PGMA orders CAAP to resolve US-FAA downgrade of RP’s aviation ratings
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MALAPASCUA, Cebu – President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has directed the Civil Aviation Authority of the
Philippines (CAAP) to immediately resolve the civil aviation ratings downgrade of the Philippines by the US
Federal Aviation Authority (US-FAA) so that the country can capitalize on the rebound of international travel and
the corresponding global tourism boom.
Talking to reporters covering President Arroyo’s inspection of the tourism-related projects in the Central
Philippines Super Region, Tourism Secretary Joseph Ace Durano said the President wants the FAA ratings
downgrade issue to be resolved at once.
“Her guidance to the CAAP is that the sooner the issue is resolved, the better for us so we can take advantage of
the rebounding international routes,” Durano added.
Durano said the President wanted CAAP (headed by Ruben Ciron) to infuse more technical experts in the
agency to overcome the concerns on aviation safety standards in the country
FAA, the US aviation watchdog, downgraded in 2007 the Philippine aviation ratings from Category I to Category 2
along with countries like Bangladesh, Ivory Coast, Ghana and Indonesia due to concerns” about air safety
operations which, it said, were not compliant with International Civil Aviation Organization standards.
Durano said the President took note of the rebounding global economies, which means more travel by citizens
of countries whose economic conditions are improving.
He added that national carrier Philippine Air Lines’ planned expansion of flights to and from North America
through its Boeing-777 jumbo jet, the world’s largest twin jet, fleet has been stunted due to the downgrade.
“The FAA downgraded us to Category 2 and because of that, we cannot maximize our opportunities coming from
North America, especially now that Philippine Air Lines has new 777 and we cannot use it for this route,” Durano
said.
Durano stressed that a contributing factor to the FAA downgrade was the lack of the technical personnel for
specific CAAP functions.
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PGMA rides MRT-LRT loop train in EDSA Day “dry run”; then meets billion-peso
taxpayers
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President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo will lead a flag-raising tomorrow (Feb.25) at the People Power Monument at
EDSA in Quezon City to commemorate the 24th year of the 1986 EDSA Revolution.
She will also observe EDSA day with two other events: test ride of the near-complete LRT-MRT loop project also
in Quezon City and the launch in Makati of the large taxpayers campaign of the Bureau of Internal Revenue which
will feature the Billionaires Club awards to four biggest corporate taxpayers in the country.
Vice President Noli de Castro and several cabinet members will join her in the MRT-LRT dry run.
As of December 2009, physical interconnection of the MRT3-LRT1 loop has been completed although the 5.7
kilometer stretch of the LRT 1 North Extension project has been 80.9% complete.
The project, which costs about P7.5 billion has four stations: Monumento, Balintawak and Roosevelt including
the common one at North Avenue. This will close the EDSA Loop as this would be connected to the Metro Rail
Transit (MRT) Line 3 in North Avenue Station. The Balintawak station will provide modal interchange for bus and
jeepney services entering Metro Manila from the north via the North Luzon Expressway.
The project also involved the construction of a P777-million Grand Central Terminal, which will connect the
existing MRT Line 3 to the future lines as MRT 7.
LRT Line 1 currently runs from Baclaran in Pasay City to Monumento in Caloocan City. Metro Rail Transit (MRT)
Line 3 runs from the intersection of Edsa and Taft Avenue in Pasay City up to the North Avenue in Quezon City.
The integrated terminal provides for seamless rail operation of Lines 1 and 3. Upon completion, the LRT 1 and
the loop is expected to serve about 800,000 to one million passengers .
In the afternoon, the President will launch the Large Taxpayers Service (LTS) campaign of the BIR at the NBC
Tent in Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City, to help raise awareness on the importance of paying the proper tax
obligations.
Included in the event is a video presentation of the BIR’s Large Taxpayer System (LTS), a computerized
accounting system particularly for the estimated 1,500 firms in the country which are classified as large
taxpayers.
During the BIR launching, the President will also award the Billionaires’ Club to the country’s largest taxpayers
that include the Manila Electric Company (MERALCO), San Miguel Corporation (SMC), Nestle Philippines
Incorporated and Holcim Philippines Incorporated.
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PGMA extends life of task force on Mindanao River Basin
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President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has extended the term of office of the Presidential Task Force on Mindanao
River Basin Rehabilitation and Development by another two years or until Dec. 31, 2012.
Issuing Executive Order 753-B on Feb. 15, 2010, the President noted that the P10-million 18-month master plan
for the project was awarded only last December, and did not give the task force chaired by Cotabato Archbishop
Orlando Quevedo enough time to implement the project if their original term of office, which ends in September
this year, is not extended.
“The rehabilitation and development of the Mindanaoa River Basin is a long-term environment project that
cannot be short circuited,” the President noted in the Order.
The Mindanao River Basin is the second largest river basin in the country with total catchment area of 23,169
square kilometers. It covers the provinces of North Cotabao, Sarangani, South Cotabato, and Sultan Kudarat as
well as the city of Cotabato and some parts of the Autonomous Region in Muslin Mindanao.
The river basin is divided into two major tributary basins: the Pulangi River in Bukidnon and the Alah River Basin
in South Cotabato.
The basin supports a significant variety of wild flora and fauna, particularly in Linguasan March, one of the
country’s largest wetlands.
In a related development, the President also signed Proclamation Order (PO) 2003 last Feb. 10, declaring this
year as the “National Year of Biodiversity”.
The country is a party to the United Nations-sponsored Convention on Biological Diversity, which also declared
2010 as the “International Year of Biodiversity.”
PO 2003 noted the Philippines is one of the world’s 18 most megadiverse countries. It is also one of the world’s
biodiversity hotspots that continue to face constant threats of degradation.
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GMA briefs tourism stakeholders aboard Cebu-Bohol ferry
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CEBU CITY – President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, aboard a Super Cat ferry en route to Bohol, met today with
stakeholders, local officials and members of media to present them an overview of her Central Philippines
Super Region program that aims to firm up the region’s identity as the premiere tourist destination in the country.
In her presentation, the President started by saying that since 2001 when she took over the presidency, she has
followed a policy “to spread development to all the other parts of the Philippines.”
“The provinces are the heart and soul of our country and our work is to nourish that heart and soul by investing in
our people and in infrastructure in order to be able to bring development to every Filipino,” the President said.
“So our goal has been to spread the opportunity across the nation in order to take back the tilt from the power
brokers and elite from Manila,” she added.
To achieve her visions, the Super Regions were created “to spread development away from an inequitable
concentration in Manila.”
The Super Region strategy was firmed up in her sixth State of the Nation Address (SONA) in 2006 and following
that, selected regions /provinces were mapped out based on their economic strengths.
These are the North Luzon Agribusiness Quadrangle, the Cyber Corridor, the Urban Luzon Beltway,
Agribusiness Mindanao and Central Philippines.
The Central Philippines Super Region, so identified for its tourism attractions and potentials, comprises the
Visayas, Bicol, Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon, Palawan, Camiguin and the island of Siargao.
These places are said to be endowed with rich natural wonders and cultural heritage. Complemented by the
extraordinary hospitality and warmth of their people, these places are potential world-class tourist destinations.
The President said that investments in roads, ports and airports in Central Philippines have been contributory to
the increasing tourist arrivals and revenues.
She said, citing figures that despite the global economic slump, foreign and local tourists reached 5.2 million in
the first nine months of 2009, year-on-year, or 17 percent higher than that for the same period during the
previous year.
Tourism growth she said can also be traced principally to tourism-related infrastructure set up in the Central
Philippines super region since 2001.
Among these are 42 airport projects costing P27.31 billion; 108 ports constructed by the Philippine Ports
Authority costing P8.76 billion and 145 municipal ports costing P1.23 billion; 8,783 kilometers of roads and
18,741 meters of bridges costing P54.14 billion; and the P52.44-billion Southrail project.
She said this year, the Department of Tourism estimates foreign tourist arrivals at 3.27 million which may
generate direct revenues of $3.31 billion and employment of 3.39 million.
Tourism is also expected to contribute of $17 billion in revenues this year, which is equivalent to 13.6 percent of
the national gross domestic product (GDP).
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Work on P7.5B Bohol International airport starts next month; cruise ships coming soon
for stopovers
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TAGBILARAN, City, Bohol --- President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today said construction of the P7.54-billion
Panglao Bohol International airport will begin next month, barring any protest on the winning bid.
The major airport project is aligned with the national and Central Visayas regional development framework,
which identified Bohol as well within the Central Philippines super region dedicated to tourism.
To date, the country has eight international airports. The existing airport in Bohol’s capital city of Tagbiliran is
categorized as a domestic airport.
The President said Bohol’s tourism potential will also be bolstered by the decision of foreign cruise ships to
begin stopovers in the province starting this May.
“This will not just greatly boost the tourism industry of the province but will also be a good source of jobs for the
tourism graduates of the Holy Name University (HNU),” the President told thousands of students and
professors of this 64-year old Catholic university run by the Society of the Divine Word seminary.
These twin announcements on tourism prospects were widely applauded by the students and faculty of HNU
even as the President shared with her audience her super regions accomplishments, to include those in
Central Philippines.
The President praised the Boholanons for their warmth and hospitality that, together with the province’s natural
wonders, have been drawing both local and foreign tourists.
. The President said her administration has poured in P1 billion in infrastructure investments into Bohol alone
over the last nine years, including the construction of the Bohol Circumferential Road and the Tubigon and Ubay
Ports.
“Continue guarding your rich environmental resource and work for a safe and sacred environment,” the
President said.
The President and her party took a ferry to this province from Cebu, and back. She was accompanied by
Tourism Secretary Joseph Durano and Press Secretary Crispulo Icban Jr.
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