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Philippine Embassy Implements ePassport Project
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Consular Assistant Janeth Falsis takes a photo of Bing Branigin, National Editor of the Washington-D.C.
based Filipino newspaper Manila Mail. Ms. Branigin is the first applicant for an e-passport from the Filipino
community in the Embassy's consular jurisdiction.
The ePassport features microchip technology. An integrated circuit (chip) within its pages contains data that
are essential in verifying the identity of the passport holder, which include personal information on the data
page of the passport, the biometrics of the passport holder, the unique chip identification number, and a digital
signature to verify the authenticity of the data stored on the chip.
The ePassport is the world standard in travel documents. It avoids reproduction and tampering as a result of
the security measures inherent in the new passport. The enhanced features also facilitate in a seamless and
rapid transaction for travelers at immigration checkpoints.
Successfully launched today at the Embassy of the Philippines, ePassport applicants are highly encouraged to
set an appointment prior to their visit at the Embassy by calling 202-467-9300 from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. or
from 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., Mondays through Fridays. Personal appearance is required in all cases as the
biometrics such as the applicant's photo, thumbprints and signature will be captured at the Embassy during
the enrolment and data capturing process. The ePassport costs US $60.00. For further information on the
ePassport project implementation, please visit www.philippineembassy-usa.org. END.
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PGMA reopens major Pangasinan bridge
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SISON, PANGASINAN -- President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo inaugurated today the newly reconstructed Bued
bridge here that is expected to provide easier access to goods and services to northern Luzon.
The President led the ceremonial inaugural drive thru and unveiling of the marker officially reopening the P120
million bridge that serves as a major link of this region to the rest of Luzon.
“This is the bridge that brings everybody from Manila to the north and all the products from the north to the
south” the President said during the rites.
Public Works and Highways Secretary Victor Domingo said the President used to call him every week to
prioritize the completion of the project before the rainy season begins.
The Bued Bridge was damaged after the onslaught of typhoon “Pepeng” last year. In collaboration with the
DPWH Region I and the 3rd district office of Pangasinan, the government, under the President’s bridge
program, reconstructed it last January 4. It was completed last June 13.
Pangasinan 5th district representative Mark Cojuangco thanked the President for all the projects that she has
poured for the province.
“Today we see why President Arroyo is a very good president…Ganito po ang tuloy tuloy niyang paggawa ng
maraming projects na nakakatulong sa ating lahat, Tayo po dito sa 5th district of Pangasinan ay malaki po ang
utang ng loob sa inyo sa napakadaming nahatid niyo dito sa aming distrito. Maraming maraming salamat po.
(This is but one of the projects of the President that has helped the people of this district. We owe the president
a lot),” Cojuangco said.
Cojuangco added that the completion of the bridge is timely as the rainy season is fast approaching. The
alternate route going to and from Sison, Pangasinan to La union vis-à-vis gets flooded during rainy season, he
said.
President Arroyo then talked to Mr. Bartolome Cabral and Mrs. Janet Buday who where the direct beneficiaries
of the road project.
Bartolome Cabral, a construction worker for the road project thanked President Arroyo for the opportunity to
augment his daily income as a carpenter of the project, enabling him to send his daughter to school.
Janet Buday, a local entrepreneur, on other hand said, that her handicraft/furniture business will flourish
because of the reopening of the bridge.
The President said the bridge will give people hope to improve their lives.
More projects, she said, are forthcoming for the people of Pangasinan and La Union, citing the ongoing
construction extending the Tarlac expressway all the way to Rosario, La union.
“There is more to come.Meron pang TIPLEX, Tarlac, Pangasinan, La Union expressway, para mas maraming
makinabang na taga Pangasinan at La Union,” she said.
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PGMA legacy agenda books to be launched tomorrow
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Two books on the administration and achievements of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo will be launched
tomorrow, a week before she ends her nine-year term on June 30.
In a media briefing this afternoon in Malacanang, Presidential Deputy Spokesperson Prof. Gary Olivar said the
books are entitled "Beat the Odds: Another Stone for the Edifice," and “Beating the Odds.” Both books, he said,
detail the accomplishments of the President’s BEAT THE ODDS legacy agenda.
“Beat the Odds: Another Stone for the Edifice” which was published by the Philippine Information Agency (PIA),
was edited by Olivar and University of the Philippines Professor Gonzalo Jurado.
Jurado, a senior faculty member at the UP School of Economics and a former mentor of Olivar and the
President, rated the book with a Grade of “1,” the grade he gave to the President when she was still his student.
Jurado said the book gives concreteness to words already spoken on the President’s achievements and gave
the “1” rating particularly on the President’s direct cash assistance program for the poor including the
unprecedented budgetary allocations to human and physical infrastructure “which can be seen all over the
country.”
Olivar said the book also contains technical notes and vigorous points of view of experts not connected or
influenced by the government.
The second book, "Beating the Odds," is co-authored by former Philippine Information Agency (PIA) Chief
Renato Velasco and Presidential Spokesperson Ricardo Saludo. It recounts major issues and challenges the
President faced early in her administration.
During the briefing, Agriculture Assistant Secretary Romeo Recide said the Department of Agriculture (DA) also
launched last Friday the book “FIELDS of Glory.”
The book chronicled the President’s commitment and achievements on increasing the country’s food security
and productivity program for farmers and fishermen through her flagship program FIELDS.
During the National Food Summit in Pampanga in April 2008, the President launched the FIELDS, which
stands for Fertilizer; Irrigation and other rural infrastructure; Extension and education services for farmers;
Loans; Dryers and other postharvest facilities; and Seeds and other genetic materials.
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