PGMA's during the Visayan Region Conference of the League of Municipalities of the Philippines

Pacific Ballroom, Pan Pacific Hotel Adriatico St., Malate, Manila (29 August 2003)
THANK YOU VERY MUCH, SECRETARY JOEY LINA.

DISTINGUISHED OFFICERS AND MEMBERS OF THE LEAGUE OF MUNICIPALITIES OF THE PHILIPPINES HEADED BY YOUR NATIONAL PRESIDENT, MONCHING GUICO; MAYOR MARTINEZ; MAYOR NACARIO; MAYOR SANCHEZ -- WALA DITO? -- MAYOR ADAME AND MAYOR MAYOR.

MIKE DEFENSOR, THANK YOU, FOR ONCE AGAIN SURPASSING YOUR TARGET WITH THIS MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING. CONGRATULATIONS ALSO TO THE REST OF THE HUDCC FAMILY. AND JOLLY BENITEZ, THE PRESIDENT OF THE MANILA BUILDING AND LOAN ASSOCIATION, THANK YOU FOR THIS MOU. TO ALL OF YOU, MAYORS OF THE VISAYAS, TANANG MGA CEBUANO, MAAYONG BUNTAG KANINYONG TANAN. MGA ILONGGO, MAAYO NGA -- AY, DILI NA PUD BUNTAG, HAPON NA DIAY, HAPON NA DIAY -- MAAYONG HAPON KANINYONG TANAN. SA ATON MGA ILONGGO, TANANG MGA ILONGGO, MAAYONG HAPON SA INYO NGA TANAN. AND MAUPAY NGA KULO HA MGA WARAY-WARAY. AND TO EVERYBODY ELSE, GOOD AFTERNOON.

THIS IS OUR SECOND MAJOR ISLAND CONFERENCE -- TAPOS NA 'YUNG MINDANAO, 'DI BA MONCHING? NALIPAY KO NGA ANI KAMO DINHI. NALIPAY GID AKO NGA NAG-KAARI KAMO DIRI SA MGA ILONGGO.

AND YOU ARE HERE AND I'M GLAD THAT YOU ARE HERE. LET THERE BE NO DOUBT ABOUT OUR COMMITMENT TO GOOD GOVERNANCE. BECAUSE OF YOUR GOOD WORK IN THE COUNTRYSIDE, OUR DOMESTIC DEMAND HAS BEEN RESILIENT AND THAT IS WHY THE ECONOMY HAS FARED RELATIVELY WELL. THANK YOU FOR YOUR WORK. THE ECONOMY HAS FARED RELATIVELY WELL COMPARING OURSELVES TO OUR NEIGHBORING ECONOMIES AND TRADING PARTNERS CONSIDERING THE EXTERNAL SHOCKS WE HAVE HAD TO IMPOSE TO KEEP THE DEFICIT AT ACCEPTABLE LEVELS. THE CABINET IS MEETING TODAY TO LOOK AT AREAS WHERE PRODUCTIVITY CAN BE FURTHER INCREASED AND WHERE MORE SPENDING COULD BE APPLIED TO FUEL GROWTH. AT THIS POINT, WE ARE CONCERNED ABOUT DESTABILIZATION AND EXCESSIVE PARTISANSHIP WHICH ARE PREJUDICING INVESTMENTS AND JOBS. I CALL UPON YOU, ESPECIALLY THE MEMBERS OF THE OPPOSITION WHO ARE STILL LOYAL TO THE DEMOCRATIC SYSTEM, TO CORRECT THEIR COLLEAGUES WHO ARE OBVIOUSLY OUT OF LINE. YES, WE NEED AN OPPOSITION, BUT WE NEED A PRINCIPLED, CONSTRUCTIVE OPPOSITION THAT CAN EFFECTIVELY FISCALIZE GOVERNMENT -- NOT A BUNCH OF DESTABILIZERS AND DEMAGOGUES. WE NEED UNITY IN DEMOCRACY DESPITE A DIVERSITY OF PLATFORMS.

BUT I'M GLAD THAT ALL THE RATTLE AND ROLL OF CONTROVERSY HAS NOT AFFECTED OUR SOLIDARITY AS LEADERS OF THE PEOPLE, ESPECIALLY AMONG YOU, THE MAYORS OF THE VISAYAS.

WITH MAYORS LIKE YOU, THE DESTABILIZERS WILL NEVER SUCCEED BECAUSE THE PEOPLE ARE BEHIND THE CONSTITUTION AND THEIR LEADERS; THE GOVERNORS AND THE MAYORS ARE BEHIND THE CONSTITUTION AND THE RULE OF LAW. I THANK YOU THEREFORE NOT ONLY FOR KEEPING OUR ECONOMY AFLOAT IN THIS DIFFICULT TIMES FOR THE WORLD ENVIRONMENT BUT ALSO FOR KEEPING OUR DEMOCRACY SAFE.

LET US MOVE ON TO THE MORE PRESSING DUTIES OF GOVERNANCE AND LEAVE TO THE PROPER JUDICIAL AUTHORITIES THE TASK OF DEALING WITH THESE BARNACLES ON THE SHIP OF STATE.

WE ARE NOT ENGAGED IN A FAMILY WITCH HUNT. EVIDENCE HAS BEEN INTRODUCED IN THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, TRANSPARENTLY AND WITHOUT MALICE. THERE IS A PROCESS DEFINED BY LAW FOR DETERMINING THE VERACITY OF FACTS. LET US SUBMIT OURSELVES TO THE SYSTEM OF JUSTICE AND NOT CRY OPPRESSION AT EVERY TURN.

LET'S NOT BE DISTRACTED BY THE GREATER WAR, THE WAR AGAINST POVERTY.

THOUGH OUR ECONOMY HAS BEEN FARING RELATIVELY WELL, COMPARED TO OUR NEIGHBORS AND TRADING PARTNERS. THE ONE THAT ONLY DID VERY CLEARLY BETTER THAN US WAS CHINA. OUR GNP GROWTH RATE IS COMPARABLE TO MALAYSIA AND INDONESIA. WE'VE FARED BETTER THAN STRONG ECONOMIES LIKE SINGAPORE, SOUTH KOREA, TAIWAN. NONETHELESS, I MUST SOUND THE ALARM ON THREATS TO OUR ECONOMIC LIFE REPRESENTED BY THE DETERIORATION OF THE EXCHANGE RATES, THE RECENT INCREASES IN GASOLINE PRICES, THE SLOWDOWN IN TOURISM AND INVESTMENTS DUE TO THE MAKATI DISTURBANCE, AND THE CONTINUED DIFFICULTIES OF OUR MAJOR PARTNERS.

BY THE WAY LET ME SAY THAT THOUGH THERE IS A SLOWDOWN IN TOURISM, THIS SLOWDOWN HAS BEEN TO A LARGE PART MITIGATED BY OUR STRONG DOMESTIC DEMAND, IN THIS HOTEL, AND I THANK YOU FOR THAT.

THOSE WHO WENT TO THE PUERTO PRINCESA BIMP-EAGA GAMES -- THAT'S NOT THE VISAYAS -- TOLD ME THAT THE HOTELS THERE ARE FULLY BOOKED. THE OTHER DAY, I WAS WITH THE BASEBALL AND SOFTBALL TEAM OF PAGLAUM NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL IN BACOLOD, AND THEY TELL ME THAT BACOLOD HOTES ARE FULLY BOOKED. IN BORACAY BECAUSE OF OUR NATIONAL HIGHWAY, OUR NAUTICAL HIGHWAY, IT'S SO FULL, IT'S OVER... THE CARRYING CAPACITY IS SO STRETCHED THAT I WAS SUGGESTING SAN JOSE IN ROMBLON, WHICH IS ONLY A HALF-HOUR BANCA RIDE FROM BORACAY, SHOULD BE A SPILLOVER FOR THE BORACAY TOURISM. NONETHELESS, IT COULD HAVE BEEN MUCH BETTER IF WE DID NOT HAVE THAT OAKWOOD MUTINY. IF WE DID NOT HAVE THESE DESTABILIZERS.

THERE ARE ONLY THREE ISSUES OCCUPYING HERE AT THIS TIME. THESE ARE: FIRST, THE ECONOMY; SECOND, THE ECONOMY; THIRD, THE ECONOMY. OTHER CONTROVERSIES ARE NOT HELPING OUR PEOPLE SECURE THEIR LIVELIHOOD AND INCOME IN A DIFFICULT ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT. AND I AS PRESIDENT WILL NOT BE DISTRACTED BY CIRCUS ACTS, AS IT IS MORE IMPORTANT TO HELP PEOPLE GET JOBS, EARN INCOME, BUY AFFORDABLE GOODS, AND MEET THE NEEDS OF THEIR FAMILIES. THESE ARE WHAT PEOPLE EXPECT OF THEIR GOVERNMENT; THESE ARE WHAT PEOPLE EXPECT OF THEIR PRESIDENT; THESE ARE WHAT PEOPLE EXPECT OF THEIR MAYORS. THAT'S WHY, LET'S POOL OUR IDEAS AND OUR ENERGIES, OR ONE THING, GET RID OF THE TURF MENTALITY BECAUSE ONLY THROUGH OUR SEAMLESS COORDINATION AND UNIFIED ACTION CAN WE CONQUER THE SOCIAL MENACE OF POVERTY.

WELL, I'M GLAD AND I THANK JOEY FOR CALLING ME THE MOST LGU-FRIENDLY PRESIDENT. I HAVE SUPPORTED THE NOBLE INITIATIVES OF OUR LOCAL GOVERNMENTS TO THE BEST THAT OUR RESOURCES CAN PROVIDE. I'VE KEPT MY PROMISE TO YOU TO KEEP YOUR INTERNAL REVENUE ALLOTMENTS INTACT, INCLUDING THE LGSEF THAT I INHERITED OF 2001. LAST NIGHT, I INSTRUCTED DBM TO RELEASE THE LAST 3 BILLION PESOS FROM THAT FUND. I WILL NOT HOLD BACK ON MY SUPPORT FOR YOU BECAUSE YOU ARE THE FRONTLINES OF GOVERNANCE.

IN TURN, I EXPECT YOUR LOYALTY -- NOT TO ME BUT TO YOUR OATH -- TO SERVE THE PEOPLE, TO UPHOLD OUR CONSTITUTION AND THE RULE OF LAW, TO SPURN ANARCHISTS AND DESTABILIZERS.

GOOD GOVERNANCE RESTS UPON POLITICAL WILL, ACTION, INTEGRITY. I HOPE THAT THE RESOLUTIONS YOU'VE DRAWN UP IN THE PAST TWO DAYS WILL BE FOUNDED ON THESE IMPERATIVES.

SO, I THANK YOU ONCE AGAIN, MAYORS OF THE VISAYAS FOR YOUR CONTRIBUTION TO OUR ECONOMY, TO OUR CONSTITUTION. MABUHI ANG ATING MGA MAYOR SA VISAYAS! HINA-OT PA UNTA NGA LABAW NGA MAAYO ANG INYONG PAGPAMUNO ARON DALI NATON MADANGTAN ANG ATONG DAMGO NGA MAKUSOG NGA REPUBLIKANG PILIPINO.

DAMO GID NGA SALAMAT SA INYO NGA TANAN.

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