by magnolia_eic | Nov 3, 2010 | Headlines, National News
President Benigno Simeon Aquino III brought home a P21 billion infrastructure assistance
package and reinvigorated diplomatic ties with other countries in the Asia-Pacific region.
The President returned home Sunday evening from a successful state visit to the Socialist
Republic of Vietnam where he also attended the 17th Association of Southeast Asian Nations
(ASEAN) Summit and other related meetings.
In an interview, Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Office
(PCDSPO) Secretary Ramon Carandang, described the President’s Vietnam trip as “very good”.
Carandang said that aside from the President’s state visit to Vietnam and his attendance of the
17th ASEAN Summit, President Aquino had bilateral meetings with the leaders of Thailand,
Myanmar, South Korea, Japan, New Zealand and Australia.
Carandang said that Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan has approved the P21-billion fund that
will be used in Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) road projects.
President Aquino also took the opportunity to invite Brunei and South Korea to participate in the
Public-Private Partnership conference to be held in the Philippines from November 18 to 19.
The visit was also a chance for the Philippines to raise concerns on several regional issues.
The President strengthened ties with other world leaders and expressed the concerns of the
country on regional issues like the South China Sea, regional disaster management, reforms in
Myanmar and the weakening US dollar.
The President likewise pushed for a diplomatic resolution of the Spratlys territorial dispute where
the Philippines claims some of the islands as its own and called for the immediate release of
detained Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
President Aquino said he also expressed support for the proposal of Thailand to have more
frequent talks among ASEAN central bankers and finance ministers to address capital inflows
that have strengthened currencies and weakened exports.
During his state visit, the President witnessed the signing of four agreements between
the Philippines and Vietnam, particularly on academic and defense cooperation, oil spill
preparedness and response, and rescue operations at sea. (PCOO)
by magnolia_eic | Oct 29, 2010 | Headlines, National News
NIABOT na sa 19,000 barangay sa tibuok nasud ang nakapag-proklama na sa mga nidaug
sa barangay ug Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) eleksiyon.
Matud pa ni Divina Blas-Perez, Director sa Election and Barangay Affairs Department sa
Commission on Elections, 18,926 o 45.6 percent sa tibuok 42,025 ka barangay sa tibuok
nasud ang may bag-ong set sa mga chairman, kagawad ug SK officials.
Niadtong Martes, diha na’y 2,303 ang nipahigayon ug piniliay human gi-oktaba ang botohan
niadtong Lunes tungod sa aberya sa delivery sa mga election materials samtang niadtong
Miyerkoles, diha na’y 117 ka barangay ang nipahigayon ug eleksiyon.
Wala hinuon nakapagawas ang Co-melec sa gidaghanon sa mga botanteng niapil sa piniliay
tungod kay kinahanglan pa nilang humanon una ang tanang botohan. (PIA)
by magnolia_eic | Oct 29, 2010 | Headlines, National News
last month’s bar exam blast along Taft Avenue, Manila.
Presidential Spokesperson Atty. Edwin Lacierda issued the assurance in response to
speculations that suspected grenade thrower Anthony Leal Nepomuceno might get special
treatment after surrendering to Vice President Jejomar Binay. Both Binay and Nepomuceno
are members of Alpha Phi Omega (APO).
“Definitely, there will be no special treatment. Again, the only request of the suspect was that
his rights be respected,” Lacierda said during press briefing on Wednesday afternoon.
The same stand was also echoed by Justice Secretary Leila De Lima during a press
conference where the suspect was presented.
Nepomuceno, a call center agent and member of APO fraternity, was turned over by the
fraternity’s councils of elders after surrendering to Binay, thirty days after the 2010 bar
examinations blast.
Lacierda said they welcome the surrender of the suspect particularly the successful
intervention of the Vice President. He said the surrender will serve as signal for the Justice
Department to start the prosecution and give justice to the victims. (PCOO/PIA)
by magnolia_eic | Oct 29, 2010 | Headlines, National News
THE House of Representatives will conduct its own investigation on the delays in the
deliveries of poll materials, which led to the postponement of the Barangay and Sangguinang
Kabataan elections in certain areas.
Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. has given the go-signal to the committee on suffrage and
electoral reforms to conduct a hearing on November 9 at 9:30 a.m., a day after Congress
resumes session, to find out what happened in the recently-held local polls, according to
Cavite Representative Elpidio Barzaga Jr., chairman of the committee.
Among those to be invited are officials of the Comelec headed by chairman Jose Melo,
officials of the National Printing Office, and the Department of Interior and Local Government.
More than 2,400 barangays or 5.85 percent of the total number of more than 42,000
barangays were not able to push through with the village polls last Monday after reported
delays of election materials.
To recall, some members of the House of Representatives proposed that the barangay polls
be moved to a later date, but this proposal was later shelved by allies of President Benigno
Aquino III. (PIA)
by magnolia_eic | Oct 29, 2010 | Foreign Exchange, Headlines, National News
President Benigno S. Aquino III hopes to attract more Vietnamese investors to fuel their
capital to the Philippines after his two-day state visit here.
In a press conference, the Chief Executive cited a Vietnamese business process outsourcing
(BPO) firm for “leading the way” by putting up a shop in the Philippines, saying this would
further strengthen the relations between the two countries.
“There is a Vietnamese BPO company that I understand is already setting up in the country.
It’s small but this will enhance the trade between our countries,” the President said.
In a separate interview, Secretary Ramon Carandang of the Presidential Communications
Development and Strategic Planning Office noted that “the Philippines rice from Vietnam.”
Philippine Ambassador to Vietnam Jerril Santos said that a total of $308.97-million has been
poured into the country by companies from the Philippines, making RP the fourth top ASEAN
investor in Vietnam. These include investments in agriculture and information technology.
President Aquino expressed hope that with his visit here, more Vietnamese businessmen will
be enticed to invest in the Philippines. (PCOO/PIA)
by magnolia_eic | Oct 29, 2010 | Foreign Exchange, Headlines, National News
President Benigno S. Aquino III proposed the holding of more cultural exchanges between
the Philippines and Vietnam to commemorate the 35th anniversary of the establishment of
diplomatic ties between the two countries next year.
In a toast at the state banquet hosted by President Nguyen Minh Triet at the government
guesthouse here Tuesday evening, President Aquino assured his Vietnamese counterpart
that relations between the two countries will continue to prosper under his administration.
The President expressed great satisfaction with the signing of four agreements between the
Philippines and Vietnam which will strengthen cooperation in higher education, defense and
maritime affairs. He said the mutual commitment of both countries to find additional areas of
cooperation will benefit the Filipino and Vietnamese peoples.
Triet in turn, expressed his gratitude for the strong support given by the Philippines during it’s
chairmanship of the ASEAN, and reiterated his confidence that the Philippines will make even
bigger progress under President Aquino’s leadership.
Vietnam has been a strategic partner of the country for the past 34 years after the
establishment of bilateral ties between the two nations in 1976.
Since then, relations between the two countries have consistently grown to encompass not
just politics, but more importantly, trade and investments, education, defense, fisheries,
maritime and ocean affairs, and environmental concerns, among others. (PCOO/PIA)
