December 1, 2010
MANIFESTATION
Mr. President, about a week ago, parliamentarians from ten Asian countries, including the Philippines, met here in Manila for a three-day Consultative Meeting on “Disaster Risk Reduction: An Instrument for Achieving the Millennium Development Goals”.
After our exchange of views and experiences on the various effects of disasters and the impact of climate change in our respective countries, this representation, along with legislators from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Maldives, Pakistan and Thailand, forged “The Manila Call for […]
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November 22, 2010
Mr. President,
It cannot be stressed enough that we only have five years left to halve poverty, eliminate illiteracy, improve health and fully realize the other Millennium Development Goals.
Across the globe, the situation is immensely challenging. The Global Monitoring Report 2010: the MDGs after the Crisis, revealed that between 2009 and 2015, 1.2 million more children under five and 262,000 more infants will die. In 2015, an estimated 350,000 more students might not complete their primary education. Moreover, 100 […]
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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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