Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Dante Canlas, Foreign Affairs Secretary Blas Ople and Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Heherson Alvarez will lead the Philippine delegation to the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) in Johannesburg, South Africa from August 26 to September 4.

The country’s delegation -- composed of some 68 officials from government, business and the civil society – will join over 65,000 participants from other countries, including more than 100 presidents and prime ministers.

The world summit will celebrate the 10th year anniversary of the historic Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, as it will assess how far each country has progressed in promoting the sustainable development agenda adopted in the Global Agenda 21.

Canlas, also chairman of the Philippine Council on Sustainable Development (PCSD), will submit proposals on various key issues, including an international sustainable development governance structure, water and sanitation, and stakeholder participation.

He said the PCSD stood as among the first mechanisms in the world created to follow up national commitments to the Global Agenda 21, a report from the National Economic and Development Authority said.

Canlas said the Philippines wanted the WSSD to come up with concrete measures so that the Rio Earth Summit and the Millennium Development Goals, which a need to reduce poverty by half in 2015, could be realized.

He said the Philippine delegation will support moves:

• To put up the World Solidarity Fund to bankroll poverty alleviation programs in developing countries;
• To extend debt relief or debt cancellation that do not compromise Official Development Assistance (ODA) for developing countries;
• To clear targets and timelines for reducing poverty and the number of people without access to water and sanitation; to adopt renewable energy; and

• To ratify and implement protocols and conventions, such as the Kyoto Protocol and the Convention on Climate Change, the Basel Convention, Rotterdam Convention and Stockholm Convention on chemicals and wastes, and the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety.

Canlas said the delegation maintained that the summit should not be a venue for renegotiation of what had been previously agreed upon, but should build upon the agreement contained in the Doha Development Agenda and the Monterey Consensus.

In Doha and Monterey, a framework was reached to improve the market access of developing countries and to increase financial assistance for development.

He said all countries should work together to ensure that the benefits of growth and development are broadly shared.

I understand that the discovery of the tax diversion case at the Land Bank has caused anxiety about the integrity of the tax payment system.

I would like to reassure large and small taxpayers that banks are now equipped to take your payments either on the basis of e-filing or e-payment system for large taxpayers and through the debit payment for non-large taxpayers. The e-payment system was institutionalized by the BIR as of August 1, 2002 and is further being enhanced to broaden the number of banks that can accept payment.

The debit payment system, which banks will soon be authorized to accept, will require taxpayers to fill out an agreed form of debit memos to their banks authorizing the transfer of cash from their account to the Bureau of Treasury, payable to the Bureau of Internal Revenue.

These methods of payment will reduce the risk of diverting check payments, as this method is done electronically and very secure.

I would like to thank Congressman Enrique Garcia for spearheading the work done with the banking system in developing the debit payment system. A task force is in fact being constituted to continue working on these modes of payment, which Acting BIR Commissioner Cornelio Gison will need to closely monitor for implementation.

In the meantime, let us not allow ourselves to be paralyzed by the events transpiring in the Government’s efforts to uncover the unlawful activities depriving our nation of much-needed resources. This is a time when the Government needs the help of all well-meaning citizens in doing their share of building our revenue base and guarding those revenues with much zeal and vigilance.

Malacanang today stressed that President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo continues to focus her efforts in fighting crime, eradicating poverty, lowering the cost of power, and practicing good governance.

When asked to comment on a foreign newspaper report that Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri is emerging as the better leader in the region, Press Secretary and Acting Presidential Spokesman Ignacio Bunye said that the two leaders have different styles.

"I still believe that the President has got what it takes to really lead our country," Bunye said in his regular press briefing.

Bunye noted that the President would rather concentrate on the targets that she had enunciated in her second State of the Nation Address (SONA).

"Of course, the overall objective is the elimination of poverty within 10 years. The immediate targets would be the campaign against criminality and addressing the power rates," Bunye said.

Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye today said that there wouldn’t be any extension for Armed Forces Chief of Staff Gen. Roy Cimatu, who is due to retire next month.

Bunye made this emphasis when asked if President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is inclined to extend Cimatu’s term in the light of the development in Patikul, Sulu where armed men kidnapped six individuals.

"I think the President has already made the announcement several times that while she believes in the capacity of Gen. Cimatu, there are other generals who are waiting in the wings and just as capable," Bunye said in his regular press briefing in Malacaņang.

Cimatu, who was confirmed by the Commission on Appointments Tuesday, is due to retire on September 1.

Meanwhile, Bunye said the government is not implementing a news blackout on the latest kidnapping incident in Sulu.

But he said that it is better for Malacaņang not to comment on the latest kidnapping incident as there are still ongoing operations against the perpetrators.

"The President has not made any comment. I think the policy right now is not to comment on any ongoing operations and would rather let the men in the field give the details of the operations," he said.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has approved a draft Memorandum Circular (MC) institutionalizing the Kapit Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan (Kalahi) as the framework and program for poverty reduction.

The President approved the draft memorandum during the second National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC) en banc meeting in Malacaņang wherein she also inducted into office Presidential Adviser on Cooperatives Roberto Pagdanganan and the farmers, fisher folk, youth and students sectoral representatives of the NAPC.

Under the MC, all government poverty reduction programs and projects shall anchor on Kalahi. The government, through Kalahi, shall solicit the active participation of basic sector organizations, other civil society organizations, and the business sector in its poverty reduction programs or activities.

The poverty reduction program has three goals – reduced poverty, improved governance, and empowered communities.

It will be based on the five strategies: accelerated asset reform; improved access to human development services; provision of employment and livelihood opportunities; social protection and security from violence; and institutionalized and strengthened participation in governance.

To facilitate proper targeting of Kalahi sites, planning, coordination and monitoring of poverty reduction program, projects and resources, the Memorandum Circular established the following convergence groups, adhering to the principle of open and inclusive membership:

1. The National KALAHI Convergence Group composed of heads and or focal persons of the national government agencies such as the Department of Agrarian Reform, Department of Agriculture, Department of Labor and Employment, Department of Budget and Management, Department of Social Welfare and Development, Department of Health, Department of Education, Department of the Interior and Local Government, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, National Economic and Development Authority, People’s Credit and Finance Corporation, Presidential Commission on the Urban Poor, Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council, National Commission on Indigenous Peoples, Commission on Higher Education, Department of Justice, Department of Finance, Department of Trade and Industry, Department of Science and Technology, Department of Pubic Works, Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, Technology and Livelihood Resource Center, National Housing Authority, National Youth Commission, National Food Authority, Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office, Philippine Information Agency, and other national government agencies that may be identified later, national chapters of local government leagues, and the NAPC Basic Sector Representatives.
2. The Regional Kalahi Convergence Groups, composed of heads and or local persons of the regional counterparts of the National Kalahi convergence group agencies, the Presidential Assistant for Regional Development or the Regional Development Officer (RDO).

To effectively implement Kalahi in all targeted areas and communities, funding shall be sourced from allocation from program funds of the national government agencies and from funds of local government units.