President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s efforts to attract investors appear to be paying off.

This, after investments in government-run economic zones surged 516 percent in the first quarter of the year, reaching P21.87 billion compared to only P3.55 billion in the same period last year.

Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) Director General Lilia de Lima, in a report to Malacaņang, said the amount is equal to 77 percent of the total investments registered by the agency for the entire 2003.

"The surge could be attributed to the decision of more multinational and local companies to make their presence felt in the Philippines by setting up more facilities while at the same time expanding existing plants," de Lima said.

She said the number of projects approved by PEZA also increased by 39 percent to 78 projects from the first quarter of the year from the 56 projects in the same quarter last year.

For the month of March alone, PEZA-registered investments went up by a hefty 1,830 percent to P8.99 billion from a measly P466 million approved in the same month last year. The number of projects increased by 63 percent from 16 to 26.

The report indicated that investments in the information technology sector jumped 89 percent to P2.6 billion in the first three months of the year from P1.37 billion in the same period last year. The number of IT projects doubled to 14 this year from only seven last year.

For the month of March alone, PEZA approved P5.48 billion in new and expansion projects of existing ecozone locators and another P1.77 billion from new enterprises that are setting up new facilities in the Philippines for the first time. It also okayed P1.62 billion worth of investments last month.

Malacaņang has welcomed an Ombudsman decision clearing President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and two ranking officials of the Department of Justice (DOJ) of graft charges in connection with a government deal with the Maynilad Water Services, Inc.

"It is a very welcome decision and it is a reiteration of the law," Presidential Spokesman Ignacio Bunye said.

Bunye also chided the President’s accusers by insinuating that they were ignorant of the law providing that the Chief Executive enjoys immunity from suit and could only be removed from office through impeachment.

"Parang naturuan pa nga iyong nag-file ng complaint na ito. It looks like they don’t know that the President is immune from suit and the only way to remove a president is by filing an impeachment complaint," Bunye pointed out.

Bunye also stressed that the primary consideration of the deal with Maynilad was to continue supplying clean water to the people residing in the utility’s service grid consisting of the western portion of Metro Manila.

"This (potable water) is a very important commodity that should also be made available to the consumers," the Palace official said.

The Ombudsman, in a 20-page decision written by Teresita Butardo-Tacata, noted that there was nothing in the records to show that Mrs. Macapagal-Arroyo had a hand in the transaction.

"There is nothing from the case records that would demonstrate the participation of (the President) in the negotiation of the agreement that led to the completion of the controversial Amendment No. 2," the ruling stated.

The Ombudsman also noted that the complainant, lawyer Melanio Mauricio who is also an opposition senatorial candidate, "merely drew conclusions from unreliable sources, the veracity of which has to be ascertained together with the inclusion of President Arroyo who participation in the case was practically out of the way."

CABUYAO, Laguna – President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo enumerated the six basic public services that will serve as the foundations of her next administration if given a fresh mandate in the May 10 elections.

In a local caucus held Tuesday night at the Gulod Elementary School Covered Court in Barangay Gulod, Cabuyao, the President made known her top priority in her next six years in office.

The priority programs are the creation of jobs, livelihood, education, health care, essential services, and electricity, the President said.

In job creation, the President stressed her plans of sustaining the generation of 1.1 million new jobs a year in the next six years.

She said that in her short presidency, her government was able to provide P21 billion on soft loan assistance to small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

The President said she is willing to triple it up to P63 billion for future SME entrepreneurs and also to cover those jobless Filipinos victimized by labor disputes.

To complement the recently launched "Isang Iskolar sa Bawat Mahirap na Pamilya" program in University of Perpetual Help (UPH) in Biņan, Laguna under the "education for all" project, President Macapagal-Arroyo also promised the construction of more school buildings to solve the shortage in classrooms.

She added that in the past three years, the Macapagal-Arroyo administration has distributed some 20,000 computer units to different schools nationwide and would provide one computer per school in her next administration.

The Chief Executive mentioned that for the first time majority of poor families have been enrolled on Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) that will provide them free hospitalization.

Her next target is to continue providing medicines at half the price for indigent families.

And for the basic service, President Macapagal-Arroyo will continue to provide water to waterless areas in country.

Presently, she said, around four million households are now receiving potable water in Metro Manila, Quezon City and nearby provinces of Rizal and Cavite under her "Patubig ni Gloria" program.

Lastly, President Macapagal-Arroyo will lower the cost of electricity in the country to make it the cheapest in Asia.

She said that upon assuming power in 2001, the price of electricity in the Philippines was the second most expensive in the region but she lowered it to sixth in the past three years.

"We will continue our electric reform that I have started to achieve our goal to make the price of electricity in the Philippines the cheapest in Asia," said the President.

With the President during the caucus were her running mate Senator Noli "Kabayan" de Castro and Koalisyon ng Katapatan at Karanasan para sa Kinabukasan (K-4) senatorial bet Pia Cayetano.

The government has taken the necessary measures to cope with the impending water shortage well before it surfaces, Malacaņang said today.

It has implemented water conservation and has taken to cloud seeding to induce rain, Presidential Deputy Spokesman Ricardo Saludo said in a radio interview this morning.

And to make up for the reduced water flow to rice lands in parts of Bulacan and Pampanga, the government has resorted to dig shallow tube wells.

The government has set aside an emergency fund of P10 million to P50 million to dig the shallow tube wells and has implemented new techniques in planting to insure a bountiful harvest, Saludo said.

The water level at the Angat Dam in Bulacan, dipped below the critical level of 180 meters to 179.92 meters Tuesday.

During the water crisis that hit Metro Manila and Luzon in May 1998, the water level at Angat Dam dipped to as low as 158 meters.

Angat Dam supplies 97 percent of Metro Manila’s potable water requirements and water for irrigation in Bulacan and Pampanga.

The Department of Environment and Natural Reources (DENR) then said it had already identified deep well sources of ground water, each of which can be tapped for 2,800 cubic meters in addition to the desalination plant in Sucat which can produce 4,000 cubic meters daily to lessen the dependence on Angat Dam for water supply in Metro Manila.

Malacanang today said that the result of recent survey showing President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo gaining a significant lead in the presidential derby has somewhat calmed the market, resulting in the appreciation of the peso.

In an interview, Deputy Presidential Spokesman Ricardo Saludo quoted Bangko Sentral Governor Rafael Buenaventura as saying that the threat of political instability has subsided because of this development.

Buenaventura has said there was no more fear of a free fall in the peso less than a month before the country goes to the polls.

The peso Tuesday rallied to its highest level of 55.80 in nearly three months after the latest opinion polls showed the President, seeking a full term, surging into the lead over movie actor and opposition standard bearer Fernando Poe Jr.

Add to this, Saludo said, the fact that the country’s international reserve has risen and breached the $16 billion mark.

"Kaya naman ang merkado ay napanatag na at hindi tayo kukulangin sa dolyar sa mga darating na buwan (That is why the market has somewhat calmed as we have ample supply of dollar reserves)," he said.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF), in its report on the Philippines the other day, said that efforts to destroy the economic competitiveness of the Philippines were the causes of the depreciation of the peso against the dollar, belying efforts by critics who said the President was to blame for the depreciation of the peso.

The IMF pointed out that under President Macapagal-Arroyo, gross reserves rose well above short-term debt due to her tight control over spending.

Saludo noted that investments approved by the Board of Investments has also risen 13-fold in the first quarter alone.

BOI figures showed that investments grew to P108 billion from only P7.5 billion in the same period last year.

Two education-oriented programs of the Macapagal-Arroyo administration complement each other to ensure that indigent families can send at least one child each through college.

The two programs are the "Iskolar sa Bawat Mahirap na Pamilya" launched on Easter Sunday by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and the Student Assistance Fund for Education for Strong Republic (SAFE 4 SR) which was set in motion earlier this year.

Deputy Presidential Spokesman Ricardo Saludo, in an interview this morning with radio station DZRB, explained that the scholarship program was designed to enable five million poor but deserving students to study for at least two years in any state college or university, or finish a two-year technical or vocational formal training.

On the other hand, the SAFE 4 SR, which is akin to the study-now pay-later scheme, advances funds to enable senior college students to settle obligations with their respective schools so that they could join the graduation ceremonies and receive their diplomas.

To avail themselves of the "Iskolar" program, the prospective family-beneficiaries need only to present their PhilHealth Family Card to the school administrators who will provide the funds to cover tuition and incidental expenses such as reference books and other materials.

Saludo explained that the scholarship funds would actually come from the national government, but coursed through the Commission on Higher Education.

Scholars who opt for technical or vocational training can enroll in schools accredited with the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA).

Saludo also said financial assistance obtained under the SAFE 4 SR is interest-free and payable from five to 10 years.

"Education for many is the key to rebirth and transformation. Today, I signed an executive order expanding access to secondary education through the "Isang Iskolar Para sa Mahirap na Pamilya Program," the Chief Executive said at the launching rite for the "Iskolar" program.

"Now, any capable, diligent Filipino child can get a college or vocational diploma through our free public elementary and secondary schools in the Iskolar and SAFE 4 SR programs," the President added.

The "Iskolar ng Pamilya" program covers the first two years of college education with the government shouldering P20,000 for the period for basic tuition, transportation and food allowance.

The President said the programs would make education accessible to all, especially to the poorest of the poor.

Mrs. Macapagal-Arroyo also noted that only 10 out of 100 pupils that enter grade school finish college. She said education is one sure way of pulling people out of poverty. A successful college or vocational graduate can help the rest of the family, she said.

Two days after the release of an opinion poll showing her gaining a significant lead in the presidential derby, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo asked the business community today to join her in securing the future of the country around a platform "that is pro-poor, fiscally responsible and forward thinking."

In a speech at the joint general membership luncheon meeting hosted by the Makati Business Club (MBC) at the Hotel Intercontinental in Makati City, the President outlined a pro-poor agenda for the next six years, vowing to lead the Philippines to a new era of unity and prosperity.

"Much is at stake in this election," she said. "We must offer hope, not fear, sunlight not darkness. We must take the hopes and dreams for the poor seriously. The poor of this nation deserve no less. We ignore them at our own peril."

The President told the "movers and shakers" of the country’s business community that the future is in their hands. "Let us secure that future together," she said.

In the next six years, the President pledged to:

• Triple loans to self-employed and small business owners;
• Build 3,000 new schools, grant a college or vocational-technical scholarship to every qualified poor family and put a computer in every school;
• Bring electricity to 1,500 barangays a year and reduce the cost to become the lowest in the region;
• Bring clean water to all 45,000 barangays;
• Reduce by half the price of commonly-used medicine; and
• Create one million jobs every year.

"Through the reforms I have made – and will continue to make – I will continue to increase revenue collection, clamp down on tax cheats and cut waste, fraud and abuse in our government," the President stressed.

The President also pledged to continue the fight for self-sufficiency in rice, more roads, bridges and highways, more property rights and more legal rights.

"Most importantly, I will fight for the people who have no voice," she said.

The Chief Executive, seeking a full six-year term in next month’s polls, noted how she toiled hard in her first three years to develop a three-pronged economic strategy to make the free enterprise system work and undo the neglect of the previous administration.

First, she said, she increased investments that provided people with education and training they need to get high wage work, including more scholarships with English as the prime teaching language, and scores of other practical investments for equipping the people.

Second, she said, she strengthened international ties and regained the confidence of international investors resulting in a 26 percent increase in direct foreign investment that were directly responsible for millions of new jobs as a result of investments from companies like Intel, Toyota, Ford, P&G, Federal Express, and UPS, among others.

Third, she said, she provided a major increase in support for the self-employed and small and medium-sized businesses that are really the backbone of the economy.

Saying her plan for the next six years is not an idle promise, the President claimed that she has the experience to deliver on her pledges.

"We must invest in our nation and our people if we are to succeed," she pointed out. "The hardworking Filipino is the central pillar of the nation. The working poor deserve the right to a rising standard of living, fair access to the courts, clean water, affordable energy, a good education, high wage jobs and economic incentives for our self-employed and entrepreneurial class."

She proposed a new Philippine nationalism based on championing the country’s most valuable asset, "the people of the Philippines, who work hard and play by the rules every day."

"I intend to lead the Philippines to a new era of unity and prosperity. I intend to make the hard decisions and to provide the new, specific ideas to mark the beginning of the end of poverty as we know it. I intend to unite the nation based on respect for rich and poor alike. We are all in this together and must sink or swim together," the President said.

The President said that the business leaders have a clear choice. "You can vote for a six-point plan of action and a record of accomplishment; or vote for someone who has no plan for education, no plan for clean water, no plan for job creation, no plan for health care, no plan for energy, and no plan for international relations," she said.

In these challenging times, the President said, the country has a clear choice between two candidates: to move forward with an experienced, hands-on leader who has a specific platform for change; or take a risk of an inexperienced actor who is too reliant on advisors to make important decisions.

Management Association of the Philippines president David Balangue introduced the President during the luncheon meeting while MBC chairman Ricardo J. Romulo gave the welcome remarks.

Bishops Businessman Conference national co-chairman Ricardo S. Pascua delivered the invocation while MBC executive director Guillermo Luz called the meeting to order.

The school noted that Philippine democracy faces another test with the holding of local and national elections on May 10.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo assured the nation today that she can deal with civil disturbance quickly even without bloodshed in the event it happens after the May 10 elections.

"I think I have already shown that in May 1, 2001 and Oakwood incidents," she pointed out in an open forum that followed her speech in the President Candidates Series of ‘04 sponsored by the Makati Business Club during its Joint General Membership Meeting at the Hotel Inter-Continental in Makati City.

The President expressed the thought that the business community should have given her credits for having acquired the experience of dealing with such incidents.

The President, however, said that the business community should not be pessimistic. "While we are prepared for the work, we also prepare to go for the best, which is unity and reconciliation," she said.

The President cited former President Fidel V. Ramos’ narrow victory in the 1992 presidential elections. "Yet he was very quickly able to unify the nation," she said.

The Chief Executive stressed that she has been working on unifying the nation since her first day of her Presidency.

"But in a nation that was so divided, in EDSA II, in a nation when the gap between the rich and the poor was exploited in order to bring about the May 1 incident, we must continue to work for unity," she said.

The President expressed the wish and intention that in her next administration, with a new electoral mandate, she will be able to fully unite the nation and truly bring about what is called by many as a government of national unity.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today said the Philippines, if it wishes so, could stop borrowing from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as the country is now a "net depositor" in the funding agency.

"Right now, kung gusto natin. Technically, puwede na tayong mag-graduate sa IMF (Right now, if we want. Technically, we could be a graduate from the IMF lending program)," the President said.

The President made the statement during an open forum with some 300 members of the CODE-NGO (Caucus of Development NGO), a network of some 2,500 non-government organizations (NGOs) nationwide, at the Diosdado Macapagal Hall of the UP College of Economics in Diliman, Quezon City.

The President arrived 3:00 p.m and was welcomed by CODE-NGO national coordinator Joel Pagsanghan and chairperson Rory Tolentino.

Among those present were Housing Secretary Mike Defensor, Social Welfare Secretary Corazon "Dinky" Soliman, Professor Alex Magno, and moderator Sheila Coronel of the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism.

Under her administration, the President said the Philippines became a net depositor in the IMF.

"Yung ating deposit doon bilang stockholder ay mas malaki nang konti sa ating utang sa kanila (Our deposit as a stockholder is now a little bit bigger than our debt to the IMF)," the President said.

If we really want to lessen our foreign debt, the President said, the country should lessen its foreign borrowings.

The President said she has canceled some borrowings during the last Donors' Forum to stop the country's debts from piling up.

The President said we should also lessen our budget deficit, hoping the country could have a balanced budget "sometime in the middle of my next term."

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo reiterated today that the country would attain rice sufficiency this year, and eventually evolve into a rice exporter within the next six years.

In an open forum following her speech at the general membership meeting of the influential Makati Business Club held at the Hotel Inter-Continental in Makati City, the President said her administration spent an unprecedented P20 billion a year on agricultural modernization.

Mrs. Macapagal-Arroyo said the government was able to vigorously pursue agriculture modernization with record expenditures, yet stayed within the deficit ceiling.

The President also told the MBC that dramatic improvements in rice harvest under her administration reduced rice importation from one million metric tons to only 500,000 metric tons, representing a 50 percent growth.

This year, there has been no importation of rice yet, the Chief Executive said.

Citing a report by Agiculture Secretary Luis Lorenzo, the President said Japanese investors are interested in buying Gloria hybrid rice and seeds being produced in the country.

Lorenzo told the President that some Japanese businessmen who have tasted the Philippines’ hybrid rice found it more delicious than the Jasmine rice of Thailand.

Mrs. Macapagal-Arroyo has been promoting the high-yielding "Gloria Rice" among the farmers in her provincial sorties, saying it would definitely improve their income by 200 to 300 percent