Several top Chinese-Filipino businessmen or the so-called "taipans" have lauded the efforts of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to initiate a government-private sector partnership that would provide affordable housing units to government employees.

In a luncheon meeting with the President last week, the taipans, composed of business tycoons such as John Gokongwei, Henry Sy, Andrew Gotianun and representatives of George Ty and Alfonso Yuchengco have agreed to develop government properties, particularly those idle properties within the various military camps in the country, and convert it into socialized housing units.

Finance Secretary Jose Isidro Camacho said the contribution of the private sector in the proposed project will be their vast financial resources, their capitals, their management skills, and their access to technology on real estate development and housing.

"Through this mechanism, we hope we would be able to deliver housing units at affordable prices through the combination of different inputs from different parties from government and the private sector," Camacho said.

Aside from the taipans and Camacho, also present in the luncheon meeting with the President were Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC) Chairman Michael Defensor, Defense Secretary Angelo Reyes and Ambassador Tomas Alcantara.

In a press briefing that followed the luncheon with the Chief Executive, the businessmen also expressed their confidence that the government under the leadership of Mrs. Arroyo would be able to get rid the country of the crime syndicates, particularly the kidnap-for-ransom gangs.

"I always have confidence in the President," said Gokongwei, owner of the Robinson’s shopping mall chain.

Gotianun, for his part, said that while everybody is concerned about the recent incidents of kidnappings, "at least the government is taking steps."

"They have eliminated seven of the (KFR) gangs. If they continue, we should be able to get rid of them in the next six months," said Gotianun, owner of real estate developer Filinvest.

SM holdings owner Henry Sy said the business community is looking at the series of kidnapping incidents as "temporary."

A new policy decision on customs bonded trading warehouses was reached after President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo met today with various industry leaders and officials of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the Bureau of Customs (BOC).

In a briefing after the meeting in Malacaņang, Customs Commissioner Antonio Bernardo said that the President has directed the BOC to conduct a very strict monitoring and audit of all bonded warehouses.

"Where violations are clearly established, we will impose the proper sanctions, including closure," Bernardo said.

An order providing for a negative list was also issued by the BOC so that other commodities, which should not go through the bonded warehouses, are stopped, Benardo said.

The policy is moving towards the direction of going into industry based support facility warehouses, Bernado said.

Bernado cited as an example the garments and semi-conductor and electronic industries where there are already existing bonded warehouses for them.

Other industries that would apply and meet the criteria and qualifications to be set up by the regulatory authorities will be welcomed to open their own bonded warehouses, Bernardo said.

Bernardo explained that the basic concept of customs bonded trading warehouses was to establish sources of imported inputs required by small and medium exporters to be able to compete globally in view of high tariffs, and high interest costs.

"But recently we have noticed that a lot of commodities go through these bonded warehouses, including finished products, so it has clearly deviated from the original concept of bonded trading warehouses," Bernardo pointed out.

The findings of the Federation of Pilipino Industries (FPI), headed by Meneleo Carlos, on the operation of the customs bonded trading warehouses showed the following:

• tariffs have been reduced significantly;

• tax credit processing time has been tremendously reduced;

• customs value range information figures indicate questionable values;

• some customs bonded trading warehouses are importing finished products which they are not supposed to import; and

People are happy with the way President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is handling the government’s campaign against poverty, corruption, crime and terrorism.

This was revealed in a survey conducted by the prestigious poll group Social Weather Stations from August 24 to September 8.

The survey, released Monday, said most of the "1,200 statistically representative adult respondent" considered the President as a "serious" state manager who has committed government men and resources to public service.

Topping the President’s work cited in the survey was her total war against terrorism that led to the weakening of the notorious Abu Sayyaf Group which the United States recently branded as global terrorists linked to Osama bin Laden.

At least 68 percent of the respondents said the wiping out of terrorists was one area the President had been seriously focusing on.

The survey respondents also highly noted the government’s thrust against crushing criminality.

The survey said 61 percent of the respondents saw the President as serious in fighting illegal drugs and in fighting kidnapping.

Recent reports showed government gains in neutralizing at least five kidnap-for-ransom gangs and crushing a number of syndicates involved in illegal drugs.

The survey also showed that 52 percent say she is serious in fighting corruption in government.

On the social side, the most of the survey respondents, at least 59 percent, believed the President was serious in helping the poor.

The favorable notion might have been brought about by the President’s hands-on policy in delivering social services to the people, particularly in depressed urban and rural communities.

The President, as she vowed during her two State of the Nation Addresses, had pushed for the speedy delivery of public food stability, health and shelter programs, among other things.

Some 53 percent of the nationwide survey respondents further noted the President’s desire to develop Mindanao, considered to be the poorest among the country’s geographical territories, socially and economically.

Recent reports showed that the region had been provided the necessary support infrastructures and services to bring it on a par with Luzon and the Visayas in terms of gross domestic product and per capita income.

Another area that the respondents noted as seriously being worked on by the President was the government’s move to eradicate graft and corruption in the bureaucracy.

The third quarter SWS survey gave the President a moderate satisfaction rating level of +18.

It explained that the net satisfaction rating was below the fairly good net +28 in the SWS special post-SONA survey of August 6 to 9, but above the rather low net +4 in the second quarter SWS survey of March 17 to June 3.

Customs Commissioner Antonio Bernardo today said that in compliance with the instructions of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to go after smuggling syndicates, the Bureau of Customs (BOC) has stepped up its efforts in gathering evidence against suspected big-time smugglers.

In a press briefing after a meeting with the President in Malacaņang, Bernardo said right now, the Bureau is preparing charges against suspected big-time smugglers. "We will soon be filing cases against those who have violated Customs laws," he said.

Bernardo said that the BOC is still on the lookout for evidence against those who have been on its watch list for sometime as he explained the difficulty of amassing evidence in smuggling activities.

"It is difficult to gather evidence because you are not able to establish immediately a direct linkage between the name on the list and the actual incidence of smuggling," Bernardo said.

First of all, Bernardo said, the names of those in the watch list do not appear in the documents and they are also not on board the ships that bring in the smuggled goods.

"But we are on the lookout, and we are coordinating with other government agencies, the intelligence units of other government agencies in gathering evidence," Bernardo said.

Bernardo also clarified that First Gentleman Jose Miguel T. Arroyo never interceded on behalf of anybody in facilitating shipments at the Bureau as alleged by his detractors.

In fact, Bernardo said, the First Gentleman even sent him a letter warning him that some people might be using his name but asking him not to accommodate them.

The First Gentleman even told him to immediately arrest and prosecute those who would be using his name in their transactions at the BOC.

Customs Commissioner Antonio Bernardo today said that the Bureau of Customs (BOC) is hoping that its collections at the end of the year would be around P99 billion.

In a press briefing in Malacaņang after a meeting with President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, Bernardo admitted that it would be difficult to meet the whole year target of P115.1 billion.

"At this point from where we stand, it would be very, very difficult to meet the P115.1 billion at the end of the year," Bernardo candidly said.

Bernardo explained that there are bound to be some changes in the target projections for the whole year since these targets are set sometime July or August of the previous year.

"So, there were certain assumptions made, which at the time we made the projections seemed realistic but apparently, turned out they did not hold," Bernardo said.

Bernardo said that for their projections for this year, for example, their assumptions were that in imports, there would be a ratio of 48 percent non-dutiable to dutiable but the actual figures that the BOC got right now is that the ratio of non-dutiable has already been about 59 percent.

Non-dutiable are import items that do not have levies or tariffs.

Bernardo, however, pointed out that starting with the first quarter, the collections at the BOC have significantly risen.

He said that for the first quarter, or from January to March, of this year, the BOC’s monthly collections averaged P6.9 billion and this rose to a monthly average of P7.9 billion for the second semester, or from April to June.

So, for the second semester, we have seen an increase of P1 billion from the first quarter average, Bernardo said.

In July, Bernardo said, the BOC collected some P7.8 billion, and in August, the Bureau collected P9.2 billion, showing a steady increase.

"So, we are hoping the emerging scenario by the end of the year would be something like P99 billion plus," Bernardo said.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has instructed former Armed Forces chief of staff Roy Cimatu to head the Middle East Preparedness Team (MEPT), a group of government agencies that would monitor the evolving situation in the trouble-ridden region, Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye said today.

Bunye, in his regular press briefing this afternoon, also said the National Security Council and the Cabinet would meet on Tuesday to come up with recommendations to the President "on a full range of social, political and economic measures to prepare the nation for any eventuality."

Bunye said that after the meeting, the President would issue directives to the MEPT based on these recommendations.

The MEPT would be composed of representatives from the Department of Energy, Department of Labor and Employment, the Department of National Defense and the National Security Council.

Bunye said Cimatu would focus on energy security and the safety of overseas Filipino workers.

"He will (also) conduct regular press briefings to keep the public posted on the evolving situation," Bunye said.

The President earlier appointed Cimatu to lead the Philippine crisis team responsible for evacuating Filipinos in Iraq.

Malacaņang is pleased with the results of the latest Social Weather Stations survey as it still shows the moderate satisfaction of the public for the performance of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, Press Secretary Ignacio R. Bunye said today.

Bunye, in his regular press briefing, said that the latest SWS survey should be taken in its context.

"Because during the period in question, several circumstances took place such as the deportation of our Filipino workers from Sabah, the resignation of Secretary Raul Roco and Revenue Commissioner Rene Banez and also the renewed activities of the Abu Sayyaf group," Bunye said.

"We would note that the during the post State of the Nation Address survey, the President had a very high acceptance rating principally because of the killing of Abu Sabaya and the lowering of our purchased power adjustment rates. These circumstances, of course, are not present during the latest survey," Bunye said.

Bunye added that "we (should) take note of the fact that the plus 18 percent net satisfaction rating is still the highest if we compare the results of the quarter by quarter basis."

"So this is (still) higher than the second or higher than the first quarter results," Bunye said.

In a radio interview, Bunye said the second half of the survey still showed that the people are very satisfied with her.

He noted that when the respondents were asked how serious the President in fighting terrorism, 68 percent stated that the President is very serious in the fight.

This is also the same in the fight against crime with 61 percent net satisfaction rating for the President.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo would rather do her job than delve on the 2004 presidential elections, Press Secretary Ignacio R. Bunye said today.

In his regular press briefing, Bunye noted that the political opposition keeps harping on the 2004 elections.

"But our stand has always been consistent: that we don’t want to talk about 2004 at this time," Bunye said.

"We’d rather not delve on 2004 at this time because there are other things that have to be attended to by the President, that require her full attention," Bunye added.

An opposition lawmaker has claimed that any candidate can beat the President in 2004.