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15 OCTOBER 2003 |
| Subic Bay : A major U.S. naval facility turned into bustling commercial-industrial complex |
(Editor’s Note: Following is the sixth in a series of backgrounders on Philippine-United States relations that the Presidential News Desk is issuing on the run-up to the state visit here of US President George W. Bush on October 18) On September 13, 1991, the Philippine Senate voted to reject a proposed 10-year extension RP-US Military Bases Treaty; thus, ending the 94 years of American military presence in the Philippines. But the transformation of Subic from one of the US largest naval bases outside of the United States into a bustling commercial-industrial complex came about on March 13, 1992 after the passage of Republic Act 7227 creating the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA). Richard J. Gordon, then Olongapo City mayor, was appointed as the first SBMA Chairman. In that same year, the last American ship and helicopter carrier USS Belleau Wood sailed out of the base. Then President Fidel V. Ramos and the SBMA Chairman raised the biggest free-flying Philippine flag in front of the SBMA Administration Building 229. The succeeding years saw the Subic Bay Freeport (SBF) became a bustling hub of commerce and tourism, creating thousands of jobs and $2 billion worth of investments. SBF was venue of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders’ Meeting in 1996. Aside from being turned into an economic hub for the Philippines, the Subic Freeport was also transformed into one of the country’s top tourist destinations. Visitors have increased from 2.35 million in 1998 to almost 8 million in June 2003. Investors and traders in Subic Bay contributed greatly to the national coffers. The 5 percent tax on gross income of Freeport enterprises is valued now at approximately P700 million, up from the previous figure of P463 million. The duties and taxes on importation have risen to P4 billion from only P2.8 billion five years ago. Taken together, SBMA revenue contributions for the National Treasury have reached P21 billion as of June 2003. In short, its revenue collections enabled the SBMA to return the national government’s capital contribution to the establishment of the Freeport 25 times over. The activities in the seaport reflect a buoyant commerce. More than 1,761 ships called on the Subic Port in 2002 compared to 1,373 in 1998. Subic- Clark Alliance The SBMA has embarked on a Subic-Clark Alliance that will transform both Subic and Clark and the Central Luzon corridor into an inter-modal transport center. This will give the Subic-Clark-Central Luzon corridor a 3-way connectivity, a platform that will enable businessmen to ship their products to the global marketplace ahead of their competitors. This is important in this day and age of "just in time production" when speed in doing business, more than just cheap labor, is becoming the determinant of success. The components of this Alliance are Subic’s seaport, Clark’s airport, and the toll-road in-between. The seaport development project and the toll-road have already been funded by a combined $640 million Overseas Development Assistance (ODA) funds by the Japan Bank for International Cooperation. Started this year, the construction alone will pump-prime the Central Luzon economy. In 2001, immediately following the ascendancy of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, the Subic Clark Alliance for Development (SCAD) was formally approved in Malacaņang. A Memorandum of Agreement was signed among the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA), Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA), Clark Development Corporation (CDC), and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI). Subic Bay Freeport’s workforce has reached 45,742. Together with employees of SBMA and its subsidiary, the Freeport Service Corporation, total employment now totals 49,705. The year 2002 marked the 4th consecutive year that the Freeport’s exports record breached the $1 billion mark. Records show that total cumulative committed investments reached $4.047 billion. During that year, there were 629 companies in operation with a total workforce of 48,874. With the inclusion of the SBMA and FSC, the total number of workers has now reached 53,107 or 77 percent higher than the peak employment level of 30,000 during the occupancy of the US Navy. The year also saw the completion of the P620-million World Bank-funded Rizal-Argonaut Highway that opens up the Freeport to better flow of commerce. The newly-widened roads will connect to the proposed $425 million Subic-Clark-Tarlac Toll Road. Also, the putting up of the first ever marine park in the country—The Ocean Adventure—and Subic Bay’s various eco-tourism attractions has attracted more than eight million tourists. This year, the SBMA was awarded the ISO 9001:2000 Certificate of Excellence for Investor Servicing and Locator Assistance (ISLA), an international certification on quality management systems from the TUV Product Service, which is considered a first among economic zones and public agencies. This distinguishes SBMA from other government agencies in creating a culture of customer service. In 1941, during the height of World War II, Japanese planes attacked Subic Bay. The 4th Marine Regiment, which was tasked to defend Subic, withdrew its forces to Bataan. The Dewey-dry dock that had served Subic Bay for 35 years was towed to the bottom of the Mariveles harbor to prevent it from falling into the Japanese hands. After World War II, the control of the base was returned to the Americans. Even after the US granted full independence to the Philippines in 1946, Olongapo and the Subic Base remained under the administration of the US Naval Reservation. In 1947, the RP-US Military Bases Agreement was signed. It granted the US 99 years of free use of 16 military installations, including the administration of Subic and Olongapo. The famous "Seabees", in 1951, started the construction of a Naval Air Station in Subic. This was the dream of Naval Operations Chief Arthur Radford, who thought of the air station as a vital link for US operations in the Southwest Pacific. The Naval Air Station, completed in 1956, was named Cubi Point in honor of the Seabee unit. An 8,000-foot runway was built, involving the flattening of a 1,200-foot mountain. This is said to be equivalent to the digging of Panama Canal. Under the RP-US Bases Treaty, Olongapo was turned over to the Philippines in 1959 and converted into a municipality through Executive Order No. 366 issued by President Carlos P. Garcia. In 1956, with the escalation of Vietnam War, Subic took on the task of maintaining ships and providing supplies—such as food, fuel and ammunition—to sustain the US fleet in the Western Pacific. Subic also became a premier rest and recreation destination of travelers and tourists in the Far East. A new Philippine Constitution was approved in 1986. A transitory provision in the Constitution called for removal of all foreign military installations in the country by year 1992, unless a new treaty was ratified by the Senate. The Gulf War in 1991 made Subic the staging ground for one of the biggest US Desert Shield and Desert Storm military operations – known as since the Vietnam War. Subic Bay, however, was buried under 18 inches of ashfall from the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo. |
| RP-US trade relations enters a new chapter |
| (Editor's Note: Following is the seventh in a
series of backgrounders on Philippine-United States relations that the Presidential News
Desk is issuing on the run-up to the state visit here of US President George W. Bush.) The new chapter in Philippine-US trade relations, highlighted by US President George W. Bush's visit to the Philippines on October 18, could mean a start of the huge influx of new business and investment opportunities. President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo said that the blossoming of Philippine- US trade relations should be responsive to the new realities of the 21st century that is characterized by globalization, technology change, and of great conjunction between security and development. The President said that the US, by virtue of its dominant military and economic power, would continue to be an important factor in the affairs of the country and the entire region. The Philippines has had an enduring historical, cultural and economic ties with the US, particularly during the last century when the close partnership was redefined with the closure of the military bases in 1992 and again after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the US. US President George W. Bush, during the International Conference on Financing for Development, held in Mexico, urged a new compact for development that will be defined by greater accountability for rich and poor nations. President Bush's statements echoed President Macapagal-Arroyo's own proposal before delegates of the 16th East Asian Economic Summit in Hong Kong in October 2002, wherein she stressed the need for a new coalition to lift the global economy out of lethargy. "The Philippines must harness its economic relations with the US for it to realize its goals in the area of bilateral trade by seeking fair trade-one that opens the US markets to Philippine products and one that will enhance development," President Macapagal- Arroyo said. Post war trade and commerce The Philippine transition government ended in 1945, the same year that World War II ended. On July 4, 1946, the Philippine Republic was inaugurated at the Luneta in Manila. Hundreds of thousand of Filipinos, along with American and foreign dignitaries, witnessed the ceremonies. To rehabilitate the Filipinos who suffered war damage, U.S. Senator Millard E. Tydings sponsored the Philippine Rehabilitation Act. It appropriated $620 million for the Filipinos who suffered during the war. World War II brought losses to the Philippines in terms of physical and human resources. According to a 1951 government report, the total war losses of the Philippines amounted to more than $8 billion. This included the value of public and private property lost and destroyed during the war, the precious lives of the Filipinos devastated by the war, and the cost of goods and services that the Japanese took from Filipinos without payment. The war adversely affected the trade and commerce of the nation. Many factories and offices were destroyed or heavily damaged. Many Filipinos lost their jobs. The problem was too big for the Philippines to solve alone. It did not have the money and other resources to bring back life to industry and to the economy. Under President Diosdado Macapagal, who was elected President in 1961, a "New Era" of prosperity and trade relations with the US flourished. RP-US bilateral trade relations Accelerating the tempo of intensified bilateral interaction under the Bush- Arroyo administrations is the activation last April 2002 of the US- RP Trade and Investment Council. The Council, set up in April 2002, has held two meeting to address business and investment issues and eliminate stumbling blocks to economic cooperation. The new chapter on RP-US bilateral relations kicks off with the US granting the Philippines $30 million in additional trade benefits under an expanded list of products approved for duty-free exportation to the US. Likewise, the US will also give the Philippines an estimated $40 million commodity loan that will involve not only the transfer of money and food, but the transfer of knowledge as well. Under this benefit, $40 million worth of high-quality American rice will be sold to the Philippines on concessional loan terms. The Department of Agriculture will sell the rice locally and use the proceeds to help finance agricultural development projects and programs that will mostly benefit the poor in Mindanao. Also, the funds raised under such a commodity loan will help finance the training in the US of Filipino agriculturists under the Fulbright-DA exchange program. It is also expected that the Philippines will receive especially large increases in benefits arising from the US' favorable action on previous Philippine petitions for tuna, pineapple juice and fatty acids, including the Philippines' fruit products, under the 2003 Generalized System of Preferences (GPS). Biggest trading partner Today, the US is the Philippines' top economic partner in both trade and investment. Annual bilateral trade exceeds $18 billion and cumulative direct private investment is at $3.5 billion. The US is also the top destination of Philippine exports and is the Philippines' second source of imports. In 2002, two-way RP-US trade amounted to $15.06 billion. The Philippines continues to enjoy a favorable balance of trade with the US, registering a trade surplus of $2.30 billion last year. In the investment arena, Central Bank figures show that US foreign direct investments (FDI) in the Philippines by the end of 2002 were valued at $3.3 billion or 22 percent of total FDI. A testimony to the solid confidence of US companies in the Philippines, as an ideal investment destination is the American Chamber of Commerce's roster of members. The roster lists at least 240 American companies engaged in business in the country. Intel Technology Philippines is a major assembly and test site for Intel's latest products such as Pentium 4 and Centrino microprocessors for mobile computing. Intel is fully committed in developing its Philippine site as a high-technology manufacturing facility. Two out of three digital cellular phones used worldwide have a TI (Texas Instrument)- Philippines DSP chip that is produced locally by TI- Philippines, Inc. The firm has a workforce of 1,750 workers and continues to be the leader in digital telephony. The Philippines also serves as the hub for the regional operations of giant US companies. Federal Express (Fedex) operates its Asian distribution system, known as ASIA ONE, from the Subic Bay International Airport and provides transport services to 30 countries in the Asia- Pacific market. Fedex operates 260 flights per week, moving 3 million items in 211 countries. Likewise, the Intra-Asia Hub of United Parcel Service (UPS) is strategically located at the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport in the Clark Economic Zone. The Philippines, offering a viable alternative for multinational companies seeking a cost-effective location for back-office functions, is now one of Asia's leading Shared Services Center for various processes. This includes finance, accounting, human resource, IT solutions and engineering design. |
| Hectic schedule awaits GMA at OIC summit |
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (via PLDT) – President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo will have a hectic schedule when she attends, as invited guest, the 10th Session of the Islamic Summit Conference (on Thursday in Putrajava. This is the first time that a Philippine President has been invited to summit of the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) since its founding 14 years ago. The President is expected to arrive at Kuala Lumpur International Airport at 5:45 this afternoon. From the airport, the President will go directly to Palace of the Golden Horses Hotel in Kuala Lumpur for a bilateral meeting with Saudi Arabian officials. She will be accompanied by Foreign Affairs Secretary Blas Ople, Defense Secretary Eduardo R. Ermita and Gov. Parouk Hussin of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM). At 8:30 tonight, the President will meet with the Filipino community in Malaysia at the ballroom of Concorde Hotel. Later she will meet with other officials before winding up today’s schedule. On Thursday, the President will attend the opening ceremony of the 10th session of the Islamic Summit at the modern Putrajaya Convention Center. The summit to be attended by 57 member OIC states will open at 10 A.M. Malaysia is hosting the summit, which is held every three years. Mrs. Macapagal-Arroyo will also partake of the official luncheon at he banquet hall of Putrajaya. The President will also attend several bilateral meetings during the opening of the summit. In the evening, outgoing Malaysian Prime Minister Dr. Mahathir Mohamad will host a dinner for all OIC heads of state at the grand ballroom of the Mandarin Hotel here. After the dinner, the President will depart for Manila shortly before midnight. She will arrive in Manila at 3:30 Friday dawn. |
| USAID brings hope to former MNLF rebels in Mindanao |
| (Editor’s Note: Following is the eighth of a series of backgrounders on
Philippine-United States relations that the Presidential News Desk is issuing on the
run-up to the state visit here of US President George W. Bush on October 18)
CARMEN, North Cotabato – Omar Tacuken, 41 years old, and a former Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) field commander, is tending the several fishponds that he and his comrades built some months ago. Tacuken and his comrades are all graduates of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)-funded Livelihood Enhancement and Peace (LEAP) Program which has trained nearly 20,000 former MNLF combatants to be productive farmers. This year, USAID has programmed grants for the Philippines worth $70 million, more than half of which are allotted to former conflict areas in Mindanao. The ponds, according to Tacuken, were in fact built without the aid of modern equipment. "These ponds were all built by hand," he proudly says. When asked what makes him work so diligently, he replies: "Ahh…hito (catfish)." There is excitement in his voice as he surveys the well-constructed fishponds teeming with foot-long African hito (catfish) that are now ready for harvest. "Tomorrow, our efforts for the past four months will finally bear fruit," he says, as he expertly casts a net into a fishpond. Omar waits for a few seconds and then pulls on the net that is heavy with the weight of the struggling fish. Marketing agreement Omar’s catch will form part of the initial delivery of catfish to be made by the Sebastian Irrigators Farmers Association – a group formed by Omar and 36 other former MNLF combatants – to Evangeline Rabanal, a wholesale catfish buyer based in Kabacan, North Cotabato. Under a forward marketing agreement, Rabanal committed to buy 100 kilos of catfish a week, at P60.00 per kilo. This price applies to catfish with an average body weight of three pieces to two pieces to a kilo. However, both parties agreed to negotiate on the price of catfish that do not meet the required specifications. The forward marketing agreement was facilitated by the Targeted Commodity Expansion Program (TCEP), a component of the USAID-funded Growth with Equity in Mindanao (GEM) Program. "This initial harvest will give Omar and the other members of the community an understanding of how to harvest and market their produce," explains Adel Oviedo, TCEP deputy team leader. "This is definitely a first for them," he adds. Oviedo estimates that the association can earn as much P60,000 from one pond stocked with 2,000 pieces of catfish. Confidence-building The marketing agreement began as a "one-shot deal." The association only planned to purchase catfish fingerlings from Rabanal to start production. However, the TCEP team offered technical and marketing support and convinced Rabanal, herself a fishery graduate and practitioner, to pay Omar a visit. The main objective of TCEP was to provide the association with the necessary technical training and at the same time, assure them of steady market for their catfish. A series of negotiations between Evangeline and the members of the association soon followed. "I could really sense their enthusiasm to start the business," says Rabanal. It did not take long before mutual trust between her and the association members was developed. Eventually, this led to the signing of the marketing agreement. The agreement is a "win-win" situation for both parties, as Rabanal will also be guaranteed of a reliable source of catfish which she sells to the nearby towns in North Cotabato. All hard work Kumander Omar admits that looking after the fishponds seven days a week is hard work, and takes a lot of patience and sacrifice on his part. However, he is not complaining. The prospects for his newfound enterprise look very encouraging. One can see the pride in the faces of Omar and his men as they loaded the fish into a waiting delivery van. Although drenched in sweat, their smiles are contagious. For them, there is renewed hope for a better future for themselves and their families. |
| Statement of the President: Re Fraport Allegations |
I am as shocked as anyone by this story and I welcome any investigation, under due process, of these charges. I ask those accused to account for all their actions in this case and I am confident they can adequately defend themselves. In the case of Ms. Tan Climaco and Secretary Avelino Cruz, both were deeply involved in helping the prosecution of the case for the nullification of the PIATCO contract, which was ruled upon favorably by the Supreme Court. This makes the actions imputed against them seem ridiculous. Nevertheless, I welcome any probe by the World Bank and if warranted by developments, we will initiate an impartial and independent investigation of the charges. I want the truth to come out and there will be no coddling or cover ups. |
| Statement of the President: Re President Bush visit |
Our people support President Bush and will make every effort to make his stay, however short, both meaningful and memorable. Security preparations are in place and we are ready to give him a rousing welcome deserving of a friend and ally of the Philippines. |
| Statement of the President: Re New Zealand Travel Advisory |
It is unfortunate, and unfair to the Philippines and to President Bush, that this story has cropped up. The risks to tourists are isolated and contained in far flung areas of the country and should not be blown up in general advisories. Security is very tight for the Bush visit and there should be no cause for undue alarm. We hope that other nations would be more reasonable in these matters as we are doing our level best to maintain an environment of law and order that would support our growing tourism industry. |
| Statement of the President: Re PCSO |
PCSO records are open to public scrutiny. The Senate may have access to these records at anytime for purposes of probing any charges of fund abuse. Those grandstanding on this issue should just get the evidence they need and file charges. We are not hiding anything. |
| Statement of the President: Re Al Ghozi |
The terrorists are falling one by one. This reduces the weight of terrorist threats across the broad range of targets in our country and across Southeast Asia. We are moving effectively to check terror in concert with our neighbors. Our ongoing constriction measures are eating up their room for maneuver. The peace process with the MILF will continue to isolate them. Our determined moves against poverty will drain their recruitment bases. We shall beat terrorism decisively and comprehensively. |
| GMA okays changes in MDFO operations |
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has approved the restructuring of the Municipal Development Fund Office (MDFO) which would allow the Department of Finance (DOF) to mobilize the funds much more effectively and create greater access to capital by local governments. During the regular Cabinet in Malacaņang yesterday, Finance Secretary Jose Isidro Camacho informed the President that the objective of the restructuring of the MDFO is to serve the least credit-worthy local government units (LGUs) which are unable to tap the commercial markets like the Land Bank of the Philippines, Development Bank of the Philippines, and the Municipal bond market. To date, the MDFO operations have been heavily constrained by the government fiscal situation, Camacho said. Camacho noted that for the year 2003, for example, the budget that was included for the appropriations was P518 million against what would have been a requirement of P8 billion. "To highlight the constraint we have about P14 billion worth of applications from LGUs which cannot really be processed and approved because of the fiscal constraints," Camacho pointed out. The President approved the recommendation that would allow the DOF to mobilize the funds more effectively -- a structure that would not depend anymore on the national government budget and make the MDFO into a financially autonomous and independent facility. "It will allow us to continue providing cheaper financing for the least credit-worthy LGUs, and at some point, it will also allow us to leverage private sector funding like municipal funds and the like," Camacho said. The approved structure steps are as follows:
The DOF has recommended that this new corporation have a board composed of representatives from the DOF, the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), Department of Budget and Management, the Department of Interior and Local Government, Land Bank or DBP, and a representative from the LGUs. Presidential Decree 1914 issued on March 29, 1984 created the Municipal Development Fund as a special revolving fund to be made available to LGUs to finance developmental projects. An Executive Order issued on November 20, 1998 transferred the operations of the MDF from the Bureau of Local Government to the MDFO which was established at the DOF. |
| U.S. pumps P100-M in equipment grants into Philippine Veterans Hospital |
The United States government, which donated $1 million (P55 million) worth of modern hospital equipment to the Veterans Memorial Medical Center (VMMC) in 2002, is now clearing the way for another grant of $1 million to VMMC. The Philippine Veterans Affairs Office (PVAO) reported to Defense Secretary Eduardo R. Ermita that the second tranche of the equipment aid is ready for delivery early next year to VMMC through the Manila office of the US Department of Veterans Affairs (USDVA). US assistance to the state-run VMMC was part of the aid commitments secured by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo from the US during her state visit to Washington, D.C. last May. Several veterans groups in the U.S. have called for more benefits to Filipino veterans who had fought along side the American forces during World War II. Last year’s $1 million grant infused into the VMMC at least 58 units of state-of-the-art equipment, including 10 dialysis and 13 ventilator machines, that have boosted the capacity of the hospital in general and in geriatric medicine. With the US grant, VMMC was able to set up a modern Dialysis Center, which US Ambassador to the Philippines Francis Ricciardone inaugurated last April. For 2003, the $1 million package will include 26 units of diagnostics and radiology equipment. According to PVAO, US assistance to the hospital, which averaged $2.5 million a year when the Philippines was hosting US military bases, stopped in 1994, but resumed in 2002 following the spirited efforts by the Macapagal-Arroyo administration to restore US assistance. The VMMC was established in 1955 with full US government assistance to provide quality hospitalization, medical care and treatment to Filipino veterans of World War II. Last year, the hospital’s out patient department serviced a total of 166,450 patients while its emergency ward attended to 14,886 patients, mostly WWII veterans. |
| GMA embarks on historic trip to Kuala Lumpur for RP's first participation in OIC summit |
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo said today that her trip to Kuala Lumpur, venue of the Summit of the Organization Islamic Conference (OIC), is part of her administration’s search for lasting peace in Mindanao and to make sure it will continue to be within our grasp. Mrs. Macapagal-Arroyo, who gained the distinction of being the first Philippine President to ever be invited to the OIC Summit, left this afternoon aboard Philippine Airlines flight PR 001. Flight PR 001 departed from the Villamor Air Base in Pasay City at exactly 1:55 p.m. for an estimated 3-hour and 45-minute flying time to Kuala Lumpur. The President was accompanied by Foreign Secretary Blas Ople, Defense Secretary Eduardo R. Ermita, Presidential Spokesman Ignacio Bunye, Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Teresita Quintos-Deles, Chief of the Presidential Management Staff Silvestre Afable, Jr., Presidential Adviser on Special Concerns Norberto Gonzales, Gov. Parouk Hussin of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) and Philippine Ambassador to Malaysia Romualdo Ong. She was sent off at the terminal by Senate President Franklin Drilon, Executive Secretary Alberto Romulo, Press Secretary Milton Alingod, Armed Forces of the Philippines chief of staff Gen. Narciso Abaya, and Malaysian Ambassador to Manila Mohammad Taufik Noor. In her departure statement, the President drew attention to a number of current developments--like the prospective membership of the Philippines in the United Nations Security Council; the signing of ASEAN Concord II in Bali, Indonesia; and US President George W. Bush’s state visit to the Philippines on Saturday – that have important bearing on the country’s foreign relations. Apart from attending the OIC Summit as an observer, the President said she will also participate in the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit, scheduled to be hosted early next week by Thailand, that will sustain fight for fair and liberalized trade carried by the Group of 21 in Cancun, Mexico. "These events mark the trend of the future: global security, regional integration, bold diplomacy for peace and development, consolidating the battle against terrorism and poverty, and obtaining economic justice in the real of globalization," she said. The President thanked Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad for inviting her to attend as observer in the largest gathering of Muslim leaders in the world. She also expressed her best wishes to Mahathir in his three-year stint at the helm of OIC. Mahathir is set to retire as Prime Minister of Malaysia at the end of October 2003. The President said that her mission in Kuala Lumpur is not just to find greater autonomy or social justice for Muslim Filipinos. "It has something to do," she clarified, "with their search for dignity, heritage and a sense of belonging to a respected community within a diverse nation." In seeking the keys to peace, she expressed the hope that "we shall also open the doors to development and progress." "We shall continue to join the nations of the world in an earnest will," she added, "to find harmony and stability in the midst of ethnic and religious discord." |
| GMA expresses shock over reported payoff in PIATCO deal, welcomes probe by World Bank |
Expressing shock over the reported extortion charges against her private counsel and two other lawyers in connection with the controversial Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3 case, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today welcomed any probe by the World Bank and assured the public that there will be no coddling or cover-ups. Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Avelino ‘Nonong' Cruz was linked by German airport operator Fraport to alleged efforts to pressure it into ousting the Cheng family, one of the major investors in Philippine International Air Terminals Co. (PIATCO) from the NAIA 3 project. In its letter to the World Bank’s International Center for Settlement of Disputes (ICSID), Fraport chairman Wilhelm Binder and vice chairman Manfred Scholch alleged that lawyer Arthur Pancho Villaraza had demanded money from Fraport to facilitate the ouster of the Cheng family. The same letter also implicated Gloria Tan-Climaco, former Presidential Adviser for Strategic Projects, for allegedly suggesting to Fraport to tap the services of Villaraza so that the Cheng family would leave the company. The German company has requested arbitration by the ICSID after President Macapagal-Arroyo declared null and void on Nov. 29, 2002 the contracts granted to PIATCO on grounds that these contained onerous provisions. Climaco and Cruz have denied any wrong doing in connection with the voiding of the PIATCO contracts. The President has asked the accused to account for all their actions, expressing confidence that "they can adequately defend themselves." She said that Ms. Tan-Climaco and Secretary Avelino Cruz were both deeply involved in helping the prosecution of the case for the nullification of the PIATCO contract, which was ruled upon favorably by the Supreme Court. "This makes the actions imputed against them seem ridiculous," the President said. "Nevertheless, I welcome any probe by the World Bank and if warranted by these developments, we will initiate an impartial and independent investigation of these charges." She said she wants the truth to come out and assured everybody that there will be no coddling or cover-ups. |
| Garcia clan of Cebu expresses support for GMA |
Cebu Governor Pablo Garcia has hailed the decision of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to seek the presidency in the 2004 elections, saying that the country needs her brand of leadership so that it can move forward. "We trust in the leadership and moral ascendancy of the President and believe she deserves six more years to finish the programs she has started," Governor Garcia said in a statement relayed to Malacanang. The reforms that the President started, Garcia said, cannot be fully accomplished in the short span of three years. Earlier, the Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines (ULAP) and the League of Cities and Municipalities have also thrown their support for the President. Incumbent Cebu City Mayor Tommy Osmena has also earlier said that he will support the President in her 2004 plans. The Garcia clan consists of GSIS President and General Manager Winston F. Garcia, former Transportation and Communication Secretary Jesus Garcia, and nephew, former Cebu City Mayor Alvin Garcia. |
| GMA arrives here to a red carpet welcome |
KUALA LUMPUR (Via PLDT)—President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo arrived here late this afternoon to a red carpet welcome to attend as invited guest to the 10th Session of the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) hosted by Malaysia. The Presidential plane carrying the President touched down at the ultra modern Kuala Lumpur International Airport at 5:25 p.m. The President was accompanied by a lean Philippine delegation composed of Foreign Secretary Blas Ople, Defense Secretary Eduardo R. Ermita, Presidential Spokesman Ignacio Bunye, Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Teresita Quintos-Deles, Chief of the Presidential Management Staff Silvestre Afable, Jr., Presidential Adviser on Special Concerns Norberto Gonzales, Gov. Parouk Hussin of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) and Philippine Ambassador to Malaysia Romualdo Ong. This is the first time that a Philippine president has been invited to attend as a special guest of the OIC. Malaysia’s hosting of the 10th OIC Summit is highly considered significant for Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad who will step down from office on October 31 after guiding Malaysia into a spectacular economic boom during his watch. The President will have a chance to meet heads of state of the influential Islamic body during her overnight stay here. The President will be holding bilateral talks with the leaders of Bahrain, Iraq, Iran and possibly with Saudi Arabia and Morocco. |
