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| 20 JANUARY 2007 | ||
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| 20 JANUARY 2007 | ||
| PGMA: Boom year 2007 is "social payback" to the Filipino people |
| President Gloria
Macapagal-Arroyo said today that the boom year of 2007 is "social payback" time
that will benefit the Filipino people as a result of the effective implementation of
economic reforms by her administration. In a roundtable discussion this morning in Malacaņang, the President cited strong macroeconomic fundamentals indicating that it is time for the public to reap the fruits of past sacrifices through better educational, health, and professional benefits, including the availability of jobs. In her opening statement on the discussion on "Boom Year and Fruits of the ASEAN Summit," the Chief Executive noted the various positive developments in the country's economy since the start of the new year. She stressed that all indicators point to a good year ahead - decelerating inflation rate, increasing capital investments, exports exceeding targets - as a result of the government's resolve to implement financial reforms, infrastructure and other development projects. She explained that 2007 is a "boom year" based on the projections of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA). NEDA has projected that the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) could grow between 6.1 and 6.7 percent, while the Gross National Product (GNP) could reach 6.2 up to 7.1 percent for the year. The stock market is on its highest level in 10 years, with the Dutch credit rating agency ING placing the Philippines among the top investment sites in Asia with a 42 percent stock market return last year. The President said the inflation rate is on its lowest in three years despite the increase in spending due to the strengthening of the peso which is also on a six-year high. Sustaining the GNP growth at 7 percent could be the key to lifting the poor Filipino families from poverty, the President said. "The momentum is ours. We must keep and drive it forward with our solidarity and hard work, building peace and reconciliation along the way, in every nook and cranny of this great land," the President said. According to her, among the biggest contributors to the economic growth are the increasing remittances of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) whose investments in housing and condominiums have driven the real estate industry on a 25-year high. The Shoe Mart group of companies plans to put up five more malls while Robinsons is establishing another four malls this year. The President had earlier noted that the strong confidence in the country "is fueled by the unity of the Filipino people, the spirit of enterprise and the force of regional integration," forged by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in its recent summit in Cebu. "Sa 2007, pagtutuunan natin ng pansin ang social payback" to make the Filipino people, particularly the poor, feel the benefits of a growing economy, the President said. |
| Statement of Secretary Ignacio R. Bunye |
| President Arroyo is
focused on the economy and the business of the people and will not allow politics to weigh
down on her agenda. This government will continue to stand on a platform of performance and the politics of development and social justice, even if our detractors try their worst to draw and bait us into the arena of mudslinging. The Filipino people are intelligent and totally turned off by partisan grandstanding and they will not allow the forthcoming polls to knock the Philippines off the right track, which is to work with the national leadership in keeping confidence up, gaining investments, creating jobs and increasing the social payback of economic reforms. |
| Statement of Secretary Ignacio R. Bunye: Re Abu Sayyaf |
| Good intelligence
sharing and cooperation of the grassroots in Sulu and Basilan were largely responsible for
the neutralization of the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) leadership. More than ever, this administration is determined to eliminate the pockets of poverty in the area to deprive extremists of recruiting grounds for terrorism. |
| Statement of the President |
| My thought for
today on this EDSA Dos anniversary is the satisfaction of having done what I could for the
good of the nation. The past has carried heavy trials but great triumphs for the people. I
am but an instrument of their most ardent aspirations. I face the day sharing the hopes of
those families who have been lifted from poverty and I promise to do better if I can. I face the day sharing the dream of a Philippines mightily taking on the challenges of the world with excellence and pride. No more is our nation a basket case in the region or a weak link in the fight against terror. We're rising above the specter of the past. We are crossing the threshold to an era of confidence and hope. The momentum is ours. We must keep and drive it forward with our solidarity and hard work, building peace and reconciliation along the way, in every nook and cranny of this great land. Nagsisimula tayo ng taong 2007 ng maraming magandang balita. Bumagal and inflaton rate, ibig sabihin dahan-dahan lang ang pag-akyat ng presyo hambing sa mga panahong nakaraan. Tumalon din ang capital na dumagsa sa bansa. Lumalago ang ating mga exports, lampas sa target. Matibay din ang paninindigan ng pamahalan na ayusin ang ating pananalapi. Tuluy-tuloy tayong binababati ng mga lider ng mundo sa ating tagumpay ng Asean Summit. Kaya sa panibagong taon, puno tayo ng pag-asang maipagpapatuloy natin ang pagsulong ng ekonomiya at makaabot ang kaniyang biyaya sa karaniwang pamilyang Pililpino. Sa 2007, pagtutuunan natin ng pansin ang tinatawag na "social payback." Iyon bang maipadama sa lahat ng mamamayan, lalo na sa maralita, ang biyaya ng kasiglahan ng ekonomiya at malakas na pananalapi ng pamahalaan. Panahon na upang makatanggap ang masa ng higit pang biyaya sa edukasyon, kalusugan, nutrisyon at hanapbuhay. |
| PGMA awards lot certificates to 1,500 landless families in Navotas |
| In line with her
administration's program to provide security of tenure and housing to urban poor families,
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo distributed today Certificates of Eligibility for Lot
Award (CELAs) to 1,500 landless families in Navotas, Metro Manila. The President awarded the CELAs to the first 51 beneficiaries out of the 1,500 lot recipients at a brief awarding rites held at the Tangos National High School in Tangos, Navotas. Malabon Navotas lone District Rep. Federico Sandoval II thanked the President for personally distributing the CELAs to the Navotas lot-awardees and giving his neighbor-constituents the opportunity to become lot owners right in the heart of Navotas. "Dito po ako ipinanganak sa Navotas, kaya naiintindihan ko ang pangunahing pangangailangan ng aking mga kapitbahay na magkaroon ng sariling tirahan. Maraming salamat po, mahal na Pangulo, sa pagtugon ninyo kaagad ukol dito," Sandoval told the President. The Chief Executive also thanked Sandoval for closely monitoring the processing of the lot awards and giving special concerns for his landless constituents by assisting them to become lot owners. "Gaya ng sabi ni Ricky, hindi na kayo squatter sa sariling bayan. Homeowners na kayo. Maraming salamat rin, Ricky Sandoval, dahil sa hindi mo tinitigilang pagpapaalala sa amin ni (NHA General Manager) Rico Laxa, kaya sa wakas ay natupad din ito. Sa inyong lahat, congratulations!" she said. The distribution of the CELAs covering 25 square meters each was done under Presidential Proclamation No. 1223 on Tangos Phase III A and B subject to the policies and guidelines of the Slum Upgrading Program of the National Housing Authority (NHA). Tangos Phase III A and B cover a public land located near the coastal area of Manila Bay and Navotas River. The beneciaries are houseowners whose structures appear in the NHA's approved plan and occupancy verification. |
