| All Filipinos must live with security—secure of having affordable housing, enough food, accessible jobs, decent livelihood and financial assistance.
With this marching order from President Rodrigo Roa Duterte, Cabinet Secretary Leoncio Evasco Jr. organized the first Social Development Initiatives Summit in Davao City, with the theme “Malasakit at Pagbabago.”
“We are here to listen to the realities, dreams, and vulnerabilities of the Filipinos, identify local peculiarities and spatial realities, and develop mechanisms for efficient and swift delivery of government services on the ground,” Evasco, whose office has supervision over several agencies that deal largely with the welfare of the country’s poor and marginalized sectors in urban areas and the countryside, said in the launch of the Summit last August 17.
“So ang purpose dito, pag-uusapan. That ang pag-uusap dito would result into a social development agenda, which would address poverty. Halimbawa, we will be discussing on the creation of jobs, because job creation would mean the reduction of poverty incidence. Pag-uusapan din dito iyong creation of opportunities for livelihood, kasi ito din, nagre-reduce din ng incidence of poverty. Pinag-uusapan din dito iyong, anong iyong tulong natin sa mamamayan in connection with their ongoing livelihood—this will also reduce poverty. Pinag-uusapan din dito papaano iyong question of reproductive health, because lowering… would mean also reduction of poverty,” Evasco said on a separate occasion, during a radio interview on DZRB Davao.
A series of workshops on housing, education, health, culture, environment, and climate change were held in the summit, attended by representatives from various government agencies and departments, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), civic social organizations, people’s organizations, and sectoral representatives.
Day 1 focused on “defining the context”: a briefing on Philippine socio-economic development was presented, and the summit flow and methodology was discussed, while Day 2 was the integration and presentation of workshop results, which would be the framework for the sectoral summit.
“In fact, ang output dito will now be the basis for calling the sectoral summit. So, we will be calling on urban poor, IPs (indigenous people), the Moro people, workers, the farmers. Likewise, we will be calling summits also, issue-driven like health, housings, sports, lahat-lahat, because these are the issues that cut across all sectors in our society,” Evasco concluded.
Cabinet members participating in the summit were Department of Education Secretary Leonor Briones, Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno, Department of Information and Communications Technology Secretary Rodolfo Salalima, Department of Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II, Vice-President and Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council Chairperson Maria Leonor Robredo, Cabinet Secretary Leoncio Evasco Jr., Department of Trade and Industry Secretary Ramon Lopez, Presidential Action Center (PACE) Undersecretary Peter Laviña, and National Economic and Development Authority Director General Ernesto Pernia. |
| President Duterte honored the sacrifices of soldiers in Mindanao during his visit at Camp Siongco in Cotabato City. He particularly lauded government troopers injured in a clash with Moro bandits while enforcing anti-drug operation in Midsayap, North Cotabato last Sunday.
The incident demonstrates the danger faced by law enforcers in the government’s intensified campaign against illegal drugs.
President Duterte then assured the soldiers that they have nothing to worry about as long as they are with him in his campaign. He mentioned about the P500-million funds to be given to the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) for the purchase of state-of-the-art hospital equipment and construction of new building in AFP Medical Center.
“I am the President and I have to be with my fighting forces. Wala kayong dapat, you know, worry. When I visited your center . . . I gave you five billion for the acquisition of modern equipments,” the President said.
President Duterte mentioned life-saving medical equipment he wants for soldiers, such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machine, hyperbaric oxygen chambers for gangrene treatment, equipment for kidney dialysis, radiation therapy using gamma ray, among others.
“[I]yong MRI . . . iyong Baric, importante iyan kasi kung maglabanan at hindi ka na-extract kaagad and you have a wound there, festering . . . mahabol niya iyong decomposition ng gangrene. It’s very important. Noong nakita ko, and a host of other—gamma rays na—karamihan sakit ninyo kidney . . . I saw that machine, iyong may kaibigan ako na inoperahan iyan, and I was invited by the doctor to observe, iyong beam lang na parang flashlight pero very thin one, bluish, at makita mo doon sa monitor iyong bato na sumasabog. So karamihan pati iyong mga retirees, you can use it. And I will make the rounds one day again to inspect the hospitals dito, kung ano iyong lifesaving,” Duterte said.
The President further offered the presidential aircraft to be used for military emergency operations.
“[I]yong sinasakyan ng Presidente, sinabi ko kay Secretary Lorenzana, have it re-configured to installation ng hospital beds,” President Duterte said. “Pati iyong mga Fokker ko gawin na ninyong parang deployment ng ano . . . dalawa yata iyan, inyo na iyan,” Mr. Duterte added.
President Duterte also pushed for changes to make government service delivery effective and efficient, especially for the families of soldiers.
“Ayoko na iyong magpila ang tao. Saka lahat ng gobyerno kung gusto ng . . . iyong anak ninyo sa barko, diyan lang . . . isang NBI, doon niya kunin, birth certificate, NBI lahat . . . punta siya doon. At mayroon pang mga kaunti-kaunti. Lalo na itong mga LTFRB pati LTO, babalik-balik pa iyong taong kung saan. Lalo na iyong mga linya-linya. Pag ikaw ang may linya, may pera lang kaunti, mag-invest ka, pinabalik kang limang beses . . . akong bahala,” the President concluded. |
| The Presidential Communications Office (PCO) launched the first-ever “Presidential tabloid”, titled “Mula sa Masa, Para sa Masa,” an offshoot of weekly television show “Gikan sa Masa, Para sa Masa” aired every Sunday on ABS-CBN Davao.
“[I]tong diyaryo po na ito . . . ay binanggit na natin nung Hunyo pa. Sabi ko na iyong ‘Mula sa Masa, Para sa Masa’ na programa ng Pangulo sa telebisyon dito sa Davao ay gawin nating nationwide. At kaakibat niyan ay ‘Mula sa Masa, Para sa Masa’ na tabloid, at ‘Mula sa Masa, Para sa Masa’ na online. So ngayon nauna pa iyong diyaryo,” Presidential Communications Secretary Martin Andanar said during a radio interview on DZRH, Friday morning.
As for the printing costs, the PCO chief assured the public that it would not cost the government a fortune.
“May mga nagtatanong po sa mga kasamahan natin sa media na baka magastos lang ito, bakit kailangan ng diyaryo, etc., etc. Ganito lang iyan, ang pamamahayag ay hindi lang telebisyon, iyong sa gobyerno hindi lang radyo, meron ding printing . . . [A]ng gobyerno ay merong printing press, kaya nagpri-print tayo. Pero hindi ibig sabihin, may nagsasabi gastos lang iyan. Hindi po. Meron dalawang printing press ang gobyerno. At itong printing press ng gobyerno na dalawa ito, meron ding for social responsibility. So libre iyong printing nito,” Andanar explained.
The tabloid, highlighting the government’s programs and achievements, runs President Duterte’s war on drugs as headline story in its first edition.
“Ang magiging laman po talaga ng diyaryong ito ay mga polisiya ng ating Presidente. Let’s say katulad ng war on drugs, ngayon every issue ay maglalabas kami ng isang main policy ng gobyerno. So iyong next issue natin ay tungkol sa peace process. So ganoon, meron ding entertainment, meron din siyang sports,” Andanar said.
Andanar disclosed the bi-monthly tabloid ‘Mula sa Masa, Para sa Masa’ will have an online version, “Ang talagang focus ho talaga nito iyong online, kasi alam naman natin na iyong online, unang-una, libre iyong online. Nandoon na, ilalagay mo lang doon, hindi mo na ipi-print iyon, tapos mas malawak iyong reach nung online.”
With initial copies of 5,000, “Mula sa Masa, Para sa Masa” will be distributed for free through the Philippine Information Agency (PIA) network nationwide. |
