Prudent fiscal policies and austerity measures put in place by the Macapagal-Arroyo administration have enabled the country to rein in its perennial problem of incurring an over-bloated budgetary deficit.

Likewise, sweeping reforms enacted by the administration have curbed if not totally eliminated graft and corruption in revenue-generating government agencies, which led to increased revenue collection of the government.

The government, for the month of November, kept its budget deficit well below the P17.8 billion ceiling despite higher state spending.

The November deficit—excess spending over revenues—totaled P14 billion, or around P4 billion lower than the projected ceiling.

In September and October, the government exceeded its spending limit because of higher constructive cash expenses—spending related to foreign –assisted projects.

Constructive cash was the only spending item difficult to control since it involved advance payments by foreign funding agencies, usually bilaterals, to contractors for their projects. However, tightening it up will just mean increasing the accounts payables of the government in the future.

Revenue collections

Favorable collections by the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) and the Bureau of Customs (BOC), which accounted for more than 95 percent of government income, pushed total revenues beyond the P54.43 billion target.

Better tax collection particularly from banks, allowed the BIR to meet its P41.3 billion collection target more than a week ahead of schedule.

Twenty-four banks voluntarily paid around P700 million in back taxes. BIR cumulative revenue as of October totaled P346.33 billion, or just 0.9 percent off the 10-month target of P348.73 billion.

The BOC, for its part, raised P8.988 billion in tariffs and duties in November against a target of P8.84 billion. Customs collections last month placed the January to November cumulative total at P96.44 billion, only P3.56 billion short of the year-end target.

Given excess collection, the BIR and the BOC would likely meet if not surpass their 2003 revenue goals of P424 billion and P100 billion respectively.

As of October, the government already accumulated a leeway of about P8 billion as revenues continued to outperform target, while spending was kept into a minimum.

Prudent fiscal and economic management

Inheriting an economy teetering on the brink of chaos because of massive corruption in government, President Macapagal-Arroyo instituted unprecedented economic and austerity measures aimed primarily at controlling the budget deficit and raising revenues for the government.

The government is seen to keep its budget deficit under control and meet the ceiling of P202 billion for the full year on the back of cautious expenditure management and prudent fiscal management. As of November, this year, there is still a leeway of P8 billion before breaching the deficit ceiling for the year.

I am glad the opposition is moving towards unity so that we can get down to the business of threshing out the issues of the campaign.

On my part, I just arrived from a fruitful trip to Japan where I worked for a better deal for our OFWs and marked more gains for peace and development in Mindanao.

I shall be leaving for Bahrain tomorrow morning in pursuit of the same thrusts and we shall widen the range of our diplomacy to reinforce our domestic policies and programs to uplift the lives of our people.

Ours is an administration that has been working across continents to bring the message of Filipino pride and pride in the Filipino’s bright future.

All the issues surrounding the Sipadan kidnapping can now be given light through the judicial process and institutional investigations.

Our priority is criminal justice and we will pursue this without being distracted by the peripheral issues.

The travel advisories are a bit off track.

We have intensified security measures in Metro Manila and elsewhere and we have moved with substantive gains against kidnappers, terrorists and drug syndicates.

The drive against drugs in particular is expected to have a positive effect on stemming street crimes and our performance in this area is gaining ground.

It is ridiculous to say that Malacaņang is on a witch hunt for opposition supporters in the military and police.

The President has ordered the AFP and the PNP to stick to the professional code and keep away from partisan politics.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo leaves early tomorrow morning for a two-day state visit to Bahrain to work for a better deal for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in the kingdom and secure more gains for the peace and development of Mindanao, Bahrain being a rich and an influential Islamic state.

The President just arrived early this morning from Tokyo, where she also met with the Filipino community in Japan after attending the two-day ASEAN-Japan Commemorative Summit.

"I shall be leaving for Bahrain tomorrow in pursuit of the same thrusts and we shall widen the range of our diplomacy to reinforce our domestic policies," the President said in a statement, released after her arrival from Tokyo.

The President said that she would look into the working conditions of more than 30,000 OFWs in Bahrain and would thank them for their sacrifices and continued contributions to the growth of the Philippine economy.

Upon her arrival Sunday afternoon at the Bahrain International Airport, the President will be accorded full military honors.

The President wraps her first day of visit with a state dinner at the palace hosted by the King.

On December 15, the President would lead the ribbon cutting ceremony during the opening of a Philippine school in Bahrain. She would also drop by at the AMA International University in Manama, the first Philippine information technology (IT) school in the Gulf region.

TOKYO – President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo lauded Filipino workers in Japan Friday night for the sacrifices they are making for the country, calling them "champions of our country’s force in economic development."

In a gathering attended by some 1,000 Filipino workers at the ballroom of the Takanawa Prince Hotel here, The President cited the 4.4 percent growth in gross domestic product (GDP) and 5.9 percent climb in gross national product (GNP) in the Third quarter, emphasizing that these came about with help from the remittances made by overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).

The meeting with the Filipino community here capped the President’s two-day working visit to Japan to attend the ASEAN-Japan Commemorative Summit that ended here Friday.

In her speech, the President gave credit to the almost 300,000 OFWs in Japan for their donations and pledges for classrooms to be built in the country and for their tourism volunteer program that has accounted for some 300,000 visitors from Japan, making it the country’s second largest source of tourists.

In return and in appreciation of the big boost provided by OFWs, the President told them she has pursued programs to help them, like the overseas voting, dual citizenship and the anti-money laundering laws.

The President informed them that their number could increase as a result of her initial talks with Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi that could allow more Filipinos in the health care and information technology sectors to work in Japan.

There is also the housing program on easy installment terms for OFWs, she said, so they can build houses for their families and settle in the country during their retirement.

The President vowed to move the country forward and use the experience she gained in her two-and-a-half years to keep the deficit under control, maintain the low inflation rate, increase tax revenues, and fight government corruption.

On the issue of corruption, she revealed that the World Bank has congratulated her administration for the series of lifestyle checks meant to curb the menace.

She also mentioned the electronic procurement law recently passed by Congress that would cut down graft in government purchases.

By moving forward, the President said, she wants to build infrastructure projects necessary to speed up the country’s development.

She also mentioned building a high-speed Internet, improve health care access by the people, and raise enough resources and revenues to be able to redouble spending on education.

"Ngunit kailangan rin na maghilom ang marami nang hidwaan sa ating lipunan.Kaya kabilang sa repormang kailangan para labanan ang kahirapan, labanan ang katiwaliaan, labanan ang krimen, kailangan din natin ng pagkakaisa at reconciliation (But we also need to heal the wounds of divisiveness in our society. That’s why beyond these reforms to fight poverty, graft and corruption and crime, we also need unity and reconciliation)," she said.

TOKYO—Trade and Industry Undersecretary Gregory L. Domingo and Japanese State IT Minister Toshimitsu Motegi have signed here an information and technology agreement on the sidelines of the ASEAN-Japan Commemorative Summit that ended here Friday.

Domingo, who was a member of the official entourage of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to the summit, said that IT cooperation agreement was in line with efforts to promote the "Asia IT Initiative" in the region. The agreement was signed at the Cabinet’s Office in Tokyo.

Information Technology is an engine of economic growth not only in Japan but also in the Philippines. "Both countries share a common view on the need to strengthen cooperation in the field of information technology," Domingo said.

Philippine Ambassador Domingo L. Siazon, Jr. and Commercial Counselor Roman Baltazar witnessed the signing of the IT accord.

With the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) as the lead agency, the agreement involves the dispatch of Japanese IT professionals to teach IT language to Filipino engineers.

Domingo, who is also the managing head of the Board of Investments, hoped that the program will enable Filipino IT professionals to take and hurdle the Japan IT Standard Examination (JITSE).

The agreement, Domingo said, will lead to the dispatch of Filipino IT specialists to Japan to "immerse" them in an e-learning environment in Japan.

He said that working groups will be formed early next year to discuss the schedule as well as components of the cooperation program.

All sectors contributed to the increase in employment with the services sector contributing the biggest share at 633,000, followed by agriculture, fishery and forestry at 384,000, and the industry sector at 272,000.

The $208.5 million power project agreements signed during the two-day working visit of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to Japan show the strong confidence and trust of the international banking community on the country’s macro-economic fundamentals.

This was pointed out by Energy Secretary Vincent Perez, Jr., who, along with the President, witnessed the signing of the agreements between Kyosuke Shinozawa, governor of Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), and Philippine Ambassador to Japan Domingo Siazon, Jr.

Perez noted that the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 4.4 percent and its gross national product (GNP) grew by 5.9 percent for the third quarter of the year.

He said the three agreements, which would boost the country’s power supply, involve the establishment of the wholesale electricity sport market (WESM), the construction of the Leyte-Cebu interconnection project, and the construction of the 210-megawatt (MW) clean coal power plant in Northern Mindanao.

"The three projects are critical to address the country’s power supply requirements, " Perez said.

He said the Leyte-Cebu interconnection will allow additional 200-MW of cheaper and environment friendly energy source to be transmitted to the grid.

This vital transmission, according to Perez, will ensure stability of power in Cebu, Negros and Panay (CNP) islands.

Projections by the government show that the CNP grid’s reserve margin will fall under a critical level by mid-2004 unless additional capacity will come on stream. A sufficient reserve of about 13.2 percent of the total existing capacity is needed to ensure reliable and secure supply of electricity, Perez said.

He said that the project involves the installation of a 33-km submarine cable from Talisay, Cebu to Tabangao, Leyte and the expansion of several substation facilities in Cebu and Leyte.

On the other hand, Perez said, the 210-MW Northern Mindanao power project, that will use state-of-the art clean coal technology, will meet the growing power requirements in the area.

The Mindanao region has been experiencing rapid economic growth indicated by the 10-percent increase in National Power Corporation's (Napocor) electricity sales for the first semester this year, he said.

Perez said that the Northern Mindanao coal-fired power plant will diversify the sources of energy in Mindanao region, consequently ensuring security of supply.

"Mindanao is highly dependent on hydro electric power which is susceptible to weather patterns," Perez said.

Construction of the 210-MW Northern Mindanao power plant would be completed within 36 months and its target commercial operation would start in 2006.

Perez said that it’s all systems go for the establishment of the WESM, the market where the trading of wholesale electricity will be made.

The WESM, Perez said, is likened to a stock market where the short-term buying and selling of bulk electricity will be made under a competitive environment.

With the WESM in place, consumers will be empowered to choose their supplier of electricity. Initially, big users such as the industries, utilities and the electric cooperatives will directly benefit from this scheme, given their huge electricity needs, Perez said.

I congratulate our athletes and our entire delegation to the 22^nd Southeast Asian Games in Vietnam for their inspired performance.

By placing fourth with 48 gold medals, topping the 31 golds in the 21^st SEA Games in Kuala Lumpur in 2001, and breaching the minimum projection of 40, our athletes certainly have given their best.

Their achievement, gained with a final day surge that catapulted them over Malaysia, certainly makes the nation proud.

It is a most welcome development after the stirring victories of Manny Pacquiao, C.J. Suarez and Dorothy Delasin on the world stage of sports.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo will make a brief stopover in Hong Kong tomorrow for a meeting with the Filipino community in China’s Special Autonomous Region (SAR) before proceeding to Bahrain for a two-day state visit.

Accompanied by the First Gentleman Atty. Jose Miguel Arroyo and a small Philippine delegation, the President leaves at 7:30 a.m. aboard a chartered Philippine Airlines, Flight PR-001, and arrives in Hong Kong at around 9:30 a.m.

Upon arrival, she will immediately proceed to the Main Exhibition Hall of the Hong Kong International Trade and Exhibit Center in Kowloon for the meeting with the Filipino community.

During the meeting, the President will distribute Pag-IBIG bonds to some OFWs based in Hong Kong.

She will also award an OWWA (Overseas Workers Welfare Administration) scholarship to a child of an OFW based in the former British colony, and an OWWA ‘Sasakyang Pang-Negosyo’ to another contract worker.

On Friday, while on a working visit to Japan, the President also met with the Filipino community in Tokyo before returning to Manila.

In Bahrain, the President is also scheduled to meet with the large Filipino community in the kingdom.

"Dati bagsak and housing sector pero nitong last two or three years dumadami na ang nagkakaroon ng sariling bahay. Maipagmamalaki natin ang malaking tulong na naidulot ng housing program ng Pangulo. (The President’s housing program has helped the housing sector rebound in the last two or three years from its previous dismal performance)," Villar, who is celebrating his birthday today, said.