The year 2005 saw the country on a steady and
sure growth, notwithstanding the internal political turmoil that has threatened to disrupt
and undermine the economic gains that have already been made, and the global oil crisis
and rising prices of commodities, which threatened to cripple the economy. Through it all,
the President demonstrated to the nation and the world that she is undeterred by the
continuing noise, remaining resolutely focused on the economy, investments and jobs, and
in pursuing her vision for the country – a country where economic opportunities
abound, where social cohesion is encouraged, and where democratic faith is a way of life.
We saw marked
improvements in tax collections, which strengthened our fiscal position, and renewed the
confidence of investors in our economy. With the improved fiscal condition, the government
was able to fund priority infrastructure programs and basic services, especially for the
poor. This is expected to further reduce the poverty incidence among Filipino families,
which already saw a decrease of almost three percentage points from the 27.5% revised
estimate for 2000 down to 24.7% in 2003.
SUSTAINED ECONOMIC GROWTH
Macroeconomy. We
sustained macroeconomic growth performance amidst adverse internal and external factors
such as rising commodity prices and the oil crisis. Since 2001, GNP/GDP continued to
increase, registering 6% growth in 2004, the strongest since the economy’s last peak
growth of 5.8% in 1996, and exceeding the Medium-Term Philippine Development Plan target
of 4.9–5.8%. For the first three quarters of 2005, GNP grew by 5.47% and GDP by 4.6%.
Inflation was
reduced and maintained at single-digit levels as government effectively managed
inflationary pressure. Inflation averaged 7.7% for the first eleven months of 2005. It
could have been better had there been no volatile world oil prices, and increases in
wages, electricity and transport fares. Interest rates were likewise maintained at
single-digit levels, from 9.87% in 2001 to 7.34% in 2004 and further improved to 6.358%
for the first eleven months of 2005. The Peso-Dollar exchange rate remained generally
stable with the peso appreciating by 5.6% from P56.199 to US$1 on 3 January 2005 to
P53.234 to US$1 on 15 December 2005. This is the Peso’s strongest level in the last
two and a half years, making it the world’s best performing currency for 2005. The
stock index improved by about 15% since the start of the year making it the best performer
in Southeast Asia. We maintained a Balance of Payments (BOP) surplus of US$2.324 billion
for the first 10 months of 2005, a complete reversal from the full-year 2004 BOP deficit
of US$280 million. The surplus was partly attributed to OFW remittances, which, in the ten
months of 2005, reached US$8.8 billion, or 27.1% higher than that registered during the
same period last year.
We achieved a
lower-than-program deficit for the first eleven months of the year and strengthened our
fiscal position through revenue enhancement and expenditure tightening measures. As of
November 2005, the National Government deficit was P122.8 billion or P37.7 billion below
the programmed ceiling of P160.5 billion for the period, way below the P160.2 billion
deficit registered in the same period last year. Among the measures undertaken to improve
the fiscal condition were the enactment of revenue measures such as the Restructuring of
the Value Added Tax (RVAT) System (RA 9337) and the Indexation of Excise Tax on Tobacco
and Liquor (RA 9334). Corollary to these laws were the adoption of austerity measures that
generated savings of P239 million in the first semester of 2005; the implementation of a
four-day work week in April and May under Administrative Order 117 that generated an
estimated P144 million savings; and increasing government fees and charges by not less
than 20%, resulting in P19.57 billion collection in 2004 and P16.79 billion for the first
10 months of 2005.
Foreign Direct
Investments (FDI) from January to August 2005 reached US$929 million, or a growth of 70.5%
from the US$545 million registered last year. Foreign Portfolio Investments surged to
US$2.1 billion for the first 11 months of 2005, more than four times the US$486.8 million
registered in 2004.
Despite weakness in
the international market, export earnings from January to September 2005 reached US$29.96
billion or 3.4% higher than that registered in the same period last year.
Agriculture. Growth
in agriculture soared to an annual average of 4% in gross value added in four years
attaining the highest output in 2004 with an increase of 4.8%. We posted a 1.7% increase
in production during the first three quarters of 2005. The gross value of agriculture
production amounted to P580.8 billion, recording a 5.97% increase this year.
Recognizing that
majority of our people still work in agricultural lands, we embarked on an agribusiness
land development program that would develop two million hectares of idle and unutilized,
new and existing, agricultural areas. Hand in hand with the local government units and the
private sector, we developed a total of 138,862 hectares and helped link farmers with
corresponding markets in all regions.
Tourism. Visitor
arrivals to the Philippines increased from 1.8 million from January to October 2004 to 2.1
million during the same period in 2005. Chinese tourist arrivals registered a significant
increase of 157.5% over last year’s 3,742.
Energy
Independence and Savings. Amidst the global oil crisis, the Administration
pursued mitigating measures to address the impact of the oil price hikes and move the
country towards energy independence. We launched a nationwide energy conservation program,
in partnership with the private sector. The program included enercon measures such as the
Palit-Ilaw, which encouraged the shift to lower wattage fluorescent bulbs and replacement
of incandescent bulbs with more energy efficient compact fluorescent lamps, 10% mandatory
reduction in electricity and fuel consumption by government offices, and conduct of energy
audits of commercial, industrial and government establishments. To make the country,
particularly its public transportation, less vulnerable to the volatility of world oil
prices, the government launched the Natural Gas Vehicle Program, where initially 200 buses
will commercially run on compressed natural gas. We also promoted the commercial use of
alternative transport fuels such as biofuels and LPG autogas. In partnership with gasoline
companies, discounts on diesel were provided to public transportation to cushion the
impact of the oil price hike on commuters.
Infrastructure
and ICT. The Strong Republic Nautical Highway (SRNH) or Western Nautical
Highway was expanded to include the Central Nautical Highway and Eastern Nautical Highway.
The Western Nautical Highway system, which covers
Manila-Batangas-Calapan-Roxas-Caticlan-Iloilo-Bacolod-Dumaguete-Dapitan, decreased
transport cost by 37%-43% for passengers and 24%-34% for cargo, and reduced travel time by
12 hours. All ports and road connections along these RoRo routes are in place, regular
services in all routes are being ensured and port facilities are being expanded as needed.
Financing worth P30 billion was provided to entice shipping companies to expand and
modernize their fleets, and for local governments to invest in RoRo facilities. To
efficiently transport the products of Mindanao to Luzon, via Visayas and vice versa, road
networks were improved/maintained along the Strong Republic Nautical Highway System.
We continued to
develop road and rail projects to decongest Metro Manila, reduce travel time, and open up
new economic opportunities. We completed the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) Expansion
Project (Phase I) in February 2005, effectively cutting by half the travel time along the
whole 84-kilometer stretch to only a one-hour drive. The Northrail project, a commuter
system which will run from Caloocan to Clark (Phases I and II), has been cleared of
informal settlers and illegal structures, and construction is expected to start very soon.
We embarked on the
development of new airports, which shall serve as gateways to tourism destinations,
such as Cebu-Bohol-Camiguin, Palawan and Boracay. The new airports are located in Negros
Occidental (Silay City), Iloilo (Sta. Barbara/Cabatuan), and Bohol (Panglao).
We started the
development of the Subic-Clark corridor to make it the premier international service and
logistics center in the Southeast Asian region. In line with this, we commenced the
construction of the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway in April 2005 and implemented the Subic
Bay Port Development Project to promote the economic growth of Subic Bay Freeport Zone. On
the other hand, air liberalization policy was pursued which resulted in more airlines and
flights to and from Clark, Malaysia and Singapore.
We continued to
promote the Philippines as a center for ICT development. Information Technology services
investments increased by 33% to P7.88 billion for the first nine months of 2005 from P5.93
billion for the same period last year. We also enhanced access to information and
communications technology and reduced internet connectivity cost to 1/3 of what it used to
be – from $12,000 in 2002 for an E-1 connection to US$2,000 - $3,000 in January 2005
- fueling the growth of the IT sector. Costs of local internet connections were reduced
from P24 per hour in 2000 to P5 per hour today.
SOCIAL JUSTICE
AND BASIC NEEDS
Jobs Generation. Based
on the 2005 Labor Force Survey (LFS), the average employment increase reached 699,000.
Government
intervention in priority programs resulted in a total of 1.99 million jobs generated from
January to September 2005. About 235,000 new jobs were created by developing 138,862
hectares of new agricultural lands and linking them with corresponding markets in all
regions. Developed areas were either planted to crops, grown with forage for pasture,
stocked with animals, seeded with fingerlings or established seaweeds farms.
To increase the
viability of micro, small and medium enterprises through credit, technology and marketing
support, the government released P8.33 billion in microfinance which created 509,802 jobs.
The government further supported 293,843 jobs by releasing P23.5 billion loans to SMEs
from January to October 2005.
The arrival of
additional 252,700 tourists created opportunities for job generation which translated into
a total of 308,294 new jobs created from January to October 2005.
Government programs
also helped in generating jobs in ICT-enabled businesses. A total of 41,000 jobs were
generated from January to May 2005 from ICT-related services, such as business process
outsourcing. Similarly, the government’s policy shift from tolerance to promotion
energized the mining sector, resulting in the operationalization of new mining projects
and creating 7,098 jobs from January to October 2005.
Other sectors and
programs which the government promoted were: (a) housing units and site development which
resulted in 52,805 housing units constructed, generating 404,080 jobs; (b) public
construction and maintenance which resulted in 74,900 people hired from January to
November 2005. These include community-based workers hired in the construction of
government projects by contractors pursuant to RA 6685, in "Kalsada Natin, Alagaan
Natin" (KNAN) and Project OYSTER (Out-of-School Youth Serving Towards Economic
Recovery), and in patronizing products and services of persons with disability; (c)
expanded operation of enterprises in economic zones, which generated a total of 146,460
new jobs in the economic zones; and (d) Kasanayan at Hanapbuhay (KASH) Apprenticeship
Program with more than 53,000 workers under apprenticeship.
Education. A
total of 8,800 classrooms were built from July 2004 to May 2005, or 47%
higher than the annual target of 6,000, while 4,516 classrooms or 75% of the annual target
were constructed from June 2005 to October 2005. Close to 2,000 families in Regions I,
III, IV-A, VI, X and XI have been awarded Certificates of Educational Assistance (CEA)
under the Iskolar Para sa Mahihirap na Pamilya (IMP) Program. Of this number, 135 grantees
availed of the scholarship in SY 2004-2005, and 74 availed of the scholarship in State
Colleges and Universities (SUC) and 43 in Technical Vocational Education and Training
(TVET) in SY 2005-2006. A total of 14.6 million textbooks and 307,000 teacher’s
manuals for all public schools for priority subjects have been procured and delivered
benefiting 17 million students, which maintained the textbook-pupil ratio to 1:1, except
for English III and IV with a ratio of 1:2.
Electricity and
Water. Electricity was provided to 1,333 barangays from January 2004 to October
2005 under the Expanded Rural Electrification Program, bringing the total number of
energized barangays to 39,081 out of 41,945 barangays and attaining 93.17% barangay-level
electrification. Water services were provided to 26 out of the 210 waterless areas in
Metro Manila through MWSS concessionaires benefiting 18,729 households. In addition,
Maynilad Water Services provided water for a total of 2,981 households in 27 communities
outside the 210 identified waterless areas during Phases I and II of the "Patubig ni
PGMA" program.
Land Distribution.
A total of 144,208 hectares of private and public land were distributed from January
to September 2005, while 38 Certificates of Ancestral Domain Titles (CADTs) covering
835,165 hectares have been distributed/approved from July 2002 to November 2005.
Housing. About
27,360 informal settlers were given security of tenure through Presidential Proclamations
declaring public lands as alienable and disposable for housing purposes, the nationwide
Community Mortgage Program (CMP), the National Government Center Housing Project (NGCHP)
and the North and South Rail Relocation Program of the National Housing Authority (NHA)
from September 2004 to September 2005. Socialized housing services were provided to 30,023
households belonging to the bottom 30% of the income population from September 2004 to
September 2005 bringing the total to 252,258 since 2001.
Healthcare.
Some 371,000 poor families or 1.9 million poor Filipinos were enrolled under the
National Health Insurance Program from January to September 2005 bringing the total number
of enrollees to 2.4 million poor families or 12 million poor Filipinos. The government
also expanded access of the poor to half-priced essential medicines by establishing more
than 4,000 Botika ng Barangay/Bayan outlets nationwide.
NATIONAL
SECURITY, PEACE AND ORDER
The government
continued to protect the citizenry from the threat of global terrorism and national
insurgency by strengthening law and order. The capabilities of our armed forces have been
bolstered through continuing modernization and joint military exercises with the United
States that sharpened our soldiers’ capabilities. Global efforts were harnessed to
address threats to national security. Cognizant of our serious commitment to wage war
against terrorism, the Philippines was designated as a Major Non-NATO Ally of the US in
its strong stand against global terror boosting aid to the country and giving it greater
access to American military equipment supplies and training.
Measures were
instituted to raise the level of operational effectiveness of law enforcement agencies.
The government’s relentless and intensified campaign against terrorism, organized
crimes, anti-kidnap for ransom syndicates and illegal drugs has resulted in reduced
incidence of kidnappings, neutralization of key terrorist personalities and notorious
kidnappers, and reduction in the supply of illegal drugs.
FIGHTING
CORRUPTION THROUGH GOOD GOVERNMENT
One of the key
reform packages of the Administration is fighting corruption through good governance. The
President continued the task of lifting our people from poverty by intensifying the
campaign against graft and corruption. Focusing on punitive and preventive measures, the
Administration pursued an intensified campaign through an integrated program of systems
and institutional reforms, with human resource investments, effective use of information
and communications technology, and prosecution of corrupt individuals.
The Lifestyle
Check Program continued to be a strong weapon against corruption. One of its major
highlights was the conviction of AFP Comptroller Retired Major Gen. Carlos Garcia, who was
found guilty for violations of the Articles of War, specifically, Section 95 for fraud
against the government; Section 96 for conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman; and,
Section 97 for being a green card holder.
Partnership
with vigilant non-government entities was enhanced to tightly watch procurement processes
and the delivery of supplies and materials to the field level. The Government Procurement
Reform Act addressed loopholes in the government procurement system and generated P52
million in savings. |
