Leading Japanese newspaper Nikkei Weekly has cited the Subic Bay industrial zone as the Philippines’ alternative to China where foreign investors could set up industrial operations for overseas production.

A report from Senior Deputy Executive Secretary Joaquin Lagonera said Nikkei’s article noted that the Subic Bay zone offered investors a safer operational site in Asia.

The report said that over 500 multinational companies have relocated to Subic Bay and that more were on the way.

It added that approved foreign investments in the area grew by 770 percent year-on-year in the January to June, 2002 period.

Nikkei stressed that Subic Bay’s competitive edge is prescribed by the area’s abundance of college graduates, the proficiency of its skilled labor in the English language, the quality of labor in quantity, its convenient access, infrastructure depth and low crime rate.

The article said another industrial park might take off in Subic Bay since the Techno Park is nearly full to meet the demands of foreign companies.

The Japanese magazine also disclosed the concern about foreign investment flow into China whose economic future was termed difficult to read.

Foreign companies have increasingly expressed the concern in Taiwan, and they fear the day when something happens to the Chinese economy.

The anti-piracy inter-agency group has come out with three measures to ensure the success of the government’s campaign against video piracy and the thrust to protect intellectual property rights (IPR).

In a report, Undersecretary Benjamin de Guzman of the Office of the Executive Secretary (OES) said the group sought to:

• Designate state prosecutors who are seasoned in intellectual property laws to specifically handle IPR cases;
• Institutionalize a system of coordination among the OES, the Videogram Regulatory Board (VRB) and the Department of Justice (DOJ);
• Conduct a series of lecture-seminars to equip law enforcers in the preparation of complaints, affidavits and other legal forms for the filing of cases against criminal syndicates and violators of IPR laws.

De Guzman said the measures were agreed on in a recent meeting attended by VRB Vice Chairperson Lualhati Buenafe and DOJ Undersecretary Jose Calida.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo had designated De Guzman to oversee and monitor the filing, prosecution and status of video piracy cases and other violations of IPR laws.

De Guzman said the group saw it imperative to speed up and strengthen the President’s drive to arrest and eradicate video piracy rings operating in the country.

Nine Filipino overseas workers imprisoned in Kuwait for various offenses have been granted pardon by authorities as part of their government’s promise to President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo during her visit there last month.

In a report to Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) Administrator Virgilio Angelo, Kuwait-based Welfare Officer Mario Antonio said the nine prisoners have been set free and are awaiting repatriation pending completion of the processing of their exit papers.

The OWWA has withheld the identity of the workers but their families have been advised to look up their names at the labor agency.

The nine OFWs form part of the 20 Filipino prisoners the Emir of Kuwait had pledged to pardon when the President visited Kuwait last February to look intro the conditions of some 60,000 OFWs there in the wake of the brewing Iraqi conflict.

Overseas Filipino workers in Taiwan expressed delight over the personal message sent by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo recently commending them for making significant contributions to their families and the nation as a whole.

In a letter to the President, Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) Managing Director and Resident Representative Edgardo V. Espinosa said leaders of the Filipino communities in Taiwan were particularly pleased with the personal message sent through the Philippine Labor Center in Taipei.

He also informed the President that her message was published in the China Post and the Taiwan News, the two leading newspapers in the island, to reach the greater majority of the OFWs spread all over Taiwan.

"We extend our warmest greetings to you, together with our prayers for more strength, more wisdom and more power as you continue to lead our beloved country in these difficult times," Espinosa told the President.

In her message to the more than seven-million migrant Filipino workers who work as professionals, home managers, caregivers, sea farers, nurses and entertainers, the President said their remittances amounting to P350 billion every year have helped prop up the Philippine economy.

The amount, she said, is five times what the government can spend on capital expenditure and is half of the country’s national budget.

"It is true that we are going through difficult times. But we are not alone in this. Even the biggest economies in the world are experiencing a slowdown," the President said in her three-page letter.

The people in the town of Pilar, Sorsogon have thanked President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and the police for the speedy neutralization of Jolito Leosala alias Kumander Awa, Pilar’s most-wanted criminal, and for reinstating peace and economic growth in the area.

In a letter to the President, local leaders of Pilar said that Leosala’s capture and subsequent death "came as good news to all of us."

"It would mean a big improvement in the peace and order situation in our municipality. With this, we are strongly confident that business will improve and get back to normal again," they said.

The Pilar leaders told the President that Leosala had taken the town hostage and in the grips of fear as he sowed terror with his "despicable acts."

"Trade and investment opportunities in our community were adversely affected and greatly suffered. This had caused a major drawback in the community’s efforts to achieve economic growth and development," they added.

The officials extended to the President their "sincerest and heartfelt gratitude for the laudable action you have taken on our plea for Leosala’s capture."

"We will never forget this praiseworthy achievement you have done for us. We believe this will not only benefit us, but the other business communities in the nearby towns and provinces as well," they told the President.

The construction of the Baliuag flyover in Central Luzon is the most economically viable project to implement to ease the traffic congestion in the area, according to a study conducted by the Department of Public Works and Highways.

In a report to Metro Manila Development Authority chair and Public Works Secretary Bayani Fernando, DPWH Region 3 Director Alfredo G. Tolentino said constructing the Baliuag flyover is the most cost-effective project to implement as it addresses the immediate need to decongest traffic in the areas.

Tolentino said several alternative schemes have already been introduced to solve congestion along the Cagayan Valley road in Baliuag, including the widening of the Daang Maharlika.

However, evaluation of the planned widening revealed that it would not be able to reduce the 12 conflicting flows in the intersection, according to Tolentino.

"Implementing widening works along Daang Maharlika as alternative solution to the traffic problem will also require acquisition of road right-of-way that is very expensive and unacceptable to lot owners," Tolentino said.

The DPWH has also considered the construction of the Plaridel Bypass road as a sub-project of the proposed upgrading of the Inter-Urban Highway System along the Pan-Philippine Highway that will be realized not earlier than year 2010 as the source of fund of the project has yet to be finalized.

Tolentino said that any delays in the approval of its foreign funding would further extend the utilization of the bypass beyond 2010 wherein the traffic situation in the Baliuag area may no longer be within tolerable level.

Earlier, former DPWH Secretary Simeon A. Datumanong terminated the contract for the construction of the Baliuag flyover due to spurious advertisements for invitations to bid.

The previous joint RP-US Balikatan military exercises brought with it counterpart fund assistance from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) intended for socio-economic development projects, besides the exercises’ "civic component" for the same purpose.

In an interview with Sen. Noli de Castro in his program Magandang Gabi Bayan, the President said that for instance, the military aid the Philippines obtained following her 2001 trip to the US totaled $100 million.

And the USAID also provided the same amount to fund priority programs and projects for socio-economic growth, she said.

The President said that on top of the USAID funds, the US military aid likewise provided for a "civic component" that had been translated into development projects as well.

The President noted that the Balikatan exercises in Basilan introduced a lot of development projects in the province.

During the exercises, two hospitals were built, the provincial airport was rehabilitated and the province’s circumferential road was completed, she added.

"Hindi lamang training ang naiwan sa ating mga sundalo (kundi) dalawang hospital, tapos na yung airport, yung circumferential road na matagal nang panaginip ng nga taga-Basilan (Not only did the exercises train our soldiers but it also brought about the building of two hospitals, the rehabilitation of the provincial airport and the completion of the circumferential road, a long-time dream of Basileņos)," she said.

The President noted that all in all, socio-economic development projects comprised a big extent of the US government assistance to the Philippines.

"Mas malaki talaga ang non-military assistance ng Amerika sa Pilipinas kaysa sa military assistance (indeed, the non-military aid of the U.S. is bigger than its military assistance)," she said.

The President noted that the ongoing joint military exercises between Filipino and American troops in Zamboanga City alone brought $25 million worth of ground training modules.

"Hindi pa kasama yun dun sa Basilan, Hindi pa kasama yung ordinary na ginagawa sa Luzon (that does not include the exercises in Basilan and the joint exercises ordinarily done in Luzon)," the President said.

The President further noted that Sen. Daniel Inouye of Hawaii was able to insert a supplementary budget bill that would provide $30 million worth of aid to the Philippines, but which was unfortunately vetoed by President George W. Bush.

But President Macapagal-Arroyo said that when Bush learned that the bill included an aid package to the Philippines, he promised to have it restored.

"Hindi ko pa binibilang ang lahat. Halimbawa yung sinasabing civic portion. Ito ay partial lang itong enumeration kong ito. Makikita mo na sulit na sulit (I haven’t counted all of it. This is only partial. You can see that it’s very much worth everything)," she added.

In the same interview, the President ruled out the possibility of having the Balikatan exercises in Sulu.

She also noted that officials of several provinces have signified their willingness to host the Balikatan.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo Saturday night reiterated her concern over the safety and welfare of Filipino expatriates in the Middle East as she shrugged off claims that the Philippines, as against other countries with workers in the Gulf, would be most affected by a war in Iraq.

She also reassured families of overseas Filipino workers (OFW) that the government is doing everything to ease the effects of a probable US-Iraq war on the OFWs, the Filipino people and the nation.

The President, in a television interview with Senator Noli de Castro, said the Philippines ranked sixth only among the nations exporting labor to the Middle East, hinting that other nations would likely be hurt the most when the US-Iraq war breaks out.

Expressing her deep concern on the situation of OFWs, the President said most of the 1.5 million OFWs in the Gulf are safely situated in areas far from Iraq.

She cited Saudi Arabia, where some one million Filipino expatriates are sited, and Jordan where there is a lesser number.

She said that at least 850,000 OFWs in Saudi Arabia are located in areas far from any probable US-Iraq flashpoint. "Mga 850,000 ay napakalayo sa harm’s way."

The remaining 150,000, though within Saudi Arabia soil near the Iraqi border, are safe and secured too.

The President recalled that during the 1991 Gulf War, Iraq’s Scud missiles tried to penetrate but failed to hit Dhahran, a Saudi Arabia province near Iraq where Filipinos worked in commercial centers.

"Kampanteng-kampante nga sila (They are very calm) … at normal pa rin ang ginagawa nila (and they have been attending to their work and lives normally)," she said, referring to the OFWs.

Even if the US, in the event that Turkey refuses to lend them bases, uses Jordan as launching pad to attack Iraq, Filipinos in Jordan would still be far from harm, the Chief Executive told Senator De Castro.

‘Do not worry.’ The President said this was the message OFWs in Kuwait, which is nearest Iraq, would want to relay to their relatives in the Philippines.

On top of all these, she added that the Middle East Preparedness Team (MEPT) under Ambassador Roy Cimatu is ready to cope with any eventuality.

The team has made preparations for "the worst-case scenario, the best-case scenario, the probable scenario" and has set up relocation centers for Filipino workers along the borders of Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, she said.

"Meron tayong nireserbang resort at mayroon pang tent sa labas ng resort. Meron nang tubig, meron nang mga kasilyas. Handang-handa na ‘yun (We have reserved a resort for relocates. There are tents, water, confort rooms there. Everything is ready)," she noted.

To demonstrate the "nautical highway" available to travelers, including foreign and local tourists, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is embarking next month on a caravan that would bring her to Mindanao, Visayas and Luzon using ferry and road rides.

The President, who made the announcement during the TV program Magandang Gabi Bayan hosted by Sen. Noli de Castro, said she is taking on such a journey precisely to promote travelling in the countryside using the ferry system.

She said she would fly to Davao City and proceed to Dapitan, Zamboanga del Sur to kick off the sea and road caravan.

She said many have signified willingness to join her. She said Mindanao would host a lot of visitors during that time.

The President noted that despite the negative travel advisories issued by foreign governments, particularly on trips to Mindanao since last year, tourism was still able to post a 16 percent growth.

"Sa kabila ng travel advisories na natanggap ng ating bansa nung nakaraang tao, 16 percent pa rin ang growth rate ng ating tourism," the President said.

The President further noted that her administration has purposely directed most of its overseas development assistance towards Mindanao.

She noted that right after the bombing incident in Davao City, she immediately flew to the province to check the situation.

"Kaya Davao, huwag kayong mawawalan ng ispirito. Talagang ang Davao ay isa sa mga top 8 favorite destination ng mga turista (That’s why, Davao, don’t lose your spirit, because you are one of the top eight destinations of tourists)," she said.

She noted that former Cebu Mayor Tommy Osmena brought 50 potential investors to Davao City "precisely to show that Davaoenos are resilient people who could get back on their feet and maintain the peace in their city."

The President early this year presented her administration’s master plan for a "nautical highway" as part of efforts to improve the country’s infrastructure and reduce transportation costs.

The proposed nautical highway will connect all major islands of the archipelago through a network of roll-on and roll-off (RORO) ferryboats.

She said the "ambitious but definitely vital program" would link 48 roll-on/roll-off ports across the country funded by the Official Development Assistance (ODA) with support from the private sector and the Development Bank of the Philippines.