Philippines and France share same principles in Building a Peaceful Nation

MANILA - President Benigno S. Aquino III recently pledged support for the people of France in building a peaceful nation by upholding human dignity and promoting the rule of law. In his toast during the state dinner in honor of visiting French President François Hollande at the Rizal Hall of Malacañang Palace, President Aquino admitted that he was “appalled” by the attack on the French publication Charlie Hebdo in Paris last January where 11 people were killed. “Such savagery should have no place in this world, and my countrymen and I are in full support of the people of France, as you uphold human dignity and work to protect the blessings of democracy,” he said. The Charlie Hebdo shooting was reportedly in retaliation for the French satirical newspaper’s controversial drawings of the Muslim prophet Muhammad.
       President Aquino said the Philippines is one with France in treading a path towards building a better nation, free from terrorism, injustice, and inequality. “As leaders of our respective peoples, you and I are bound by fraternité; ours is a brotherhood pledged to protecting the principles that serve as the firm foundation of our nations: the belief in the democratic way of life, the pursuit of justice and the preservation of one’s rights, and the promotion of the rule of law,” he said.
     For his part, President Hollande pledged to build a sustainable partnership with the Philippines in terms of addressing climate change, combating corruption, and upholding the rule of law in resolving domestic issues. He said his visit was made special by the launch of the Manila Call to Action on Climate Change, which aims to engage the international community and all stakeholders in addressing climate change that has greatly affected the Philippines in recent years. “My visit is exceptional as well, given that we have launched together today the appeal of Manila. I am sure it will be heard beyond the borders of the Philippines, all around the world. I wanted to mobilize the international community in prospect of the Paris meeting, which will be crucial for the future of our planet,” he said. “You have been dealing with tsunamis and typhoons. We’ve been by your side on these occasions, and front we’ll always be. We reaffirm our commitment to stand by the Philippines when I travel to Guiuan tomorrow and confirm that we will provide all support to the projects that you’re undertaking in order to preserve your country, the environment and to introduce innovation and technology,” he added.
     President Hollande will be going to Guiuan, Eastern Samar on Friday to visit areas devastated by super typhoon Yolanda in 2013. President Hollande brought along a large delegation of advocates of environmental protection, led by Oscar award-winning actress Marion Cotillard, French actress Melanie Laurent, and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I. Nations must agree on a universal climate change pact to prevent catastrophes The international community of nations must conclude a universal climate change agreement when they meet in Paris late this year to save the planet from destruction, President Benigno S. Aquino III said on Thursday.
     In a statement during the launch of the Manila Call to Action on Climate Change in Malacañang Palace, the President said he welcomed the initiative and emphasized the need for all countries to work together to address the dangers posed by climate change. "The choice before us is clear. We can either overcome this problem together, or together reap the consequences of apathy," he said during the launch, which was attended by visiting President of the French Republic François Hollande. "For this reason, it is incumbent upon us to conclude a universal climate change agreement in Paris later this year: one that is ambitious; that is guided by science, and that allows developing countries to pursue their economic goals in the context of sustainable development." The President also assured that the Philippines will continue to exert all efforts to address the issue, and adhere to the commitments outlined in the call to action. "We stand in hope that many nations in the global community will do the same," he said.
     As a small Pacific nation, the Philippines is already feeling the effects of climate change through stronger typhoons in increasing frequency, he noted, adding that as a result, the country has found itself in a vicious and unsustainable cycle of destruction and reconstruction. President Aquino extended his gratitude to President Hollande, along with all nations that have pledged action to address the global threat. Aside from meeting President Aquino, President Hollande will travel to Eastern Samar on Friday to highlight his Philippine trip aimed at rallying nations to combat climate change. Eastern Samar saw massive destruction in November 2013, when the region was hit by Typhoon Yolanda, killing and displacing thousands of residents. (MNS)

Philippines Focuses on Economic Growth

MANILA -- The Philippines is restarting efforts to do an accounting of its natural resources through a World Bank-backed program that would help to unlock the potential of the sector for economic growth and address environmental issues – particularly in the mining industry. The Philippines is one of the eight countries that are implementing WAVES, or Wealth Accounting and the Valuation of Ecosystem Services, World Bank Phil-WAVES task team leader Stefanie Sieber said in a briefi ng in Pasig City. Other countries implementing the program are Botswana, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Indonesia, Madagascar and Rwanda. WAVES is a global partnership that aims to promote sustainable development by ensuring that natural resources are mainstreamed in development planning and national economic accounts. Citing a 2006 World Bank Application that looked at produced capital, intangible capital and natural capital, Sieber said natural capital is the most important for low income countries but is not measured. "[WAVES will] help countries adopt and implement accounts that are relevant for policies," she said. "You can think of many natural capital accounts we could produce, but the main purpose is really to do something that policy issues are suppressing in individual countries." Nothing new But compiling a natural capital account (NCA) is nothing new to the Philippines since it has been done in the 1990s, National Economic and Development Authority Deputy Director-General Emmanuel Esguerra said in the same briefi ng. However, it was not fully institutionalized due to the lack of budget as well as global standards in measuring natural resources, he said. "Reasons alluded to was there was no standard methodology. There were also challenges to institutional capacity and resources for agencies that were supposed to take the responsibility for natural capital accounting," Esguerra noted. But early in 2014, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) was give a small funding by the government to restart environmental accounting – even prior to the approval of WAVES – interim assistant national statistician Raymundo Talento said. In April 2014, the Phil-WAVES project was signed with the World Bank, and was offi cially launched in September. From then on, the PSA has started gathering data for the NCA. Among the data being collated were gold, copper, nickel and chromium. "These are the major metal minerals we have... Simply because of the data and time constraint... we're not doing any extra survey but only relying on data from the NSO [National Statistics Office] and MGB [Mining and Geosciences Bureau]," Talento said. "But what we notice is we need to do more labor since we discovered there are a lot of data sitting around in the bureau that needed to be processed," he added. The PSA hopes to come out with initial data after the fi rst semester, after which it will hold several consultative forums with mining companies and the public, Talento noted. A useful tool Esguerra said the NCA is a useful tool for development planning that can serve as a guide to formulating plans and policies for sustainable development. "If we're able to measure changes in natural capital, that gives us an idea about sustainability of development and design policies in order to address those issues," he said. One issue that can be addressed with the program is in the mining industry. "I think it's still going on and they have to do with sustainability of these operations," Esguerra said. Confl icting land and water use, particularly in Palawan and in Laguna Lake, can also be addressed through the Phil-WAVES, project consultant Elisea Gozun said. But the acceptance of NCA in relation to policy development and economic planning will take some time to get traction, Esguerra said. "It’s not easy to change behaviors or mindsets... "If it took years for GDP (gross domestic product) accounting to take hold and to be appreciated and for a standard to be adopted across countries, now you’re introducing national capital accounts for a system that’s been there for generations, let alone getting budgets for this effort to be supported," he added. (MNS)