CIAC VP calls support for Gawang Angeleño campaign

Irish C. Calaguas proudly supports “Gawang Angeleño” as she poses with a Navy Blue Suit and pants in a textured Italian wool fabric matched with a white cotton inner longsleeves designed by Rosette RamosBi ag.

Calaguas, who is known as “Boss IC", is currently the Clark International Airport Corporation (CIAC) Vice President for Operations and Angeles City Mayor Carmelo “Po g i ” Lazatin Jr.’s Chief Adviser and Tactician.

Calaguas, the former Executive Assistant IV of the late Mayor Carmelo “Tarzan” F. Lazatin at the age of 21, became an avid supporter of Angeleño-made products where she described it as the testament of the city’s culture, community resource, connection, creativity, and competitive advantage.

During her intervi ew in iOrbitnews.com, she mentioned that these are the criteria set by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) which are targeted by the city government to achieve the success of the OTOP store. The OTOP store, she said, has been the backbone of the local Micro Small Medium Enterprises (MSEs), with the appropriate assistance and support from the city government, where the P500 administrative fee was waived amid the pandemic.

Aside from being executive assistant of Tarzan Lazatin, Calaguas also served as the concurrent chief of the Angeles City Disaster Management Office; the Trade and Investment Office; the Quality Management System Office; the City Information Office; the Information Communication

Technology Division; the City Nutrition Office; and, the Mayor’s Office Desk at the Rafael Lazatin Memorial Medical Center.

She also handled the City Nutrition Action Office when Angeles City ranked second as having the Best Nutrition Program in Central Luzon.

As head of the Trade and Investment Promotions Office then, she successfully headed trade missions and sisterhood agreements with the cities of Bacolod, Cebu and Hampyeong, South Korea. She successfully organized and pioneered the citywide Sisig Festival for four consecutive years, from 2003 to 2006, featuring the famous Kapampangan dish made from parts of a pig’s head. The success of the event earned for Angeles City the distinction of being the Sisig Capital

of the Philippines.

Calaguas is hopeful that the national government will facilitate access to financial institutions, credit provisions, loans, grants and incentives, and other sources of funding for purposes of business growth, development, innovation, among others for the welfare of MSMEs.

It was also during Calaguas’stint as Executive Assistant IV that the city's computerization project was certified ISO 9001:2003 by Certification International Philippines, making Angeles City the first ISOcertified Local Government Unit outside Metro Manila in 2002.

In 2007, she joined the House of Representative as Chief of Staff of First District Representative Carmelo F. Lazatin. In 2011, she organized the

PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte said the termination of the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) between the Philippines and the United States will push through if the latter fails to deliver at least 20 million doses of a vaccine against coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19).

In a meeting with infectious diseases specialists in Malacañang on Saturday evening, Duterte expressed doubt that the US will be able to deliver the vaccines.

"'Yung Visiting Forces Agreement matatapos na. Ngayon 'pag hindi ako pumayag, aalis talaga sila. 'Pag di sila naka-deliver maski minimum ng 20 million vaccines, better get out. No vaccine, no stay here," he said.

"Do not believe in that na America delivering kaagad. Hindi nga nila ma-deliver agad sa kanilang lugar, dito pa? Itong mga Amerikano, maniwala kayo. Naging cynic ako sa kanila. Kung ibigay, eh di ibigay. If you want to help, you deliver (and) stop talking. What we need is the vaccine, not your verbose speeches,” he added.

Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Director General Rolando Domingo has confirmed that drug manufacturer Pfizer filed on December 23 for Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) of its vaccine candidate against Covid-19.

Roque said it will take the FDA 21 days to evaluate and approve the EUA, but vaccination would start as soon as stocks become available.

In February, Duterte ordered the revocation of the VFA, a pact since 1999 which permits the conduct of joint US and Philippine troops’military training.

This came following the cancellation of the US visa of Senator Ronald Dela Rosa, a former police chief and principal implementer of the government’s drug war.

Duterte has suspended the abrogation of the VFA amid the pandemic.

Meanwhile, vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. said a vaccination program against Covid-19 may start in May 2021 at the earliest.