PGMA to take up Climate Change in 15th ASEAN Summit in Thailand
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is expected to take up the effects of climate change at the 15th ASEAN Summit to be held on Oct.23 to
“Rest assured she will continue to champion the issue (on climate change) not only in the ASEAN but the rest of the world,” Press Secretary Cerge Remonde said in a press briefing in Malacanang today.
An ASEAN Declaration on Climate Change is among the three expected summit results.
The extreme weather conditions brought about by climate change was recently experienced in the country. Typhoons “Ondoy” and “Pepeng brought havoc to
According to Remonde, the President has always been a champion of the cause of climate change mitigation. That is understandable, he pointed out, since the country experiences about 20 typhoons a year.
In December last year, the President took over the Presidential Task Force on Climate Change so she can have a “hands-on approach in crafting and implementing initiatives for environmental security.”
And with the unexplained volume of rains that caused flooding in many parts of
The Climate Change Act of 2009 aims to make climate change a centerpiece of the government’s disaster preparedness program on the national and local levels.
PGMA orders repair of damaged dams
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has ordered the immediate repair of dams in Pangasinan damaged by typhoon “Pepeng.”
Press Secretary Cerge Remonde said in a press briefing the order was issued to Public Works Secretary Hermogenes Ebdane Tuesday after the President met with Pangasinan Governor Amado Espino and Rep. Mark Cojuangco.
Remonde said Malacañang also welcomes the Senate investigation on the opening of San Roque Dam’s spillgates amid the heavy rains and massive flooding triggered by Typhoon “Pepeng”.
“We are watching the probe. We will do anything and everything that is necessary to improve the disaster risk management system,” Remonde said.
“Our first response is to repair the dams,” he added.
Reports said residents affected by massive flooding due to the opening of the dam’s spillgates claimed that they were not properly informed by officials of the San Roque Dam that they were releasing water from the dam.
San Roque Dam officials, on the other hand, claimed the residents were warned of the scheduled release of water from the dam but refused to leave their homes.
“This has yet to be validated,” Remonde said adding that while the causes of the massive flooding in Pangasinan and Tarlac have yet to be determined, there is a need to improve the system.
PGMA leads strengthening of disaster management and preparedness
BARANGAY. SAN NICOLAS, Lubao, Pampanga -- President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo Tuesday night led 159 barangays in the second district of this province in strengthening disaster management and preparedness in the light of the damage wrought by typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng.
The 159 Bantay Bayan barangay officials attended a disaster management seminar under the Regional Disaster Coordinating Council (RDCC) to brace their respective communities against the onslaught of calamities.
President Arroyo attended the event with Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro and Interior and Local Government Secretary Ronaldo Puno. They were welcomed by Pampanga officials including Lubao Mayor Dennis Pineda, Guagua Mayor Ricardo Rivera, Porac Mayor Rogelio Santos, Sta. Rita Mayor Yolanda Pineda and Floridablanca Mayor Eddie Guerrero.
In a speech before local officials, Teodoro thanked President Arroyo for her outstanding leadership in mitigating the crisis wrought by typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng.
He said that coordination between the national government and local government units (LGUs) is vital in mitigating the problems relating to disasters.
The Defense Chief noted that it is very helpful for the national leadership to have organized Bantay Bayan.
Teodoro said Filipinos should always be ready to manage circumstances arising from disasters not only typhoons but also other calamities such as earthquakes and landslides, among others.
He praised Central Luzon Police Director Leonilo dela Cruz for immediately conducting a pre-emptive evacuation before the onslaught of typhoon Pepeng that helped minimize the damages in Pampanga.
Local governments, he added, should develop their capabilities in addressing disaster in their own communities because they are the first line of defense in saving lives and properties.
President Arroyo and Teodoro made a ceremonial distribution of 30 PhilHealth cards out of 2,390; 30 emergency kits out of 2,390 from the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO); and 30 Globe Satellite (G-SAT) subscriptions out of 2,449.
The President underscored the importance of a well-informed and disaster-prepared community since the country and the world is experiencing abnormal weather conditions brought about by climate change.
BSP revises forecasts on remittances, GIR, other economic indicators
BSP Governor Amando Tetangco Jr., in a press conference before the Philippine Economic Briefing at a Makati hotel Wednesday, said they now project remittances this year to grow by four percent from the previous projection of flat growth from the US$ 16.4 billion inflows in 2008. The 2010 projection is a six percent growth.
As of last July, remittances grew year-on-year by 3.8 percent proving its resiliency to the global crunch.
Also, monetary officials now project gross international reserves (GIR) to reach US$ 42-43 billion this year from the earlier projection of US$ 37.5-38.5 billion and by US$ 47 billion in end-2010.
The country's balance of payment (BOP) is now projected to reach US$ 4-5 billion this year and US-4 billion next year.
Tetangco said the country's BOP position resulted to better-than-expected surplus due to continued resiliency of remittances.
BOP is the sum of all economic transactions of an economy with the rest of the world.
On the other hand, exports is now projected to post bigger contraction of 20 percent from a negative growth of 13-15 percent previously while imports is now eyed at -17 percent from an earlier projected of a 8-12 percent contraction.
However, as signs of global recovery continue to show, the central bank project a seven-percent growth for exports next year while imports is projected to grow by 13 percent.
Tetangco said inflation expectations remain well anchored amid the possible faster rate of price increases due to the recent calamities.
He said they are maintaining their three percent and 3.4 percent average inflation forecast for this and next year but pointed out that “we will made necessary adjustments in case it needs to be adjusted.
“There is enough headroom in case there's going to be uptick in inflation but given what we have seen in terms of prices of commodities especially vegetable we have enough headroom relative to inflation target for 2009 to 2010,” he said.
Thus, any decision to change the current policy stance of the central bank is not needed, he said, as “inflation outlook continues to be favorable.”
“The condition on the demand side credit activity as well as what we see in real sector together with the favorable inflation outlook give us room to maintain our stance in monetary policy,” he added.
RP stronger because of fiscal reforms, prudent banking practices--PGMA
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on Wednesday morning told local and international investors the
Speaking at the 2009 Philippine mid-year economic briefing at the Makati Shangrila Hotel, the President traced the country’s stronger and stable economy to fiscal reforms, prudent banking practices, and sound macroeconomic fundamentals.
“Because of the bitter medicine of fiscal reform that we took years ago and the economic resilience that it has in turn created, we are today a stronger, more robust nation. We are poised to ride the wave of the impending global economic rebound and to offer investors an opportunity to capture the growth prospects that come with it,” the President said.
With strong Investor appetite for Asian equities, the Philippine Stock Exchange posted a 48 percent rise and foreign direct investment (FDI) saw a double digit increase so far this year.
The President said much have been achieved in the areas of infrastructure investment, job creation and macroeconomic stability that have helped the Philippines withstand external shocks and even sustain positive economic growth throughout the global recession. The
She said international rating agencies such as Moody’s Investors Service and multilateral financing institutions (MFIs) such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank (WB) have also maintained their positive outlook on the country’s economic growth for this year and 2010.
The President, however, cautioned much remains to be done to build a strong middle-class and ensure the country’s long-term economic prosperity.
“Our goal is to reduce the debt-to-GDP ratio (or the country’s ability to settle its debts) so we can stop wasting our resources on debt servicing, and to maintain higher spending for infrastructure and human capital as we have done before and during the global food, economic, and now climate change crisis. Having the ability to invest is a gift that we must not squander. Having money to provide a safety net to our poor, invest in our children’s future, and lay the groundwork for long term prosperity must be sustained in the years to come,” she said.
The President stressed her administration has laid the groundwork that generated the country’s fastest growth in 30 years; created 8 million jobs; and the highest level of revenues in decades.
The President said the Philippines has become one of the world’s most competitive locations for business process outsourcing (BPO), an industry that today employs over 400,000 workers compared to only
The President added strong investments and various reforms have produced highly skilled and world-class workers that give the country one of the best value-for-investment propositions among emerging markets.
“This Administration has delivered over the last eight years. I am hopeful that our economic progress will be sustained, and that the
Meanwhile, Bangko Sentral Governor Amando Tetangco Jr. said the
Tetangco said the banking system remains stable, with a manageable external debt of $51.8 billion as of June 2009, down 5.4 percent from the year ago level.
Tetangco said FDI is projected at $1.5 billion; and gross international reserves (GIR), excluding short-term liabilities, at between $42 billion and 43 billion or the equivalent of seven months’ worth of imports. Remittances from overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) is expected to exceed last year's level by three percent.
Tetangco said the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has also allocated P5 billion in special rediscounting loans for typhoon-affected micro-, small-, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs).
Tetangco said government will push domestic demand and consumption as the key economic driver in the short term.
5,000 nurses deployed in public schools for health education program
Lapus said these nurses, in promoting the school health program, will give emphasis on personal hygiene, proper hand washing, tooth brushing, eating of balance diets/proper nutrition and environmental sanitation.
As provided in the millennium development goals, Lapus expressed belief that improving health and nutrition services in schools is key to the attainment of the DepEd’s goal of making quality education accessible to all Filipinos.
“These new nurses will surely bring us closer to our goal of providing our public schools access to basic health care,” Lapus said.
The education chief said the DepEd has developed the modules for the use of these nurses participating in the program called Project: Nurses Assigned in Rural Service (Project NARS).
Lapus said the training will provide the nurses with competencies that will make them “warrior of wellness” within the school population, primary health care, school nutrition, infection control, first line diagnosis, immunization and health education, etc.
“These nurses will conduct school visitations and provide preventive and remedial measures for simple and common ailments among the school population,” he added.
Other tasks include providing individual health and nutrition assessment/examination, deworming activities and rendering first aid treatment. They are also slated to conduct screening procedures like vision test and hearing test.
School children, parents and teachers will benefit from the project as nurses will help in the information campaign in schools on the prevention of influenza A(H1N1) and other emerging diseases.
Project NARS is a training-cum-employment program implemented by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), the Department of Health (DOH) and the Professional Regulation Commission, Board of Nursing (PRC-BON).
Such program will also create a pool of nurses trained to respond to the needs of schools at the same time raising their employability both in local and foreign markets. (PNA)
