| .. |
20 SEPTEMBER 2003 |
| Gov't has released P10.9 B as loans for SMEs for first semester this year |
A total of P10.88 billion worth of loans has already been released for the first six months of the year under President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s SULONG (SME Unified Lending Opportunities for National Growth) initiative administered by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI). DTI Secretary Manuel Roxas II said in a press briefing that the program, now in full blast, aims to provide funds at a low standard nine percent interest for entrepreneurs to expand their businesses and grow from micro to small or from small to medium scale. The average loan amount, Roxas said, is about P1.2 million going to about 14,000 accounts. He revealed that there is a second P10 billion that is being mobilized for the second half of the year, adding that the government is on track in mobilizing this amount. "Perhaps the positive numbers on the employment rate pertaining to services and industry stem or flow from wise investments that have been made," he said. "These are not doleouts," Roxas said, explaining that these are actual viable loan transactions that the Landbank of the Philippines, Development Bank of the Philippines and Small Business Guarantee Finance Corporation lent out to small and medium enterprises. He stressed that in the industry sector, about 259,000 jobs were created or increased while in the service sector, another 254,000 jobs or thereabouts were created. "So there are about half a million jobs in these two sectors which should have been beneficiaries of this SME Sulong program," Roxas said. SULONG is the brand name for the financing initiatives under the National Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) Development Plan, a priority strategy for developing the SME sector that comprises 99.6 percent of the total Philippine enterprises. This is a government initiative for the SME sector in order to provide a strong domestic supply base for globally competitive industries. Under SULONG, government financial institutions (GFIs) have allocated P10 billion to lend out in the next six months. This willl be achieved through standardized unified lending program by GFIs for SMEs and standardized accreditation program by GFIs for rural and thrift banks. |
| GMA, De Sotto discuss means on how to empower poor Filipinos |
In seeking to make life easier for millions of poor Filipinos, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo met Friday with one of the world’s renowned development economists, Peruvian Hernando de Soto, to discuss measures needed to empower the poor. The program has always been an important part of the President’s vision to empower the poor in the Philippines so as to leverage their extra-legal real estate and business holdings. The President said De Soto’s work as outlined in his best seller, "The Mystery of Capital: Why Capitalism Triumphs in the West and Fails Everywhere Else," provides important inputs for her vision and programs to fight poverty and increase economic growth. De Soto, author of the best-selling The Other Path (1989) and founder/director of Peru's Institute for Liberty and Democracy, is a champion of market economics and property rights in a part of the world that historically has shown little interest in such ideas. His promotion of the idea that minimizing regulation can unleash the entrepreneurial spirit of the poor has made him a popular figure in right-wing and libertarian circles. Until 1992, he was personal representative and principal adviser of former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori, whose authoritarian rule collapsed in a corruption scandal in 2000. De Soto’s idea is to give the poor certain rights to property they make use of frequently but don’t own—like a dwelling in the slum. This way, they can raise capital by selling those rights or use them as collateral in the formal financial system. The De Sotto principle is being used as the basis for the government’s move to allow farmers, particularly the beneficiaries of the land reform program, to use their farmlands as collaterals for loans. Since the 80s and 90s, De Soto has argued that the poor sit on huge sums of "dead capital." Primarily, this is in the form of dwellings – an estimate in 2000, he said, putting the implied value of this at around $100 billion in the Philippines. De Soto said that the poor run businesses as well but they do so in the underground sector where they get no legal protection and no rights. The house, the food stall, the market stand – all these, De Soto said in his best-selling book, have no tangible value that can be converted into new forms of production. "They don’t represent financial leverage," he said. |
| Gov't giving Honasan all the chances to defend self in rebellion case filed against him |
The government is tightening its rebellion case against opposition Sen. Gregorio Honasan for his involvement in the July 27 military adventurism but at the same time giving him all the opportunities to defend himself. Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Jose Lina, Jr. has announced that Senator Honasan has been given until September 23 to file his counter affidavit before the Department of Justice (DoJ) on the complaint filed against him. Earlier, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo said that Honasan, like any other Filipino, will be accorded due process. "No citizen, high or low, should be above the law," the President said. The President called on everybody to leave to the judiciary the main task of "mopping up the legal issues" that have arisen from the Oakwood crisis. Lina said that his department has presented to the DOJ additional evidence gathered in connection with the Oakwood incident. These pieces of evidence include supplemental affidavit executed and filed by Col. Enrique Cabos, Chief of the Investigation Division of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, before the DOJ on September 4, 2003. These include 41 annexes containing 16 affidavits, 23 pieces of documentary evidence, and two video tapes. Lina said that Col. Cabos has also filed an affidavit with the DOJ on September 12, 2003 against Navy Lieutenant (SG) Antonio Trillanes and the other young officers involved in the Oakwood incident. According to Lina, the DILG, through the efforts of its various law enforcement agencies, has already identified 56 coup leaders who in one way or another have participated or took part in the failed mutiny. Earlier, former President Fidel V. Ramos described Honasan as an "ambitious politician" and is no longer an idealistic soldier as he rallied the citizenry to support the President and join in the collective action for the march toward the country’s progress. Mr. Ramos said that what the country and the Filipino people need at this stage is a continuous period of peace "and not intramural politics" if the country is to achieve significant progress. |
| President's radio address to the nation |
Magandang araw sa inyong lahat. Marami pa rin tayong kababayan na walang trabaho. Maraming dahilan ito, kabilang na ang pangamba sa SARS, ang giyera sa Iraq at ang global financial crisis na naglagay sa alanganin sa maraming negosyo sa ating bansa, maging sa buong mundo. Idagdag pa rito ang sunod-sunod na mga bagyong rumagasa sa Luzon at Vizayas. Gayundin ang El Nino na labis na nanalanta sa buong bansa, lalo na sa Mindanao. Ang tagtuyot lamang na dala ng El Nino ay nakabawas na ng tinatayang ikatlong bahagi ng kabuuang mga trabaho sa ating kanayunan. Walang kontrol ang tao sa ganitong pangyayari ng kalikasan at ang magagawa natin ay maghanda para maibsan ang kanilang masamang epekto, lalo na sa mga manggagawa. Sa mga paghahanda lamang natin malalampasan ang mga pagsubok na ito. Mabuti na lamang, ngayong humupa na ang El Nino, maraming trabaho sa ating kanayunan ay nabalik na. Bagama’t nabawasan ang trabaho sa agrikultura, ang dalawang iba pang pangunahing sektor ng ekonomiya – the industry and services sectors – ay nagtala ng pagdami ng trabaho. Industry generated 259,000 jobs or 5.5 % increase. While services generated 254,000 jobs or 1.8% growth. Ang mga sektor na ito ang mas matatag na sukatan ng ating ekonomiya dahil ang agrikultura ay pabago-bago ayon sa kalikasan. Idagdag pa rito ang pagtaas ng ating Gross National Product o GNP o sukat ng produksyon. Inatasan ko ang Kagawaran ng Agrikultura na magpalabas ng P1B maliliit na pautang para dumami muli ang trabaho sa kanayunan. Ang atin namang Public Employment Services Office, o PESO, at Regional Quick Response Teams ng DOLE ay patuloy na umaalalay sa mga displaced workers sa pamamagitan ng councelling at referrals. May mga livelihood programs tayong ipinapatupad upang punan ang kawalan ng trabaho. May mga ahensya rin ng pamahalaan, tulad ng TESDA at OWWA, na nagbibigay ng job and livelihood training. Libo-libo ang natulungan ng pamahalaan sa ilalim ng mga programang ito. May mga special programs din tayo para sa mga kabataan upang makatulong sila sa kanilang mga pamilya. Kabilang dito ang OYSTERS o Out -of –School Youth Serving Towards Economic Recovery. Libo-libo na ring mga kabataan ang nakinabang sa mga programang ito. Hambing sa ibang bansa, itinuturing na matatag pa rin ang ating ekonomiya dahil na rin sa mga repormang ating ipinaiiral. Even Fitch Ratings had assured our government that it would retain its stable outlook on our country’s foreign and local borrowings. Price of global bonds has also improved. Ayon naman sa DTI, mula Enero hanggang Hulyo ng taong ito, ang approved investment ay umabot na sa halagang P22-B na tinatayang magbibigay ng trabaho sa may 39,000 libong katao. Determinado ang aking administrasyon na makahikayat ng karagdagang puhunan bago matapos ang taong ito, para mas dumami ang trabaho ng ating mga mamamayan. Dinaragdagan pa rin natin simula noong Agosto ang pondo sa countryside development para makalikha ng mas maraming trabaho sa kanayunan. Itong pera na utang ng nakaraang administrasyon, binabayaran ko sa ating mga local government units. Nguni’t naglalagay tayo ng guidelines na sa mga rine-release na pondo sa kanila, dapat P1M sa bawat bayan ay gagamitin nila para sa micro finance. Iyon din ay makakapagbigay ng maraming trabaho. Naniniwala rin ako na ang nalalapit na pagbisita ni Pangulong George Bush ng Amerika ay lalong magpapalakas ng tiwala ng mga mamumuhunan sa ating bansa. Ang dala niyang economic and military packages ay lalong magpapasigla ng kalakalan ng ating bayan. Ang mga trabaho ay produkto ng pamumuhunan, at ang pamumuhunan ay resulta ng tiwala ng mga mangangalakal sa katatagan at kaayusan ng isang bansa. Kaya, dapat nating panatilihin ang katiwasayan ng ating bayan kung nais nating dumami ang trabaho para sa lahat. At pangunahin sa dapat nating gawin ang pagpapahinto ng mga siraan at sobrang pamumulitika na lumalason sa ating pagkakaisa at sumisira sa takbo ng ating pamumuhay. Huwag na tayong makihalo sa kanila dahil malinaw naman na pansariling kapakanan lamang ang kanilang iniintindi at hindi nila alintana kung ang ginagawa nila ay nakakasira sa bansa.Totoong ito ang pinakamurang paraan para makakuha ng boto o para makapang-agaw ng kapangyarihan, pero ang kapalit naman nito ay ang ating pagkawatak-watak at pagbagsak ng ating ekonomiya. We as a people have a job to do and the first thing is to ward off the incessant negativism and poison politics that is worsening divisiveness and derailing the national course. Isinasa-ayos na natin ang ating bansa, pero kailangang madaliin natin ito. Kailangan natin ang higit pang pagkakaisa para bumilis ang ating pagbabago at pag-unlad. Ang crab mentality o paghila pababa ay nagpapalala sa ating mga problema. Ibaling natin ang ating atensyon sa pagsulong ng ating ekonomiya at madagdagan ang mga trabaho. Kung maraming trabaho, lalong gaganda ang takbo ng ekonomiya at maiibsan kung hindi man tuluyang masusugpo ang krimen at terorismo. Gusto ko ring samantalahin ang pagkakataong ito para batiin ang bagong hirang na Arsobispo ng Maynila, ang ginagalang nating Bishop Gaudencio Rosales. I’m confident that Bishop Rosales will carry the torch of faith as a catalyst for positive change and as an instrument of good governance, just as ably and valiantly as his predecessor. Sa ating minamahal na Cardinal Sin na itinuturing nating kampeon ng pambansang demokrasya, maaaring hindi na natin siya makita, as often as we would want to or as we used to, but nonetheless, alam ko na nakahanda pa rin siyang magbigay ng kanyang makabuluhang payo at tulong sa oras ng ating pangangailangan. Mga kababayan: Ang pagdami ng trabaho ay nakasalalay sa pagsisikap ng bawat isa sa atin, sa pagsisikap na makamit ng tuluyan ang ganap na kaunlaran at katiwasayan para sa atin at sa ating bayan. Huwag nating pabayaang manaig ang mga salot sa ating lipunan. Dahil kapag nagkaganoon, tuluyan ng mapapariwara ang bansa at ang mga susunod na henerasyon ay magiging kaawa-awa. Maraming salamat. |
| No coup attempt vs GMA would succeed, says New York Times editorial |
The highly respected New York Times has opined that any attempt to topple the government of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo by extra constitutional means, including a coup d’etat, is bound to fail. In its editorial on Sept. 18, 2003, which was also carried by the International Herald Tribune on the same day, the NYT said that "there is a little chance of a coup attempt succeeding, as Arroyo’s opponents don’t wield the ‘people’ power that ousted the dictator Ferdinand Marcos and Arroyo’s predecessor, Joseph Estrada." The editorial also noted that the accusations of money-laundering against the First Gentleman, Jose Miguel Arroyo, "maybe politically-motivated" because they come from Sen. Panfilo Lacson who "is a presidential candidate and a friend of Estrada." In its editorial, the NYT also called on the country’s politicians, as well as other leaders, to wait for next year’s elections and not to continue engaging in talks or rumors about plots to destabilize the government. "Manila’s political class bears a collective responsibility to confine its squabbling to the ballot box, rather than the courts or the barracks, and to start providing Filipinos with solutions rather than plots and rumors," the editorial said. The editorial said that repeated coup rumors and allegations of corruption in high places are destabilizing the Philippine government "at a time when it needs more than ever to focus on repairing the battered economy and fighting poverty." In a statement Friday, the President said that although there are still "intermittent" spate of rumors and speculations, the truth is that she had already consolidated the armed forces from top to bottom, from the most junior officers to the retired generals. "They have given unequivocal support to the chain of command and I believed them," the President, who is the concurrent defense secretary, said. According to the President, the whispers of a coup "are residual put-me-downs and will die down in time as reforms and justice take root." The editorial also called on the President to decide once and for all whether she will run or not in next year’s elections. The President has consistently said that she did not want to be distracted by politics and would rather focus all her energies in solving the country’s problems, notably in the fight against terrorism and poverty. |
| GMA stresses anew need for unity to hasten change and attract investors |
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today stressed the need for unity and order to bring about change and progress in the nation in order to attract job generating investments. "We as a people have a job to do and the first thing is to ward off the incessant negativism and poison politics that is worsening divisiveness and derailing the national course," the President said in her weekly radio address to the nation. Let us put our nation in order but we have to do this fast, she said, adding that what the country needs today is more unity to accelerate change and progress. The President said that jobs stem from investments and investments come as a result of confidence of businessmen in the stability and order of the nation. Compared with other countries, the President said, our economy remains stable as shown by the assurance of Fitch Ratings that it will retain its stable outlook on the country’s foreign and local borrowings. She also said the coming visit of US President George W. Bush will strengthen the confidence of investors in our country. Her administration is doing everything within its power to provide more jobs, citing concrete steps already taken, the President said. She has instructed the Department of Agriculture to release P1 billion for loans to the country folk. The Public Employment Services Office (PESO) and the regional quick response teams of Department of Labor and Employment continue to help displaced workers and livelihood programs are being conducted, she said. The President noted that while employment has dropped in the agricultural sector, this has been partly offset by an increase in the industry and services sectors. Industry generated 259,000 jobs or 5.5 percent increase while services generated 254,000 jobs or 1.8 percent growth. Job generation, the President said, is dependent on the effort of every Filipino to work for total development and peace. "Let us not allow the scourges of society to prevail because that will lead to a deterioration of the country and render future generations helpless," she concluded. |
| GMA turns over check of P500,000 to help promote industrial peace in Laguna |
STA ROSA, Laguna--President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today turned over a check of P500,000 to the Laguna Labor Management Council (LLMC) to help promote industrial peace and harmony between the labor force and management in industries located in various techno parks in the province. The President handed the check to Laguna Governor Teresita Lazaro in a simple ceremony held at the premises of Honda Cars Philippines inside the Laguna Technopark in this progressive town. In her remarks at the turnover ceremony, the President said that she hopes that with the amount, the LLMC would continue to push for labor and management partnership "so that instead of losing, more jobs could be generated." Among those who witnessed the check turnover were Labor Secretary Patricia Sto. Tomas, Honda president Mitsunari Takano, Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Region 4 Director Maximo Lim, and some 30 officers of the LLMC, representing the labor, management and government sectors in the province. The LLMC, a tripartite industrial peace council, forged in May last year a Social Accord for Industrial Peace, Harmony and Stability through the initiative of the DOLE-Region 4. To implement the social accord, an Action Plan for 2003 was approved last June and part of it was the conduct of training program on conciliation and mediation, grievance handling, voluntary arbitration, and collective bargaining and negotiation. The President lauded the industry sector for posting 5.5 increase in employment and the services sector for a 1.7 increase in employment. Several members of the LLMC, particularly those from the labor sector, expressed their support to the President and her ongoing programs and reforms to strengthen labor-management cooperation. The President also advised the members of the LLMC to inform their respective managements to directly connect with the National Power Corporation (Napocor) if their firms are consuming more than one megawatt of power to enjoy lower cost. |
