The Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) has sent a team to Sabah to assist Filipinos, mainly Muslim migrants who have entered Malaysia through the so-called "southern backdoor" in Mindanao.

Labor Secretary Patricia A. Sto. Tomas earlier pushed for the training or retraining of disadvantaged people returning from Malaysia through the TESDA office in the Zamboanga Peninsula.

TESDA Director General Dante V. Liban said the TESDA team would be on-site to assist migrants avail themselves of its assessment and certification processes needed to work legally abroad.

TESDA is the main agency of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) with the mandate and authority to train, assess and certify workers.

Liban was with the recent mission of Foreign Affairs Secretary Blas F. Ople to Kuala Lumpur, which successfully met with Malaysian counterparts to thresh out issues affecting Filipinos in Malaysia.

"I'm confident we were able to craft an agreement that would be most acceptable and would bolster the friendly cooperation between the two countries," Liban said.

Earlier, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo sent a nine-man mission to Sabah headed by Presidential Adviser on Muslim Community Nur Jaafar to work for the orderly repatriation of undocumented Filipinos in Malaysia.

According to Liban, Ople’s mission stimulated a positive atmosphere between the two countries amid the Malaysian government's earlier order requiring all illegal migrants to leave the country.

The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA), meanwhile, said that Malaysia is one of the Asian countries that hosts skilled and documented overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).

POEA Administrator Rosalinda D. Baldoz said that Malaysia has absorbed 3,414 documented OFWs from January to June this year.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today named Philippine Air Force chief Lt. Gen. Benjamin Defensor as the new Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).

The appointment of Defensor came six days before the retirement of Gen. Roy Cimatu, whose term as AFP chief of staff has been extended by the President until September 10.

In a press briefing, Press Secretary and Acting Presidential Spokesman Ignacio "Toting" Bunye said that the President announced her choice of the next AFP chief during a meeting this morning with the Bicol governors in Malacanang.

Defensor is set to retire on September 12 but Bunye explained that his term has been automatically extended by two months and four days.

Bunye added that President based her choice of Defensor on seniority after she found out that all the six-star generals, who are contenders for the top AFP post, are highly qualified.

"All of them have the same qualifications and the President went for seniority. And the most senior is Lt. Gen. Defensor," Bunye said.

Bunye also clarified that the decision of the President to appoint Defensor as the new AFP Chief of Staff has nothing to do with his relationship to former Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago, the general’s sister.

Defensor, an alumnus of the Philippine Military Academy, Class l969, has been a consistent scholar and topnotcher in all his academic activities.

After earning his wings from the Philippine Air Force Flying School in l971, Defensor rose to prominence by seeing action with the 205^th Helicopter Wing as combat pilot during the government’s counterinsurgency and anti-secessionist campaign.

In l974, Defensor made history by earning two Gold Cross Medals (highest PAF combat award at that time) within 24 hours of continuous operations in Jolo, Sulu. To date, Defensor has 40 awards and decorations, including three Distinguished Service Stars and three Gold Crosses.

Defensor completed his general staff course at the Air Command and Staff College, Air University in Alabama, U.S.A., and had flying training courses in the United States and Europe.

He has a Master’s Degree in Mass Communications from the University of the Philippines, a Master in Public and Business Management from the De la Salle University, and Air Transport Course from the Asian Institute of Management. He is at present working for his Doctorate in Management from the University of London.

All six governors in the Bicol region today pledged their support to the administration of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and vowed to stand beside her in pursuit of their aspirations for the Filipino people and the country.

"Since the air in the Philippines is full of recriminations, rancor and bickering, we in the Bicol region would like to start something that will ease the tension," Camarines Sur Gov. Luis Villafuerte, speaking for all the governors, told reporters after their meeting with the President in Malacaņang.

During their meeting, the political leaders of Bicol presented to the President a Pledge of Support, urging her to continue to exercise firmness in her dealings with the affairs of the state, and to maintain her adherence to the principle of leadership by example.

The one-page statement was read by Villafuerte and was signed in front of the President by the governors -- Albay Gov. Al Francis Bichara, Masbate Gov. Antonio Kho, Sorsogon Gov. Raul Lee, Camarines Norte Gov. Jesus Typoco, Jr., Catanduanes Gov. Leandro Verceles, Jr. and Villafuerte.

"We do solemly pledge support to the Arroyo administration that exercises good governance and subscribe to the vision of a Filipino people who are God-fearing, self-reliant and free," they said.

The governors assured the President that they will even encourage the governors in other regions of the country, through the League of Governors, to join them in order that they will have a common agenda and collectively fight poverty, criminality and oppression.

The Bicol officials also said they recognize that the Macapagal-Arroyo administration has exercised its moral ascendancy in protecting the welfare of the Filipino people, her directly addressing the fight against poverty, criminality and injustice.

Villafuerte noted that the President has been calling for the easing up of all the recriminations in the country’s political environment and they have come to realize that the country cannot move forward unless they all agree to support her.

"And so we in the Bicol region, all of us governors, after consultations with our own leaders at the grassroots, have decided to come together and see the President and give our support," Villafuerte said.

Villafuerte cited in particular the efforts of the President to have a political summit and an economic summit aimed at arriving at an agreement on the mutually agreeable programs.

During the regional Cabinet meeting in Bicol recently, Villafuerte said, the President found out for herself that in terms of poverty, Bicol is the second poorest region in the country.

"We are only a little ahead of the ARMM (Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao). Underemployment is also very high in the region," he said, adding that Bicol has been left behind among all the regions in Luzon.

"We are confident that the President can do something about it," the Camarines Sur governor said.

While they did not discuss with the President the issue involving former Education Secretary Raul Roco who incidentally hails from the Bicol region, Villafuerte said: "I know him very well. I don’t think he can be an effective executive. He may have been a good legislator but that is beside the point with respect to our pledge to the President."

Villafuerte assured that all the governors in their region will support her "without exception."

Villafuerte explained that the Bicol governors have varying political affiliations, three of them belonging to Lakas-NUCD, two from Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino (LDP) and one from Reporma.

"But irrespective of our political parties, we have been discussing among ourselves what we believe is best for the Bicol region," the governor said.

In their Pledge of Support to the President, the Bicol provincial and local officials said "we support the Arroyo administration, in upholding equal playing field, in managing the country’s economy."

Finance Secretary Jose Isidro Camacho today said that he welcomed the reaffirmation of Moody’s Investors Service of the country’s stable rating and its continued confidence that the Macapagal-Arroyo administration can solve its financial problems.

"We appreciate Moody’s recognition of our current macroeconomic environment being supportive of our fiscal program. I am pleased that they have affirmed the government’s position that indeed the deficit issue has been blown out of proportion in recent weeks," Camacho said in a statement.

Camacho said that the government is committed to pursuing reforms at the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) to improve revenue collections.

"We would like to reassure them (Moody’s) that this year’s trend at the BIR merely reflects a lag in realizing the benefits of our administrative reforms and not a reversal of our direction. We will forge ahead and our confidence is bolstered by the entry of Commissioner Guillermo Parayno," Camacho said.

According to Camacho, the mandate of the new BIR Commissioner is to ensure the effective implementation and further enhancement of these measures "with the least amount of resistance from the bureaucracy."

The BIR is currently implementing reform measures such as the VAT Relief System, VAT and Internal Audit System, and the E-Filing and Payment System, which have already resulted in exposing many anomalies.

In its review of the Philippine fiscal situation, Moody’s noted that it is not focused on this year’s headline deficit number, but rather on the implications of a relapse on the BIR’s performance on fiscal consolidation and sustainability over the medium term.

Moody’s also reaffirmed its stable rating for the Philippines, and confirmed that there is no immediate threat to this rating.

Moody’s sovereign analyst for the Philippines, Tom Byrne said: "We discussed rating issues concerning the Philippines today. We concluded that we don’t see any immediate threat to the ratings. We will wait and see how the administration’s economic program evolves."

In its comments, Moody’s mentioned that there are several reassuring factors in the economy such as the historically low levels of interest rates, pre-funding of much of the 2002 deficit, the average maturity structure of domestic debt is a fairly comfortable five years, and the healthy external payments position.

With these, Moody’s noted that despite the slippage this year, the deficit of GDP ratio may only be 0.5-1.0 percentage points higher than programmed, placing the 2002 deficit broadly in line with the 2001 deficit, that is somewhere around 4 percent of GDP.

Moody’s Investors Service, a leading global credit rating, employs more than 800 analysts and has more than 1,700 associates located around the world. It has offices in 17 countries.

GENERAL SANTOS CITY -- President Gloria-Macapagal Arroyo is set to inaugurate the P300-million fiberglass long line fishing boat manufacturing project in Sitio Talisay, Barangay Tambler here on Thursday (September 5).

The President, together with other members of the Cabinet, will also be given a plant tour and briefing by officials of project proponents StoneWorks Specialist International Corp. (SSIC) and the GenSan Aquatraders.

The project calls for SSIC to build 100 long line fiberglass fishing boats that would transform 100 marginal fisherfolk into entrepreneurs, generating 2,000 jobs.

The fishermen will amortize the payment for the boats out of the proceeds of their catch. With this approach, they are developed into being entrepreneurs and owners of business they know very well.

Long line fishing has been one of the major sectors of Mindanao’s fishing industry, producing chilled tuna and tuna fillet for exports. This has given direct jobs to some 15,000 fisherfolk hired as crew of long line fishing vessels.

Lately, the survival of the industry has been threatened by the shortage of wood used in making pumpboats. The high costs of wood and the difficulty of sourcing it prompted pumpboat owners and operators to look into alternative materials and fiberglass.

Fiberglass usage, however, has increased over time due to its light weight and durability. Though it cost about 30 percent higher than wooden boats, the advantages has offset the high production cost.

Fiberglass has been considered as more seaworthy and longer lasting than the wooden boats. The use of fiberglass on fishing vessels has also reduced pressures on the country’s dwindling forest resources.

This is the President’s fourth visit to this city as Chief Executive. She will also keynote the 4^th National Tuna Congress at the Family Country Hotel and convention Center.

GENERAL SANTOS CITY -- Tuna industry stakeholders expect President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to expound on the government’s stand on moves of the United States granting preferential tariffs on Andean pouched tuna to the detriment of canned tuna exports from the Philippines.

The President is set to visit, the fourth in her term, this city tomorrow (September 5). She will grace and keynote the 4th National Tuna Congress at the Family Country Hotel and Convention Center.

She will also join the locals in commemorating the city’s 34th inaugural anniversary highlighted by the week-long Tuna Festival that showcased the city’s rich tuna and marine resources. The city received its charter, as provided under Republic Act 5412, on July 8, 1968.

The local tuna industry practically transformed the city into one of the country’s fastest growing economy and one of the world’s sources of high quality tuna products. Seven of the country’s nine tuna canning factories are sited here.

Some 200,000 people are involved in the local tuna industry. Mindanao’s major employer is the canned tuna industry.

The President is expected to arrive here from Zamboanga del Sur shortly before noon.

She will deliver her keynote speech before some 300 domestic and foreign delegates to the tuna congress.

Marfin Tan, one of the bigger fishing operators in this city, said they would ask President Macapagal-Arroyo to intervene on the matter.

The President earlier raised the issue of Philippine tuna exports to the US with US Secretary of State Colin Powell, saying she hoped that moves in the US favoring "pouched tuna" would not affect the preferential treatment for canned tuna from the Philippines.

Recently, the US Congress passed a law allowing the duty-free entry of tuna from the countries that constitute the Andes mountain ranges in Latin America.

The President said her administration has been waging a campaign to protect the country’s tuna industry and keep its preferential treatment in the US market.

The President noted it was important for her administration to keep the preferential treatment of the tuna exports to the US since the industry is the lifeblood of Muslims, Christian and Lumads in Mindanao.

She said thousands of workers in the tuna industry in Mindanao have been batting for the access of Philippine canned tuna in the US market.

It could also be recalled that in late May, the President expressed her appreciation to American Senators Ted Stevens and Daniel Inouye for protecting the Philippine share of the canned tuna market in the US.

The Andean trade preference expansion, the two senators noted, would put the canneries in Mindanao out of business.