by magnolia_eic | Oct 29, 2010 | Foreign Exchange, Headlines, National News
BARELY a month after conducting a working visit to the United States, President Benigno
Aquino III left for his first state visit to Vietnam and for the Association of Southeast Asian
Nations (ASEAN) summit.
The President boarded Philippine Airlines flight PR591, which took off 7:20 a.m. Tuesday.
He was joined by a delegation of at least 52 people.
The Philippine government is set to sign four agreements with Vietnam on education
cooperation, defense cooperation, oil spill preparedness and response, and search and
rescue at sea.
After the state visit, Aquino will attend the 17th ASEAN summit on Octobe 28 to 30.
Aquino will also meet with Filipino and Vietnamese businessmen and with members of the
community of 3,500 Filipinos working in Vietnam.
At the ASEAN summit, the Philippine president is expected to talk about greater regional
cooperation and human rights, among others.
The President is scheduled to return to Manila on Sunday, October 31. (PIA)
by magnolia_eic | Oct 23, 2010 | Headlines, National News, Weather Coverage
ANG mga opisyal sa National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC)
nangandam na sa ilang mga contingency measures sa pag-abot sa usa na usab ka
posibleng bagyo nga ‘Katring’.
Sa usa ka radio interview, si NDRRMC executive director Benito Ramos ni ingon nga anaa
pa sila sa red alert status karon human sa pagbiya sa bagyong ‘Juan” ug nangandam sa
posibleng pag-abot ni ‘Katring’ sa mosunod nga mga adlaw.
Matud pa ni Ramos nga sa bagyong ‘Juan’, nakapangandam usab sila tungod sa padayong
pagpagawas og updates sa status niini sa Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and
Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) nga nakatabang usab og daku sa mga lokal
nga opisyal sa pagpangandam.
Kini usab nahimo tungod sa pagpalihok ni President Benigno Aquino III sa nagkalain-laing
ahensya sa kagamhanan sa pagpangandam sa pag-abot sa bagyong Juan.
Dugang pa ni Ramos nga gi alerto nila ang publiko 72 ka oras sa wala pa ni abot ang
bagyong Juan sa amihanang Luzon sayo ning semanaha. (PIA)
by magnolia_eic | Oct 15, 2010 | Headlines, National News
Malacañang wants an overhaul of the controversial Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) between the Philippines and the United States.
President Aquino has directed Justice Secretary Leila de Lima to take a look at the controversial agreement which is among the primary legal pretext for military exercises of local and American troops in the country.
Aquino agreed to a review of the agreement following renewed calls by some groups for its immediate abolition.
Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said the President has not yet made a decision whether the government would terminate the RP-US military deal pending the study being conducted by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).
For now, Lacierda said there are “no discussion on the abrogation” of the VFA as far as the Executive branch is concerned, although the DFA has recognized the benefits of having such military deal with the United States.
Lacierda said the President stands by his personal commitment made when he was a senator that VFA forged between Manila and Washington should be studied anew. He said then Senator Aquino signed a joint resolution calling for a review of such agreement. (PIA)
by magnolia_eic | Oct 8, 2010 | Headlines, National News
Nearly 7 out of 10 Filipinos gave President Benigno Aquino III a good starting score for his first 100 days in office despite a botched hostage crisis and the jueteng controversy, a survey conducted by the Philippine Information Agency (PIA) showed.
The Sept. 28-29 survey found 69 per cent of respondents across all geographical areas and sectors satisfied with the Aquino administration’s initial performance, against the 31 per cent dissatisfied.
President Aquino also scored high net satisfaction ratings (% satisfied less % dissatisfied) in 10 out of 15 issues tested in the survey.
The policy against the use of wang-wang or sirens on the road earned for President Aquino the highest satisfaction rating of +82. He was also rated highly for ensuring transparency (+74) and fighting graft and corruption (+52).
President Aquino gained a good rating of +34 both for reducing the budget deficit and investigating officials linked to anomalies, +28 for controlling dengue, while recording moderate ratings in the areas of jobs and livelihood (+14), education (+10), Cabinet appointments (+9), and public-private partnerships (+6).
About half of Filipinos rated the administration fairly for its efforts to alleviate poverty and control the spiraling prices of basic commodities.
On the other hand, only 17 per cent of respondents were satisfied with the government’s handling of the Manila hostage crisis last August 23 where eight Hong Kong tourists died and which made international news.
President Aquino also acquired poor ratings in curbing jueteng (-10) and in pursuing peace initiatives with secessionist and extremist groups (-14).
The same survey showed that Filipinos perceive President Aquino’s credibility and simple lifestyle, good governance and strong political will, and fight against graft and corruption as his strongest marks as a leader.
Sec. Sonny Coloma of the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) credited this to President Aquino’s unwavering commitment to good and honest leadership as embodied in his campaign slogan “Kung walang corrupt, walang mahirap.”
He added that President Aquino is focused on the work ahead and remains committed to eradicate corruption and alleviate poverty.
Meanwhile, respondents want the Aquino administration to focus on jobs and livelihood (78%), anti-corruption measures (63%), and quality education (59%) in the days ahead.
The PIA poll was fielded nationwide with 629 respondents coming from various sectors including elected and appointed government officials, business groups, religious leaders, uniformed men, laborers, and members of the media. (PIA)
by magnolia_eic | Oct 4, 2010 | Headlines, Health and Medicine, National News
PhilHealth Sabado (October 2, 2010) is the start of a continuing advocacy program to
increase awareness and knowledge of every Filipino on the importance of becoming a
PhilHealth member that will ensure access to quality health services to the member and his/
her dependents.
The program intends the registration of non-member informal sector under the individually
paying program (IPP). It also provides for an opportunity to automatically register and
distribute PhilHealth cards to about 800,000 indigents identified in the National Household
Targeting System (NHTS) of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).
The registration will be conducted in all the regional and service offices of PhilHealth, along
with DOH Centers for Health Development and DOH-retained hospitals nationwide.
PhilHealth Sabado fullfill universal health insurance coverage within three years as
promised in the first State of the Nation Address of President Benigno S. Aquino III. (PIA)
