Fisherfolk group cites PGMA for Conservation Award
|
| |
A local fishermen’s group called Pambansang Alyansa ng mga Mangingisda at Pamunuan ng Organisasyon
Inc. (PAMPANO) has congratulated President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo for being a recipient of the Teddy
Roosevelt International Conservation Award in Washington D.C.
The group voiced its desire that this award “will go a long way in inspiring our people to engage each other in
action programs that will result in improved governance, better resource stewardship and dynamic cross
fertilization of ideas on resource conservation, sustainable utilization and management.”
President Arroyo was honored Wednesday for her “innovative leadership to protect the oceans and preserve the
biodiversity of the Coral Triangle,” a vast expanse of ocean totaling 5.7 million square kilometers that span six
countries, namely Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Timor Leste.
Under the President’s leadership, the Philippine government is internationally recognized as one of the
pioneering adopters of the Coral Triangle Initiative on Coral Reefs, Fisheries and Food Security, reputedly the
largest coral reef conservation program ever undertaken, the group said.
Signed by 23 of its council members, PAMPANO said the Coral Triangle Area is the center of the world’s marine
biodiversity as it is home to 75 percent of all coral reefs known to science; 75 percent of the world’s mangrove
species; 45 percent of the world’s seagrass species; 58 percent of tropical marine mollusks; more than 3,000
species of fishes; and 22 species of marine mammals.
The country’s fishery management authorities under the President have packaged a portfolio of programs and
projects to protect the fishery and aquatic resources within the Coral Triangle.
These include the engagement of fisherfolk in Coastal Resources Protection and Management; support for
partnerships/joint management arrangements such as the Sulu-Sulawesi Marine Eco Region and the Brunei-
Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines-East Asia Growth Area [BIMP-EAGA]; the abatement of destructive,
unsustainable, illegal and unregulated fishing; coastal resource regeneration and rehabilitation; marine
protected area management; poverty alleviation; marine turtles protection; building of a sustainable live reef food
fish trade; the promotion of sustainable tuna fisheries and initiatives to reduce the impact of climate change.
The group said the President has given priority to foreign-assisted projects that put emphasis on integrated
coastal resource management. These include the Fisheries Resource Management Program bankrolled by the
Asian Development Bank; the Sustainable Management of Coastal Resources of the Bicol and CARAGA
Regions being financed by a grant from the government of Spain; the Fisheries Improved for Sustainable
Harvest (FISH) project funded by the US Agency for International Development and a UN Environment Program-
Global Environment Fund-financed project to assist coastal municipalities along the South China Sea to
manage their resources.
|
| |
BIR exceeds 1st quarter collection target
|
| |
The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) has exceeded its collection target for the first quarter of the year by P14.6
billion or 9.27 percent.
BIR Commissioner Joel Tan-Torres said that from January to March, BIR’s income tax collection reached P172
billion, higher than its target of P157.7 billion.
“We are off to a good start. We have exceeded the collection target for the past three months of the year,” Tan-
Torres said in a news conference in Malacanang this afternoon.
He attributed the feat to the continued support of the taxpayers and the efforts of the BIR in enhancing taxpayers’
service and enforcement and collection strategies.
The last time the BIR exceeded annual collection target was in 2003.
‘If we continue this, it will benefit all of us. The deficit will be better managed. We would be able to borrow less.
We’ll have more funds for developmental needs,” Tan-Torres said.
With the deadline of filing income tax set today (April 15), he reminded businessmen/entrepreneurs that they still
have until midnight to file their income tax in BIR field offices.
|
| |
PGMA orders LGUs to promote law on persons with disability
|
| |
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has signed Republic Act 10070, a law establishing the institutional
mechanism to ensure the implementation of programs and services for persons with disabilities (PWDs) in
every province, city and municipality, as envisioned by RA 7277 or the Magna Carta for Disabled Persons.
The law, signed last April 6, promotes the creation of organizations of PWDs in their respective territorial
jurisdictions.
National agencies and local government units may enter into joint ventures with organizations or associations of
PWDs to explore livelihood opportunities and other undertakings that shall enhance the health, physical fitness
and economic and social well-being of PWDs.
The law mandates the creation of Persons with Disability Affairs Office [PDAO] in every province, city and
municipality with the local chief executive appointing a PWD affairs officer to manage and oversee the
operations of the office. Priority shall be given to a qualified PWD to head and man the office in carrying out the
following functions:
1. Formulate and implement policies, plans and programs for the promotion of the welfare of PWDs in
coordination with concerned national and local government agencies.
2. Coordinate the implementation of this Act, Batas Pambansa Blg. 344 or the Accessibility Law and other
relevant laws at the local level.
3. Represent PWDs in meetings of local development councils and other special bodies.
4. Recommend and enjoin the participation of NGOs and people’s organizations (POs)in the implementation of
disability-related laws and policies.
5. Gather and compile relevant data on PWDs in their localities.
6. Disseminate information including programs and activities for PWDs, statistics on PWDs, including children
with disability and training and employment opportunities for PWDs.
7. Submit reports to the office of the local chief executive on the implementation of programs and services for the
promotion of the welfare of PWDs in their respective areas of jurisdiction.
8. Ensure that the policies, plans and programs for the promotion of the welfare of PWDs are funded by both the
national and local government.
9. Monitor fundraising activities being conducted for the benefit of PWDs.
10. Seek donations in cash or kind from local or foreign donors to implement an approved work plan for PWDs
in accordance with existing laws and regulations.
11. Perform such other functions as may be necessary for the promotion and protection of the welfare of PWDs.
Within three years from the effectivity of this Act, appropriate agencies headed by the Department of Social
Welfare and Development, in consultation with the National Council on Disability Affairs and other relevant
NGOs and POs shall review the implementation and recommend to Congress the need to mandate the
establishment of a PDAO in 4th, 5th , and 6th class municipalities.
The national government, through the DSWD, shall ensure that the annual budget includes provisions to fund
programs and provide support to PWDs.
Local governments shall ensure that the necessary funds from any available local revenue are allocated for the
implementation of this Act for the benefit of PWDs.
|
|
