednesday told the public that there is no reason to panic despite the declaration of low-level community outbreak of Influenza A (H1N1) in Metro Manila.
Duque reiterated that the A(H1N1) virus in the Philippines is only mild in nature manifested by the improving recovery rate of hundreds who contracted the said virus.
On Tuesday, the DOH declared a low-level outbreak of A(H1N1) virus to areas with schools that have confirmed cases and those that have third level transmission.
Duque also noted that schools located in Quezon City, Manila and Paranaque have low-level transmission of the A(H1N1)
Duque said that he has no choice but to declare a low level outbreak because the A(H1N1) virus can now be contracted from anywhere. He also advised the public to take extra precautionary measures.
As the government’s continuing effort to battle A(H1N1) virus, the DOH launched the hotline called SMART Health Watch 155. It can be used by the public to access the most recent information and updates on the novel virus.
DOH reports 43 More A(H1N1) Patients have fully recovered
By: Bradley de Leon
Health Secretary Francisco T. Duque III announced on Wednesday that 43 more A(H1N1) confirmed cases have fully recovered, bringing the sum of recovered patients to 464 representing 77% of the total number of confirmed cases since May 21 .
Duque also reported that there are 131 more confirmed cases, all of which are mild in nature. These new cases involved 66 females and 65 males with age ranging from 2 to 67 years old with 16 as median age. One hundred seventeen (117) of these cases are Filipinos, the remaining 14 are foreigners. Nineteen (19) of said cases have a history of travel to a country affected with the novel virus. These new cases bring the total number of confirmed A(H1N1) cases to 604.
Duque reiterated to the public that the safest way to avoid getting the flu are through thorough hand washing and covering the mouth and nose when coughing and sneezing.
Steps to meet recession now in place - Esperon
Secretary Hermogenes Esperon Jr., chief of the Presidential Management Staff (PMS), reported the President's move in the face of the prediction of world bodies that the economy of the country would contract by one percent this year, resulting in recession or zero growth rate.
Esperon talked with newsmen Wednesday at Lenox Hotel in Dagupan City during a press conference put up by the Pangasiman Press Club.
The President ordered the front-loading of infrastructure development projects with a specific directive that all infrastructure programs must be bid out during the first semester of the current year, he disclosed.
He said that while the government undertook pump-priming and front-loading, it at the same time asked the private sector to contribute to what is called the stimulus fund of P100 billion on a 50-50 sharing basis with the government.
The CLEEP, he said, was meant to employ or re-employ those who had been laid off from jobs here and abroad when employers reduced their workers due to the heightening global economic crisis.
He told newsmen that all these strategies were designed specifically to push or get more investments into the country, among them business processing and outsourcing.
DFA assures safety of Filipinos in Iran
Most in the community are spouses and children of Filipino-Iranian marriages.
In a statement this morning, DFA Secretary Alberto Romulo said “the Philippine Embassy in Tehran is in touch with Filipinos in the area and is prepared to activate and carry out its contingency plan, if needed.”
The DFA did not indicate its contingencies, while no reaction to the statement has come yet from Iran's ambassador to Manila, Ali Mojitaba Rouzbehani.
He said that through a network of Filipino community organizations in the area, they were advised ”to take the necessary precautionary measures at home and at work to ensure that no harm will come their way…make themselves accessible at all times and to constantly coordinate with the Embassy to facilitate the exchange of information.”
Riots and protest demonstrations occur daily in Iran since official elections results were known around June 14, some of them leading to serious injuries and arrests. The incumbent conservative President Mahmoud Ahmadinejah is the reported winner over closest rival, former Prime Minister Mir-Hossein Mousavi.
The results are still contested by supporters of Mousavi, though the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Al-Khameini has reportedly leaned toward the incumbent President.
Of the elections, Romulo said “the Philippine Government is actively monitoring the ongoing political developments in Tehran and hopes that concerned parties would be able to explore ways towards a peaceful and amicable resolution to the crisis.
ISO certification puts PSALM at par with world-class corporations
The Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corporation (PSALM) marked another milestone in its young existence as it recently received ISO (International Organization for Standardization) certification for its business processes, which now adhere to internationally-recognized standards of management.
As a highlight of its eighth anniversary celebration, PSALM received the validation for its Quality Management System (QMS) from the Certification International Philippines Inc., the Corporation’s third party certifying body, after successfully meeting all the requirements for ISO certification.
The QMS broadly consists of a formalized system that documents the structure, responsibilities, and procedures required to achieve effective quality management. These include the objectives and processes of a company designed to focus on quality and customer satisfaction.
The ISO certification puts PSALM at par with world-class corporations, having raised the caliber of its business processes to an internationally-recognized standard and having firmed up its commitment to assure the world’s investment community and its stakeholders of the integrity and transparency of the government’s power privatization program.
“The ISO certification is a legacy that PSALM leaves to its employees,” said PSALM President and Chief Executive Officer Jose C. Ibazeta. “It not only boosts our stock as world-class workers, it also signifies that we can relate and work with similarly certified organizations.”
Aside from boosting the confidence and trust of investors and stakeholders to do business with PSALM, the ISO certification will result in increased savings for the Corporation as business processes are systematized and are repeated through time, according to Helen E. V. San Pedro, PSALM’s Quality Management Representative and manager of the Information Technology and Communication Department.
The impact of the ISO certification on PSALM’s operations would be in terms of reduced waste and fewer delays, increased employee and customer satisfaction, and continual improvement of the QMS, she said.
PSALM’s managers, for their part, will find it easier to run the Corporation as a system of interlinked processes where the employees will realize their relevance to the whole organization.
Management responsibility, Ms. San Pedro pointed out, is enshrined in the system with respect to the periodic review of the QMS. This will enable PSALM managers to regularly review the variances between the set business process and service delivery. Thus, they will be able to assess opportunities and address any need for change in meeting customer demands and requirements.
The QMS will also be able to show that corporate policies trickle down to the lowest employee level possible.
PSALM’s certification program, however, does not end with the attainment of the ISO 9001:2000 standard. Two more surveillance audits will be conducted in the next two years that will involve improvements in the ISO standard based on the new version, the ISO 9001:2008. This means that PSALM will have to undertake and accomplish a number of activities to bolster its current certificate.
