| PIA Dispatch - Basulta Infocenter | |
| |
| Media Release February 17 , 2009 |
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¥
PGMA acts on low resolution of drug cases ¥
PGMA to sign into law amendments to Philippine Cooperative
Code ¥
American stimulus package bill presents new opportunities for
Filvets ¥
PGMA directs Cabinet to lead anti-corruption drive ¥
WHO-linked body lauds RP policy on health-workers migration
as "worth emulating" ¥
PGMA's AO 255 calls for zero tolerance for corruption,
promotion of Filipino values ¥
Razon optimistic resuming talks with MILF ¥
OFW remittances in 2008 reach USD16.4 billion ¥
PGMA leads recognition of breastfeeding models ¥
Malacanang sees speedy processing of Filipino WW II claims
for benefits ¥
PGMA tells TESDA to prepare retrenched workers of electronics
sector for BPO sector ¥
DOLE, TIPCs conduct
consultations to stakeholders in Region 9 ¥
AFP dev’t programs resume
despite ASG threats in Sulu ¥
Books for the Barrios
visits Isabela City -------------------------------------------------------0------------------------------------------------------------------- PGMA acts on low resolution of drug cases
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo gathered today
all government drug enforcement agencies to review and institutionalize the
components and details that form the enforcement pillar in the campaign for a
drug-free The conference on “Effective Prosecution of Drug
Cases” held this morning at Malacanang’s Heroes Hall was attended by the
Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), Department of Justice (DOJ),
National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), the military and police. “The events of the past couple of months have
highlighted the need for offices in the law enforcement pillar against illegal
drugs to share vision and harmonize their operations so that the syndicates and
peddlers of illegal drugs are brought to justice and penalized in accordance
with law and the procedures of the law,” Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB) Chairman
Vicente Sotto III said. Sotto said the conference/seminar was organized
for the law enforcement agencies to “hear what it is that judges look for when
they hear and decide cases” to achieve a higher percentage of conviction on
drug cases filed in court. DDB data showed that of the 99,754 illegal drugs
cases filed from 203 to 2008, only 22 percent was resolved. Of the total
resolved cases, only 32 percent resulted in convictions, 31 percent in
acquitted, 27 percent in dismissal and 11 percent provisionally dismissed. Sotto has noted that there has been low
resolution rate of cases thus, a need to review “buy-bust operation,“ a
specific area of concern “where lapses and technicalities are prone to be
pointed out by defense lawyers. Justice Lucas Bersamin gave a special lecture on
“RA 9165: Enforcement of the Law Through Successful Prosecution of the
Offenders” to ensure that law enforcers build up and document their cases in
accordance with law and proper procedure to assure prosecutors that the accused
brought before the courts are probably guilty of the crime charged. Bersamin discussed effective buy-bust
operations, warrantless arrest, consented search, preservation of evidence that
are admissible in court, among others. “The judiciary is very attentive to evidence,”
Bersamin stressed. It is expected that after the seminar, law
enforcers will harmonize their actions and win the war against the peddlers of
illegal substances. -------------------------------------------------------0------------------------------------------------------------------- PGMA to sign into law amendments to Philippine Cooperative Code President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo will sign into
law the proposed Philippine Cooperative Code of 2008 in simple ceremonies in
Malacañang today (Tuesday). Sponsored in the Senate by Sen. Juan Miguel F. Zubiri,
chairman of the chamber’s committee on cooperatives, and in the House of
Representatives by Rep. Ernesto C. Pablo, the bill was passed in Nov. 2008. The new law (Republic Act (RA) No. 9520) amends
the 1990 Cooperative Code of the The new cooperative legislation gives
cooperatives greater opportunities to serve their members, not only in term of
financial assistance, but also in undertaking more productive activities geared
toward the upliftment of their members. The new cooperative code outlines in greater
detail the requirements in professionalizing the management and operation of
cooperatives, while providing a monitoring and evaluation tool for the
cooperatives to conduct self-assessments in terms of its managerial, financial,
and social objectives. The end result of the enactment of the
Philippine Cooperative Code of 2008 is the utilization of the cooperatives for
social justice and sustainable economic development. The Cooperative Development Authority (CDA) had
reported that the number and types of cooperatives registered since 1990 are:
4,812 savings and credit cooperatives; 1,369 consumer cooperatives, mostly in
public and private offices and schools; 1,409 producers cooperatives: 911
marketing cooperatives; 1,806 service cooperatives providing power
distribution, potable water and irrigation system, public and private
transportation service; and 60,000 registered agricultural and non-agricultural
cooperatives. The entire cooperative sector generated 1.636
million jobs in 2006, 1.563 million jobs in 2005 and 1.498 million jobs in
2004. An estimated 500 leaders, representing almost
24,000 cooperatives all over the -------------------------------------------------------0------------------------------------------------------------------- American
stimulus package bill presents new
opportunities for Filvets The Assistant Secretary Jerry Adevoso of the Office
of the Presidential Assistant for Veterans Affairs (OPAVA) explained in a TV
interview that the provisions of the
American Recovery and Reinvestments Act of 2009 does not rule out any
additional ameliorations. By the way it was written, Adevoso said authors
of the stimulus package could be thinking of giving Filvets educational,
medical or burial assistance in the future. This is why Adevoso strongly believes that the government's
advocacy for Filvets benefits must continue.
Malacanang lauded the passage of the stimulus
package bill recognizes the service and grants lump sum payments to Filipino
WWII veterans. US-based Filvets stand to get US$15,000 while
those residing in the Philippine will receive US$9,000 once President Obama
signed the stimulus package bill into law.
The -------------------------------------------------------0------------------------------------------------------------------- PGMA directs Cabinet to lead anti-corruption
drive Press Secretary Cerge Remonde told a Radyo ng
Bayan program today (Sunday) that the President’s order is contained in
Administrative Order (AO) 255, which contains explicit instructions to
officials of the executive branch to “lead by example.” In AO 255, which she issued early this year, the President
directed all Cabinet secretaries and heads of agencies to “adopt and implement
a Moral Renewal Program in their agencies” with the Integrity Development
Action Plan (IDAP) as the national anti-corruption framework. The presidential order calls for “the strict
observance by all public officers of the principle of moral leadership by
example, especially by Cabinet Secretaries.” The AO states that moral renewal “refers to
values formation and ethical behavior for government officers and employees, as
well as the strengthening of people’s values to achieve zero tolerance for
corruption.” Under the AO, all bureaus, regional offices and
attached agencies of executive departments nationwide are directed to “adopt
and implement the Integrity Development Action Plan (IDAP) which is the
National Anti-Corruption Framework for the Executive Branch.” The Moral Renewal Program also calls for the
“expansion and strengthening of the membership of the Integrity Committee in
every department, agency, bureau and office”; plus the “formulation,
promulgation and adoption of an agency-specific Code of Conduct, or the
updating of existing Codes of Conduct to reflect the IDAP.” The President has instructed all agencies to
join the values formation activities of the Presidential Council on Values
Formation, and to “enlist the participation of religious, civil society and
civic groups through consultations, program development, promotion and
implementation of their Moral Renewal Program.” Aside from zero-tolerance for corruption, the AO
also directs the promotion of the Filipino values embodied in the Preamble of
the 1987 Constitution, in particular the values of being “maka-Diyos, maka-tao,
maka-bayan and maka-kalikasan.” Maka-Diyos “encompasses faith in the Almighty”;
maka-tao “includes truth, justice, freedom, love, equality and peace”;
maka-bayan “includes respect for law, the government of the Republic of the
Philippines and its instrumentalities, patriotism, promotion of the common good
and building a just and humane society”; while maka-kalikasan “involves the
conservation and development of our patrimony.” Agencies are directed to submit their respective
Action Plans for their Moral Renewal Program to the Presidential Anti-Graft
Commission (PAGC), copy-furnished the President, within 90 days from the AO’s
effectivity “after it has been published in at least two newspapers of general
circulation in the Under AO 255, the PAGC was tasked to monitor and
evaluate the implementation and the effectiveness of the MRP of the agencies.
These include “surveys of, and feedback from, agency officers and employees of
all levels on the manner by which their respective heads have been complying
with this AO and adopting the principles embodied herein.” The PAGC shall then submit regular reports to
the President on the progress and status of the implementation of the MRP, copy
furnished all religious, civil society and civic groups enlisted for the MRP. -------------------------------------------------------0------------------------------------------------------------------- WHO-linked body lauds RP
policy on health-workers migration as "worth emulating" The body, called Global Policy Advisory Council
of the Health Worker Migration Initiative (HWMI), is a partnership between the
World Health Organization (WHO), the Global Health Workforce Alliance, and
Realizing Rights. HWMI is composed of Ministers of Health and
Development from both workers-source and destination countries, as well as
leading health, labor and migration experts. HWMI met early this month in At the meeting, In her recent report to the Department of
Foreign Affairs (DFA), Buensuceso said "participants commented on the
great effort expended by the Philippine government to institutionalize
structural and societal safeguards that would ensure that health workers who
decide to migrate are adequately protected and cared for." "The meeting expressed admiration at how
the Philippines has developed a cycle of management, from the initial stage of
providing training and developing expertise in the medical fields, to
assistance before departure and while in the destination countries, until their
return to Philippine society where they are provided reintegration support such
as capital and re-tooling skills," she said. The participants reacted in particular to the
presentation of Dr. Kenneth Ronquillo, director of human resources development
of the Department of Health, who detailed the Philippine experience on health
workers migration management. Buensuceso herself underscored the "aggressive
stance" of the Chairperson Patricia Sto. Tomas of the
Development Bank of the Dr. Manuel Dayrit, former Health Secretary,
attended the meeting in his capacity as HRD Director of the World Health
Organization (WHO). The The Code seeks to establish ethical norms in the movement of
health workers migration and ensures that both sending and host countries abide
by these generally agreed upon practices. -------------------------------------------------------0------------------------------------------------------------------- PGMA's AO
255 calls for zero tolerance for corruption, promotion of Filipino values Administrative Order No. 255 which was recently
issued by President Arroyo, calls for the strict observance by all public
officials, especially by Cabinet Secretaries, of the principle of moral
leadership by example. In AO 255, which she issued early this year, the
President directed all Cabinet secretaries and heads of agencies to "adopt
and implement a Moral Renewal Program in their agencies" with the
Integrity Development Action Plan (IDAP) as the national anti-corruption
framework. The AO states that moral renewal "refers to
values formation and ethical behavior for government officers and employees, as
well as the strengthening of people's values to achieve zero tolerance for
corruption." Under the AO, all bureaus, regional offices and
attached agencies of executive departments nationwide are directed to
"adopt and implement the Integrity Development Action Plan (IDAP) which is
the National Anti-Corruption Framework for the Executive Branch." The Moral Renewal Program also calls for the
"expansion and strengthening of the membership of the Integrity Committee
in every department, agency, bureau and office"; plus the
"formulation, promulgation and adoption of an agency-specific Code of
Conduct, or the updating of existing Codes of Conduct to reflect the
IDAP.." Through AO 255, President has instructed all
agencies to join the values formation activities of the Presidential Council on
Values Formation, and to "enlist the participation of religious, civil
society and civic groups through consultations, program development, promotion
and implementation of their Moral Renewal Program." Aside from zero-tolerance for corruption, the AO
also directs the promotion of the Filipino values embodied in the Preamble of
the 1987 Constitution, in particular the values of being "maka-Diyos,
maka-tao, maka-bayan and maka-kalikasan." Maka-Diyos "encompasses faith in the
Almighty"; maka-tao "includes truth, justice, freedom, love, equality
and peace"; maka-bayan "includes respect for law, the government of
the Republic of the Philippines and its instrumentalities, patriotism,
promotion of the common good and building a just and humane society";
while maka-kalikasan "involves the conservation and development of our
patrimony." Government Agencies are directed to submit their
respective Action Plans for their Moral Renewal Program to the Presidential
Anti-Graft Commission (PAGC), copy-furnished the President, within 90 days from
the AO's effectivity "after it has been published in at least two
newspapers of general circulation in the Under AO 255, the PAGC was tasked to monitor and
evaluate the implementation and the effectiveness of the MRP of the agencies.
These include "surveys of, and feedback from, agency officers and
employees of all levels on the manner by which their respective heads have been
complying with this AO and adopting the principles embodied herein." The PAGC shall then submit regular reports to the President
on the progress and status of the implementation of the MRP, copy furnished all
religious, civil society and civic groups enlisted for the MRP. -------------------------------------------------------0------------------------------------------------------------------- Razon optimistic resuming talks with MILF
"I believe there is no problem that cannot
be threshed out," Razon said as he answered point by point the statement
of Khaled Musa, MILF deputy information chief, who said that peace negotiations
with the government were not likely to take place soon. "Every step we take towards peace even how
small it may be, is always a step forward to the attainment of a lasting peace
in our country," he said. "We will hasten the peace process because
for as long as the peace talks are stalled, our countrymen, especially in Razon explained that the new paradigm adapted by
the government based on constitutionality, authentic consultation, dialogues
with the communities to get the public sentiment to ensure the end of
hostilities, the comprehensive peace process should contain as a component
disarmament, demobilization and reintegration (DDR). Razon clarified that DDR "is not a
condition to restart the peace talks." DDR is being recognized worldwide in all
countries that have had internal conflict as part and parcel of the peace
talks, Razon said, citing the statements by foreign peace advocates who were
invited recently by the Philippine government to speak thoroughly about DDR. He said the peace process spearheaded by the
Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) has
"achieved many milestone in this endeavor and as eager as all of you to
move the peace process forward not only for the sake of our brothers in "With the Razon reiterated his commitment to work hard for
the country to achieve a genuine and lasting peace. The government will also intensify its social
integration program (SIP) to ensure that former rebels will be given livelihood
to become good citizens. Razon also said that the government is
implementing its projects for peace such as construction of roads, bridges,
school buildings, irrigation and health centers, among others, particularly in
conflict-affected areas. He said consultations with local stakeholders
will continue to be intensified to give them the latest updates on what is
going on in the peace process, specifically during the formal talks. Razon said that with determination, perseverance and
creativeness between the parties concerned "by exploring all possibilities
to end the twin insurgencies hounding our nation there is no reason why we
cannot solve our differences at the conference table and sign a peace
agreement." -------------------------------------------------------0------------------------------------------------ OFW remittances in 2008 reach USD16.4 billion
The figures are also above the Bangko Sentral
Pilipinas' growth forecast of 13 percent or 16.3 billion US dollars for the
same year. Latest data from the BSP show that for the month
of December alone, remittances continued to be above the 1 billion US dollar
mark at 1.4 billion US dollars. “Amidst the challenges posed by the global
financial market strains and the economic downturn experienced by host
economies, remittances from overseas Filipinos remain a dependable source of
foreign exchange for the economy,” BSP Governor Amando Tetangco, Jr. said. Sustained demand for Filipino manpower
worldwide, particularly professional and skilled workers, combined with greater
access by overseas Filipinos and their beneficiaries to expanded remittance
transfer facilities helped shore up remittance flows. Preliminary data from the Philippine Overseas
Employment Administration (POEA) show that the number of Filipinos deployed
abroad in 2008 rose considerably by 27.8 percent to 1, 376, 823 from 1, 077,
623 in 2007. However, the number deployed abroad in December
declined by 5.8 percent to 89, 799 compared to the deployment figure in
December of 2007. While there are expectations that the number of
Filipinos deployed overseas could contract in the coming months due to the
global economic slowdown, there are favorable developments that provide some
reason for optimism. The POEA indicated that labor demand could
remain strong in The latter in particular could continue to
demand foreign workers in the power/energy, tourism/hotel and real estate
sectors. The hiring program for nurses and caregivers in Filipino workers could also benefit from the
rapid expansion of From January to December 2008, the major sources of
remittances were the -------------------------------------------------------0------------------------------------------------------------------- PGMA leads
recognition of breastfeeding models President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo underscored today the
importance of breastfeeding in the battle against malnutrition and hunger under
the National Plan of Action on Infant and Young Child Feeding (IYCF) with the
presentation of awards to the role models of breastfeeding. The President presented the Breastfeeding Queen of the The Breastfed Prince of the Philippines award was given to
the Tagala brothers--- Daniel, David and Jimmy, Jr., Jonathan, who are all winners
of national competitions for young musicians while the Breastfed Princess of
the Philippines award went to Sierra Isabelle Castillo, a UP college scholar
and a soprano in the world-renowned UP Singing Ambassadors, and Mikaela
Fudolig, a 16 year-old summa cum laude graduate in Physics from the University
of the Philippines. Studies showed that breastmilk ensures the life-long health
and well-being, emotional stability and intellectual development of future
generations. Based on DOH data, the The DOH said these deaths could have been prevented if the
children were fed exclusively through breastfeeding during the first six months
after birth, given appropriate complementary feeding at six months, and
continued to be breastfed for at least two years. Studies also show that mother's milk is the best food which
helps protect the baby against most illnesses at no cost. Breastfeeding should start within 30 minutes after birth
while breast milk is cleaner, easier to digest, has the right temperature and
helps babies bond more to their mother. Colostrum, the initial yellowish fluid that comes out of the
breast in the first 2-3 days after a child’s birth, helps protect babies
against infection. The President was also presented a copy of the Memorandum of
Agreement among the NGO Children for Breastfeeding, DepED, TESDA, Commission on
Higher Education and the Philippine Medical Association (PMA) to conduct
advocacy seminars for teachers this summer. It will prepare supporting
instructional materials, which will be used during the next schoolyear as
breastfeeding will be incorporated in the curriculum of elementary and
secondary schools. -------------------------------------------------------0------------------------------------------------------------------- Malacanang
sees speedy processing of Filipino WW
II claims for benefits Malacanang expects the process of identifying the
beneficiaries of the additional benefits for Filipino veterans of World War II
to get underway as soon as the US Stimulus Bill is signed into law by US
President Barack Obama tomorrow (Monday in the In a radio interview this morning, Executive Secretary
Eduardo Ermita said the The beneficiaries will have to be identified first before
they can receive the new benefits under the Ermita said officials of the US Veterans Administration and
the Philippine Veterans Affairs Office have made initial contacts on how to go
about identifying the beneficiaries. The USVA is sending a representative to He added, however, that identifying the legitimate
beneficiaries should not take long since the Of the $787-billion stimulus package approved by the US
Congress last Friday, $198 million was provided for a one-time payments to
Filipino WW II veterans. More than 250,000 Filipinos fought side-by-side with the
American soldiers to defend the There are now an estimated 18,000-20,000 surviving WW II
Filipino veterans, 13,000 of whom are in the Under the stimulus package, US-based Filipino WW II veterans
are granted $15,000, while those living in the -------------------------------------------------------0------------------------------------------------------------------- PGMA tells
TESDA to prepare retrenched workers of electronics sector for BPO sector "Prepare all retrenched engineers from the electronics
sector for the business process outsourcing sector." This was the assignment given by President Gloria
Macapagal-Arroyo to Director-General Augusto Syjuco of the Technical Education
and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), and Business Processing Association
of the Philippines (BPAP) President Oscar Sanez as the government prepares for
the possible retrenchment of licensed engineers in the electronics sector in
the face of the worsening global economic crisis. The new TESDA and BPAP program is part of continuing efforts
of the administration to assist displaced workers and overseas Filipino workers
(OFWs) in the electronics sector to match their skills in BPO- related jobs. "So, ito ay isang programa na gagawin ngayon ni Boboy
(Secretary Syjuco) at ng BPAP to re-tool the retrenched engineers from the
electronics sector so that they can be prepared as engineers for the BPO
industry," she said. The President issued the order when she visited TESDA's
Training Matching and Job Assistance Fair in In her conversations with the lucky job applicants, the
President explained that the re-hiring by BPO firms of some displaced workers
from the electronics and semi-conductor companies was a clear signal that
retrenched workers still have a big chance to land jobs in other sectors. She pointed out that notwithstanding the global financial
meltdown, employment opportunities still abound for call centers agents,
animation, medical transcriptionists, software developers and other BPO-related
fields. "Hindi lamang call center agents, hindi lamang medical
transcriptionists ang kailangan nila (BPO companies), para mas bumilis ang
paglaki ng industriya kailangan i-hire yung mga engineers (retrenched from
electronics sectors) for their applications," the President said. Meanwhile, Connie Jucar, a licensed nurse and a victim of
the global financial meltdown, who served in continental electronics
manufacturing company for 12 years, testified to the President that after
undergoing rigid training at TESDA, she was able to get a new job. She told the President that during the TESDA jobs fair she
applied for the position of medical transcriptionist in Xynet, one of the
biggest medical transcription companies in the country today. She said that Xynet immediately hired her after learning
that she completed a crash call center course at TESDA. Aside from As of 1:30 p.m. today the number of registrants at the jobs
fair totaled 4,645 but more people were on their way to TESDA. Other government agencies participating in the jobs fair
were the Department of Labor and Employment, Department of Trade and Industry,
Commission on Information and Communication Technology, Overseas Workers
Welfare Administration and Philippine Overseas Employment Administration. -------------------------------------------------------0------------------------------------------------------------------- DOLE, TIPCs conduct
consultations to stakeholders in Region 9 Consultation Conferences were conducted by the Department of
Labor and Employment (DOLE) Region IX and the Tripartite Industrial Peace
Councils (TIPCs) to shed light on the current issues and concerns especially on
Global Financial Crisis affecting the tri-sectors – the
Labor-Management-Government. In A total of seventy eight (78) attendees coming from the
labor, management, and government offices convened for the purpose on February
5, 2009 at Astoria Hotel, this City. In his message, Zamboanga City Mayor Celso L. Lobregat
emphasized that: “the City is enjoying
the stability in the economic and industrial condition of the private
establishments and investors and no labor strikes neither labor disputes with
the employers reported”. But at the same time, he recognized that “economic crisis may hit the labor sectors
but the purpose of this consultation is to discuss measures towards a common
goal, and outputs that will prepare the City for the worse scenario.” Atty. Cesar M. Petate, of the Bureau
of Labor Relations, DOLE Central Office, presented the Amendments to D.O.
18-02, on the registration of contractors and sub-contractors. He also
presented the DOLE Interventions on the Global Financial Crisis as its safety
net and as a safe guard measure. The same consultation was also conducted in Ipil, Zamboanga
Sibugay, on February 06, 2009 which was attended by forty nine (49)
participants representing the labor, management, and government offices. Another Consultation Conference on
Self-Assessment under Department Order 57-04 or the Labor Standards Enforcement
Framework was conducted with twenty-one (21) employers and employer
representatives. An open forum stirred up the discussion to clarify issues that
concerns the following: voluntary compliance with General Labor Standards (GLS)
and Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Standards; re-employment of
displaced/affected workers – relative to the implementation of the TUlong
Panghanapbuhay para sa Ating Disadvantaged workers (TUPAD) and the DOLE
Adjustment Measures Program (DOLE-AMP) that will provide “emergency
employment”; and the provision of non-wage benefits to the affected workers. Also discussed was Department
Advisory No. 2 on Flexible Work Arrangements issued last January 30, 2009 by
the DOLE Secretary, Hon. Marianito D. Roque to guide employers and workers in
the private sector in implementing mutually acceptable work schedules as a
measure against the adverse effect of the global financial crisis. DOLE-IX Regional Director Ponciano
M. Ligutom directed the New Quick Response Team (NQRT) to visit establishments
wanting to adopt flexible work arrangements and validate whether their adoption
is in accordance with the DOLE Advisory. Director Ligutom further ordered the
NQRT to conduct continuing consultations/dialogues with management and workers
to prevent job losses. Meanwhile, in relation to the Department’s efforts to
address the impact of GFC, consultation workshops were simultaneously conducted
among rubber and coconut industry players in the Provinces of Zamboanga Sibugay
and Zamboanga del Norte, respectively, on February 9, 2009. The consultations were aimed at identifying issues/concerns
and problems as a result of Global financial Crisis, the effects, and suggested
actions and/or recommendations to address them. The outputs generated from the
pre-consultation workshops will be used as inputs to the “Multi-Sectoral
Conference for GFC-Affected Workers in Selected Agri-based Industries” on
February 13-14, 2009 in -------------------------------------------------------0------------------------------------------------------------------- AFP
dev’t programs resume despite ASG threats in Sulu (JOLO,Sulu) -- The military maintains its humanitarian and development programs in Sulu
despite the threats and attacks paused by the terrorist Abu Sayyaf Group,
affirms Joint Task Force Comet Commander Maj Gen Juancho M Sabban. The said bandit group has demanded the cessation of military’s security
operations in the province and even
lobbed mortar rounds towards the military camp in Brgy Busbus last 09 Feb, however hitting the residents
of the said barangay that resulted to the wounding of innocent civilians. Last February 6, ASGs burned the Maj Gen Sabban admitted that building Sulu in the midst of security
threat can be a daunting task; however, with optimism and sustained unity of
efforts among the military and all the peace and development stakeholders,
economic upsurge will surely continue. “We cannot allow terrorism to triumph and just let them destroy the
people’s peaceful way of life. The military troops will stay and are focused to
continue what have been started for the betterment and development of the
communities we serve. The gains we had established here must not be halted,” he
stressed. “The threats and attacks will not have any implications on our
humanitarian development projects for Sulu,” he said. Projects include: construction of roads; building and repair of school
edifices, wells or water distribution systems, health clinics, hospitals,
community centers, and other donations. “Bringing basic services to the communities has been the turning point in
our battle against terrorism. Because of these efforts, the people, especially
those in far flung barangays, felt the government’s care. Hence, local support
has been very difficult to come by for ASG. The necessity to boost development
is anchored on this premise. We will
continue in our goal to bring development in Sulu,” he said. The AFP’s holistic approach to terrorism stands resilient amid the
violent resistance of the ASG terrorists. (42CRU, 4CRG, CRSAFP/PIA-9 BASUTA) -------------------------------------------------------0------------------------------------------------------------------- Books for
the Barrios visits Isabela City ( The Calvario Elementary School and Sunset Elementary School
in Isabela City, Basilan are the two recipients of the BFTB where they received
educational reading books and video materials, computer units and other
facilities. Passing at every room and fleetingly took over as the
pupil’s new teacher, the founder and coordinator, Tita Nancy and Tito Dan (as
they are fondly called by the pupils) asked the class to strictly recite the
school pledge and pointed out on their competence in Journal Writing, the Daily
Oral Language or the Basic English learning skills and the Sustain Silent
Reading, which are the daily lessons of the pupils under the said project. Also tagged as “Model of Excellence School”, pupils from The teachers are also scheduled to have a re-training by the
semester break. BOOKS for the BARRIOS began in 1981 among U.S. Navy families
who were stationed in the Generally, the project objectives are to strengthen public elementary school education worldwide and equal access to quality education to all children, most especially the disadvantaged one. (Isabela CIOPIA-BASULTA)
Photo releases Tita Nancy poses with pupils from
Tita Nancy (center seated) of the Books for the Barrio
project poses with Calvario Elementary School teachers and Dep-Ed Officials
last February 12, 2009. (CIO/PIA-BASULTA)
Pupils of |
