PGMA's Speech during the Closing Ceremony of the World Bank-Sponsored 25th Consultative Group Meeting for the Philippines

Rosal Ballroom, Shangri-la Mactan Island Resort Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu (08 Nov 2003)
Thank you, Secretary Camacho.

Mr. Vance Pulley, Governor Garcia, excellencies of the diplomatic corps and heads of the delegation, local government officials who are present here, members of the Cabinet who are present here, members of the delegations to this consultative group meeting, guests, ladies and gentlemen.

First of all, I join Governor Garcia in welcoming you to Cebu. Thank you for being here. We meet at a time when attention is centered on how Philippine democracy weathers its tests.

The situation in the Ninoy International Airport has been resolved. Nothing will ever justify the taking over of an international airport control tower and prejudice the lives of air passengers.

And I must commend the swift and decisive response of our aviation security units to this incident. They were working under the direction of secretary of transportation Larry Mendoza while he was here.

I think that just goes to prove how disaster and terrorist ready the Philippines is.

I'm glad that after a spate of high alarm, for a few hours last night, all passengers, guests, and airport personnel are out of harm's way. I think I can assure the world, after we've shown our swift action last night, that our airport is safe and sound. Let there be no doubt about our physical security and stability.

As to the controversies besetting two of the great branches of government, I make my point clear, that I shall abide by any decision of the supreme court, as the ultimate arbiter and interpreter of the law and the constitution. Nonetheless, I'm gratified that the leaders of the Supreme Court and congress are earnestly considering a draft covenant I submitted to them to ensure principled adherence to constitutional processes and to strengthen democratic institutions in resolving the controversies between them. Again, this shows that there should be no doubt as to our permanent political stability.

The present challenges have not diminished our will or our ability to push on. We will work with more determination to meet our goals -- to reduce the number of our poor by half; to achieve unity and lasting peace for our people; to sustain the rule of law and defeat terrorism and other obstacles that block our path to equitable growth and development.

As we heal the divisions of our society -- and that I'm determined to do -- our country will be able to position itself even better in the face of improved opportunities for growth.

Despite the adversities in the global economy and some internal concerns in the first half of this year, we achieved the highest growth rate since the 1997 Asian crisis. And we are expected to have the 6th highest growth rate for this year among the 21 economies of the APEC region.

We have fortified our macroeconomic fundamentals amidst the fluctuations of global markets and despite the uncertainties brought about by the Iraq war, the SARS scare and the perennial threat of terrorism.

We smoothened out the economic wrinkles brought about by politically-motivated attempts to destabilize the country in the last few months. And last week saw our stock market index at its 20-month high.

Strong fundamentals have kept the economy on a sustained growth path. Our inflation remains tame and in fact the three percent average growth from January to September is much lower than our projections. Meantime, our interest rates have been contained below the target for the year.

Our strong fiscal position in the first half of the year has enabled us to settle our financial obligations. We shall maintain good macroeconomic management.

We will institute more reforms that will allow us to withstand future economic disturbances and enable our most disadvantaged sectors to be more active in the country's economic life.

Changing circumstances have caused us to modify our strategies. For instance, our fiscal scenario has prompted us to shy away from excessive loan assistance. And I'm glad, in fact, that the 2 billion dollars that were pledged here are much higher than what we expected. Because we have become more selective of projects. And while being selective, we have made sure that the projects selected will be implemented quickly and smoothly as possible putting to use the lessons of the past.

With our increased absorptive capacity of the credits and grants from ODA and the improved monitoring of projects, we will get better at infrastructure delivery and capability-building programs. And we have indeed gotten better as the world bank itself has acknowledged.

I was lifted by the presidency by the clamor of a people demanding good governance. And I have made reforms in all aspects of public administration. The lifestyle checks, the creation of the anti-graft commission, procedural reforms in processing documents, the government e-procurement law, the reforms in tax administration are among the measures that enhanced transparency, accountability and effectivity in governance. And we thank donor community for supporting these measures.

We are, of course, especially targeting for our expenditures the pockets of poverty that have become recruitment grounds of terrorists and insurgents. Mindanao is our special focus.

Development and peace always go together. We can only foster lasting peace in Mindanao by promoting its sustained development. Talking peace with the MILF is our consistent priority. But our peace is not for terrorists. We talk peace with secessionists, with insurgents but not with terrorists. We have captured or neutralized ranking Jemaah Islamiyah members.

The programs we have established for the people of Mindanao were made possible with the help of partners like you.

Last September, I asked the president of the World Bank, Mr. Wolfensohn to lead the efforts for a multi-donor trust fund for Mindanao, a multi-million peace dividend' to be operative as soon as a peace agreement between the government and the MILF is forged.

I'm glad to hear that the World Bank is now gearing for the needs assessment phase of this trust fund. And to make this trust fund operable as soon as possible, I am very grateful to the Malaysian government that is facilitating the talks and spearheading the ceasefire monitoring process. At the same time, we are seeking a final round of exploratory talks to wrap up outstanding issues before the formal talks begin.

The MILF has assured us that it is not harboring terrorists, and we appreciate that statement. Therefore, I have instructed our peace panel to send them a list of most wanted persons in Mindanao.

Now that there is growing stability in the field, we would like to put up more confidence-building measures so that the atmosphere can lighten up enough to allow unimpeded rehabilitation and development programs.

It is in the poorest communities where the action is needed, and we don't want to use force as the first option. We want to use development.

With the help of the World Bank and other multilateral institutions and bilateral partners, we can drive up the dividend of peace by keeping alive the hope for a better and more dignified life among the most underprivileged and disenfranchised. Mindanao has been pinpointed, especially the autonomous region, as indeed the most underprivileged and the most disenfranchised. It is also one of the areas where the Jemaah Islamiyah seeks to roost.

They have tried but they have failed. Our coordination with our neighbors and allies is strong and in earnest. We will work together, continue to work together for stability in all fronts -- security, economic and political.

And in working for stability, all these fronts, ladies and gentlemen, I ask you once again to help me and my government bring enduring peace and sustainable development to the Filipino nation.

Thank you so much for your support.

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