President Aquino opens Global Development Conference

President Benigno S. Aquino III was the Guest of Honor and keynote speaker during the formal opening ceremony of the Global Development Network’s (GDN) 14th Annual Global Development Conference held at the Asian Development Bank Headquarters in Mandaluyong City on Wednesday.

The GDN is an international organization that builds research capacity and supports researchers in developing and transitioning countries to generate and share high quality applied social science research to inform policymakers in advancing social and economic development.

In his speech, the President said the Philippines’ hosting, the first Southeast Asian country to do so, of ththel oval Development Conference was being done at an “appropriate time” since it coincided with the 152nd birth anniversary of the country’s national hero Jose Rizal, whom the President said had taken a “hands-on” approach to development.

“We hold this Global Development Conference in our country at an appropriate time. Today is the 152nd birth anniversary of our national hero, Jose Rizal, who was largely responsible for steering our nation down the path of equality and, subsequently, development,” the President said.

“Few people know that during his exile in Dapitan, Rizal took a hands-on approach to development. He established a school and started a medical practice, effectively taking the role of community-builder in a far-flung area of the Philippines,” he added.

Aside from the three-day conference with its theme “Inequality, Social Protection, and Inclusive Growth,” the GDN also features an annual search for the Outstanding Research for Development which was won for the Philippines in 2011 by University of Santo Tomas Professors Alvin Ang and Jeremiah Opiniano in Bogota, Colombia.

The two professors won the 2011 contest with their research proposal titled “Remittance Investment Climate Analysis for Rural Hometowns (Ricart): Piloting a Tool to Determine where Overseas Filipinos from Two Rural Hometowns can Best Invest their Money.”

The teachers said they wanted to test the tool, Ricart, on how remittances by overseas Filipinos to two fourth-class rural municipalities can be best directed for investment and development finance.

The President cited the GDN’s annual competition which show that despite the continuance of human desire to empower, “the problems that confront us have changed since Rizal’s era.”

“More than a century after Rizal’s death, people all around the world continue to share that human desire to empower, as evidenced by your presence here. May I note in particular how Alvin Ang and Jeremiah Opiniano won the annual competition for outstanding research for development in 2011. This is the first and only time the Philippines has won this competition,” the President said.

“As your annual competition within this conference shows, the problems that confront us have changed since Rizal’s era. Countries the world over have found themselves beset by social unrest—unrest that roots from a prevalent public perception that the people’s voice is not being heard. This global flux has brought about significant social and economic consequences for the entire world—and it pushes us to evolve the way we think—from the way we approach development to the way we go about solving our problems. And this is precisely why we find ourselves here today,” he added. PND (rck)

Aquino says Global Development Conference provide ‘specific, more effective, and more strategic’ solutions to global problems of poverty, hunger, unemployment, lack of education and corruption

President Benigno S. Aquino III said on Wednesday that the holding of the Global Development Networks’ (GDN) Annual Global Development Conference provides policymakers with “specific, more effective, and more strategic” solutions to the global problems of poverty, hunger, unemployment, lack of education and corruption.

Keynoting the GDN’s 14th Annual GDC held at the Asian Development Bank main office in Mandaluyong City, the President said the GDC “puts more solidity to the analysis of the problem,” and has helped government provide interventions where it matters and do the most good.

“We have long heard that the first step in solving a problem is acknowledging there is a problem. But perhaps we can build on that idea: The first step to solving any problem should be identifying the correct problem, otherwise any solution would be directionless, and therefore ineffective,” the President said.

“This conference helps us do just that. It puts more solidity to the analysis of the problem, which will hopefully redound to more specific, more effective, and more strategic solutions,” he added.

He stressed that it was incumbent of governments to ensure inclusive growth for its people in order to empower them to maximize opportunities that come their way.

“For most of the developing world, the overarching problems can be summed up in a few words: Poverty, hunger, unemployment, lack of education, corruption. These are not unique to any one country or people—each of us have seen or experienced them and their effects,” the President said.

“All these problems combine to deprive people of hope, initiative, and opportunities. And while no one can guarantee outcomes, I believe it is incumbent upon government to provide meaningful opportunities to individuals, and an environment conducive to empowering our fellow citizens to seek out and maximize opportunities that come their way. We cannot have a society where a few flourish, and the rest must make do-with crumbs. We must have inclusive growth,” he said.

The President highlighted the Philippines’ efforts at achieving inclusive growth through its social and infrastructure programs such as the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) that provides financial assistance to families that keep their children in school and consult with healthcare personnel; and close the classroom gap that will allow more children to attend school.

He pointed out that the next phase of “continued interventions” include mass housing, job creation, tourism and agriculiture.

“The next three years will see continued interventions on the poorest of the poor but also, a focus on the vulnerable but emerging sectors of society, all made possible by prudent public finance policies and honesty in public administration: by continuing efforts to build mass housing on site and not in far-flung areas; by creating durable jobs in industry, tourism and agriculture,” the President said.

“This is what our government has chosen to do. The difficulty is that while the problems may be universal, the solutions are not.

Each region, each country, each city and town has its own reality—and the solutions we come up with must be tailored fit to local conditions. This means that our solutions may not be the best for your own communities, and we must study their effects and how to maximize positive interventions in a specific and thorough manner,” he concluded.

Aquino administration orders local government units to prevent relocated informal settlers from returning to danger zones

The Aquino administration directed the local government units (LGUs) to prevent relocated informal settlers living in the waterways from returning to danger zones or face sanctions, Public Works and Highways Secretary Rogelio Singson said on Wednesday.

Singson said in a press briefing in Malacanang on Wednesday that local government officials are mandated by law to ensure that no settlers will live in the waterways and other dangers zones.

The DPWH and other concerned government agencies reiterated their commitment to President Benigno S. Aquino III to clear eight major waterways in Metro Manila of some 19,440 informal settlers within this year.

The eight priority waterways are San Juan River, Pasig River, Tullahan River, Maricaban Creek, Manggahan Floodway, Estero Tripa de Gallina, Estero de Maypajo and Estero de Sunog Apog.

"Ang sistema kasi dito, inuuna mo iyong nasa bukana ng Manila Bay at saka ng Pasig River, para maganda iyong daloy. Kasi kung maguumpisa ka sa upstream hindi din makakalabas sa main bodies of water. So inuna naming ang San Juan River, Maricaban, Tullahan River, at iyong nabanggit ko kanina Estero Sunog Apog, Estero Maypajo ang mga palabas na ng Manila Bay at Pasig River. These have to be cleared immediately. Tapos paakyat kami upstream," Singson said.

"We will work on the first 20,000 families, in fact, we have started. May mga voluntary resettlements na. There are ongoing programs and we have to follow and give notices to these communities. That responsibility is being undertaken by Interior and Local Government Secretary Manuel Roxas and merong team na kasama ang Department of Social Welfare and Development at ang National Housing Authority," Singson said.

The government is adopting a near-site or even on-site relocation policy for informal settlers residing along the waterways of Metro Manila.

Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Office Secretary Ramon Carandang, for his part, said concerned government agencies are ensuring safe and permanent housing sites and livelihood programs for families living in the so-called “danger zones.”

"Out of that 100,000, there is about 60,000 families living in waterways in and around Metro Manila. Of the 60,000, about 20,000 live in what they call priority waterways. Iyon ang pinakaimportante na kailangan ma-clear. It’s actually 19,440 families," Carandang said.

"So you have to talk to them, you have to get them to buy into the idea, iyong tinatawag na “social acceptability”. Admittedly, that takes some time. Kapag pumayag na sila, we have to build the houses. We don’t want a situation where you build a house, lilipat sila doon tapos after a few months babalik sila. So you have to think about what are they going to do for livelihood that will make them stay there," Carandang noted.

The government is already developing a prototype project for this near or on-site relocation program.

"In 2012, despite the constraints that Secretary Singson mentioned, the NHA built 18,000 houses for families living near esteros. They plan to build almost double that this year," Carandang said.

Government says it has three-pronged approach to address flooding

The government said it is already working on a master plan containing a three-pronged approach to solve the annual flooding and traffic congestion problems particularly in Metro Manila in the long term.

In a press conference in Malacanang on Wednesday, Public Works and Highways Secretary Rogelio Singson said the master plan will cover a total area of over 4,000 square kilometers and involve about 17 million people.

Among the areas covered will be Metro Manila, parts of Bulacan, Rizal, Quezon, and the whole catchment basin of Laguna Lake, Singson said.

For the first time after years of neglect, the Aquino administration adopted a master plan for flood control which is already embedded in the NEDA program, he said.

The plan will involve the removal of 20,000 informal settlers living along waterways, drainage system improvement and upgrading of pumping stations especially in Metro Manila, the official said.

The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA), the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), and National Housing Authority (NHA) have already identified eight major waterways that need to be cleared and fund is now available to carry out the project.

“‘Pinag-usapan ito kahapon with President Aquino, at may timetable na, may schedule na sila Secretary Manuel Roxas to implement dahil ang funding is already there. So the funding is not an issue. We just need time to be able to implement all of these major projects that we are undertaking,” he said.

Singson said there must be an aggressive clean up drive for Metro Manila’s waterways because they were so blocked that waters coming from Sierra Madre can’t go down with ease to Manila Bay and Pasig River.

The MMDA said it started cleaning esteros and waterways last May but hasn’t penetrated 55 percent of blocked areas due to the presence of informal settlers.

To upgrade the drainage systems based on the master plan, construction works are ongoing in Metro Manila, the MMDA said.

There are 26 drainage systems being upgraded in the City of Manila, 13 in Quezon City, and two in EDSA. Constructions are also ongoing in Pasay City and Paranaque City, he noted.

According to Singson, the biggest project of the DPWH is the construction of the Blumentritt box culvert or water tunnel to address metro flooding. The Blumentritt culvert will run from Dapitan to Tondo in Manila with a span of 2.6 kilometers.

The box culvert has a width of 3.6 meters and height of 2.7 meter, Singson said. But since the drainage system will be 2.6 kilometers long, he appealed to the public to be patient before everyone could feel its effect. It will take the DPWH 12 months to construct, he said.

The improvement of pumping stations will be managed by the MMDA and it already has the money to upgrade 12 major pumping stations in Metro Manila, Singson said.

Singson further said that there is also non-infrastructure or non-structural measures to be implemented to address flooding, he said. Among these include Project NOAH that involve resettlement, flood drills, and an enhanced information system.

Because Project NOAH was already able to do a flood modeling system, it could predict flooding in Pasig and Marikina Rivers, the official said.

Palace says it won’t tolerate sexual abuses on Mid-East OFWs

Malacanang said it would not tolerate the alleged “sex-for-repatriation” scam in the Middle East especially if the practice is proven to be true.

Secretary Ramon Carandang of the Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Office (PCDSPO) said the Palace is leaving it to Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario to handle the issue.

He said Secretary del Rosario was meeting Wednesday afternoon with Rep. Walden Bello who made the accusation on abuses committed by Philippine Embassy staffs. Based on that discussion, Malacanang will take appropriate action, Carandang said.

“Let’s let DFA establish the facts first and if these reports are true, then, certainly, we will not tolerate that,” Carandang said.

Malacanang called on overseas Filipino workers who have been victims of an alleged scam in the Philippine Embassy in Kuwait to come forward to file appropriate complaints to hold the perpetrators accountable.

On Tuesday, Deputy Presidential Spokesperson Abigail Valte said the Department of Foreign Affairs has stepped in and has already instructed the Head of the Embassy in Kuwait and act on this.

Reports of the alleged sex-for-repatriation practice of officials and personnel in the Philippine Embassy in Kuwait surfaced this week when an unidentified female OFW, who was part of a group of 46 housemaids deported from the Kuwaiti Deportation Center, complained about sexual demands of an “embassy official” in exchange for her repatriation.

Aquino government pays tribute to Rizal in commemoration of 152nd birth anniversary

The Aquino government is paying tribute to Dr. Jose Rizal, through the social media, in commemoration of the 152nd birth anniversary of the country's national hero .

"June 19, 2013 is the 152nd birth anniversary of Dr. Jose P. Rizal. Today, the Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Office (PCDSPO) pays tribute to his life, works, and achievements through an online commemoration in the Presidential Museum and Library website, and its attached social media accounts in Facebook and Tumblr," PCDSPO Secretary Ramon Carandang said in a statement during the regular briefing in Malacanang on Wednesday.

"We encourage all to participate in this observance by using the hashtag: #Rizal152. This page features the continuation of PCDSPO’s digital colorization project, with three new archival photographs digitally rendered in color," Carandang said.

"Also featured is Rizal’s celebrated toast to the painters Juan Luna and Felix Resurrección Hidalgo, published in the original Spanish and in the English translation, with a recording by Audie Gemora," he said.

Born on June 19, 1861, José Protacio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda became the most prominent Filipino nationalist for advocating reforms through peaceful means rather than by violent revolution in the Philippines during the Spanish colonial era.

Rizal was the seventh of eleven children and belonged to a wealthy family in the town of Calamba, Laguna. He attended the Ateneo Municipal de Manila and graduated Bachelor of Arts. He took up medicine and Philosophy and Letters at the University of Santo Tomas.

Rizal traveled alone to Madrid, Spain, where he continued his studies at the Universidad Central de Madrid and earned the degree of Licentiate in Medicine. He also enrolled at the University of Paris and earned a second doctorate at the University of Heidelberg.

Aside from being conversant in at least 10 languages, Rizal was a poet, essayist, diarist, correspondent, and novelist. His most famous works were his two novels, Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo.

As a prominent political figure, Rizal was the founder of La Liga Filipina in 1892, a civic organization that subsequently led to the organization of the Kataastaasang, Kagalanggalang na Katipunan ng mga Anak ng Bayan led by Andres Bonifacio and Emilio Aguinaldo.

Rizal’s execution on December 30, 1896 made him a martyr of the Philippine Revolution.