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> PALACE CITES IMPORTANCE OF GMA'S
2-DAY WORKING VISIT TO JAPAN
> RETURNING Overseas FIlipino Worker (OFWs) SAVE
DAY FOR ECONOMY ANEW - ARROYO
> DOMESTIC AIRPORT FEES RISE
> ARROYO: JAPAN TRIP TO BRING JOBS, ECONOMIC FRUITS
FOR RP
> (STAR EDITORIAL) NOW COMES THE HARD PART:
THE U.N. VS CORRUPTION
PALACE CITES IMPORTANCE OF GMA'S
2-DAY WORKING VISIT TO JAPAN
MALACANANG, December10, 2003 (OFFICE OF THE PRESS SECRETARY) - Malacañang
today cited the importance of the two-day working visit of President
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to Tokyo starting tomorrow to attend the ASEAN-Japan
Commemorative Summit.
In a radio interview, Presidential Spokesman Ignacio Bunye said
the visit would give the President an opportunity to discuss bilateral
issues with Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi.
Japan, Bunye said, is the Philippines’ biggest source of official
development assistance (ODA) and the second largest trading partner,
after the United States.
During her visit, the President will also witness the signing of
major loan agreements that could provide electricity to far-flung
areas in the country and help implement the Electric Power Industry
Reform Act
(EPIRA).
He said that during the visit discussions for a comprehensive economic
partnership agreement between the Philippines and Japan could also
be stepped up although the agreement may not be signed yet.
"Definitely, that will be one of the topics to be taken up
by the President during her bilateral meeting with Prime Minister
Koizumi," Bunye said.
According to Bunye, the agreement would contain what the President
has cited as complimentarity between the needs and resources of both
countries.
He cited as example, the aging population of Japan who would need
the services of care-givers and health workers that the Philippines
could provide.
In return, Japan can continue to provide new technology to the Philippines,
not to mention the ODA and Japanese investments in the country, Bunye
said.
Bunye said that the President would also be meeting with Malaysian
Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi where they are expected to talk about
the reopening of the peace negotiations with the Moro Islamic Liberation
Front (MILF) that Kuala Lumpur has initiated.
Statement of the President Re Economic Prospects
I am aware of the partisan developments going around us but my mind
is more focused on the yearend prospects of the economy and how this
will carry us on to the next year.
Investments are doing well and our growth rate is steady, beefed
up by the surge of overseas remittances.
Statement of the President Re Tribute to OFWs
It is during the holiday season that we truly appreciate the meaningful
contribution of our Overseas Filipino Workers to our economy as well
as the joy they bring their families.
This is one reason why I am traveling out to Japan, Hong Kong and
Bahrain over the next few days—to see our Overseas Filipino
workers (OFWs) and express our gratitude for their being there for
our country and for our people.
We are also preparing a grand welcome for those who are coming home,
and we would like them and their families to know that we deeply appreciate
their contributions and their sacrifices for our country.
The Good News: 'People Power' is what makes the Philippines unique
It is not only politically that the Philippines has come to use "people
power" to good advantage.
Professionally, the Filipino workforce is one of the most compelling
advantages the country has over any of its Asian neighbors.
Consider:
-- With a higher education priority, the literacy rate in the country
is 94.6 per cent, among the highest in the world.
-- English is taught in all schools, making the Philippines the
world’s largest English-speaking country outside of the United
States.
-- Every year, there are some 350,000 graduates enriching the professional
pool.
People power is but one of the come-ons the government, through
the Board of Investments (BOI), is using to attract investments to
the
country.
It has, among others, also listed among the country’s advantages
its strategic location, first class lifestyle, abundant resources,
low cost of doing business, liberalized and business-friendly economy,
unlimited business opportunities, and a developing infrastructure
for global growth.
The BOI cited the country’s state-of-the-art telecommunications
facilities, adequate and uninterrupted power supply, ready-to-occupy
offices and production facilities, computer security and building
monitoring systems as well as complete office services in specialized
information technology (IT) zones as the reasons why the country is
all the investors need and more.
With the government’s focus on building up an IT-enabled
economy, the Philippines, the BOI said, is on its way to becoming
the e-services hub of Asia.
TOP
RETURNING Overseas Filipino Worker (OFWs) SAVE
DAY FOR ECONOMY ANEW - ARROYO
MANILA, December 11, 2003 (STAR) By Marichu Villanueva - Dollar remittances
from overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) have again saved the day for
the peso.
The seasonal homecoming of tens of thousands of OFWs for Christmas
with their families and the greenbacks they brought with them have
helped the peso recover from its tailspin over the past weeks. The
peso is now trading at an average of 55.20 to $1.
In an official statement released by Malacañang yesterday,
President Arroyo said the Palace is "preparing a grand welcome"
for returning OFWs over the holidays to honor them as the country's
modern-day heroes.
"It's during the holiday season that we truly appreciate the
meaningful contribution of our OFWs to our economy, as well as the
joy they bring their families," the President said.
"Investments are doing well and our growth rate is steady, beefed
up by the surge of overseas remittances," Mrs. Arroyo said. She
failed to cite, however, how much these remittances are.
In recognition of the economic contribution of OFW dollar earnings
and remittances, the President announced that she will host a pre-Christmas
reception with OFW communities in Tokyo, Hong Kong and Bahrain. The
President begins her overseas sorties today.
"This is one reason why I am traveling to Japan, Hong Kong and
Bahrain over the next few days - to see our OFWs and express our gratitude
for their being there for our country and our people," she said.
"We are also preparing a grand welcome for those who are coming
home and we would like them and their families to know that we deeply
appreciate their contributions and their sacrifices for our country,"
she added.
In the last week of November, the peso plummeted to a record low
of 55.730 to the dollar, a nose-dive blamed on political uncertainties
in the country related to the declaration of actor Fernando Poe Jr.'s
presidential bid.
The President remains optimistic that the third quarter growth in
the country's gross domestic product (GDP) will be sustained for the
rest of the year.
"I am aware of the partisan developments going (on) around us,
but my mind is more focused on the year-end prospects of the economy
and how this will carry us into the next year," she said.
The President also reiterated her warning for dollar speculators
to stop their profiteering activities, even as she reassured the public
that the country's strong macro-economic fundamentals will prop up
the peso despite election-related political uncertainties.
TOP
DOMESTIC AIRPORT FEES RISE
MANILA, December 11, 2003 (STAR)
Terminal fees for domestic flights from Manila will double starting
next month, but charges for international routes will remain unchanged,
Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) general manger Edgardo
Manda said yesterday.
From Jan. 1, passengers flying out of Manila to other points in the
country will have to pay P200 or a 100 percent increase from current
charges. The international charge remains unchanged at P550 ($10).
Manda said the terminal fee increase will bring in an extra P230
million each year, which will be used to help the airport pay maturing
debts and recover substantial expenses incurred and will be incurred
in the upgrading and rehabilitation of airport facilities.
From 2004 to 2008, the MIAA will be paying P842 million yearly, inclusive
of principal and interest, to the Overseas Economic Cooperation Fund
(OECF) for financing the construction of the NAIA Centennial Terminal
II, said Manda. And from 2009 to 2023, it is expected to pay another
P617 million annually.
In a press interview in Pasay City, Manda explained that since 1998,
the MIAA has not implemented any airport tax increase despite inflation.
But costs for maintenance of airport facilities have already doubled,
he said.
He disclosed that of the present P100 collected from each departing
domestic passenger at the old Manila Domestic Airport and the Ninoy
Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Centennial Terminal II, P15 is
remitted to the National Commission on Anti-Hijacking and Terrorism
(NACAHT) through the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG)
while P85 is retained by MIAA.
Manda is appealing to the public to understand why an increase is
inevitable.
"We hope that passengers will keep an open mind. We only want
to give them the best that we can offer with the resources available
to us," he said.
TOP
ARROYO: JAPAN TRIP TO BRING JOBS, ECONOMIC FRUITS
FOR RP
MANILA, December 12, 2003 (STAR) By Marichu Villanueva - President
Arroyo flew yesterday to the Japanese capital of Tokyo to join her
fellow heads of state attending the Association of Southeast Asian
Nations (ASEAN)-Japan Commemorative Summit.
The President said she is attending the summit to obtain more jobs
and other economic fruits for Filipinos, while other players in the
political arena are engaged in a "flurry of partisan activities
in Manila" preparatory to the May 2004 elections.
Mrs. Arroyo said this in a pre-departure statement before she boarded
a chartered Philippine Airlines (PAL) flight to Tokyo at the Kalayaan
Lounge of Villamor Air Base in Pasay City.
Accompanied by a small Philippine delegation led by Foreign Affairs
Secretary Blas Ople, the President is staying overnight in Tokyo and
will return at dawn on Saturday.
"The flurry of partisan activities in Manila shows how the campaign
is heating up this early," the President said, adding that she
is "not getting into the hype."
The President is seeking a full six-year term in the 2004 elections.
She will again be out of the country on Sunday, when she flies to
Hong Kong and Bahrain, and won’t be back until the Commission
on Elections (Comelec) opens for the filing of candidacy on Monday.
The President again stressed the significance to the country of her
trips abroad. According to her, these overseas trips will take her
to three countries that host large communities of overseas Filipino
workers
(OFWs), a number of whom have registered under the Absentee Voting
Law that entitles them to cast their votes for next year’s polls
from their
host countries.
"The Christmas season is the best time to give accolades to
our Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) because it is a time when many
of them are reunited with their families back home," the President
added.
"We do recognize their sacrifices and the honor they are bringing
our country and Japan is one place where we are building close people-to-people
bonds, which has worked very well for our national interest,"
she said.
This is the President’s fifth visit to Japan since she assumed
office in January 2001.
"We have always looked upon Japan as one of the major engines
of growth in the Asia-Pacific, as well as for our country," Mrs.
Arroyo said. "We are expected to sign a declaration for a more
enduring partnership for the new millennium and this augurs well for
Filipinos in the Philippines and Japan."
"All the leaders of ASEAN are here to reaffirm their commitment
to fair and open trade and collective security, together with Japan,
which is our number one source of official development assistance
(ODA)," the President said.
The summit aims to strengthen the economic partnerships between Japan
and the ten member-states of ASEAN.
On a bilateral basis, Mrs. Arroyo expressed hope that her scheduled
meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi on the sidelines
of the Japan-ASEAN summit will improve the already warm and friendly
ties between the Philippines and Japan.
"I shall ask Prime Minister Koizumi to help us open more jobs
for our caregivers in Japan and I will meet our workers who are already
there to thank them for bringing great pride (to) our country and
for their solid contributions to our economy," the President
said.
The two leaders agreed to begin negotiations for the Japan-Philippines
Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA) in early 2004 "to deepen
regional economic integration" of the two countries towards the
common goal of sustainable growth. This accord seeks, among other
things, to liberalize trade, investments and the exchange of services
between the Philippines and Japan.
TOP
(STAR EDITORIAL) NOW COMES THE HARD PART: THE
U.N. VS CORRUPTION MANILA, December 12, 2003 (STAR)
The Philippines joined 124 other nations this
week in signing the first global treaty against corruption. Signing
United Nations conventions has always been easy for the Philippines.
Carrying out its commitments as a signatory to UN pacts, however,
is something else. And the situation won’t be different
in the case of the UN Convention Against Corruption. There are enough
laws in this country to fight corruption, but enforcement is half-hearted
and graft persists.
Corruption was one of the gripes aired by young military officers
who staged a mutiny last July in Makati. Foreign investors often complain
about the need to grease palms in order to get things done or bag
juicy government contracts in this country. The Philippines consistently
ranks low in global surveys on transparency. The UN convention goes
a few steps further, seeking the examination of bank records in connection
with corruption cases. It also wants measures in place to make politicians
more accountable for acts of corruption while in office.
Enforcing such provisions could test the political will of the Philippine
government, which has been plagued by accusations of corruption at
all levels. The administration has been reluctant to initiate inquiries
on money laundering accusations hurled against individuals known to
be close to Malacañang. At least 30 signatory countries need
to ratify the UN convention before it takes effect. Before our lawmakers
ratify the convention, they should read the fine print and decide
whether they can abide by the treaty’s provisions.
Certain Philippine lawmakers have gained notoriety for corruption.
The executive branch should also look closely at those details, which
seek to punish private companies that use bribery to win contracts
overseas. Penalizing the companies will be up to the countries where
the firms are based — generally the rich nations. But the provision
will also affect the Philippines because almost every major development
project in this country has been tainted with allegations of kickbacks.
Are government officials ready to give up what they consider as the
perks of public office? Signing the UN convention and ratifying it
will be the easy part. The hard part will be living up to the nation’s
commitment to be corruption-free.
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