President Benigno Aquino III (PNoy) said on Monday, February 28, 2011 that he has no plans to ask Congress for emergency powers as of this time, even in the possibilities of negative effects of the ongoing crisis in Libya to the Philippine economy.
PNoy said this despite assurance from Congress leaders that they would support him in case he asks for emergency powers.
In an interview, after the meeting of the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC), Aquino said the concerns of those proposing for presidential emergency powers can still be addressed in the current setup, like the plight of 26,000 Filipino migrant workers who are affected by the current situation in Libya, and possible spike in oil prices.
“For instance, what would you need? Would [there] have been a need at this time to ask Congress for a supplemental budget to address their plight? I was made to understand that there is substantial fund with [Overseas Workers Welfare Administration] that can be utilized for this purpose," he said.
He said Energy Secretary Rene Almendras has been briefing him constantly on the government’s efforts to mitigate oil price increases
“As you know, the price of oil now is $110 per barrel. Until that situation in Libya stabilizes there is still that pressure, for those who are speculating, to drive the price up but there are several measures [the government had undertaken]," he said without elaborating.
Aquino noted that acting Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario and Undersecretary Esteban Conejos are now in Libya to manage the situation of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) there.
“They have set up a command post…There is a ship that we will be utilizing that will transport about 20,000 plus of our countrymen to Malta, so we are removing substantial numbers already," he said.
He further said that even countries richer and have more resources than the Philippines were not able to predict the situation.
For now, no emergency powers for PNoy but as situation gets to worst, maybe the need for presidential emmergent powers will be addressed accordingly.
Source: http://www.gmanews.tv
To receive updates right into your inbox, please don't forget to subscribe:
PNoy said this despite assurance from Congress leaders that they would support him in case he asks for emergency powers.
In an interview, after the meeting of the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC), Aquino said the concerns of those proposing for presidential emergency powers can still be addressed in the current setup, like the plight of 26,000 Filipino migrant workers who are affected by the current situation in Libya, and possible spike in oil prices.
“For instance, what would you need? Would [there] have been a need at this time to ask Congress for a supplemental budget to address their plight? I was made to understand that there is substantial fund with [Overseas Workers Welfare Administration] that can be utilized for this purpose," he said.
He said Energy Secretary Rene Almendras has been briefing him constantly on the government’s efforts to mitigate oil price increases
“As you know, the price of oil now is $110 per barrel. Until that situation in Libya stabilizes there is still that pressure, for those who are speculating, to drive the price up but there are several measures [the government had undertaken]," he said without elaborating.
Aquino noted that acting Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario and Undersecretary Esteban Conejos are now in Libya to manage the situation of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) there.
“They have set up a command post…There is a ship that we will be utilizing that will transport about 20,000 plus of our countrymen to Malta, so we are removing substantial numbers already," he said.
He further said that even countries richer and have more resources than the Philippines were not able to predict the situation.
For now, no emergency powers for PNoy but as situation gets to worst, maybe the need for presidential emmergent powers will be addressed accordingly.
Source: http://www.gmanews.tv
To receive updates right into your inbox, please don't forget to subscribe:
Comments
Post a Comment
If you have comments, questions, or additional info to add in this post please share them here.