BREAKING NEWS :PNoy in Cebu for the 2nd time this year for new airport groundbreaking

President Benigno “Noynoy” AquinoIII will be in Cebu on Monday, June 29, to lead the groundbreaking of the P32-billion airport modernization which is seen to increase the total capacity of the Mactan Cebu International Airport (MCIA) from 4.5 million passengers to 12.5 million passenger.

 

Press briefing conducted at the PIA7 office 

Fayette Rinen, Philippine Information Agency 7 Assistant Regional Director, in today’s press briefing said Pres. Aquino will lead the groundbreaking of the project undertaken in a private public partnership with GMR-Megawide Cebu Airport Corporation (GMCAC).

It will signal the start of construction for Phase1, Terminal 2 of the MCIA.

After the groundbreaking across the MIP Building, Pres. Aquino will proceed inside the airport for a walking tour of the new facilities such as the new check-in counters and new x-ray machines used for the security check.

The President will then be ushered to the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Lounge for a formal program. 

Aquino will be accompanied by cabinet members, Department ofInterior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Manuel Roxas, Department ofTransportation and Communication (DOTC) Secretary Joseph Emilio Aquinaldo Abaya, Department of Tourism (DOT) Secretary Ramon Jimenez Jr. and PPP Executive Director Cosette Canilao.

This will be the President’s second visit to Cebu this year.  He was here on May 1 for the launching of DOLE's JobStart program, opening of a state of the art medical facility of the University of Cebu (UC), and expansion project of Cemex Corporation in Naga City.

Under the Aquino Presidency, PPP Program is a cornerstone strategy for national development aimed at accelerating infrastructure and other development services, in order to sustain national economic growth.

By virtue of the Executive Order No. 8 series of 2010, as amended by Executive Order No. 136 series of 2013, the PPP Center is mandated to facilitate the implementation of the country’s PPP Program and Projects. 

My #PeaceNaPlease experience (A PIA intern from Palompon's learning from BBL youth workshop)

“Everybody deserves peace, but it’s all up to us if we let peace happen or just let other people steal peace away from us.”

Lucky me, I am among those who was able to join the first ever #PeacenaPlease forum in the country which kicked off in Cebu 

Lots of learning I must say. The "#PeaceNaPlease" held on June 11, 2015 at the Handuraw, Gorordo Avenue, Cebu City was a blessing for me. 

Me as PIA intern, participating in the workshop =)

The activity was participated by student writers from different Universities in Cebu, Organization Leaders and the Media.

The program talked about the BangsamoroBasic Law(BBL) and the outcomes of it if it will be pass, the positive side of it and the help it may give to our Moro brothers and sisters in Mindanao and all over the country.

It gave me an opportunity to interact and talk about the topic with the different people who  came from different environment and culture. I am not used to talking in front of people whom I don’t know, but I am happy to say that despite of having different stands from the topic, We all have the same goal- To achieve peace!

I am not a pro or anti- BBL, but as a citizen of this country, I know I can help in my own simple way to create harmonious relationship with one another by just letting people know how BBL is important to our brothers and sisters in Mindanao. It is true that not all Moro’s are terrorists and not all terrorists are Moro’s. From the activity that I had joined earlier, I learned that they really need help; they need to be respected as a human because they also have feelings. Some people say that Moro’s will still be Moro’s and that they are known to be aggressive people.

The Mamasapano incident will always remind us how aggressive they  are, how they are willing to kill people in spite of the fact that the Government already had a peace agreement with them, the question is- did we consider the civilians and other Moro’s who are not involved in the incident? Why not focus on our minds of creating peace with them? If we will not support it then what do we think is the best way to achieve peace? Is it making war with them again? Remember, not all Moro’s are terrorists, not all Moro’s want war, not all Moro’s want to shed blood! Let’shave pity on those Moro’s who are not involved in the bloody encounter in the Mamasapano.

National Youth Commission Asec Perci Cendana talks about BBL and the youth

I learned from the workshop that Moro’s are thirsty for the support of our Philippine Government in order for them to achieve better ways of living. It’s just not that, we know that Mindanao have lots of natural resources that can help the country in its economy. We all have different stands regarding this issue, but the fact that we are all fighting for peace is what makes it interesting. Let’s just help one another in achieving peace.

-Mariel D. Torres, Palompon Institute of Technology (PIT),  AB. COM INTERN

June 11, 2015