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21 JUNE 2003 |
| Agri Dep't clarifies agri growth statistics |
The Department of Agriculture welcomes the call of Senate President Franklin Drilon to provide more incentives for Philippine agriculture, but asked everyone to look at the sector’s first quarter performance "from a half-full instead of a half-empty perspective." Bureau of Agricultural Statistics (BAS) Assistant Director Maura S. Lizarondo said figures cited in published reports were accurate and Sen. Drilon’s conclusion was appropriate. But Lizarondo cautioned against fanning out any further the pervading public pessimism "when there is a logical but uncontrollable explanation for the dip in agricultural growth," such as the El Nino phenomenon, among others. "The numbers are glaring enough to tell us that indeed, increased food production at 2.9 percent has barely kept pace with the growth in population," she said. "In fact, even NEDA recognized that the 4.5-percent first quarter economic growth would not have been achieved had agriculture not chalked up a 2.9-percent performance when economic planners themselves were not anticipating the agri-sector to positively contribute," she added. Drilon, in published reports, has hailed the country’s 4.5-percent first quarter growth but warned economists against complacency, pointing out that the growth was still below the level needed "for economic takeoff and sustainable development." Most worrisome, added Drilon, is the fact that the first quarter growth in the agriculture, fishery and forestry sector this year was only 2.9 per cent compared to the 4.8 per cent in the same period last year. Drilon cited that agriculture and fishery production increased by only three percent compared to 5.2 percent last year, declining by nearly one half. "This means that the food production kept pace with the population growth estimated at 2.2 percent annually," he said. Lizarondo said the statistics used in the reports came from national accounts, which are compiled, by the National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB) but the data inputs for the agriculture and fishery sector are being provided by the BAS. She added: "Divine Providence has spared us from catastrophe so let us count our blessings as without His mercy, things would have been much worse." |
| President's radio address to the nation |
Mga kaibigan marahil nabalitaan na ninyo ang ating ipinag-ibayong kampanya laban sa bawal na gamot. Personal kong susubaybayan ang kampanyang ito at gusto kong makita ang pangmatagalang resulta. Ibig sabihin gusto kong makita ang pagpigil ng mga pangunahing sindikato, gusto kong makita ang paghuli sa kanilang mga pinuno, gusto kong makita ang kampanya kontra sa mga nanunulak sa droga at sa mga nagbibigay ng proteksiyon mula sa gobyerno at lalo na sa mga naka-uniporme. Gusto kong makita ang pagpigil sa parating na droga mula sa ibang bansa, gusto kong makitang bumulgar ang mga drug lord kahit gaano sila kataas sa kapangyarihan, gusto kong makitang hinahabol sila bilang karaniwang kriminal. Hinihingi ko ang buong kooperasyon ng publiko at ang mga pahayagan. Ang kinabukasan ng ating bansa ay nakataya sa kampanyang ito. Hinihingi ko sa bawat mamamayan na tumulong sa kampanyang ito, idagdag ninyo ang inyong boses kontra sa abuso ng droga, kontra sa mga nagbebenta ng droga. Ang buong sambayanan ay dapat kumilos kontra sa bantang ito. Manawagan tayo para sa pamayanang ligtas sa droga, manawagan tayo para sa pagbulgar ng mga sindikato at nanunulak sa droga, magsuporta sa rehabilitasyon ng mga gumagamit ng droga. Ang ating kampanya kontra sa pagbenta sa illegal na gamot ay dapat may salitang puwersa sa likod nito. Ito ang determinasyon, kooperasyon at kilos ng taong bayan, gamay din natin ang puwersa ng taong bayan para sugpuin itong kalaban gaya ng pagsugpo natin sa terorismo. Kailangang tukuyin natin ang ilang batayang prayoridad. Una, pahihirapan nating makakuha ng illegal na droga ang mga gumagamit at nagbebenta. Kapag mahirap makakuha ng mga droga, tataas ang kanilang presyo kaya mababawasan ang mga bibili at gagamit nito. Pangalawa, kailangang tukuyin natin ang mga lugar ng pinakagrabeng pagbebenta ng droga, ito ay pahihirapan ang mga puntong pinakamalaki ang kita. Pangatlo, kailangang tukuyin natin ang mga lider sa posibleng pinakamataas na antas, protektor sa pulis at gobyerno ang prayoridad. Pang-apat, pipigilin natin ang paggamit ng bawal na gamot bago pa man magsimula ang paggamit nito, dito natin lubos na kailangan ang tulong at suporta ng mga tahanan, pamayaanan, paaralan, at organisadong mamamayan. Ito ay laban ng taong bayang Pilipino, meron tayong determinasyon at bilang para ipaluhod ang lagim na ito. |
| GMA pushes 4 initiatives in anti-drug drive |
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today outlined four strategic priorities in the government’s aggressive drive to rid the country of the illegal drug menace. In a television interview, the President said the government would push measures resulting in the "steady attrition in drug supply lines" that would make illegal drugs more inaccessible and more expensive to users. "We must concentrate in the areas of highest drug trafficking intensity. This will put pressure on points of highest profitability," she said. Everyone should help in exposing "the big fish at the highest possible level," with the police and government patrons as priorities, she added. Lastly, she enjoined homes, communities, schools and civil society to "stop drug use before it starts at the most vulnerable age levels." The President said the war against illegal drugs "is a fight of the Filipino people. We have the will and the numbers to bring this menace to its knees." With P1 billion allotted in the anti-illegal drugs campaign, more could be done to eliminate drug abuse and addiction nationwide. The numerous drug busts the police conducted earlier ran on a budget of P138 million. The P1 billion allocated could do more, she added. The money would cover anti-drug operations, the rehabilitation of drug users, and the creation of special drug courts. She also took time to acknowledge the legislators, particularly Senator Robert Barbers and Cebu City Rep. Antonio Cuenco, who worked out the passage of the new dangerous drugs law that led to the creation of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency. The President said she had accepted the offer of Sen. Barbers to help in the anti-drug campaign, "except that he doesn’t have to leave the Senate." She expressed confidence that Barbers could do the job under his function as Chairman of the Oversight Committee on Dangerous Drugs. "I will not stifle his initiatives. I will not cramp his style," she said. The President likewise disclosed that she would soon call a meeting, perhaps through Presidential Chief Staff Rigoberto Tiglao, between and among legislators and law enforcers to tackle more effective ways to neutralize the illegal drug trade in the country. |
| GMA cites Libya's role in Mindanao peace, growth |
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today cited the Libyan government for being very supportive of Philippine government initiatives in bringing about peace and development in Mindanao. The President, in a television interview, said the most important relation between the Philippines and Libya is the latter’s unwavering help in pushing the peace process in Mindanao to its conclusion. "Ang pinaka-importanteng relasyon ng Libya sa atin ay iyong tulong na ginagawa ng Libya sa ating peace process sa Mindanao," she said. While Libya is most known for its active participation in Mindanao’s peace and development, it also hosts a number of overseas Filipino workers (OFW). The President said the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has conferred with the Libyan Ambassador on OFW concerns, particularly the recent ban on Filipino workers to enter Libya in the wake of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) scare. "That’s already an operational matter … between the DFA and Libya," she said. During the President’s recent eight-day sojourn in Mindanao, Libyan Ambassador Salem Adam joined the Chief Executive in inspecting various foreign-assisted infrastructure projects and peace initiatives being carried out in southern Philippines. The ambassador also witnessed – together with four other envoys from member-nations of the Organization of Islamic Conference – the President activate the Regional Unified Command and the formal creation of Shariah (Islamic law) courts in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. The two presidential acts were in consonance with Philippine laws and provisions of the 1976 Tripoli Agreement entered into by the government and the Moro National Liberation Front in Tripoli, Libya. |
| GMA cites officials, workers for spurring national agricultural growth |
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today commended officials and employees of the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) for their concern for and dedicated service to farmers in the country. During NIA’s 40th anniversary rites in Diliman, Quezon City, the President cited the agency’s over 10,800 employees for effectively implementing various irrigation projects, maintaining and operating irrigations nationwide, organizing farmers into irrigators associations and providing them with training that optimized the benefits of irrigation. "To all of you here in NIA and irrigators associations, keep up the good work," the President said. She noted that since her late father, former President Diosdado Macapagal, signed Republic Act 3601 creating the NIA on June 22, 1963, the agency showed great success in helping farmers increase their agricultural productivity. Like her father, the President believed that irrigation is a prime mover of agricultural and rural development and a basic requisite for economic growth. She said that when she became President, NIA maintained its P6-billion fund spending on irrigation projects. She lauded the NIA for providing irrigation to some 1.387 million hectares of farmlands in the year 2002 alone, bringing the status of irrigation development in the country at about 44.37 percent. This has directly benefited 210,800 families, she said. Press Secretary Meliton Alingod and Agrarian Reform Secretary Luis Lorenzo accompanied the President in gracing the ruby or 40th anniversary of NIA. After her speech, the President met with NIA officials led by Administrator Jesus Emmanuel Paras and discussed with them new techniques on improving agency services and providing more irrigation projects in agricultural areas. Since NIA, a government-owned and controlled corporation (GOCC) has been established, the government sustained its P10-billion annual budget. But in 2002, the President released an additional P9 billion to the agency to further improve its services. In 2002, NIA had a total P10 billion in capitalization, P37.7 billion in assets, P5.6 paid-in capital with P1.4 billion in total income and a total of P90 million net income. In Luzon, about 956,000 hectares of service area or 52 percent of its 1.835 million hectares potential irrigable area were already developed by NIA. In the Visayas, the NIA developed 153,000 hectares or 46 percent of its 332,000 hectares. In Mindanao, developed were 279,000 hectares or 29 percent of its 959,000 hectares. Around 689,110 hectares or 50 percent of the service areas are under the national irrigation system; 523,920 hectares or 38 percent, communal irrigation system; and 174,200 hectares or 12 percent, private systems. |
| GMA ready to repeat Mindanao trip |
Given the chance, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is more than willing to do an encore of her Mindanao trip. "Titingnan natin kung kailangan muli," she beamed in a television interview, as she reported on the gains of her successful eight-day sortie in the so-called Land of Promise. During that rigorous sojourn that started in Davao and ended in Butuan, the President said she was able to see the progress of her Mindanao Natin (Mindanao National Initiative) program wherein she was able to put together a budget to carry out various projects in the conflict-torn island. "Mula pa nung May 1 ay pinaumpisahan na natin ang concerted implementation ng mga projects doon at kaya ako pumunta doon ay para makita na may momentum na ito (Since May 1, I have ordered a concerted implementation of the projects there and the reason I went there is to see if it has already gained momentum)," she explained. During the same interview, she recounted how sincerity has been the norm during her childhood days with her grandmother in Mindanao, when people of various ethnic backgrounds and beliefs, whether Christian, Muslim or Lumad, lived in harmony. The secessionist movements changed all these, she said. "Somewhere along the way, nagkaroon ng exclusion, ng stereotypes. So there are insincere people on both sides," she said. That is why, she continued, she would like the Moro Islamic Liberation Front to show their sincerity in pursuing the peace process. "Now whether these people who are leading the enemy are sincere or not, tingnan natin on the ground. We have to look at the specific acts to prove that they are sincere," she stressed. The Chief Executive reiterated her government’s desire for peace based on principles. "We certainly want peace, but peace based on principles," she said. "One that would be lasting and one that would ensure security of the communities." "At kung makikita natin ang sinseridad na yon, puwede tayong mag-usap sa pamamagitan ng mga tumutulong na kaibigan (And when we finally see that sincerity, we could sit down and talk with the help of everybody)," she added. |
| GMA urges civil society to initiate voter education programs |
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today enjoined the country’s civil society to help government pursue electoral reforms by way of initiating moves to educate Filipino voters. The President noted the imperative need for voters’ education to complement government efforts to modernize the electoral system through computerization. She cited the emergence of "new politics" that would push lasting reforms for the good of the country. "We have to modernize our electoral system pero hindi lamang iyong computerization. Kailangan ang voter education at iyan ang inaasahan ko naman sana sa ating civil society," she added. She asked the Advertising Board to spearhead a voters’ education program "para ang pag-iisip ng taumbayan, botante at mga political leaders ay ma-modernize din kagaya ng computerization (so that the mindset of people about the electoral process can be attuned to the times)." The President said she had ordered the allocation of P3 billion for electoral modernization. |
| GMA to launch Batang Iwas-Droga tonight |
In an aggressive and serious bid to stop the proliferation of illegal drugs in the country, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo will launch tonight the Batang Iwas-Droga or BIDA animated project at the Luneta Grandstand in Manila. During the event, the President will receive briefings from Ma. Livia S. De Leon, chair and president of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office; Winston Garcia, president and general manager of the Government Service Insurance System; and Ephraim Genuino, chairman and president of the PAGCOR, regarding the project aimed at prodding the youth to do their part in the fight against drug abuse. The President, fresh from her visit to Ilocos Sur where she inaugurated the Banayoyo-Lidlida-Santiago Circumferential Road early this afternoon, is expected to deliver brief remarks on the importance of the project. She is also expected to supervise the registration of 15,000 children to become members of the BIDA Club and deputize them for the anti-drug program. The BIDA project, which was conceptualized by Genuino, aims to educate the youth and their parents on the hazardous effects of illegal drugs and substance abuse and the negative impact of the drug problem to the society and economy. "For years, the drug problem has weakened the foundation of our nation. It ruined lives, separated families and corrupted the youth. It has invaded our homes, our schools, and our workplaces, bringing destruction to everything that it touches. We must stop this menace if we are to achieve our vision of becoming a strong Republic," Genuino said in a statement. He explained that BIDA is the story of three extraordinary children – Luzy, Victor and Mindo – who represent the Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao islands of the country, about their mission to stop the spread of the drug menace in the country. "BIDA is about empowering the youth by making them aware of their part in the fight against drug abuse. Its aim is to educate the children entering into high school, where exposure to drugs normally occurs, in order to stop the problem before it begins," Genuino added BIDA is an animated television series that will soon be aired every Saturday, from 10:30 – 11:00 a.m., over government owned NBN Channel 4. The program targets schoolchildren between the ages of six and 12 years old. The project made its debut to the public during the 105th Independence Day celebration on June 12 when a group of school children performed a special dance number as part of PAGCOR’s parade presentation. |
| GMA inaugurates 17.33-km road network in Ilocos Sur |
BANAYOYO, Ilocos Sur – President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today inaugurated the P304-million road network project in Ilocos Sur to improve the accessibility of farmers and tourists in the northern Luzon growth area. The President led the ceremonial ribbon cutting this afternoon of the 17.33-kilometer Santiago-Banayoyo-Lidlidda-San Emilio Rural Road Network Project in Barangay Casilagan, here in the second district of Ilocos Sur. The fund for the project came from a loan from the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC). After cutting the ribbon, the President made the ceremonial drive-through on board a pick-up truck accompanied by Luis Chavit Singson, Presidential Adviser for the North Luzon Growth Management Area, Ilocos Sur Governor Deogracias Victor Savellano, First District Rep. Salacnib Baterina, and Second District Rep. Eric Singson. The inaugurated road network project--including the construction of three new bridges in Ilocos Sur’s southeastern towns of Santiago, Banayoyo, Lidliddan, and San Emilio -- forms part of the North Luzon-Cordillera Trans-World Heritage Highway Development Project. This is a 398-kilometer all-weather regional highway network traversing the provinces of Ilocos Sur, Mt. Province, Ifugao, Nueva Vizcaya and Isabela. The completion of the new road network will benefit Ilocos Sur’s interior upland towns, residents and tourists as it is also an alternative road connecting to Sagada, Benguet up to Baguio City. |
| GMA announces release of P104 M for Ilocos tobacco farmers |
BANAYOYO, Ilocos Sur -- President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today announced the release of an aggregate P104 million from the tobacco excise tax to finance projects of farmers severely affected by the low prices of tobacco in the Ilocos region. The President said the amount would go to Ilocos Sur, P39 million; La Union, P33 million; Ilocos Norte P25 million; and Abra, P7 million. For the other provinces, cities, towns and districts, the President announced the proposed monetization of P2 billion from the Land Bank of the Philippines (Landbank). The amount is the balance from the 2001 and 2002 fund of the tobacco excise tax as provided under Republic Act 7171. The President advised local officials to coordinate with the Landbank on the release of the funds. "I want the northern Philippines, which is our region -- my mother is from Binalonan, Pangasinan, and my grandfather is from Ilocos Norte -- to progress beautifully," the President said. The President, who visited Ilocos Sur to inaugurate the multi-million foreign-funded road network project in Lidlidda town, likewise announced that several infrastructure projects in the region is ready for bidding. "If there is bidding, this is no empty promise anymore," she said in Ilocano. Ready for the August 13, 2003 bidding are bridge projects in Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, Isabela and Cagayan Valley, and Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) projects such as the Langlangka Bridge in Candon, Sta Cruz bridge, and a new bridge in Bacnotan, La Union. Also up for bidding in September this year are two vital roads -- Baguio-Aritao and Baguio to Cayapa, and Cayapa to Aritao. The Laoag Flood Control Project in Ilocos Norte and a road project in Cervantes, Ilocos will be up for bidding also in September. "These are the reasons why I came here today," the President said aside from greeting former Governor Luis "Chavit" Singson a "Happy Birthday." Among those present during the President's visit here were Ilocos Norte Governor Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos, La Union Governor Manuel Ortega, Ilocos Sur Governor Victor Savellano, Zambales Governor Vic Magsaysay, Congressmen Eric Singson and Salacnib Baterina, and Press Secretary Milton Alingod, who the President said also represented Isabela Governor Faustino Dy, Jr, and other local government officials of Ilocos Sur. |
