100 Days of Good Governance and Transparency
By Iluminado M. Varela

MANILA (PNA) - "The presidency is not merely an administrative office. That's the least of it. It is pre-eminently a place of moral leadership."

The quote belongs to Franklin Delano Roosevelt, a four-term president and America's most loved Chief Executive of the 20th Century.

But it might apply as well in assessing the first 100 days of Mrs. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's presidency.

The period is too short a time to measure success in concrete terms, but it is enough to indicate trends and directions.

When then Vice President Macapagal-Arroyo became president last January 20 as mandated by the Constitution at succession, the country was in deep crisis - the Estrada presidency left a bankrupt government; there were talks of military putsch; investors were fleeing the country; the international community was threatening to withdraw support; morality in government at ebb; and corruption was rampant in almost all government offices.

Two months after assuming the presidency, the 54-year old Chief Executive remarked: " This is one reason why we have acted swiftly and simultaneously on many fronts to revive our economy, to secure peace and order and to lay the foundations for long-term growth."

That long term growth has begun when president Macapagal-Arroyo initiated a moral recovery of a wounded and fragmented nation - through the policy of good governance and transparency.

For the President, that was the first order of the day. The return to normalcy had to start immediately.

To the new Chief Executive, good governance must be achieved through transparency - governance must be accountable and visible to the sovereign people.

In the next three years, President Macapagal-Arroyo will be translating into concrete results the four core beliefs she announced during EDSA People Power Two, and which she reiterated in her oath of office as President of the Philippines.

First, the national objective of the Macapagal-Arroyo government is the elimination of poverty within this decade. To win the war against poverty, government must provide for those who have little - emphasizing the good of many rather than the interest of the few.

"To tap the opportunities, we need an economic philosophy of transparency and private enterprise - friendly to the market - for these are the catalyst that nurture the entrepreneurial spirit to be globally competitive," the President had said.

The second core belief is the need to improve moral standards in government and society. The President said that her government, as society's steward, will do all it can to promote good values within the government itself and among the citizenry. "This is the first order of business for our administration - to put government back on the right footing and to restore the confidence of the public and business community."

Third, the old politics will have to be changed with a new politics of party program and consultation. This idea was immediately put into practice in the selection of senatorial candidates of the President's political party (People's Power Coalition or PPC) for the May 14 elections. In consultation with the civil societies, the PPC candidates were chosen not only because of their good reputation but on their stand with respect to the emerging common platform on how the country can face the challenges of the 21st century and win the battle against poverty.

And the fourth core belief of President Macapagal-Arroyo is leadership by example - the leadership that she and her Cabinet members are seeking to show.

The President added that the moral foundation for governance demands that our executive leadership, from the President to the Cabinet and their respective families should show the example.

On moral responsibilities that come with high public office, the President quoted her father, the late President Diosdado Macapagal: " I regard integrity and the capacity for self-denial as the prime requisites for presidency. The presidency is not a position to be enjoyed. It is a post where, for the well being of the people, the chosen leader of the nation is expected to give his best, to work his hardest, to bear hardship, and, if need be, to suffer." (PNA)

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Effective Measures Seen to Buoy Up Economy
By Randolph G. Altarejos

MANILA (PNA) - The installation of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo into power through a peaceful EDSA People's Power 2 revolt last January has brought back the tide of confidence of investors in and out of the Asian region on the Philippine economy.

Because of this, liquidity is fairly returning to the local markets thus contributing a great deal to the country's economic growth during the past three months.
   
There is no doubt that the new administration has won the confidence of many sectors in the country by putting in place strong economic fundamentals.

Consequently, this renewed enthusiasm has helped a lot in pushing the country to achieve significant political and economic strides as manifested by the improvement of sentiments in the markets.

Another factor that has buoyed up the economy was the effective implementation of fiscal and monetary policies by most governments in the region.

This move was a reflection that multilateral cooperation is gradually being strengthened even if some observers surmise that general recovery is underway.

This manifestation is a tangible sign that could pave the way for economic growth in the region, no matter how minute it may seem.

On the domestic front, efforts being exerted by the present administration are seen to be heading on the right track.

As reflected in the recent presentation of Socio-Economic Planning Secretary Dante B. Canlas, the economic priorities for the first 100 days of the new administration include: 1) implementation of the fiscal deficit reduction program; 2) coordination with Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas to stabilize prices, interest, and exchange rates; 3) review and fast-track the passage of stalled structural reforms; 4) implementation of contingency measures in agriculture; 5) strengthening of the poverty reduction programs; and 6) improvement of absorptive capacity of foreign-assisted projects.

To achieve these, the administration has crafted a deficit-reduction strategy wherein the national government is determined to raise revenue collections from P565.1 billion to P578.1 billion. Disbursements of funds would range from P734.7 billion to only P723.1 billion.

During the past administration, the public sector deficit ballooned to P169.6 billion, an amount that surpassed the ceiling allowed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The present government is seeing a well-managed deficit level of only P145 billion.

The Macapagal-Arroyo administration, at present, is revving up its efforts to implement deficit reduction strategies such as tax administration reform, tax structure reform, asset sale, and expenditure rationalization.

The tax reform measures the administration is working out include the electronic metering of documentary stamps, liberal compromise settlement of delinquent accounts, strengthening of audit system, full implementation of large taxpayers program, fast-tracking of computerization of database, third party information initiative, and strict monitoring of compliance of Local Government Units of withholding tax laws.

Other measures are expansion of the jurisdiction of the Court of Tax Appeals, tightening the process of granting tax exemptions and importation of merit goods, reform of the excise tax on motor vehicles, rationalization of fiscal incentives, financial sector tax reform, and lateral attrition law.

But all these will be put in vain if the government will not rationalize its expenditures. As such, the administration has decided to implement an austerity program, including a freeze on hiring except key posts, deferment of new locally-funded projects, purge low-priority programs, protect high priority programs, and strengthen accountability for outcomes and outputs.

With the renewed confidence in the leadership, investment inflows are expected to increase in due time. In fact, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) already reported that about 60 percent of the total volume of investments was made within the first 100 days of the Macapagal-Arroyo administration.

Thus, the economic outlook is seen to be positive. The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) has projected that the Gross National Product (GNP) growth rate will hit between 4.0 and 4.5 percent before the end of this year, from an earlier target of 4.2 percent. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth is expected to range between 3.8 and 4.3 percent, from the earlier target of 3.9 percent last year.

On the production side, growth in the agriculture sector is seen to drop a bit from a previous target of 3.4 percent, to between 2.4 and 3.0 percent this year due to the onset of the El Nino phenomenon.

Industry expansion rate will range between 4.0 and 4.5 percent, up from a figure of 3.6 percent last year. On the other hand, the services sector is expected to grow between 4.2 and 4.7 percent, from last year's 4.4 percent.

The NEDA believes that the plus factors for the improved economic scenario are due to stronger investor confidence which can lead to more stable foreign exchange market, lower world interest rates, and modest increase in oil prices in the world market, now pegged at US$22-26.00 per barrel.

NEDA, however, is also seeing some negative factors brought about by the latest economic developments in the international markets. These are the perceived slowdown in the US economy, the El Nino phenomenon, and size of non-performing loan ratio of banks.

But despite these developments, the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) already has approved P15.122 billion worth of investments in the country's ecozones for the period ending April 5, 2001, up 63 percent from last year's figure of P9.298 billion.

PEZA Chairman and DTI Secretary Manuel A. Roxas said that the amount comprised 61 projects, of which 27 were expansionary projects costing P7.293 billion.

These expansionary projects are proofs that business confidence has returned to the markets. Secretary Roxas noted that their existing operations and expansion plans resemble a vote of confidence on the direction of business climate in the country.

In its recent board meeting, PEZA approved six new projects costing P558.628 million. From this, it was projected that export earnings from new projects would reach P14.252 million annually, which could generate almost 600 new jobs.

In the latest report of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), it expressed confidence that the recent enactment of two economic laws -- the General Banking Act of 2000 and the Securities Regulation Code -- is a positive step toward addressing structural weaknesses in the financial system.

"These laws are expected to raise the regulatory standards of the banking sector and securities market and bring them closer to internationally-acceptable norms," the report said.

But the ADB advised that the key to improving the country's fiscal position is to put the privatization program back on track, including the Omnibus Power Bill, which will govern the privatization of the National Power Corporation.

Effective tax administration is a more permanent option, the ADB believes. It adds:

"The broader context shows the need for improved public sector governance at all levels."

Summing up all these developments, the Macapagal-Arroyo administration is optimistic that the national government will succeed in reaping up the gains through continued hard work and determination for the benefit of the people. (PNA)SS/RGA/mlc

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Give Peace a Chance
By Ben Cal

MANILA (PNA) - When President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo ascended to power last Jan. 20, the peace talks with the communists and secessionist rebels were in the doldrums. Reviving the stalled negotiations was her top priority.

The newly-installed President then knew too well that the quest for peace had eluded the country for more than three decades in the case of the communists. Achieving a lasting peace is a long-shot. But unlike her predecessor, disgraced President Joseph Estrada who embarked on an all-out war policy, President Macapagal-Arroyo took the initiative to extend the olive branch to rebel groups to give peace another chance.

Her gesture of reconciliation has paid off. The Communist Party of the Philippines through the National Democratic Front (NDF), and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), responded to the peace overtures of the new Chief Executive.

The prospects of peace brightened. Back-chanelling negotiations took place almost immediately.

As early as Jan. 25, the President confirmed the resumption of peace negotiations with the MILF.

She named Batangas Rep. Eduardo R. Ermita as presidential adviser on the peace process. Ermita is an old hand in peace negotiations, having participated in the successful signing of the peace agreement with the Moro National Liberation Front (MILF), the main Muslim secessionist group, on Sept. 2, 1996 in Malacaņang, during the watch of then President Fidel V. Ramos.

At the same time, the government sent feelers to the NDF to reopen the stalled peace talks. On March 5, this year, former Justice Secretary Silvestre H. Bello III went to the Netherlands for a meeting with exiled communist leaders Jose Ma. Sison and Luis Jalandoni to discuss the resumption of peace negotiations.

The dovelike attitude of President Macapagal-Arroyo apparently convinced the NDF and the MILF that the government is dead serious to talk peace to end the fratricidal war in the country that had killed more than 200,000 during the past three decades.

The first concrete step towards peace was attained last April 18 when the government and the NDF held a day-long "Solidarity Conference for a Just and Lasting Peace" at the Westin Philippine Plaza in Pasay City.

The NDF panel was headed by Jalandoni, who flew all the way from the Netherlands. With him were his wife, Coni K. Ledesma, and former newsman Antonio Zumel, a member and senior adviser of the NDF negotiating panel, respectively.

The talks were in preparation for the April 27 resumption of formal peace negotiations in Oslo, Norway.

Prior to the holding of the solidarity conference, the government and the NDF had signed 10 agreements in the peace negotiations they had held from Sept. 1, 1992 to March 16, 1998.

These agreements are: the Hague Joint Declaration on Sept. 1, 1992; Breukelen Joint Statement on June 14, 1994; Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees on Feb. 24, 1994; Joint Agreement on the Ground Rules of the Formal Meetings on Feb. 26, 1995; Joint Agreement on the Formation, Sequence and Operationalization of the Reciprocal Working Committee on June 26, 1995; Additional Implementing Rules Pertaining to the Documents of Identification on June 26, 1996; Supplemental Agreement to the Joint Agreement on the Formation, Sequence and Operationalization of the Reciprocal Working Committee on March 18, 1997; Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law on March 16, 1998; Additional Implementing Rules of the Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees (JASIG) Pertaining to the Security and Personnel and Consultation in Furtherance of the Peace Negotiations on March 16, 1998, and Joint Agreement of Socioeconomic Projects of Private Development Organizations and Institutes also on March 16, 1998.

But the Solidarity Conference was a manifestation by both the government and the NDF to resume the stalled peace talks and find a lasting solution to the 32-year-old communist insurgency, Asia's longest guerilla war.

In his speech, Secretary Ermita warned that the road to peace "will continue to be difficult and contentious. But if there is quality that has pervaded our past efforts, it has been perseverance."

The quest for peace is indeed thorny, full of ups and downs. But the Macapagal-Arroyo government is undaunted. The Philippines' second woman president is determined more than ever to give peace another chance.

As resumption of peace talks dominated the air the past three months, sporadic fighting between the government forces and the New People's Army (NPA), the armed component of the CPP/NDF, on the other hand, and the MILF on the other, erupted from time to time.

The military said this is understandable as there is no ceasefire agreement yet either with the MILF or the NPA.

The only ceasefire declared by the government was a limited one in the provinces of Quezon, Batangas, Laguna and Mindoro to pave way for the release of captured Army Major Noel Buan, who was eventually freed last April 6 after nearly two years in captivity.

While the President extend her hand of peace to the NPA and the MILF, she was firm on her stand not to negotiate with the extremist Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) whose despicable way f life is kidnap-for-ransom.

The military offensive against this bunch of bandits has resulted in the killing of over 200 Abu Sayyaf members.

Last April 12, the military and police forces rescued America Jeffrey Schilling, one of the remaining hostages held by the Abu Sayyaf in the jungles of Luuk, Sulu. The other hostage still in the hands of the ASG is Filipino diver Roland Ullah. The President has ordered he military to rescue Ullah safely.

Schilling had been held captive by the ASG for almost nine months. His rescue came at a time when the Abu Sayyaf threatened to behead the American hostage.

The President asked the remnants of the Abu Sayyaf to surrender now or be annihilated.

Army Chief Lt. Gen. Jaime de los Santos vowed no mercy for the Muslim terrorists group if they would not surrender.

De los Santos said the Army would carry out to the letter President Macapagal-Arroyo's order to wipe out the Abu Sayyaf.

The government had earlier released 40 political prisoners as part of its confidence-building with the CPP/NDF/NPA.

In the new millennium, there are four milestones of peace, according to Secretary Ermita.

The first is the irreversible trend towards active non-violence. This was demonstrated by the Filipino people at EDSA 1 and EDSA 2 when they booted out two corrupt governments in bloodless uprisings.

The second is growing focus of peace issues on human security, social justice, economic empowerment and cultural preservation, like the 1996 GRP-MNLF peace agreement, which is in its final stages of implementation on substantive provisions on education, socioeconomic reforms and indigenous rights, Ermita said.

Another factor is the deepening involvement of civil society in the peace process, and lastly the universal acceptance of international assistance and facilitation in the realm of peace and negotiations.

For his part, Bello called for the active involvement of all stakeholders in the peace process "so that our joint efforts will bear the fruits of peace which are built on trust, justice and truth."

The peace process should be continuously nurtured by fervent hope and guarded optimism until a just and genuine peace is achieved.

Bello said the neophyte Macapagal-Arroyo government has embarked on a "healing and reconstruction process to steer the country towards the attainment of peace and development."

Several times in the past, the talks were stalemated on various matters but these circumstances did not prevent the two sides from signing 10 agreements from 1992 to 1998 because both sides are committed to peace.

Bello said: "The road that lies ahead may be long and bumpy. There may be doubts and fears that the talks could once again be beset by the same issues and problems. However, as peace makers, we remain confident that we may be able to rise above these difficulties and move forward the talks."

"We believe that there is no difficulty we cannot overcome, and no obstacle to great, as long as we both recognize that the welfare of our people must always be our primary consideration," he said.

To prove the sincerity of the Macapagal-Arroyo administration, Bello proposed to the NDF to complete the talks in the next 18 months, after both panels shall have completed extensive discussions on substantive matters in six months.

All in all, the peace talks should be finished in two years.

Parallel to this, another government panel will be negotiating with the MILF to resolve the Mindanao conflict.

President Macapagal-Arroyo has junked the all-out war policy of former President Estrada.

During the war in Central Mindanao last year, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) had proven its superiority by capturing all 46 major and satellite camps of the MILF.

MILF guerillas resorted to hit-and-run tactics with Hashim Salamat still in firm control of his 12, 500 fighters scattered in various parts of Central Mindanao.

After becoming President, Mrs. Macapagal-Arroyo pursued the line of peace by asking the MILF to return to the negotiating table.

Under any circumstances, waging war is more costly than holding peace negotiations.

"In terms of expenses, the cost of peace is very much cheaper than the cost of war," Bello said.

For example, during eight years of negotiations with the NDF, the government spent only P13 million compared to buying one armored vehicle which costs $800,000 (roughly P40 million).

Pursuing peace is always the best option because in war there are no victors, especially if the fighting is between Filipinos.

For more than 30 years, the Philippines has been grappling the insurgency problem. Money for development has been spent to buy guns and bullets for the military to fight an insurgency war.

The government under President Macapagal-Arroyo has opted for peace like the one pursued by the Ramos administration from 1992 to 1998 wherein it had clinched peace accords with the MNLF and military rebels.

The Filipino people are hoping and looking forward that a genuine peace would finally come in the next two years or less. Let us give peace another chance, now!

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