NAIA Terminal II, Pasay City
12 December 2014
President Benigno S. Aquino III arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) bearing good news after his attendance at the 25th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) – Republic of Korea Commemorative Summit.
First among the good news is the recent credit ratings upgrade that the country received from Moody’s which, according to the President, confirms the growing confidence of the Philippine economy; second, the Philippines being selected by the Millennium Challenge Corporation to undergo another compact which is indicative of the vote of confidence under the government’s reform banner ‘Tuwid na Daan’; third, the favourable second ruling on the Fraport vs. Philippines case involving the controversial NAIA Terminal 3 project; and lastly, the positive ruling by the Supreme Court on the Coco Levy Fund siding with the coconut sector.
His meeting with Korean President Park Geun-Hye also yielded positive results especially with both leaders expressing interests to expand and deepen bilateral ties between the two nations. He said that the South Korean President has granted a US$500 million framework agreement loan, concessional loans with favourable interest rate, to help out the country’s infrastructure projects. The Korea International Cooperation Agency has also expressed its interest to help out Mindanao’s infrastructure development alongside the agency’s ongoing capacity-building program for the Bangsamoro.
The President also announced the purchase of two FA-50 aircraft units for the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to be delivered next year.
In his message, the President said that the challenge now is to exceed with even heights all the achievement surpassed over the years with programs and projects that will cement over-all transformation.
“Ngayon nga po, ang hamon sa atin ay tapatan pa ang mga good news na ito ng mas masigasig na implementasyon ng mga programa at proyekto na layong gawing permanente ang transpormasyon sa kalakhang lipunan,” he said.
“Sa nalalabing panahon ng ating panunungkulan, sa gabay ng Panginoon, at sa patuloy na pagsuporta ng ating mamamayan, gagawin natin ang lahat ng ating makakaya upang ihatid ang mas makabuluhang paglilingkod sa ating mga Boss,” he added in closing.
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