by magnolia_eic | Sep 29, 2010 | Headlines, National News
PRESIDENT Benigno S. Aquino III arrived early Tuesday morning from his successful week-long trip to the United States which, he said, had garnered for the country $2.4-billion in new investments.
In his arrival speech at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Centennial Terminal II, the Chief Executive said officials of top firms from the US, Malaysia and Singapore had expressed their intentions of expanding relations between our countries by pouring more of their respective investments here.
The President noted that company officials wanted to expand their scope of operations in the country due to the renewed vigor and confidence of the Philippines under his administration.
“In the last week during our visit to the United States, we were able to send our message across: the Philippines is open for business,” the President said after deplaning from his commercial flight from San Franciso, USA at around 4 a.m.
President Aquino also said that officials of top US companies Coca-Cola, Pfizer, AES, Hewlett-Packard, JP Morgan Chase, Sutherland Global Services, Inc., Century Properties, General Electric, Headstrong Corporation, SPI Global and Affinity Express have also expressed their desire to open and expand their operations in the country covering a “wide range of sectors such as power generation and consumer products, business and knowledge process outsourcing, healthcare and garments and leather goods.”
“We were able to secure a commitment of at least 43,615 new jobs in the next three years including some 4,500 in construction related jobs and because of the multiplier effect, we estimate some 200,000 more jobs to benefit our countrymen,” he added.
“AES, a global power company, will expand the capacity of the Masinloc power plant by up to 660 megawatts with a project cost of $1-billion,” the President stressed.
“Coca-Cola will invest another billion dollars in their upgrading and replacement of equipment and creation of new products and processes, while the other companies are investing another $400-million,” he said.
According to the President, his visit to the United States “enabled us to generate $2.4-billion in new investments.”
“Furthermore, we received an additional $434-million in the form of a grant from the Millennium Challenge Corporation to expand the coverage of existing social programs that have been performing outstandingly,” he said.
He called on all Filipinos, especially those who continue to criticize his government to put aside their rantings and join him and his government’s advocacy to lift the lives of the citizenry through hard work and perseverance. (PCOO/PIA)
by magnolia_eic | Sep 29, 2010 | Headlines, National News
The legal team tasked by President Benigno S. Aquino III to review the recommendations of the Incident Investigation Review Committee (IIRC) on the Aug. 23 hostage tragedy is now ready to submit its own evaluation of the report.
In an interview Tuesday afternoon, Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said the legal team, composed of Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa, Jr. and Chief Presidential Legal Counsel (CPLC) Eduardo De Mesa, is also ready to make its own recommendation to the President.
In a separate interview, Secretary Ochoa declined to discuss the content of the review particularly on the administrative and criminal charges to be filed against 10 personalities and three media networks.
“Let’s not discuss it yet because we might preempt the President,” said Ochoa.
The Executive Secretary said included in their report is the “factual scenario” of the incident.
“We’re prepared for whatever questions we anticipate the President might be asking about the report,” Ochoa said.
Ochoa said that the review of the IIRC recommendations was meant to help President Aquino understand the legal nuances of the report so he can arrive at “legally sound decisions”.
Before leaving for a seven-day official business trip to the United States, the President directed his legal team last week to study the IIRC’s recommendations which identified some government officials and private individuals who could face sanctions in connection with the bloody incident. (PCOO/PIA)
by magnolia_eic | Sep 28, 2010 | Headlines, National News
AFTER a long delay, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) has finally gave the go signal for the printing of voters’ identification (ID) cards for over 34 million voters nationwide.
In a resolution, the Commission approved the request for printing of voters’ ID cards after ensuring that the voters’ records have been cleansed of multiple registrants.
Comelec Directors Teopisto Elnas (Operations) and Ester Villaflor-Roxas (Technical Matters) have reported that more than 35 million voters have already undergone the processing via the Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS).
According to Elnas and Villaflor-Roxas, the procedure enabled the poll body to identify and remove from the list hundreds of thousands of multiple registrants.
They added that out of 35 million records processed, 738,640 records were found to be true and these records were already forwarded to the field offices for deletion. (PIA)
by magnolia_eic | Sep 27, 2010 | Headlines, National News
Manila, Philippines — An estimated 35 people were hurt as an explosion marred the last day of the Bar examinations at the De la Salle University (DLSU) on Taft Avenue, Manila yesterday afternoon.
The victims were taken to the different hospitals in manila. Their names were not immediately available. Manila Police District (MPD) investigator PO3 Clarmen Dimatulac said the incident created panic as hundreds of students scampered away from the scene.
Dimatulac mentioned that they were investigating whether a pillbox was thrown into the crowd by unidentified persons or fireworks that caused the explosion in front of the DLSU.
Early reports at the NCR Police Office said the incident stemmed from a conflict between the Tau Gamma Phi and the Alpha Phi Omega fraternities. Other reports said there were supporters of examinees that used fireworks.
Police have been given orders to investigate and gather evidence from the victims to determine the cause of the explosion. The incident happened at the end of the last day of Bar Examinations were 5,012 law graduates took.
Click here for full article from Philippine Star
by magnolia_eic | Sep 26, 2010 | Headlines, National News
The United States on Thursday granted the Philippines some $434 million to help build roads and carry out other projects aimed at reducing poverty and fighting corruption.
The money was awarded under the US-run Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) that helps developing countries reduce their levels of poverty as long as they meet performance criteria on the rule of law and democratic principles.
Present for the signing was US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Philippine President Benigno Aquino III.
The grant is intended to be used for a road project in Samar province, curb corruption through the modernization program of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), and the Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan-Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services (Kalahi-CIDSS) Project of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).
The MCC, an independent United States aid agency, gives five-year compact grants for countries that pass MCC’s eligibility criteria in poverty alleviation, and threshold grants which are smaller grants awarded to countries that come close to passing these criteria and are firmly committed to improving their policy performance.
In 2006, the MCC also awarded the Philippines a $21-million threshold grant to eradicate corruption and attract international investments through the Millennium Challenge Account Threshold Program. (PIA)
by magnolia_eic | Sep 26, 2010 | Headlines, National News
The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) on Thursday assured that employment opportunities are brighter for jobseekers with the coming holiday season.
Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz said various industries are expected to hire more workers in the last three months of the year as commercial establishments nationwide prepare for Christmas.
Even poor but deserving students who are on Christmas vacation can work temporarily in various business firms and government offices nationwide as provided under the Special Program for Employment of Students (SPES).
Employers will pay 60 percent of the students’ minimum wage while the government would shoulder the remaining 40 percent. The working students are also entitled to other benefits and privileges under the Labor Code.
Republic Act 9547 or the SPES Amendatory Law was passed last year to encourage employers engaged in small and medium enterprises to hire poor but deserving students so they will have the opportunity to earn more during vacation. (PIA)
