The national results are just beginning to be counted but the congressional and local results are almost all in.

I believe we will have an even bigger majority in the House and an almost complete sweep of the local chief executives.

The elections were good, peaceful, free and fair.

There's going to be political stability.

In a move to invite more investors to put their stakes in the government’s vision of a modern and globally-competitive Philippines, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has instructed the Cabinet to give priority to the review of the 2007 Investment Priorities Plan (IPP).

Cabinet Secretary Ricardo Saludo said in a statement the President has issued "several priority instructions to relevant agencies" that would accelerate the government’s "development services and major undertakings for economic expansion, job creation, price stability, and peace and order."

Stressing the urgency to promulgate the new investment incentives program, which the President has targeted for approval this month, Saludo said it is now the right time for the government to lay out its projects that need private funding along with fiscal incentives while investors are still very bullish in pouring in their money into the Philippines due to the country’s impressive economic performance and with the peaceful and smooth conduct of the May 14 elections.

"As investors become more and more bullish on the Philippines, especially with the largely peaceful and smooth conduct of the elections, the IPP shall bring in many more billions of dollars in capital, creating jobs and boosting reserves," Saludo said.

He said the 2007 IPP is "keenly awaited and likely to attract more attention and capital than before."

Saludo noted that net foreign direct investment reached $2.35 billion in 2006, or four times the 2004 level.

"The entry of big names like Texas Instruments and Saudi Arabia’s al-Walid will further pump up the capital inflow," he said.

The Board of Investments (BOI), the lead agency in providing investments, submitted to the President the draft 2007 IPP last March 30.

IPP embodies the development thrusts of the government for sustained and equitable economic growth as espoused in the President’s 10-point pro-poor agenda.

The 12 preferred sectors for investments as recommended by the BOI cover agriculture, fishery and support services; healthcare and wellness products and services; information and technology; electronics; motor vehicles; energy; infrastructure; tourism; shipbuilding and shipping; machinery and equipment, raw materials and intermediate inputs; iron and steel production; and research and development projects.

Almost all the sectors included in the 2006 IPP remained as preferred sectors for investments in the 2007 IPP except for jewelry and fashion but the fiscal incentives enjoyed by this sector remain, according to a BOI statement.

The President is optimistic that investors’ bullishness on the Philippines would be strengthened with interest rates at its all-time low and raw materials are cheaper because of the very strong peso.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is scheduled to leave next week for visits to Japan, New Zealand and Australia to further enhance bilateral, trade and economic relations with those countries, Malacaņang announced today.

In his weekly press conference at Malacaņang’s New Executive Building this afternoon, Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said the President will be in Tokyo from May 22-25 to attend the 13^th Nikkei Conference on the Future of Asia.

The President is one of the keynote speakers in the conference to be attended by state leaders, former prime ministers, and top business executives around the world.

Also included in the main agenda of the President’s visit to Tokyo is to further enhance the Philippines’ bilateral, trade and economic relations with Japan.

Ermita noted that aside from its big investments in the country, Japan is one of the top providers of Official Development Assistance (ODA) to the Philippines for its pro-poor and rural development projects.

On May 27-30, the President will visit New Zealand and proceed to Australia on May 30-31.

Ermita said export growth also rose from $36.2 billion in 2002 to $47 billion in 2006, while export receipts for the first two months of 2007 stood at $7.7 billion, which is 14.2 percent bigger than the same period last year.

Malacaņang lauded today the first three Filipino female mountaineers who successfully reached the summit of the world’s tallest mountain, Mt.Everest in Nepal.

Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita identified the three Filipinas in his weekly press briefing in Malacanang as Noelle Wenceslao, Carina Dayondon and Janet Belarmino.

Ermita said Wenceslao reached the summit at 8:10 a.m., Dayondon at 8:20 a.m. and Belarmino at 9:45 a.m., all Manila times.

"We are congratulating the three Filipinas, mga babae na nakarating sa tuktok ng highest mountain in the world. Kaya binabati natin sila," he said.

He noted that the three mountaineers were suitably and physically fit for mountain hiking because they were in the service of the Philippine Coast Guard.