MADRID (via PLDT) – President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo opens her two-day official visit to Spain this afternoon (June 29, Manila time) with a series of meetings with top Spanish officials and leading Iberian businessmen in a bid to bolster economic, diplomatic and labor relations between the Philippines and Spain.

The President’s meeting with King Juan Carlos I at the Palacio de la Zarzuela, which will be followed an hour later by her one-on-one meeting with President Jose Luis-Rodriguez Zapatero at the Blue Room of the Palacio de la Moncloa, tops the list of her engagements on Day One of her visit here.

The President, accompanied by First Gentleman Atty. Jose Miguel Arroyo, is scheduled to arrive at the Barajas International Airport at 9 a.m. (3 p.m., Manila time) where she will receive arrival honors as a visiting head of state.

Spain’s Foreign Affairs and Cooperation Minister Miguel Moratinos, Spanish Ambassador to the Philippines and Mrs. Ignacio Sagaz, Chief of Protocol Raimundo Perez Hernandez y Torra, Spanish Air Force Lt. Gen. Carlos Gomez Arruche, and Barajas International Airport Director Miguel Angel Oleaga will compose the main group of the President’s welcomers at the airport.

On the Philippine side, Ambassador to Spain Joseph Bernardo will lead embassy officials, leaders of the Filipino community in Madrid and Filipino businessmen in Spain in welcoming the President.

After the airport ceremony, the President will be whisked in a motorcade to the Congreso de los Diputados for the first of a string of engagements lined up for her during her stay in Madrid.

So hectic is the President’s schedule that barely 30 minutes upon her arrival at the Barajas International Airport she will address the Congreso de los Diputados, the Philippines’ equivalent of the House of Representatives.

Spain has a two-chamber legislature: the Senado or Las Cortes Generales, and the Congress of Deputies or Congreso de los Diputadoes.

From the Congreso de los Diputados, she will proceed to the Ayuntamiento de Madrid (City Hall), where she will be welcomed by Madrid Mayor Alberto Ruiz-Gallardo and other officials of the Ayuntamiento.

After her official engagement at the Ajuntamiento, the President will offer a wreath at the monument of Dr. Jose Rizal, a replica of the Luneta monument, at the corner of Santander Park on Calle Santander corner Avenida de last Filipinas in downtown Madrid.

In rapid succession, President Arroyo will address the Confederation of Employers and Industries of Spain (CEOE), the top Spanish businessmen’s organization with a membership of one million private and public companies.

CEOE conducts ongoing analyses of the Spanish economy and the social and labor situation and proposes solutions for enhancing the competitiveness of Spanish companies.

Former Labor and Employment Secretary Patricia Sto. Tomas, who is accompanying President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in her European trip, said that initially, the agreement would benefit up to 100,000 Filipino health care workers under a pilot project arrangement.

Sto. Tomas signed the agreement for the Philippine government, while Minister for Labor and Immigration Jose Caldera signed for Spain.

Sto. Tomas said 40 of the first batch of 100 Filipino workers are already in Madrid while the 60 others will arrive in August. It is possible that a new batch of 60 Filipinos will be allowed entry by September.

Within the next five years, Spain’s health care sector would need one million foreign workers, she added.

In the past, only household workers were allowed entry into Spain, which explains why most of the Filipino workers in this country are in the domestic service, she said.

Sto. Tomas, who will assume her new post as chairman of the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) next week, said the MOU could be Spain’s last bilateral labor accord with an Asian country since Madrid has tightened the controls on the entry of new foreign workers even from its fellow European Union (EU) member nations.

Workers from foreign countries without bilateral agreements may enter Spain on an individual basis, but their number is strictly limited to a maximum of five per year.

Spain is a preferred country for labor deployment because it has one of the highest pay scales for workers in the EU. Foreign workers in Spain also enjoy equal treatment and other benefits, including annual wage increase, 14th month bonus and paid vacation leaves.

The agreement paves the way for the entry of highly-skilled Filipino workers and other professionals in large numbers.

The labor accord was signed by former Labor Secretary Patricia Sto. Tomas, for the Philippines, and Minister of Labor and Immigration Jose Caldera for the Spanish government.

In previous years, workers from foreign countries without bilateral agreements with Spain were allowed entry, but their number was strictly limited to five individuals a year.

The OFWs said the new agreement will also ensure the protection of Filipino migrant workers in Spain and open the way for more Filipinos to find jobs in this country.

The OFWs said they enjoy working in Spain, as they expressed full support for the President’s program to boost the Philippine economy.

Sto. Tomas initiated the MOU more than three years ago while she was still Labor secretary.

At present, most of the OFWs in this country are employed as domestic helpers under individual arrangements with their employers.

Sto. Tomas pointed out that the Philippines has a huge pool of highly-trained professionals in various fields whose expertise and diligence are known and recognized throughout the world.

This was the message of Department of Trade and Industry Secretary Peter Favila yesterday to the members of the Confederation of Employers and Industries of Spain (CEOE), the top business organization in Spain with a membership of one million private and public companies.

In his address before the RP-Spain Business Seminar, Favila cited opportunities for successful Philippine-Spanish business partnerships under the administration of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

He said the Arroyo administration has implemented a reform agenda that provides very clear directions and rests on strict adherence to macroeconomic fundamentals, investments in vital infrastructure and increased revenue through new taxes and improved tax collection.

The policy reforms carried out by the government at the macro-level has filtered to the microeconomy, generating renewed confidence among local and foreign businessmen in the prospects of doing business in the country, Favila said.

Last year, the economy remained resilient, with a 5.1 percent growth of the Gross Domestic Product (GNP) driven by strong consumption, a vibrant services sector, new investments and the recovery of the agriculture sector.

The country’s merchandise exports hit $41.2 billion in 2005, for a 3 percent increase, while net foreign direct investments (FDIs) grew by 149 percent.

Favila said that the government’s focus on economic fundamentals ensures that this good performance is sustained and lead to even higher growth rates.

He added that GDP for the first quarter of 2006 increased by 5.5 percent while exports registered double-digit growth of 13.8 percent and net FDI continues to increase by 10.6 percent.

The DTI secretary said that the current level of business between Spain and the Philippines does not reflect the special relations between the two countries. Spain ranks 32rd among the Philippines’ trade partners, accounting for only 0.18 percent of the total trade of the Philippines.

Among the member-countries of the European Union (EU), Spain ranked 9^th in 2005 as Philippine export destination while two-way investments remain low.

Calling for the strengthening of Philippine-Spain economic relations, Favila said that while the two countries have existing bilateral agreements on the protection and promotion of investments and the avoidance of double taxation, the level of engagement, especially in terms of information flows, needs to be intensified.

He cited the information and communications technology, renewable energy, tourism, infrastructure and logistics sectors as the best opportunities for Spanish businesses.

The Philippines, Favila said, has emerged as the leading location in the Far East for outsourced call center operations, an industry which has registered a growth rate of over 100 percent from only $24 million in 2002 to roughly $1.6 billion in 2005.

"Offshore IT-enabled services to the Philippines could provide as much as 66 percent cost-savings to many Spanish companies, greatly enhancing their capability to compete in the world market," Favila said.

He said the government is committed to the development of renewable energy in the form of wind, solar and hydropower.

"Being located just above the equator, the Philippines likewise has a vast potential for various energy applications," he added.