• President Aquino’s top priority is the welfare of the Filipino people, says Palace official
• Palace optimistic on orderly conduct of May 9 elections
• President Aquino reported how ‘Daang Matuwid’ works
• Philippines not pressuring China over arbitration of maritime disputes, says Palace official

Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. made the assurance in reaction to the statement of Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (BAYAN) criticizing President Aquino for joining the campaign sorties of Liberal Party (LP) candidates instead of attending to the problems in the country such as the drought brought about by the El Nino weather phenomenon.

“Sa lahat ng pagkakataon ang pangunahing prayoridad ni Pangulong Aquino ay ang masinsing pagtutok sa lahat ng kaganapang may kinalaman sa pambansang interes at ang pagtataguyod ng kabutihan ng aming mga boss: ang sambayanang Pilipino,” said Coloma during an interview over Radyo ng Bayan on Sunday.

Coloma said that the President is closely monitoring the implementation of programs to lessen the impact of El Nino aside from important matters like national security and the conduct of an orderly election next month.

“Mahigpit niyang sinusubaybayan ang pagpapatupad sa mga programa at proyektong isinasagawa ng Gabinete na nakapaloob sa ipinaiiral na Road Map to Address the Impact of El Niño o RAIN. Bukod dito ay tinututukan din ng Pangulo ang iba pang mga mahahalagang kaganapan na mayroong malaking impact o epekto sa buhay ng ating mga mamamayan — iyong sa kabuhayan, iyong sa pambansang seguridad, sa pakikipag-ugnayan natin sa iba’t ibang bansa at sa pagtitiyak na magkaroon tayo ng maayos na halalan,” said the Palace official.

“Kung sa partikular na aspeto ng El Niño, mayroong ipinapatupad ang Gabinete na Road Map to Address the Impact of El Niño o RAIN at sakop nito ang lahat ng aspeto pati ‘yung pagtulong sa mga magsasaka ng Department of Agriculture, ‘yung pagtiyak sa kasapatan ng safe drinking water na isinasagawa ng Department of Health, iyon namang DTI (Department of Industry) ay tinututukan ‘yung maayos na suplay at distribution ng mga pagkain. Samantalang ang DSWD (Department of Social Welfare and Development) naman ay patuloy na namamahagi ng family food packs at nagpapatupad ng cash-for-work na program para sa kapakanan ng mga pamilyang lubhang apektado ng El Niño. Tumutulong din diyan ang DOLE (Department of Labor and Employment), NIA (National Irrigation Administration), at TESDA (Technical Education and Skills Development Authority),” explained Coloma.

As for President Aquino’s participation in LP’s campaign sorties, Coloma said the President believes that it is his responsibility to make sure that the programs under Daang Matuwid will continue.

“Hinggil naman sa paglahok ng Pangulo sa kampanya, matibay ang paniniwala ni Pangulong Aquino na responsibilidad niya na siguruhing maipagpapatuloy ang mga reporma’t programang pangkaunlarang ating tinatamasa sa pamamagitan ng pagkampanya sa mga kandidatong magsasabuhay sa prinsipyo ng Daang Matuwid,” said Coloma.

“Kaya’t ito ay nasa tamang perspektibo lamang. Patuloy pa ring ginagampanan ni Pangulo ang kanyang mahalagang tungkulin. Binibigyang-diin ng Pangulo sa kanyang pagiikot sa lalawigan ‘yung kahalagahan na agad na matugunan at mabigyan ng solusyon ang pang-araw-araw na pangangailangan ng ating mga mamamayan,” Coloma further said. PND (jm)

Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) is doing its best to ensure the integrity of the automated voting system which will be used in the May 9 polls.

“Tungkulin ng Commission on Elections (COMELEC) na tiyakin ang integridad at kaayusan ng darating na halalan. Tiwala ang pamahalaan na isinasagawa ng COMELEC ang mga nararapat na hakbang upang higit pang maging matibay ang integridad ng automated election system na gagamitin sa pambansang eleksyon sa ika-siyam ng Mayo,” said Coloma in an interview over Radyo ng Bayan.

The COMELEC has conducted mock elections last Saturday to test the transmission of the votes from the polling precincts to the canvassing centers. While the election said it has reached its 100 % tranmission target during the trial run, there were reports of communication problems due to poor signal reception.

The glitches during the mock elections and the security breach in the COMELEC’s website last Friday have caused some concern among the voting public.

“Kahapon ay nagsagawa muli ang COMELEC ng simulation ng aktuwal na halalan o mock election upang agad na matukoy at matugunan ang posibleng maganap na aberya sa mismong araw ng halalan,” said Coloma.

“Ayon sa ating mga natunghayang ulat, naging matagumpay sa pangkalahatan ang isinagawang mock election at maayos na naipadala ang mga boto mula sa mga nakilahok na polling precincts papunta sa mga canvassing centers,” Coloma added.

The Palace official also called on the Filipino people to help ensure a peaceful and honest election.

“Tungkulin nating lahat na pagtulungan ang pagdaraos ng isang mapayapa, maayos at may integridad na pambansang halalan,” said Coloma. PND (jm)

Speaking before a mammoth crowd in a campaign sortie at the open air grounds of the city hall here, he cited how Mayor Casimiro Ynares entices big investors to do business in his jurisdiction.

“Sa pamumuno ng mga Ynares…, ang Board of Investment-approved investments, okay, number 5 po ang Rizal sa buong Pilipinas sa pinakamalaking BoI-approved investments,” he said.

He said the previous government before he took over only posted P7.02 billion investments from 2005 up to 2010. When he took over, the president said his government posted P94.78 billion worth of investments from 2011 up to 2015.

“Di naman ho siguro papasok ‘yung investor dito kung hindi sila panatag ang kalooban na tanggap sila ng taumbayan at inaalalayan ng ating pamahalaang lokal. So ‘yun po ‘yung achievement, 14 times po ang nilaki ng investment dito,” he pointed out.

“So balikan ko lang ho ‘yung sinasabi ko sa inyo. Papasok ang investor, naghahanap ng trabahador, baka ang mga trabahador, kailangan computer literate, ‘yung hindi nakapagtapos malamang hindi computer literate. Sorry, hindi ka kwalipikado.

Yung BPO (Business Process Outsourcing) industry, sa totoo lang ho, sa Kongreso ‘nung nandun kami, sinasabi sa amin parati: Kada 10 aplikante, maswerte na kung isa natatanggap. Maraming trabaho dumadating, ‘di naman kwalipikado, ‘di makapasok sa trabaho, he added.

Because of this, they looked for an avenue on how they will solve the problem of mismatched.

According to the chief executive, he asked his technocrats for a series of brainstorming and consultations to look for a solution on how they can reverse the situation.

They found out later that blue collar jobs has the biggest demand in international community and they have decided to strengthen TESDA (Technical Education and Skills Development Authority) which was task to train Filipinos especially those who have no jobs at all.

“Yung TESDA po nagkaroon ng 9 million course graduates. Anong pakinabang natin doon? Tinataya po na may tinatawag kasi placement rate. Ilang tao nag-graduate ng TESDA nagkakaroon ng trabaho bago umabot ‘yung anim na buwan na nag-graduate.

Yung pinalitan po natin, 25.8 percent ng placement rate. Sa panahon po natin, sa pamamalakad ni Joel Villanueva, 72 percent na po ang general average ng mga nagtapos ng TESDA na nakahanap ng trabaho, hindi aabot ng anim na buwan pagkatapos mag-graduate,” he explained.

Filipinos are already known worldwide as industrious, producing high quality of services and finished products and always willing to work beyond their scheduled time.

With this, thousands of quality well-trained people were produced by TESDA who was awarded with ISO certificate of international standard. More than 70 percent of TESDA graduates got high paying jobs abroad and helped oil the economy.

“May massage therapy tsaka hilot wellness na programa ang TESDA. Pinasukan niya, nakapasok sa isang spa. Magaling, naging operations manager ng spa. Dahil talagang magaling, bumukod po, nagtayo ng sariling spa. Ito po hindi niya malaman ang direksyon niyang pupuntahan. Ngayon po, apat na ang spa na pag-aari niya.

Pina-franchise pa niya ‘yung spa doon po sa amin sa Tarlac. Apat ang branches niya sa Pangasinan, tatlo sa Tarlac. ‘Yun po ang pinagbago ng buhay niya,” the president narrated, as one of the success stories of a TESDA recipient.

Aside from this, he increases the budget of 4Ps to increase the number of recipients as he tripled the budget of the Department of Health.

The President stressed that, “So balikan ko lang… Una, ang estratehiya natin: Bigyan ng kakayahan makasabay sa pag-angat ng ekonomiya lahat ng Pilipino. So isa sa pinaka-importante diyan ‘yung 4Ps. Manatili sa eskwelahan, magkaroon ng kakayahan, matuto, may pag-asang may trabaho hindi ‘yung unskilled na menial na trabaho. May pag-asa talagang may mangyari sa kanya.”

“Pinalaki po natin ang budget ng Department of Health. Tatlong ulit na mula ‘nung nag-umpisa tayo ‘no. Dito po sa inyo kulang-kulang mga 150 million ang binuhos ng DoH para sa facilities enhancement program,

kasama na po ang hospital. Rizal Provincial Hospital System sa Morong. Ang na-allocate po diyan ay 44.68 million pesos papunta ho ‘nung upgrading ng dialysis center. So ulit ho: 179.36 million pesos ang improvement ng barangay health centers, rural health clinics, urban health center at pati mga hospital,” he concluded. PND (sm)

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi described the Philippines’ move to present its case against China to the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague as “either political arrogance or legal prejudice”.

Wang, who was in Cambodia to meet with his counterpart Prak Sokhonn last Friday, said China wants the maritime row to be resolved peacefully through negotiations between the parties directly concerned.

The UN Charter and international law encourages peaceful settlement of rows through dialogue. The UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), on the other hand, respects the decision of the parties concerned to choose how to settle the disagreement.

“Malinaw na hindi lamang ang Pilipinas ang naniniwalang makatuwiran ang paghain ng petisyon sa Court of Arbitrations sa The Hague,” said Coloma in an interview over Radyo ng Bayan.

Coloma noted the declaration signed by the participants of the ASEAN-US Special Summit in California last February which stated “Shared commitment to maintain peace, security and stability in the region, ensuring maritime security and safety, including the rights of freedom of navigation and overflight and other lawful uses of the seas, and unimpeded lawful maritime commerce as described in the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) as well as non-militarization and self-restraint in the conduct of activities”.

“Iyan din ang buod ng posisyon ng Pilipinas sa pagsusulong sa mapayapa at rules-based approach. Bilang bahagi ng international community, ang paghahain ng Pilipinas ng petisyon sa Permanent Court of Arbitration ay isang matibay na pagpapatunay sa pagtataguyod ng nasabing prinsipyo,” Coloma added.

Coloma said that participants of the G7 Foreign Ministers meeting held two weeks ago in Hiroshima, Japan want the maritime disputes between the Philippines and China to be settled peacefully.

“Dalawang linggo lamang ang nakakaraan, dito rin sa buwang Abril 2016, sa pagpupulong ng mga G7 Foreign Ministers sa Hiroshima, Japan, ipinahayag ng mga foreign ministers ng Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan at United States ang kanilang malakas na pagtutol sa “intimidating, coercive or provocative unilateral actions that could alter the status quo and increase tensions” sa South China Sea o West Philippine Sea para sa atin,” said Coloma.

“Idiniin din nila ang kahalagahan ng “peaceful management and settlement of maritime disputes through applicable internationally recognized legal dispute settlement mechanisms, including arbitration”,” Coloma added.

“Klaro na ang makatuwirang posisyon ng Pilipinas sa usaping ito ay kinakatigan at umaani pa ng suporta ng maraming bansa. At malayong-malayo doon sa ipinaparating,” said Coloma.

According to the Chinese foreign minister, China is exercising its legitimate right to reject a compulsory arbitration. He said China made a declaration that excludes a compulsory arbitration in 2006 under the Article 298 of the UNCLOS. PND (jm)