by anyajulia | Jun 23, 2009 | Foreign Exchange, Headlines, National News
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo signed two Official Development Assistance (ODA) loan packages worth 456 million dollars that creates 53,000 new jobs during her visit to Japan on June 17-20.
In a media interview at the Imperial Hotel here, Department of Finance (DOF) Secretary Margarito Teves said the new soft loan packages would be sourced from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) with the Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP) and the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) as conduits.
Teves said the yen loan packages are the 148-million dollars (Y14.6 billion) Agricultural Credit Support Project (ACSP) to be executed by LandBank, and the 308-million dollars (Y30.38 billion) Logistics Infrastructure Development Project (LIDP) to be executed by DBP.
The two ODA loans to be implemented from 2009-2014 have a maturity of 30 years, inclusive of a 10-year grace period at 1.4 percent interest per annum.
DOF Undersecretary for International Finance Rosalia de Leon said that the said loan agreements were signed on June 18 between Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo and his counterpart Japan Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone after the President’s bilateral meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso at the Kantei (Prime Minister’s Office) here.
De Leon said the Agricultural Credit Support Project (ACSP) would make available short, medium and long-term funds to address the credit needs of key agribusiness players.
In its first five years of implementation, ACSP is expected to benefit 43,000 farmers and fishers, 220 small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and 30 large agribusinesses.
De Leon said ACSP would also help finance some 43,250 sub-projects and create about 53,230 new jobs.
On the other hand, the Logistics Infrastructure Development Project (LIDP) is an investment financing facility that can be accessed by private corporations, government-owned and controlled corporations (GOCCs) and local government units (LGUs) to finance infrastructure and support systems for the Strong Republic Nautical Highway, particularly access/toll roads, bulk grains highway, and cold chain highway.
Teves said the soft loan packages come from the multi-billion-dollar facility Japan has committed to help developing countries in Asia cope with the effects of the global financial crisis.
On top of the JICA loan, Teves added, the government will secure a 500-million dollars additional ODA from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to help bridge the government’s budget deficit this year. (PIA Bohol)
by anyajulia | Jun 23, 2009 | Headlines, National News
The strength of the communist New People’s Army (NPA) has been reduced drastically by more than 30 percent since President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo ordered the military to defeat the country’s four-decade old insurgency problem three years ago.
Figures culled from the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) indicated that at least 2,296 insurgents have been neutralized from 2006 up to May this year, bringing down the current rebels’ strength to just about 4,874 from 7,170 in 2006.
The neutralization of the 2,296 rebels was by way of killing, surrender or capture, the military data indicated.
The current NPA strength is the lowest since the 1980s when the communist movement reached its peak strength of more than 24,000. Also, the number of communist guerrilla fronts is now down to 75 from 100 in 2006.
In 2006, amid the series of attacks that were launched by the insurgents in the countryside, President Arroyo directed the AFP to end the insurgency problem before her term ends in 2010.
Peace talks between the government and the communists bogged down in 2004 after the communist-led National Democratic Front (NDF) left the negotiating table to protest the inclusion of the NPA and its political wing -– the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) -– in the list of foreign terrorist organizations.
AFP deputy chief of staff for operations Maj. Gen. Carlos Holganza said AFP chief Gen. Victor Ibrado has ordered the pouring of more resources to the field to meet the deadline imposed by the President on the security agencies.
“General Ibrado ordered to prioritize support and focus resources on target goals and provide appropriate support to the field units to make sure they have what they need to finish the job,” said Holganza.
Nevertheless, Holganza said the AFP chief also reminded the troops that they should be respecting the rights of the people while engaged in the anti-insurgency campaign.
“General Ibrado also reiterated previous policy guidelines to include respect for human rights and strict adherence to the principle of command responsibility,” said Holganza.
He added that Ibrado is very confident that they can further reduce the strength of the NPA into an inconsequential level.
“The one who will win this war is the one who gets the support of the people; we have a task to perform, a deadline to meet and a challenge to surpass, we cannot postpone this opportunity to finish the insurgency problem any longer so that we can all move forward and give our fellow Filipinos the environment conducive to progress and prosperity,” Holganza stressed.
Holganza said they are aiming to dismantle at least 54 guerrilla fronts during the rest of the year, an objective which, he added, is attainable. He noted that ground commanders are very optimistic on the attainment of the set goals.
The official also said the military is aiming to make certain adjustments to ensure that the mission to defeat the insurgency problem is met.
“Among the guidance which were put forward by the chief of staff is the synergy with the forces within the Team AFP, meaning to say we have a lot of forces which are not right now optimized for use in the ISO (internal security operations),” Holganza said.
“For example, our garisson duty personnel in the Navy, Air Force and Army, we will be making use of them. We will be making use of our allies in the Philippine National Police (PNP). We are going to work on the other stakeholders, knowing for a fact that insurgency is not a military problem alone,” he added.
“We want to have a holistic approach to this; then we are going to enlist the help of our civilian stakeholders not just in the government but also in the private sector. We are doing a lot of creative work right now insofar as getting more and more people on board in our fight against insurgency,” he said.
Despite the continuing downtrend of the NPA strength, Holganza said the military still considers the communist movement as the country’s No. 1 security threat, above the Abu Sayyaf Group, the rogue Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) rebels, among other threat groups.
“We still believe that the main threat really is still the communist terrorist movement because the threat that they pose is nationwide. So, that is still our focus up to now,” he said.
Holganza said the military cannot actually reduce the NPA at a zero strength. He stressed that the military mission is to reduce them into a smallest group as possible that they will turn to be a mere police problem.
“We really cannot eradicate insurgency totally. Our task really is to reduce the insurgency to an inconsequential level. You know, where the are problems of poverty, and the like, there will always be cause for such unrest, for such (insurgency),” said Holganza.
“You really cannot totally eliminate that but what we can do is to reduce them, to reduce them to a level wherein they are no longer a national security concern. We want to decrease them to a level where they are simply what we can call threats to development, not threats to national security, meaning they will no longer be a big enough problem to really threaten our national patrimony,” he added.
On the part of Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr., he said he and President Arroyo are happy with the accomplishment of the military against the insurgents.
“No one is more satisfied than me and the President. They have done so much with so little. You go and ask every expert in the Armed Forces and they will tell how amazed they are how we are accomplishing our mission,” said Teodoro.
The Defense chief noted that the military is scoring the feats against the rebels even as if they are addressing other threat groups such as the Abu Sayyaf and the rogue MILF rebels and are also involved in disaster response and relief operations.
“We are attending four fronts -– the CPP/NPA, rogue MILF and the Abu Sayyaf and natural disasters and calamities. We are addressing these at the same time. The mere fact that the country’s security situation is still stable, this is already a big accomplishment by our military and the police,” said Teodoro.
He also said that he is in favor of resuming talks with the communists provided that the agenda will be the discussion on their surrender and nothing more.
“To me, let’s see what are the things that would be discussed and if it’s their surrender to government and laying down their arms, let’s see the condition, I am not averse to the talks. But if we are going to be compelled to stop our efforts against criminality in the country, we can’t agree to that,” said Teodoro (PNA)
by anyajulia | Jun 23, 2009 | Headlines, Local News / Bohol Balita
THE national government through the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) formally opened the gate valves of development to six barangays of Catigbian town as the recent beneficiaries of the prime social justice programs support services as its birthday gift.
DAR, through Provincial Agrarian Reform Officer (PARO) Johnson Sinco with Catigbian Local Officials led by Mayor Roberto Salinas and guests launched new agrarian reform communities in Cambailan, Hagbuaya, Bagtic, Bongbong, Mahayag Norte and Mahayag Sur or (CHABBMANS) with accompanying site visits June 17, in time for the town’s diamond jubilee.
The new agrarian reform communities would allow the people to get more livelihood support through related agri-based enterprises, says Catigbain Agrarian Reform Officer Laura Lacea.
Elated over the development, Mayor Salinas said “People living in these areas longed for this program because they have seen and even indirectly benefited from the projects and programs now experienced by the people of ARC Mantacida and LHAMP KPT ARBS.
The six barangays complete Catigbain’s list of beneficiaries who have received different interventions both directly and indirectly by the support services brought by the project.
According to Lacea, the interventions are aimed to increase farm production, improve household income and promote sustainable development.
In his message delivered during the follow-on program held at the Catigbian Sports Oval, PARO Sinco hailed the physical transformation of the town, which run parallel to the efforts of the DAR in helping farm communities families attain better lives.
“Improvements here are incomparable because you have leaders like Mayor Roberto Salinas,” Atty Sinco bared as he italicized that the first wealth of the town is its leaders.
He also said that “only with strong leadership can you have projects like DAR implements because you are assured of people who will work even beyond their official time.”
He added that it is also true to the whole of Bohol where local government officials led by Governor Erico Aumentado and Congressional representatives Chatto, Cajes and Jala never stopped until Bohol got into the list.
He shared that Bohol was not supposed to benefit from the Agrarian Reform Community Development Projects 2, but with the incessant egging of the local leaders, ARCDP 2 concluded with Bohol having 13 town beneficiaries and only Guindulman dropping out.
As ARCDP 2 expired, Sinco also declared Catigbian as part of the ABCD beneficiaries of Bohol’s Agrarian Reform Infrastructure Project 3. (ARISP 3)
ARISP 3 beneficiaries are Alicia, Balilihan, Catigbain and Danao. (PIA)
by anyajulia | Jun 23, 2009 | Headlines, Local News / Bohol Balita
CATIGBIAN showed a masterful stroke to cap the three-day Katigbawan Festival and Diamond Jubilee festivities with its Street-dancing and Exhibition and Fireworks Display its people wanting for more.
In most celebrations where activities were clocked to the hour, people would usually feel the strain and the fun would subside naturally after the three-day adrenaline scrapes rock bottom; not for Catigbianons.
Still agog and not willing to leave the town Sports Oval after the last remnants of the fireworks display glowed to ember, people lingered, congratulating each other and drumbeats refused to stop.
The ten-minute fireworks display came after the Katigbawan Street Dancing and Exhibition Judge Mariquit Oppus announced the winners and the dancing contingents jumped in jubilation.
Streetdancing committee chairman Councilor Mariano Maglahus Jr. said this year was a great improvement form last year’s festival as they accepted 9 competition contingents and an overwhelming 17 streetdancing groups from the towns barangays, guest performers and supportive groups.
We put up a minimum of 50 to a maximum of 75 dancers and 15 instrumentalists for each secondary school dancing contingent and 30 to 60 in the elementary, he added
Defending Champion Catigbian National High School contingent bowed this time to the perfect execution of routines and innovative rendition of the ritual from the town’s Immaculate Mary Academy for the High School category.
IMA romped with P25T cash prize and trophies while CNHS got P10 for the high school category.
Catigbian West Central Elementary School, bearing Tribu Dagook too romped with the top prize of P10T and major awards for the elementary category as Hagbuaya Elementary’s Tribu Kanggawong settled for next spot winning P7T cash and trophy.
The town popped as Bohol’s center of attention when its drum-beating Katigbawan Festival directed people from practically all walks of life convinced they would be in for a surprise coming to the town center to join the celebrations.
The town has seen its most rapid growth in the past years, a fact most people would credit to the local leadership.
I don’t want to singularly take the credit because honestly, it is the whole performance team’s effort and our unity and cooperation has translated to the benefit of our people, Mayor Salinas candidly admits.
He said they wanted a true identity for the town and envisioned the Katigbawan Festival as a real showcase the true Catigbian and its people and work from there.
Working from there for him means finding alternative channels for people development like agro and eco-tourism.
He said Katigbawan is festival of rooting the people’s identity and comes from katigbi: a grass specie abundantly teeming in the town’s open fields. Katigbawan is also has Tigbaw native name for caves and Kabawan, a local term for livestock auction focused on large livestock.
In getting its identity now, Catigbian boasts of the biggest and most modern Livestock Auction Center in the Visayas, a drafted eco and agro tourism program to start as many job opportunities for the empowered people here.
Recently the town leaders have aggressively lobbied for support from government and private sector stakeholders to cooperatively approach development blue print and plant the pillars.
But first we have to tell the people about the town, its people and its traditions, thus the street-dancing and exhibition, Salinas said. (PIA)
by anyajulia | Jun 23, 2009 | Headlines, Local News / Bohol Balita
INTERIOR and Local Government Secretary Ronaldo Puno hailed local government initiatives here and candidly admitted Bohol should teach the department about how it is done in Bohol.
In his visit to witness the signing of pledge of commitment between the Republic of the Philippines through the DILG, Bohol Provincial Government and the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), Sec. Puno said he pays tribute to Bohol for dramatically moving from rock bottom to halfway to the richest of the provinces.
He called the LGSP LED as essentially what the department is teaching the Filipinos after the government ahs put up the institutional reforms to capacitate local governments of their devolved powers and their inherent corporate powers according to the local government code.
The LGSP LED in would be implemented in the Bohol Integrated Area Development Cluster 5 and would be piloted for interior towns in enhancing governance and stakeholder capacity and in local agri-eco-tourism development.
Over this, he thanks the CIDA for believing and recognizing the promise of Bohol.
Admitting as a hardcore local government empowerment advocate himself, he told the members of the Provincial Development Council. Peace and Order Council, Sangguniang Panlalawigan, League of Municipalities of the Philippines, Vice Mayor’s League Bohol Chapter and Association of Barangay Councils on a joint meeting that he had goose-bumps when he heard local leaders addressing in the parlance of professionals relishing the full empowered language of the local government’s corporate entity.
At the packed Dagohoy Hall of the Bohol Tropics Resort, Sec. Puno also noticed that Bohol has really gone so much since the enactment of the local government code.
He heaped praises for Bohol and capped it by urging local officials to make the national government realize that development must really start at the local levels.
For Boholanos, he said “whatever you are doing, keep doing it because it is working. (PIA)
