DBP presents P2.5 B check to PGMA
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President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today received a ceremonial check of P2.5 billion representing DBP
(Development Bank of the Philippines) dividend payment to the national government for 2009.
Patricia Sto. Tomas and Reynaldo David, chairperson and president, respectively, of the state-owned bank
presented the check to the President and Finance Secretary Margarito Teves during the bank’s 63rd anniversary
celebration held at the DBP Head Office in Makati.
With the amount, the total dividend received by the national government out of DBP operation from 2001 to 2009
now stands at P11.4 billion.
According to David, 2009 was a banner year for the bank. It posted a net income of P6.09 billion then, up from P3.
6 billion the previous year. He said DBP owes this achievement to the President’s support.
The President was presented a copy of the Memorandum of Understanding between DBP and the Overseas
Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), which puts in place an integrated assistance program for overseas
Filipino workers .
Being prepared under this program are mini gas station dealerships and other livelihood projects for OFWs and
their dependents.
At the celebration, the President unveiled a scale model of the new DBP Green Building soon to be constructed
at the Fort Bonifacio Global City in Taguig.
The builders will utilize eco-friendly architectural designs, thus the name. It will use solar power, for instance, for
its energy requirements.
Also, President Arroyo was shown the gold trowel her father, the late President Diosdado Macpagal, used to lay
the cornerstone of the present DBP building 46 years ago. She intends to use the same trowel to launch
construction of the DBP’s future building.
The anniversary celebration highlighted the bank’s contributions to the Ten-Point Agenda of the Arroyo
administration, particularly in four major areas---infrastructure and logistics; schools and hospitals; micro, small
and medium entrepreneurship; and the environmental.
The bank traces its history to 1947 when it was established as the Rehabilitation Finance Corporation tasked to
provide credit for the development of agriculture, commerce and industry, and the reconstruction of properties
damaged by the war.
In 1958, RFC was renamed DBP and reorganized to take on activities designed to accelerate national
development.
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RP mission to Haiti calls on PGMA
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The Philippine medical team that will conduct a humanitarian mission in Haiti called on President Gloria
Macapagal-Arroyo in Malacañang this afternoon before its scheduled flight this evening to the earthquake-
ravaged country.
Dr. Emmanuel Bueno led the 21-member team, composed of five surgeons, two orthopedics, three general
surgeons, two anesthesiologists, five nurses, three epidemiologists, and two engineers.
Joining the President were Health Secretary Esperanza Cabral, Defense Secretary Norberto Gonzales, Foreign
Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo, and Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Esteban Conejos, Jr.
In her brief remarks, the President thanked the members of the team for volunteering their services to help their
unfortunate Haitian brothers and sisters.
“It is our obligation to help,” the President said. “We know how it feels to be stricken, having been hit by typhoons
Ondoy, Pepeng, and Frank. We too received international humanitarian aid.”
The President said the country is short on funds, but it has good doctors and nurses willing to extend help to
calamity victims.
For his part, Conejos informed the President that as of now, the first batch of OFWs in Haiti are arriving on
Friday. He said 67 out of 290 Filipinos in that country want to come home.
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PGMA names Saludo Deputy Spokesperson
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President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has named National Reconstruction Commission Chairman Ricardo
Saludo deputy spokesperson.
In a media briefing today. Presidential Deputy Spokesperson Gary Olivar said Saludo will join him and Charito
Planas in hosting the regular briefings with the Malacanang Press Corps on such issues as governance and
economy.
Olivar said Saludo’s experience will be a welcome addition to the team that was tasked to explain the President’
s programs and achievements to the people.
“Our team will be strengthened with the addition of an old hand and of someone the President trusts,” Olivar
said.
Olivar also said there is a need for more spokespersons in the Palace considering the concerted campaign
being mounted against the government.
“The President has to put up a strong organization to speak for her especially at this time when she is
explaining her legacy programs,” he said.
Olivar noted the President is looking for somebody to fill “a big pair of shoes” left behind by the late Press
Secretary Cerge Remonde, and Saludo will help with the work load.
He said explaining the President’s programs and their impact on the people is a job not of one man but of an
entire team.
“I’m happy to welcome Secretary Saludo on board,” he said.
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Palace urges voters to consult conscience
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Malacanang today urged the electorate to vote wisely in the coming elections, saying the fate of future
generations rests on the decision that will be made by Filipinos in May.
“We should never yield our rights and responsibilities as independent thInking voters to anything else whether it’
s the power of surveys or the blandishment of candidates,” said Presidential Deputy Spokesperson Gary Olivar
in a media briefing this afternoon.
Olivar was reacting to pronouncements made by the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), in
a pastoral letter on Sunday, calling for more vigilance and involvement by Filipinos in the electoral process.
In that pastoral letter, the CBCP urged voters to let their conscience, not survey results or perception of
winnability, guide them in their decisions.
“We owe it to ourselves to support this process through COMELEC. We must set aside second guessing and
intrigues and focus instead on helping in the conduct of a successful election,” Olivar said.
The CBCP had also called on election officials to come up with an alternative in case of glitches in the
automated system being implemented in the country for the first time.
It is always prudent and sensible to have a fall back position,” Olivar said.
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