GENERAL SANTOS CITY -- President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo poured champagne on a fiberglass long-line fishing boat as she launched yesterday the P300-million fiberglass fishing boat making plant in Sitio Talisay, Barangay Tambler in this city.

The President noted a partnership of the government and private sector in modernizing water vessels for use in business, tourism, transport and public service endeavors.

During the inauguration, the President was accompanied by Trade and Industry Secretary Manuel Roxas II, Agriculture Secretary Leonardo Montemayor, Stoneworks Specialist International Corp. (SSIC) president and chief operating officer Marilyn Ong and other officials.

In a briefing and tour of the project, the President took cognizance of the vital role SSIC, its partner GenSan Aquatraders and the people here would play in giving the tuna industry and other marine-based businesses in Mindanao a big boost.

SSIC officials said the newly-opened facility would build 100 long line fiberglass fishing boats that would transform 100 marginal fisherfolk into entrepreneurs, generating 2,000 jobs with 10,000 dependents.

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

The survival of the industry has been threatened by the shortage of wood used in making pumpboats.

The high cost 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, Stoneworks officials said.

The Makati city-based Stoneworks was incorporated in April 1977 and is the flagship company of the Eastern Group of Companies.

With boat fabrication facilities in Santa Rosa, Laguna and Roxas City in Panay, Stoneworks has become the fastest-growing builders of fiberglass-hulled boats in the country, using Filipino composite engineers, naval architects and in-house trained skilled labor.

It has built over 110 watercraft of various types since 2000. Most of the boats are for the use of the Department of Agriculture’s Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today signed an Executive Order reconstituting the Bipartisan Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC) on the Sabah issue.

The Chief Executive signed the order during a briefing for the members of the Senate and House of Representatives on the Sabah deportees and the Philippine Policy on RP Claim held this morning at Malacanang’s Heroes Hall.

Also present were former President Fidel V. Ramos and some members of the Cabinet, including Foreign Affairs Secretary Blas Ople, Social Welfare and Development Secretary Corazon Juliano Soliman, Labor and Employment Secretary Patricia Sto. Tomas, National Defense Secretary Angelo Reyes, National Security Adviser Roilo Golez, Presidential Management Staff Head Silvestre Afable, Jr., Governor Parouk Hussin of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, Presidential Adviser for Muslim Communities Nur Jaafar, and Press Secretary Ignacio "Toting" Bunye.

The President announced that under the EO, the LEDAC on the Sabah issue will be composed of five Cabinet members to be headed by Ople, five senators including one from the minority, and five congressmen including one minority member to be nominated by the Senate and the House respectively, and three private sector members.

Press Secretary Bunye said the President saw it to be more prudent to reconstitute the LEDAC for Sabah in order to unify the country’s position on the issue and have representatives from both houses of Congress and from the private sector.

President Macapagal-Arroyo thanked the legislators from both chambers who attended the briefing and expressed the hope that "we can continue to work on both the short-term, medium-term, and long-term issues regarding Sabah and look at it in a micro framework, a macro-framework."

"I’d like to thank all of you because of what I consider very, very sober suggestions and recommendations. We are affirmed that we can indeed come up with a national unified position on the Sabah issue at this time," she said.

For his part, Ople said that after the legislators were briefed on the Philippine Policy on RP Claim to Sabah and its options, the President is beginning a series of consultations with leaders of Congress, particularly with members of the foreign relation committees of the Senate and the House, "so that we may correct gaps in our understanding of common problems."

"Perhaps, if lucky, form a certain concessions on issues that help us unite instead of divide in a period of crisis characterized by many problems involving the dignity of our people and of our countrymen," he added.

The Malaysian government has agreed to start an immediate investigation on reports of maltreatment and other abuses perpetrated against Filipino deportees by Malaysian authorities, including the reported rape of a 13-year-old Filipina.

A joint statement signed by Sabah Chief Minister Yab Datuk Chong Kah Kiat and Secretary Nur Jaafar, Presidential Adviser for Muslim Communities, released to the media today, said that the Sabah chief minister immediately ordered the investigation after being apprised of the reports by the Philippine delegation led by Jaafar.

Jaafar led the nine-man Philippine mission sent by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to Sabah to look into the conditions of the thousands of illegal Filipino migrants who have been ordered to leave the country and to reports of abuses and inhuman treatment that they received while in detention.

The delegation visited various detention centers in Sabah during their four-day visit from September 2-5, 2002.

The Philippine delegation thanked the Sabah chief minister for his personal commitment "to impose appropriate penalties to erring Malaysian officials or employees should penalties be called for."

The investigation ordered conducted by Malaysian authorities would include the alleged rape of a 13-year-old Filipina during her detention in Kota Kinabalu, in Sabah.

In Kuala Lumpur, Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad also pledged swift action on the reported rape of the young Filipina deportee.

"I would like to assure the government and the people of the Philippines that appropriate action will be taken against those responsible in accordance with Malaysian laws," Mahathir said.

Mahathir made his pledge in response to a strongly-worded letter from President Macapagal-Arroyo that expressed her "personal outrage and that of the Filipino people" over the alleged rape.

The joint statement said that after visits to the various detention centers and after conducting its own investigation, the Philippine delegation "on the whole" finds that the Malaysian government, particularly Sabah state officials, have exerted "all efforts to ease the hardships of the Filipino detainees/deportees."

"The Philippine delegation is satisfied that these efforts meet Philippine expectations," the joint statement said.

The statement said that the Malaysian and Philippine authorities would continue "to respond to each other’s concerns in the mature and responsible manner and in the spirit of amity and cooperation that have always characterized their relationship."

The concerns raised by the Philippine delegation during their four-day mission are the following:

• Permission for the visit by Filipino social workers and medical personnel of the detention centers for purposes of counseling, profiling, first-aid medical services and monitoring to ensure that the welfare and the well-being of Filipino detainees are better addressed;

• Special attention and priority, facilities and services for women (especially pregnant women), children and elderly detainees/deportees;

• Permission for the Philippine Embassy at Kuala Lumpur to conduct an information campaign within the Filipino communities in Malaysia for their cooperation in complying with Malaysian immigration laws;

• Additional embarkation points in order to ease congestion at the holding centers, to lessen holding time and travel time, and generally, to ease Malaysian administrative burdens in holding and transporting the returnees/deportees; and

• Enhanced coordination at consular levels in the communication of arrests of Filipinos under Malaysian immigration laws and in speeding up the process of investigation and documentation for the purpose of deportation.

For its part, the Malaysian government also called for the following:

• Setting up of multiple processing centers in the Philippines for the returning Filipinos;

• Establishment of more passport offices in southern Philippines;

• Enhanced presence of Philippine Embassy officials in Sabah to expedite the processing of documentation of illegally staying Filipinos; and

• Information dissemination to returning Filipinos on the Philippine reintegration program.

The Philippine government is trying to persuade Malaysian authorities to allow the setting up of documentation centers in Sabah that will speed up the processing of illegal Filipino workers so that they can return to their country as soon as possible.

In a press briefing in Malacaņang, Foreign Affairs Secretary Blas Ople said there is a good window of opportunity during the period of moratorium earlier issued by Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad regarding the deportation of thousands of illegal Filipino workers.

"The moratorium on the arrest and possible deportation will hold until the two sides have worked out the improved procedures for carrying out a smoother and a risk-free deportation," Ople said.

Ople added that the moratorium would also make it possible for those who want to go back to Malaysia to do so with proper documentation so that they will no longer be considered as illegal workers subject to penal sanctions imposed by the Malaysian government such as fines, six months’ detention and caning.

Following the briefing with President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in Malacanang, Ople stressed that all the agencies of government dealing with the deportation problem have agreed to speed up the entire process on both sides so that there will be greater safety and comfort and peace of mind for the Filipino deportees, especially those who are arriving in Bongao and in Zamboanga City.

Aside from Ople, among those who attended the meeting with the President where top Senate and congressional officials led by Sen. Manuel Villar, chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations; House Speaker Jose De Venecia, Jr., Rep. Apolinario Lozada, chairman of the House committee on Foreign Relations; Labor Secretary Patricia Sto. Tomas; Social Welfare Secretary Corazon Juliano Soliman; Defense Secretary Angelo Reyes; Presidential Adviser on Muslim Communities Nur Jaafar; Executive Secretary Alberto Romulo; National Security Adviser Roilo Golez; and former President Fidel V. Ramos.

In his press briefing, Ople also noted the report submitted by Jaafar to the President, saying that there are "improved conditions" that are visible especially in the detention centers in Sabah where illegal Filipino workers are currently being held.

"In general, there is an improvement in conditions that is to say reckoning from the time that a moratorium was ordered by Mahathir, and that these improvements were visible for example in detention center in Kota Kinabalu. They saw 14 buildings in one compound and noted the cleanliness of the surroundings," Ople said.

He said the policy of friendship being pursued by President Macapagal-Arroyo has changed the behaviour of the Malaysian government and society overnight with regards to the treatment of Filipinos currently detained in Sabah.

Ople said that the Jaafar report takes note of certain abuses that the mission has checked, adding that there is still room for improvement.

"The facilities that they saw tended to be looking clean, looking fit for human habitation and it is not true that the mission reported everything was excellent. No, they checked some abuses and found them corroborated by some of the detainees," Ople noted.

With regards to the reported rape of a 13-year-old Filipina detainee, Ople said the government’s immediate concern is to fully utilize the bilateral channels for the correction of mistakes and of abuses.

The Department of Justice (DOJ), he said, is now putting into an acceptable legal package all the testimonies that are necessary to back the allegations with evidence with the collaborative effort of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).

The DOJ, he said, is now processing all the testimonies and affidavits from deportees and other witnesses and will turn them over to the DFA "so that we can transmit them to the Malaysian government, especially to Mahathir, for their information."

The foreign affairs secretary said there will also be major efforts to improve the conditions in the receiving centers in Bongao, Taiw-Tawi.

Top executives of the British group, P&O Ports and Asian Terminals Inc., port operators of South Harbor, today informed President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo that they are transferring their regional operating headquarters to Manila from Sydney, Australia.

In a courtesy call in Malacaņang P&O Chief Operating Officer Alistair Baillie said that over the medium term, another $150 million worth of investments in Philippine port business will be coming into the Philippines.

"That’s very good," the President said, stressing that the additional investments will generate a lot of economic activity in the country.

Richard Barclay, who is the chairman of the Asian Terminals Inc., congratulated the President for her efforts in improving the peace and order situation in the Philippines.

The President said that the port investors’ increased investment and their decision to transfer their headquarters to Manila is an affirmation of the investors continued confidence in the Philippines.

The President, who is an economist, said her spending a lot of time with the law enforcement agencies like the Philippine National Police has paid off. She said that PNP Chief Director General Hermogenes Ebdane, Jr. just informed him that a long-wanted murderer has been captured by the police.

The British companies, which have been investing in the Philippines for quite sometime, will be supervising their operations of ports in countries in the Pacific coast, including Russia, from their proposed regional hub in Philippines.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Blas Ople today stressed that the Philippine claim on Sabah was never relinquished or dropped.

During a press briefing in Malacaņang, Ople said: "When you speak of reviving a Sabah claim, this is actually superfluous language because there is nothing to revive."

He said the government is not renouncing its claim over Sabah, saying the issue is merely kept within the strong and responsible framework of an advisory council of the President of the Philippines

During the briefing, Ople said the President had just signed an executive order reconstituting the Legislative and Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC) on the Sabah claim in order to form a united front to face the said issue.

The LEDAC on Sabah issue will be composed of five Cabinet members to be headed by Ople, five senators including one from the minority, and five congressmen including one minority member to be nominated by the Senate and the House respectively, and three from the private sector.

The DFA secretary said the advisory council was created during the time of former President Fidel Ramos.

With the reconstitution of the council, Ople said "I expect a quiet, intensive, and sustained study on the Sabah claim by the responsible leaders of this country so that the President can be advised on how to go about this matter of national policy."

Ople also explained that the framework of the Association of Southeast Asian Nation (Asean) is strong enough to withstand operational distresses between two very close partners like the Philippines and Malaysia.

"There will be no permanent harm done to Asean solidarity," Ople said.

With regards to the claims of the heirs of the Sultan of Sulu, Ople pointed out that the Malaysian government is open to discussion on the private claims.

"They have always said so on the political claim. They said there is no claim, that they are not even willing to discuss it. But on the matter of the private claims they have always been open," the foreign affairs secretary said.

For his part, Rep. Apolinario Lozada, chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Relations, said reviving the Sabah claim at this time following the same approach that was done during the time of former President Ramos will be to the advantage of the Philippines.

Lozada narrated that during the Ramos administration, the government had long-range negotiations with the Malaysians on the proprietary rights or the rights of the heir of the Sultan of Sulu as well as on the sovereignty right that the Philippines claims over Sabah.

He said they have worked with the nine heirs of the Sultan of Sulu wherein they agreed to form a corporation with seed capital coming from the Malaysian and Philippine government under a 70-30 arrangement.

Lozada explained that 70 percent of the corporation’s seed capital would be provided by the Malaysian government in terms of financial capital while 30 percent will be provided by the Philippine government in terms of facilities and all the other necessities for putting up the corporation.

Furthermore, he said the corporation will have its own board of directors where the nine heirs will be sitting as members of the board.

Lozada added that one board seat will be given to those whose claim to being part of the family is not yet verified and another board seat will be occupied by the Philippine government.

Lozada said that what the heirs agreed to during the Ramos administration was for the Philippine government to pursue the claim and for the heirs to just claim financial or monetary benefits from the time that Malaysia annexed Sabah in1962 to the present.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Blas Ople today said the Malaysian employers and manufacturers, as well as the plantation owners in Sabah, are very keen to rehire their Filipino workers as soon as they are fully documented by the Philippine government.

In a press briefing in Malacaņang, Ople said the Philippine government is coordinating with the Malaysian government to set up documentation centers in Sabah in order hasten the documentation of the illegal Filipino workers.

"All these measures should be accelerated including the need to speed up the documentation of the Filipino deportees who want to go back to Malaysia so that they can re-enter this time as legal workers," Ople said.

Ople explained that the Philippine government is trying to persuade the Malaysians to allow on-sight documentation so that Filipinos do not have to be expelled from Malaysia in order to be passported and documented.

The process, according to Ople, will also mean a lot of savings in time, energy and financial cost for both sides.

Ople said they got an assurance from the authorities in Sabah that they are willing to implement such policy if there is a signal from their government in Kuala Lumpur.

The DFA secretary said the process will be a significant measure since there are still about 120,000 illegal Filipinos who are hiding in Sabah.

In view of this, Ople said the government is considering to conduct a widespread information campaign in Sabah to make the rest of illegal Filipino workers in Malaysia to come out and be properly documented.

He said the proposal of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) is for the government to conduct an information campaign in the different "kampong" or barangays in Sabah to make the Filipinos come out during the moratorium period issued by Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammad.