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28 AUGUST 2003 |
| Statement of the President : Senator Honasan |
We welcome the fact that Senator Honasan has placed himself under the jurisdiction of the justice system. There is no doubt that like any other Filipino, he will be accorded due process. No citizen, high or low, should be above the law. I invite the Senate to join me in consolidating our common gains in the road to normalcy. Even as the Senate inquiries move forward, let us leave to the judiciary the main task of mopping up the legal issues arising from the Oakwood crisis. |
| Statement of the President : Ordonez Commission |
Our worse fears of collusion are somewhat allayed by these findings, but this will not diminish our resolve to punish the negligent custodians. I have directed our prosecutors to move for the maximum penalty against al-Ghozi’s wayward jailers. Meanwhile, the threat of al-Ghozi continues to be there and we will hunt him down until he is accounted for. The Filipino people and our international allies are on the lookout and he will be caught in the dragnet one way or the other. |
| Statement of the President : Peso |
We have teamed up with the Central Bank to defuse the operational causes of the peso slide, but there must be a greater and overriding effort by the entire nation to bounce back to normalcy and productivity. The campaign to stabilize the peso has to do with discouraging speculation as much as encouraging the public to exchange their dollars in the banks. It would be a patriotic act for small dollar holders to help ease up the foreign exchange market by letting go of their foreign exchange. We have to meet these challenges with a sense of solidarity and nationhood. |
| Statement of the President : Coup jitters |
| There is a confluence of conspiracies to erode the foundations of our democratic system. There are disgruntled and disenfranchised politicians who are increasingly becoming disloyal to democracy and the rule of law. They have launched a combined assault consisting of overt acts and propaganda tirades in an attempt to shake up the institutions of governance. Their efforts are desperate and obviously futile and they will never prevail over our people. Nevertheless, I must issue a fair and firm warning to all the detractors of the Constitution not to overstep the bounds of law. We are prepared to throw the book against those who cross the line between legitimacy and lawlessness. The loyalty of all the uniformed services is total and unsullied, and they will not hesitate to do their duty. |
| Statement of Secretary Ignacio R. Bunye |
Allegations of Senator Lacson The Palace is standing aside from these developments. The courts will resolve these cases one way or the other and the truth will emerge. We also anticipate that the Senate inquiry will shed light into these matters. The Executive Branch respects the independence of Congress and the Judiciary. Our democratic institutions have the strength and capacity to tackle these controversies. |
| World Bank okays $21.9 M loan to implement judicial reforms in RP |
Court efficiency and access to justice in the country will soon be improved with the implementation of the Supreme Court’s judicial reform program that will be funded by a $21.9 million loan from the World Bank. The Judicial Reform Support Project (JRSP) will help the Supreme Court develop a more effective and accessible judicial system that would promote public trust and confidence. Chief Justice Hilario Davide, Jr. said that the project will support the implementation of the Court’s Action Program for Judicial Reform in line with their vision of "a judiciary that is independent, effective and efficient and worthy of public trust and confidence" Davide said the JRSP will assist in promoting the integrity of the judiciary, upgrading institutional capability, and deepening stakeholders’ support for sustained judicial reform. Among the institutional reforms included under the JRSP are the establishment of pilot mobile courts, installation of comprehensive computer-based financial and administrative systems, improvement of the SC’s information and communication systems, and strengthening feedback mechanisms for judicial performance. The pilot courts will be spread across the three main geographic regions of the country – Luzon, Visayas and Miindanao. The project will focus on the Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, Court of Tax Appeals and Sandiganbayan. It will address well recognized problems in the judiciary such as delays in the delivery of justice, corruption, weak administrative structures, outdated technology, deficient facilities, and under developed human resources. "By improving judicial performance, including court access and the timeliness of court decisions, this project will lead to better business climate where the firms, investors, workers and consumers will all benefit," said Mr. Robert Vance Pulley, World Bank’s Country Director for the Philippines. The loan will be repaid in 20 years with an eight-year grace period. |
| RP's political and economic stability index remains high -- Lehman Brothers |
The Philippines remains among the top 10 developing countries with the most stable emerging economy as shown by a recent survey undertaken by Lehman Brothers and Eurasia Group, a firm that analyzes political risk in selected countries. The survey result carried by The Economist in its August 16, 2003 issue showed that the Philippines got a score of 60, out of a maximum stability score of 100. The survey sought to measure a country’s ability to withstand crises and to avoid generating them. In the same issue, the Economist cited the 4.5 percent gross domestic product (GDP) growth of the Philippines for the first quarter, higher than Malaysia’s 4.0 percent, Indonesia’s 3.4 percent, South Korea’s 3.7 percent, and Taiwan’s 3.2 percent. The country’s GDP, however, decelerated to 3.2 percent for the second quarter of this year. Nonetheless, the Philippines performed better than its neighbors, with South Korea showing only a 1.9 percent growth while the GDP of Singapore contracted by -4.2 percent and that of Taiwan by -0.1 percent. The deceleration of the economies in the region was due to global tensions arising from the US-Iraq war and the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). In the Lehman Brothers survey, Hungary emerged as the country with the most stable emerging economy, with a political-stability index of 73. Following closely behind were Poland, with a score of 72, and Mexico at 69. The political and economic stability index of the Philippines in July this year has practically remained the same compared to the same period last year. Among the countries in Asia, only the People’s Republic of China and Thailand surpassed the Philippines’ stability index. According to the index, Argentina, China and Turkey have all seen healthy increases in stability in the past year. Indonesia, which is troubled by terrorism, and Venezuela, mired in political crisis, scored the lowest, according to the survey. |
| Palace thanks FVR for asking GMA to run in 2004 but GMA still has to respond |
Malacaņang today thanked former President Fidel V. Ramos for the kind words and the support he has expressed for President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. In a press briefing in Malacaņang, Presidential Spokesman Ignacio Bunye, however, said that the President is still to respond to Mr. Ramos’ suggestion for her to run in the 2004 elections. The former President has urged President Macapagal-Arroyo to reconsider and run in next year’s elections, saying that only the President can turn things around. Mr. Ramos urged the President to announce her intention to run before October 15. Bunye, who was responding to the comment of former President Ramos, said: "Let’s just wait what the President has to say about this." "If she does have something to say I am sure she will let me know and I will let you know," Bunye added. |
| NEDA expects stronger economic growth for second semester of 2003 |
The government sees a stronger economic growth in the second semester of the year, with the gross domestic product (GDP) expected to average 4.5 per cent, bolstering the likelihood of the economy growing at the low end of the full year GDP forecast of 4.2 per cent. In his report to the President, National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) Director General Romulo Neri said that indicators point to a firmer recovery taking place in the United States and Japan, while Europe has begun to come out of its decline. Neri said that Asian economies are also recovering from the impact of the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). "The electronics sector is also poised to strengthen in the second semester with demand picking up and with inventories drawn down," Neri said. He said that the Department of Agriculture has also predicted better palay and corn production for the second half of this year, with palay production to expand by 2.5 percent while corn production expected to grow by 2.0 percent. Neri said the GDP, adjusted for inflation, as expected grew at a slower pace of 3.2 per cent in the second quarter of 2003. However, he said, the gross national product (GNP) rose at a stronger pace of 4.5 percent on account of strong growth in net factor income from abroad which rose 22. 6 percent. This brings first semester GNP and GDP growth, according to Neri, to 3.9 percent and 4.8 percent respectively. On a seasonally adjusted basis, GDP rose 0.1 percent in the second quarter after a 0.5 percent quarter-to-quarter decline in the first quarter. GDP is the total value of goods and services produced within the country while the GNP refers to the GDP plus the value of goods and services produced outside of the country, including earnings from Filipino overseas workers. Neri said that uncontrollable factors such as the El Nino, the US-Iraq conflict, and the outbreak of SARS, compounded government’s policy decision to keep fiscal spending under control are the main reasons for the slowdown. "Although the government sector did not directly contribute to growth, its success in sticking to its fiscal program improved investor confidence and enabled the private sector to be the engine of growth as shown in the continued growth of private construction, strong investment in durable equipment, and the strengthening of the real estate and financial sectors," the NEDA director general explained. He said that compared to other Asian countries, the Philippines performed better than Taiwan (-0.1 %), Singapore (-4.2%) and South Korea (1.9%), although it was surpassed by China (6.7%), Malaysia (4.4%) and Indonesia (3.8%). |
