President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has issued a series of directives that would reduce the cost of transport and cargo handling in Mindanao ports.

The directives, issued during 11^th Mindanao Business Conference held at the Capitol Convention Center in Surigao City last Friday, are designed not only to speed up the development of Mindanao but also to make doing business in the island more competitive.

First, the President said, she has directed the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) to adopt a universal rate in collecting government shares from the revenues of cargo handlers.

"Starting next month, I am pegging the rate at 10 percent for the domestic ports and 20 percent for international ports. This is my initial move to mitigate the cost of cargo handling, especially in Davao and Zamboanga," the President said.

The second move the President announced was the freezing of the 35-percent increase in port and wharfage fees ordered implemented by the previous administration for the next five years.

She said that non-implementation of the 35 percent increase in port and wharfage fees, which are being charged by the PPA, would mean a loss of P200 million a year in government revenues.

The President said she was making the gamble because she believes there will be an increase in logistic efficiency and movement of goods that would be enough to offset the expected loss of P200 million.

"I am taking this gamble to set the stage for Mindanao’s growth once again," the President said.

The President also asked cargo-handling operators to reciprocate the government’s sacrifice and said she was happy to learn that Cebu and Cagayan de Oro cargo-handling operators voluntarily offered to freeze their arrastre and stevedoring fees for 24 months.

The cargo handling operators also committed to undertake "aggressive investments" in modernizing their port facilities, the President said.

The President at the same time directed the Maritime Industry Authority (Marina) to work closely with the PPA and the private sector to help unbundle all the charges related to the cargo-handling component in the freight charges.

The President also directed the Transportation and Communications Secretary Leandro Mendoza to convene the National Port Advisory Council of the PPA to review the current tariff setting system and formulate a more transparent cost-based and consumer-oriented methodology in defining the rate of cargo-handling services, especially fees charged on port terminal operations.

The economy’s better-than-expected performance in the second quarter this year has boosted government confidence of meeting its growth forecast of 4.0 to 4.5 percent for the gross domestic product (GDP) and 4.5 to 5.0 percent for the gross national product (GNP) for this year.

Socio-Economic Planning Secretary Dante Canlas said that given the growth rates of 4.5 percent in real GDP and 5.2 percent in real GNP, respectively, the economy is on track to meet whole year growth projections.

Canlas said the country’s 4.5-percent GDP from April to June led the growth performance so far in the Asean region.

In Asia, the Philippines ranked third after China’s 8.0 percent and South Korea’s 6.3 percent.

Coming after the Philippines were Taiwan at 4.0 percent; Singapore, 3.9 percent; Malaysia, 3.8 percent; Indonesia, 3.5 percent; and Hong Kong’s preliminary second quarter growth of 0.8 percent.

The GNP, on the other hand, strengthened with an increase in the country’s net income factor from abroad that posted a 16-percent growth.

This was traced to the rising compensation income of overseas Filipino workers at 3.2 percent and lower interest expense on the country’s foreign debt.

The GDP is the sum total of the goods and services produced in the country in a given period. The GNP is GDP plus income from abroad.

In the first half of the year, the average growth rates are 4.1 percent for real GDP and 4.7 percent for real GNP.

Canlas noted that the average per capita income of Filipinos rose at 3.0 percent in the second quarter.

He said personal consumption surged by 3.8 percent, as the downtrend in inflation and interest rates drove up demand for consumer durables and food.

The country’s growth, he said, was further given a boost by healthier demand in the domestic and foreign markets.

The broad-based nature of the expansion is encouraging, Canlas said.

"Looking at aggregate supply, although agriculture slowed down in the second quarter, industry recovered strongly," he said. Services, meanwhile, continued to gain strength.

On the aggregate-demand side, the decline in investments slowed down in the second quarter, suggesting a bottoming out, he added.

The decline in investments moderated at 3.3 percent, as fixed investments finally registered a positive growth of 4.0 percent, after five consecutive quarters of decline.

The moderation arose from the growth of construction at 2.1 percent and investments in breeding stocks at 3.8 percent. However, investments in durable equipment continued dropping at –2.1 percent.

With the help of Congress, which committed to enact key economic reform bills into laws, such as the Transmission Corporation (Transco) franchise and the Special Purpose Asset Vehicle (SPAV), "investments may hit positive territory in the second half of the year," Canlas said.

"Economic performance as of the second semester indicates that the economic program of the administration is working. The deficit-reduction program will thus continue," he added.

The output-growth figures that the National Statistical Coordination Board just released raised the likelihood that the target deficit-to-GDP ratio of 3.3 percent in 2002 would be realized, Canlas said.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is sending a mission to Kuala Lumpur tomorrow to thresh out the details with Malaysian authorities on how best to resolve the issue of illegal Filipinos in Malaysia.

The President, who issued the announcement during the 2002 Ramon Magsaysay Award ceremonies at the Cultural Center of the Philippines last night, also called on everyone to extend whatever assistance they could give to ease the plight of repatriates in Southern Philippines.

"Now is the time for our nation to come together…I call upon each and every one to extend whatever assistance they could give," the President said.

She noted that "Our Muslim brothers and sisters need food, medicine, clothing and shelter-- our countrymen, our countrywomen who have less in life, our countrymen and countrywomen whom our beloved President Magsaysay loved so much."

The President made special mention of Dr. Cynthia Maung of Burma, who couldn’t come to the ceremonies to receive her award. Maung was responsible for providing humane and fearless response to the urgent medical needs of thousands of refugees and displaced persons along the Thailand-Burma border.

"She’s important not only for her message she’d given us but for the unwavering compassion she has shown in ministering to the thousands of refugees," the President said. Maung’s taped response to the award was played back during the ceremonies.

In stressing the importance of the Magsaysay Award, the President said she was able to come up with the idea of hybrid rice as a means of agricultural modernization.

Among those present during the rites were former President Corazon Aquino, Sen. Ramon Magsaysay, Jr., members of the Magsaysay family, and members of the diplomatic community and the judiciary.

The President also noted that the awards highlighted Magsaysay’s legacy and spirit.

"We mark the 95^th birthday of a great Filipino and a great Asian, President Ramon Magsaysay, to celebrate the achievement of Asia’s finest citizens," she said.

In a tribute to President Magsaysay, the President recalled that his father, the late President Diosdado Macapagal, said Magsaysay was responsible for crushing the communist rebellion and arousing in the masses the ideals of a great leader.

In the awarding rites, the President presented the medallions and the award certificate to this year’s laureates: Chief Justice Hilario Davide, Jr., (Philippines) for Government Service; Dr. Ruth Pfau, (Pakistan) for Public Service; Dr. Cynthia Maung (Burma) for Community Leadership; Bharat Koirala (Nepal) for Journalism, Literature and Creative Communications; Venerable Pamnyun Snim (Korea) for Peace and International Understanding; and Sandeep Pandey (India) for Emergent Leadership.

Established in 1957, the Ramon Magsaysay Award honors the memory and leadership example of the third Philippine president. The award is given yearly individuals or organizations in Asia who manifest the same sense of selfless service that ruled the life of the late president.

Since 1958, when the first awards were given, 229 individuals and organizations, regardless of race, creed, sex or nationality, have received the award.

The administration of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is planning to put up at least 56,759 shelter security units aggregately worth P4.907 billion until 2004 as part of its blueprint for housing projects in Mindanao.

Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC) Chairman Michael Defensor said the National Housing Authority (NHA) would provide the units.

The NHA had been given a quota of 21,121 units; the National Home Mortgage Finance Corp., 14,271 units; and the Pag-IBIG Fund, 21,367 units.

In a speech at the 11^th Mindanao Business Conference (Minbizcon) in Surigao City last Friday, Defensor said support for the government’s housing programs has also been initiated by the Government Service Insurance System and the Social Security System.

Similar support would also come from the cooperative housing facility opened by the Land Bank of the Philippines, joint venture projects with local government units (LGU), and other private initiatives in which the government would have an equity, he said.

"When we met our 2001 SONA (State of the Nation Address) targets, our response was not to rejoice, nor retain the target, but to raise higher and higher the bar of performance," he added.

He expressed confidence that the targets could be surpassed under the watch of President Macapagal-Arroyo.

Defensor pointed out that housing was "the single most daunting challenge" to the government.

"We need to build houses not just for our people’s sake, so they can realize the Filipino dream of owning a house, but for our economy’s sake, because housing can pump-prime our economy and bring it out of he woods," he said.

To achieve its mission and spur housing development across the land, Defensor said the government has put in place policies and programs to distribute more shelter rights, produce more housing units, process housing permits fast, make the interest on housing loans low, and ensure that housing funds are enough.

Among the areas covered by the housing program in Mindanao are lots in Mauswagon, Kisolon, Sumilao and parts of Central Mindanao University (CMU) campus in Bukidnon; Isla Delta, parts of Camp Evangelista, Upper Mancahan in Cagayan de Oro City; and Banana Village in Lanao del Norte.

In Davao City, covered are the Department of Transportation and Communications property in Malvar, parts of the old Philippine Constabulary barracks, Quimpo-Blvd. site; the 20-hectare Daticor estate in Matiao, Mati, Davao Oriental; and a proposed LGU housing site of 10 hectares in Digos City.

In General Santos, the housing program has expanded to the 5.3- hectare portion of Camp Lira, and two sites proposed by the city government; Banisil Ranch in Tambler; and the undisputed portions of a ranch in Apopong.

Defensor said the Ozamis City government had applied for the issuance of a proclamation that would cover a 17-hectare proposed housing site in Malaubang.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Blas F. Ople has stressed that the country’s foreign policy is not based on fear, as alleged in some congressional quarters, but on the calm and intelligent appreciation of the national interest and a due regard for the comity of nations as ordained by the Constitution.

The Secretary addressed fears expressed by some senators, particularly his successor as chairman of the Senate foreign relations committee, Senator Manuel Villar, that Philippine foreign policy is beset by "fear of other countries."

Senator Villar was apparently referring to the administration’s handling of the mass deportation of illegal Filipino migrants from Sabah in Malaysia.

"The President and her department of foreign affairs should be credited for decisive action, which has already brought notable improvements in the conditions of the Filipino workers in Sabah," Ople said.

"This is after all our first and highest priority, the protection of Filipino nationals.  The Malaysian government has already acceded to President Macapagal-Arroyo’s request for a moratorium on the arrest of illegal Filipino workers pending a joint review of the deportation procedures," he said.

"The President’s direct intervention has tapped a sympathetic vein at the highest levels in Malaysia due to the friendship between the two countries who are also close partners in the Association of Southeast Asia Nations (ASEAN).  The moratorium granted by Prime Minister Mohamad Mahathir is a privilege granted only to the Filipino workers in Malaysia," he added.

"This policy is obviously bearing fruit," Ople noted.

"We do not espouse a gung-ho foreign policy that appeases the rabble in the streets but puts at risk the safety and welfare of the entire nation," he stressed. "Political bravado cannot substitute for an intelligent and workable foreign policy."

Ople said the DFA has filed a diplomatic protest which is still under consideration by the Malaysian Cabinet. 

He said with the concurrence of Prime Minister Mahathir, a team of doctors and health workers is being sent tomorrow to Kota Kinabalu, Sabah’s capital, to help minister to the needs of the Filipino workers in Sabah.

The Philippine government is also sending an inter-agency team led by Presidential Assistant Nur Jaafar to confer with their Malaysian counterparts on how to improve the deportation process.

Ople stressed that conditions for the returning workers in the reception centers in Bongao, Tawi-Tawi, have markedly improved with the local governments pitching in with all possible assistance.  "Barangay captains even cook for the deportees.  This is an inspiring sight," he said.

Referring to Villar’s claim that Malacaņang had cautioned him against offending Japan, in connection with his public advocacy for compensation to Filipino comfort women in World War II, Ople pointed out this happened under a previous administration.

He said the Philippine government has supported this advocacy and has campaigned for it through diplomatic channels, even after Japanese courts had ruled against the claim.

Ople pointed out that the issue of comfort women was only one aspect of the broad Philippine-Japanese bilateral relationship and it cannot outrank issues relating to investments which create jobs, official development assistance, trade and security.

The foreign affairs secretary said the Philippine-Malaysian bilateral relationship overall has been resilient and strong. 

Malaysia, as a ranking member of the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC), and its Committee of Eight, has been championing Philippine sovereignty and territorial integrity in Medano and has lent its good offices to forge a ceasefire agreement between the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).  

This is an important contribution to peace and order in the South.

Malaysia has also repatriated the MNLF chieftain, Nur Misuari, to the Philippines to answer charges of a renewed rebellion in court.

But the foreign secretary said the government was prepared to listen to congressional criticism and would welcome constructive views on how to resolve foreign policy concerns.

"There is no antagonism between us and the leaders of Congress.   Misunderstandings can occur and should be corrected," he said.

Ople said that for this purpose, the President has invited all the members of the Senate and House committees on foreign affairs to a comprehensive briefing on foreign policy issues next Thursday morning at Malacaņang. 

He said he and Labor Secretary Patricia Santo Tomas have been asked to conduct the briefing for the congressional leaders.

In the case of calls by some NGOs for the recall of Philippine Ambassador Jose "Chito" Brillantes to Kuala Lumpur because of alleged negligence, Ople said this was an ill-founded charge.

"I have just been to Kuala Lumpur and have seen for myself the assiduity and diligence with which Ambassador Brillantes is attending to the needs of our Filipino workers," he said.

Brillantes has been reassigned as an Undersecretary in the home office in charge of international migrant affairs.