November 15, 2010
MANIFESTATION
About 1.57 billion Muslims worldwide[1] will celebrate tomorrow the Eid’l Adha—the Feast of Sacrifice that commemorates a story of dedication and obedience to God.
Mr. President, the Eid’l Adha is one of the two important feasts of Islam. While the Philippines is a predominantly Christian nation, it is incumbent upon us to accord the proper respect to other faiths and religions, as any democratic state ought to do. This was our motivation when we pushed the passage of a […]
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November 8, 2010
In culmination of the celebration of the National Indigenous Peoples Month that was celebrated throughout October and as we resume our sessions in this chamber, allow me to speak to you on this important subject matter of the protection of Indigenous Peoples Rights and their cultural integrity.
I. Recognition of Indigenous Peoples in the International Arena
Indigenous Peoples (IPs) make up over 370 million or about 5% of the world’s population and live in 90 countries all over the world.[1] […]
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October 13, 2010
MANIFESTATION
Today, we join the world in marking the International Day for Disaster Reduction, celebrating the small victories that we have so far won yet recognizing the persistent challenges that remain—foremost of which is the challenge to build more sustainable and disaster-resilient towns and cities.
In many parts of the globe, disasters of unprecedented proportions made it into the headlines. The earthquake in Pakistan, the flooding in Bangladesh, Myanmar, China and tropical storm Ondoy and typhoon Pepeng in the Philippines […]
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October 5, 2010
Today, we join the international community in celebrating World Teachers’ Day by giving honor to our Filipino Teachers.
For this year’s celebration, the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization and Education International came up with the theme: Recovery begins with teachers, placing teachers in the lead to recovery from various global crises.
Many of our people’s woes are primarily the effects of our societal problems—such as the financial crisis that has affected the economies of many nations, and the […]
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September 27, 2010
In a survey conducted by the Nielsen Company and the Oxford University Institute of Climate Change late last year, the Philippines registered the highest level of concern for climate change among 54 countries surveyed. 78% of Filipino respondents said they are concerned[1]. In fact, VERY CONCERNED.
They have good reasons to feel that way. Let us review our records.
Looking Back
The Philippines was severely hit by three successive tropical cyclones: “Ondoy”, “Pepeng”, and “Santi” between September 24 to November […]
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