The tourism industry in Palawan will get a big boost with the planned construction of an international airport in the country’s premier destination of foreign and domestic visitors.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, in a speech Saturday in Linapacan, Palawan, said putting up an international airport in northern Palawan was part of the medium-term national tourism strategy.

The President said she had assigned Energy Secretary Vicente Perez to help package the funding for the airport.

She also disclosed plans to adopt a "liberalized airline policy" from Japan and Korea going to Cebu and Palawan.

She said this would be part of expected talks between officials of the two countries and the Philippines when she visits Japan and Korea in December.

But she said that even without an international airport, the popularity of Palawan as a tourism spot in itself served as an attraction for those who would like to enjoy its beach resorts and hospitality.

"Ayaw kong mawalan ng pag-asa (I do not want to lose hope)," she said, referring to the slump in tourist arrivals following the infamous kidnapping perpetrated by the terrorist Abu Sayyaf in the area several years ago.

She cited how Egypt, Spain, Indonesia and other countries also beset by threats from terrorist groups have successfully overcome security problems and revived their tourism industries.

The President said there were plenty of ways to promote the image of Palawan as a tourist site, and this would all depend on good marketing.

She lauded Palawan officials for putting up a tourism fair in Puerto Princesa City from October 12 to 16.

She said that the government is pushing its "Visit the Philippines Year" in 2003.

Palawan is included in this promotional activity of the Department of Tourism, she added.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today paid tribute to her father, the late President Diosdado Macapagal, who she cited as the frontrunner of the various pro-poor public programs her administration is implementing.

In a radio message aired nationwide, the President made the tribute in commemoration of her father’s 92^nd birth anniversary last Saturday (September 28).

She said that her father, a tenant farmer’s son who worked his way up to become the country’s ninth Chief Executive, spearheaded, during his administration, the "unfinished and peaceful revolution" of the masses.

She added that her ongoing programs on free enterprise, concrete social and economic development of the nation with a bias for the poor, land reform leading to agricultural and industrial growth, and good governance bereft of graft and corruption drew inspiration from her father’s philosophy of government.

"Karangalan ko at kabasbasan ko na puwedeng magsimula kung saan siya tumigil at ituloy ang kanyang pakikibaka (It is my honor to continue the programs started by my father in his time)," the President said.

On the occasion of the late Macapagal’s birth anniversary, the President called on the nation and the people who love and respect her father to join her in solidifying a "national consensus" for a more "socially-responsive" society.

She raised the hope that with a united stand, the Filipino people would overcome the pangs of poverty within the decade.

In her radio message, the President also urged the people to help her achieve her desire to build a strong republic, another milestone laid by her late father.

She cited two vital characteristics of a strong republic: that which is free from "class and sectoral interests" and that which has strong institutions and a bureaucracy capable of implementing good policies and delivering better services.

She said this could be achieved if the nation has an effective government, from the national government down to the local governments.

This would include the bureaucracy, the professionals and those who care for the civil service.

A strong republic is also characterized with the presence of a vibrant free enterprise where the Filipino talent and skills are used.

"Ang pamahalaan ay dapat siguraduhin na ang mga puwersa at bagay na bumabangga sa free market ay matanggal (The state should ensure that the forces that oppose the free market system are eliminated)," she said.

Another facet of a strong republic is the presence of democracy hinged on the philosophy of new politics, devoid of "bossism" and the influences of "guns, gold and goons."

She stressed on accountability and transparency to uphold good governance.

She added that a strong republic should also have an active civil society where the family, the community, non-government organizations, the media, the church and government help each other "forge its swords into hammers" to thwart poverty and threats to national development and security.