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01 NOVEMBER 2003 |
| RP hails ok of UN convention vs corruption |
The Philippines, through Foreign Affairs Secretary Blas F. Ople, has hailed the passage of the United Nations Convention Against Corruption by the UN general assembly. In a statement prepared for delivery at the General Assembly, Ople said the covenant "breaks new ground for a global effort to fight corruption especially in developing countries," adding that "corruption is the greatest impediment to the development of the world’s poor countries." Ople cited estimates of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that laundered money, mostly arising from corruption, accounts for 3 to 5 per cent of world gross product. "Corruption is a heavy millstone that drags the world’s poor to even worse poverty and despair," he said. Ople said he was proud that the Philippines, through its delegation in Vienna, took a leading part in the drafting of the Convention Against Corruption, bringing into the task the rich experience of the Philippine Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) and the measures undertaken by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in the fight against graft and corruption. The President has ordered lifestyle checks on all government officials and has initiated the e-procurement device in sensitive offices to curb overpricing and other illegal transactions. She has also ordered the prosecution of all public officials found to have enriched themselves through illegal means. Under the covenant, the member states of the UN are legally bound to help each other facilitate action against corruption under a rule of law. The Philippine foreign secretary warned, however, that the convention should not be used to impose conditionalities or to interfere in a country’s internal affairs. Opposition Senator Edgardo Angara was a member of the Philippine delegation to Vienna headed by Ambassador Victor Garcia. |
| GMA calls for sacrifice in resolving impasse in the Davide impeachment issue |
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today wished a peaceful observance of All Saints’ Day by all Filipinos as she called on all sectors, particularly the members of Congress and the judiciary, to make sacrifices to resolve the present impasse caused by the impeachment move against Chief Justice Hilario Davide, Jr. In her brief remarks at the Libingan ng mga Bayani at Fort Bonifacio this morning, the President said that the people should draw inspiration from the spirits of the soldiers and the heroes who have died serving the country so that we can all find the peace and serenity that we wish. "We can ensure that their deaths were not in vain if we carry on their ideals and principles for the greater good of our people," the President said. The President recalled the dictum followed by her father, the late President Diosdado Macapagal, who said that "the presidency is not a position to be enjoyed. It is a position where, for the good of the people, one must make sacrifices, and if necessary, one must suffer."The President, along with some members of her family and relatives, paid her respects at the graves of her father and mother at the Libingan ng mga Bayani. She said that all Filipinos should make their own commensurate sacrifices in order to change society in a way that leads to a future that we all dream of and rightly deserve. The President said that it is this sense of sacrifice that she invoked when she appealed to the leaders of Congress and the judiciary to diffuse the political impasse caused by the impeachment issue. "This calls for a valiant patriotic effort to set aside strong countervailing beliefs and hurt pride, and willfully come together for the nation," the President said. She then called on everyone to act now "as one nation, one people, under one flag," adding that she is confident that the people would be able to overcome this crisis because of our will to make sacrifices for the good of our country. "Idalangin nating maiwaksi na ang pagsisiraan at sa halip ay lalo pang magkaisa tungo sa pangarap nating malakas na Republika (Let us all pray that we can discard the culture of divisiveness and instead unite in building a strong Republic)," the President said. |
| RP ranked 3rd as investment site in ASEAN |
The Philippines has been ranked the third most preferred country for foreign investments in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) by the Japan External Trade Organization (Jetro). Jetro gave the Philippines a diffusion index rating of 8.2 points, which was the first positive mark the country got from the Japanese business community since February. This was topped only by Thailand, with 15.4, and Malaysia 8.3, but well ahead of Singapore (3.8) and Indonesia (-6). The Jetro survey covered 234 Philippine-based Japanese firms with 29.1 percent looking ahead to better business opportunities. About 50 percent expect the climate to be the same and 20.9 believed it would go down. This positive outlook by Japanese businessmen comes on the heels of positive ratings from the American Chamber of Commerce, Inc. (ACCI) and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) secretariat. "The US investment community has developed a very good relationship with this administration. We have established rapport and this has been very positive for American businessmen," ACCI board member Bart Lucarelli said last week. Foremost among ACCI members that showed confidence in the Philippines were Convergy’s, Ford Motor Co., Mirant, Intel and Texas Instruments. Convergy’s, the largest customer care service in the world, has committed to making the country a center of its operations. Ford plunked in $50 million to make the Philippines a vehicle export hub. Mirant recently set up a power plant in Visayas to help in the barangay electification program. Computer chip giant Intel has applied for a P300 million expansion program and Texas Instruments will put in $70 million for expansion. During the 11th APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting in Bangkok last month, the APEC secretariat forecast the growth of the Philippine gross domestic product (GDP), rating it sixth among its 21-member countries. Only China, Vietnam, Russia, Thailand and Malaysia were rated higher than the Philippines. President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo also expressed elation over the remarkable increase in foreign investments during the first seven months of the year. Citing figures from the Department of Trade and Industry, the President said approved investments in the country reached P22 billion from January to July this year. This is expected to translate into 40,000 new jobs. |
| AGFO supports Davide, expresses alarm over impeachement move |
The Association of Generals and Flag Officers, Inc. (AGFO) has expressed alarm over the impeachment of Supreme Court Chief Justice Hilario Davide, Jr. "The contested and unwelcome impeachment of Chief Justice Hilario Davide, Jr., initiated by the House of Congress, is fraught with danger that it might bring forth incalculable damage to Philippine democracy and destroy the image of the country abroad," AGFO said in Board Resolution No. 13-03 approved unanimously on October 27. "AGFO appeals to the authorities concerned to consider the patriotic duty of putting the interest of the country first in dealing with the highly sensitive issues affecting the Philippine Constitution and the preservation of the Philippine Republic before engaging in the precipitate pursuit of political or personal interest," the resolution said. Copies of the resolution were sent to Chief Justice Davide, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, Senate President Franklin Drilon and Speaker Jose de Venecia, Jr. AGFO, which considers Davide, a Magsaysay awardee, as the most respectable Filipino with an impeccable reputation, said his indictment is a big disappointment to the general public. It also questioned the impeachment of the Chief Justice for alleged misuse of the Judicial Development Fund while it was still being investigated by the justice committee of the House of Representatives. AGFO said that the grounds cited for the impeachment of Davide "are not grave enough to warrant the extraordinary remedy of impeachment weighed against the serious implications that the process inflicts on the country which may be exploited by the enemies of the state or groups out to grab government power." The impeachment proceedings could also result in a constitutional crisis "that could plunge the country into anarchy and self-destruction, given the fact that it is already reeling from all kinds of problems," the resolution said. |
| GMA orders release of 133 Oakwood mutineers |
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today ordered the release of 133 officers and men of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) suspected of having been involved in the July 27 failed military mutiny at Oakwood Premier Hotel in Makati City. The President ordered the release of 133 military personnel after receiving the recommendation of AFP Chief of Staff Gen. Narciso Abaya at the Libingan ng mga Bayani at Fort Bonifacio this morning. She said that the release of the officers and enlisted men was made as part of her policy of leniency and reconciliation with justice "considering that they were found to have been deceived and misled into joining the attempted coup." The President said that Abaya, after receiving the report of the pre-investigation panel (PTI), has also recommended that 51 respondents, 4 officers and 47 enlisted personnel, be excluded from the charges after they were able to prove that they were only misled and did not have prior knowledge of the plot. The PTI, however, said that their exclusion from the mutiny indictment would not preclude their being imposed administrative sanctions that would be commensurate to their "established meager participation" in the failed military adventurism. The President also said that the PTI panel has recommended the filing of charges before a General Court Martial against a total of 270 military personnel for alleged complicity in the commission of offenses of mutiny (Article of War 67), disrespect toward the President, the Defense Secretary, among others (Article of War 63), disrespect toward superior officers (Article of War 64), conduct unbecoming of an officer and a gentleman (Article of War 96, and conduct prejudicial to good order and military discipline (Article of War 97). Abaya said that of the 270 formally charged, 94 are officers and l76 are enlisted personnel. "The wheels of military justice now start turning. The 270 military personnel stand to be tried before the General Court Martial on account of their complicity in espousing extra-legal means to accomplish and justify an unlawful end," the President said. Abaya would soon constitute and convene a General Court Martial to try these military personnel as recommended by the PTI. A total of 356 renegade officers and enlisted personnel voluntarily came down from Oakwood Hotel on July 27 as they heeded a directive to return to barracks and to face the consequences of their acts in joining the failed mutiny. The PTI will conduct further proceedings on military personnel who had been earlier implicated through relevant evidence but who were not in Oakwood Hotel during the standoff. The PTI said that from among this group, 77 have been recommended to be released for lack of probable cause while 5 others are due for release soon also on the same ground. But military officers who will not be excluded by the PTI shall undergo pre-trial investigation on charges of failure to suppress the mutiny under the Articles of War 68 and 96. |
| GMA pays respects to unknown soldiers and parents at Libingan ng mga Bayani |
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today paid her respects to the country’s unknown soldiers and her parents, former President Diosdado Macapagal and Dona Evangelina Macapagal, at the Libingan ng mga Bayani in Fort Bonifacio. The President, along with members of her family and some officials, heard mass and offered silent prayers for her departed loved ones. Rev. Father William D. Beleno officiated the mass. The President laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers, also at the Libingan ng mga Bayani, where the remains of some 39,000 Filipino soldiers were transferred from their original burial sites in Capas, Tarlac and Fort Santiago in Intramuros, Manila. After the wreath-laying, the President then lighted candles for nine soldiers, six of them unknown. The three graves where the President lighted candles were those of Gen. Mariano Castaneda, AFP chief of staff, who died in l970; Gen. Rigoberto Atienza, also former AFP chief of staff, who died in l966; and Commodore Ismael Lomibao, former flag-officer-in command of the Philippine Navy, who died in l985. From the Libingan ng mga Bayani, the President proceeded to Santuario de San Antonio in Forbes Park where the ashes of her grandparents, on her mother’s side, were placed. The President then proceeded to the Loyola Memorial Park, Marikina City, to visit the grave of Ignacio L. Arroyo, Sr., father of the First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo, who died on Dec. 12, l996. She then went to Santuario de Martin, San Juan City, where she also offered flowers for some departed relatives. From San Juan, the President then went to Manila North Cemetery, where she visited the grave of Lourdes Tuason Arroyo, mother of the First Gentleman. During her visits to the different cemeteries, the President was accompanied by her children, Pampanga Vice Governor Juan Miguel "Mikey" Arroyo, Evangeline Lourdes Arroyo, Diosdado Ignacio Arroyo and wife Kakai, and brother Arturo Macapagal. The First Gentleman is out of the country. During her visit to the Libingan ng mga Bayani, the President was accompanied by Defense Secretary Eduardo Ermita, AFP Chief Staff, Gen. Narciso Abaya, and Presidential Adviser on Overseas Development Assistance Absorption Marita Jimenez. |
