Infrastructure spending is a main driver of investor confidence in the same way that a balanced budget is. Both must be in the top rung of priorities.

President Arroyo has struck a healthy balance among all aspects of the economy to maximize business and investor confidence, enhance credibility and accelerate the social payback to the people.

The long-term effect of her tough decisions is clearly evident in the stream of positive news on the economy.

CalPERS has raised the rating of the Philippines, making it a more desirable investment destination for CalPERS funds than China, India, Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia.

German and Singaporean firms are staking their interest in Maynilad in a bid to be our partners to deliver clean water.

Spending on infrastructure and social services will spur growth in the countryside, stimulate and nurture grassroots enterprise and build wealth in the communities.

More infrastructure arteries and more schools will connect farms to markets, bridge knowledge and unify the country.

We welcome the fact that the families of the victims of political killings are fully cooperating with the UN special rapporteur because this will complete the picture that the Melo Commission could not understandably achieve in view of the refusal of the families to testify before the probe body.

The government intends to work closely with the UN to get at the root of the matter, although we have held the first Melo report from distribution because it is still incomplete and, at this point, inconclusive.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo led the groundbreaking rites for the soon-to-be constructed two-storey Day Care Center and Multipurpose Hall Building at the Don Bosco Complex in Parañaque City this morning.

Once completed, the Day Care Center will replace the dilapidated and ageing Day Care Center which has been at the forefront of providing education and guidance to the children of Parañaque residents for several decades now.

A project of the Assumption High School ’66 and College ’70 Foundation Inc. and the Parañaque City government through the invaluable contribution of House Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr., the Day Care Center will have a floor area at 200 square meters and will cost P2 million.

The lot has been donated by the Parañaque City government while the P2-million funding will be shouldered by De Venecia.

The new Day Care Center will be able to serve 800 children by providing them with free feeding programs and catechism classes so that they become healthier and closer to the Church’s teachings on Christ and the saints at the same time.

Joining the President in the groundbreaking ceremony were: De Venecia, his wife Gina,president of the Congressional Spouses Foundation Inc., Parañaque Mayor Florencio Bernabe Jr., Rep. Ed Zialcita, Barangay Chairman Joe Virata and other local government executives.

Also during the ceremony which coincided with Mrs. De Venecia’s birthday celebration today, President Arroyo took time to endorse the candidacy of administration senatorial aspirant Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram who was a special guest of the Speaker’s wife.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo conferred the Order of Sikatuna with the rank of Datu on outgoing Spanish Ambassador Ignacio Sagaz during the latter’s farewell call this afternoon at the Music Room of Malacanang.

Sagaz was honored for promoting special ties between the Philippines and Spain that include high-level visits, cooperation on energy, defense, promotion of human rights, and Spain’s support to the peace process and development initiatives in Mindanao.

Present during the farewell call were Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo, Sagaz’s wife, Aurora Lapus, who hails from Iloilo, and their daughter Alexandra.

During his three-year tour of duty in the Philippines, Sagaz committed Spain’s support to fund the construction of school buildings in support of President’s Arroyo’s "Education for All" agenda.

The classroom projects form part of Spain’s increased foreign assistance to the Philippines that was hiked to $18 million last year from the $8 million level in 2005.

After the farewell call, the President also welcomed a delegation from the European Union that includes Eneko Landaburu, EU director general for external relations; Alistair Bell McDonald, Seamus Gillespi, Danielle Dalmolin, and Gabrielle Munuera Virals.

The government will work closely with the United Nations (UN) to be able to come up with a comprehensive and conclusive report on the roots of extrajudicial killings in the country.

Press Secretary and concurrent Presidential Spokesperson Ignacio R. Bunye said the UN findings could help complete the Melo Commission report since the militant groups and relatives of the victims were reportedly cooperating with UN Special Rapporteur Philip Alstron.

"We welcome the fact that the families of the victims of political killings are fully cooperating with the UN special rapporteur because this will complete the picture that the Melo Commission could not understandably achieve in view of the refusal of the families to testify before the probe body," Bunye said .

"The government intends to work closely with the UN to get at the root of the matter, although we have held the first Melo report from distribution because it is still incomplete and, at this point, inconclusive," he added.

Bunye said that with the inputs from the UN and other sectors, including the church, government, activists, the journalists community, the Melo Commission could finally come up with a comprehensive report that could lead to a permanent resolution to all extrajudicial and political killings in the country.

"With the inputs of the UN and other well-meaning agencies, hopefully we can come up with a more comprehensive appreciation of the issue and undertake all means to resolve it permanently and close the book on it," he added.

In a related development, Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said Malacanang could not release as yet the Melo Commission report since it is only a "preliminary report and is by no means the comprehensive report."

Ermita was referring to the lack of testimonies from the militant groups and the victims’ relatives.

"So at the moment, we have to await the final report because the President has asked the Melo Commission to continue with its work and hope we can still urge the leftist to participate so that the Melo Commission would have a good basis in the valuation of their findings," Ermita said.

The President, upon receipt of the Melo Commission’s report last Jan. 30, issued several directives that would put more teeth to the recommendations that include the creation of a special court and a witness protection program.

With two of the world’s largest business watchdogs upgrading the country’s economic outlook for the next 12 months, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo declared today the Philippines is ready to take a bigger slice of the highly lucrative and booming business process outsourcing (BPO) industry.

In her speech keynoting the seventh e-Services Philippines (ESP) Global Sourcing Convention and Exhibition held at the Isla Ballroom of the EDSA Shangri-La Hotel in Mandaluyong City this morning, the President said the International Business Report of Grant Thornton and the California Pension and Retirement System’s (CalPERS) favorable outlook on the Philippine economy have made the country a more "desirable investment destination."

The recent International Business Report of Grant Thornton, one of the world's leading organizations of independently owned and managed accounting and consulting firms, ranks the Philippines second among 30 world economies in terms of optimism on the economy over the next 12 months.

CalPERS, America’s largest pension and retirement fund and top global leader in the investment industry, on the other hand, has raised the rating of the Philippines, making it a more desirable destination for its funds than China or even India, Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia.

"This event (ESP) should further convince our potential investors that we are ready and here to stay after taking a growing slice of the global BPO business," the President said.

She pointed out that this was not the case six years ago.

"In 2001, there were only 2,000 employees working in BPO companies. But due to the "tough decisions" to raise revenues, these have proved to have a positive development on the economy," the President explained.

The tough decisions cited by the President were the implementation of radical revenue collection measures such as the Expanded Value-Added Tax (E-VAT) Law which raises the VAT on goods and services from 10 to 12 percent and the Lateral Attrition Law which imposes penalties on revenue collection agencies for failure to meet collection targets.

Because of these measures, the government was able to increase collections which were then used to fund vital infrastructure projects and in turn helped in improving the economy.

"Infrastructure spending is a main driver of investor confidence in the same way that a balanced budget has the same effect on our creditors and the capital markets: they must be at the top rung of priorities," the President said.

"In our country, in our administration, of the last six years, especially the last three years, we have struck a healthy balance among all aspects of the economy to maximize confidence, credibility and payback to the people," she added.

The BPO industry, according to her, has grown to 250,000 employees with prospects reaching well into the millions in the years to come.

"Our option to spend on infrastructure and social services will spur growth in the countryside, notch up grassroots enterprises and build wealth in the communities," the President said.

She stressed that BPO players are now pushing for higher-end projects, which include the utilization of editors, medical diagnosis, accounting and all kinds of higher value e-services, to create a million jobs to generate $12 billion in revenues by 2010.

"We are committed to go up the value chain and the influx of multinationals puts us several notches higher," she said.

The President said that to keep this commitment, the government would continue to hone the strengths which the Filipino worker has over other employees: extensive digital infrastructure, trusted business environment, class A office spaces and skills of the Filipino workforce.

"We continue to sharpen our workforce by enhancing the English curriculum. English is back as the medium of instruction in our country. Bridging courses and skills; honing the curriculum for medical editors; and building more IT (Information Technology) hubs in the Super Regions," the President said.

In ending, the President pledged to the more than 500 delegates who attended the ESP that she would "keep the economic ship on course and our political stability steady in the sea of optimism and hope."

Press Secretary and Presidential Spokesman Ignacio R. Bunye, meanwhile, said in a statement that the long-term effect of President Arroyo’s tough decisions is clearly evident in the stream of positive news on the economy.

Recognizing the need to promote the welfare of children, visiting Singapore First Lady Urmila Nathan paid a visit today to an orphanage for the less fortunate children in Manila.

The First Lady, who is accompanying Singapore President S.R. Nathan in his four-day state visit to the Philippines, arrived at 10:45 a.m. at the Concordia Children’s Services (CCS) in Sta. Mesa, Manila to look after the welfare of 25 abandoned babies and street children housed at the orphanage.

Madame Nathan, accompanied by a small delegation, was welcomed by Elizabeth Caces, CCS’s executive director.

Caces expressed gratitude to the Singaporean First Lady for devoting part of her time to visit their orphanage.

She informed the First Lady that Concordia Children’s Services takes care of abandoned babies and street children and has been operating for more than 20 years since its establishment in August, 1983.

CCS is duly licensed and accredited by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) as a child welfare agency.

It has three primary services that include residential care for young children who are abandoned, neglected or orphaned; program for street children and urban poor children; and foster care program.

The 78-year-old First Lady greeted the eight children who rendered their version of the Sakuting, an Ilocano folk dance.

She presented the children with fairy tale books and instructed the Singapore Ladies Circle to continue looking after the welfare of the children even if she is already back in Singapore.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo expressed hope today that Congress would pass the Pharmaceuticals Bill during its special session on Jan. 19 to 20.

In a round table discussion in Malacanang this afternoon, the President cited the urgency of the bill, saying its passage would make "medicines more affordable to the poor."

She said lowering the prices of medicines to half of their 2001 level "is the government’s goal and part of its payback to the people," she said.

In line with its effort to put the prices of medicines at half the 2001 level by 2010, the Arroyo administration is pushing for the passage of the Pharmaceuticals Bill, which would promote among others, the use of generic drugs vis-a-vis the branded medicines of multinational companies.

This, President Arroyo said, is a sure way of lowering the prices of drugs.

While awaiting the passage of the bill, the government continues to widen the coverage of one of its "success stories"---the "Half-Priced Medicines Program" through the establishment of more "Botika ng Bayan" and "Botika ng Barangay."

So far, Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said, there are now 1,283 Botika ng Bayan and 7,430 Botika ng Barangay established nationwide.

Duque said prices of commonly used medicines such as for colds, cough, cardiovascular diseases and hypertension, are now 63 percent lower.