We are banking on the word of the Senate and the House leaderships not only on the passage of the national budget but also of the VAT bill.

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) have teamed up to protect the rights of displaced Filipinos, find them alternative employment and provide relief if needed for those who are shipped home.

Malacanang today underscored the importance of Congress passing a new General Appropriations Act for 2005, than having the 2004 budget reenacted.

In a radio interview this morning, Press Secretary Ignacio R. Bunye said it would be more advantageous to have a new 2005 budget because it is an updated program of expenditures that includes new projects on livelihood, health, education and other social development undertakings designed to benefit the poor.

Secretary Bunye said the 2005 proposed national budget of P907.59 billion is a vital tool of the administration in its overall drive to re-energize and stabilize the economy and to institute meaningful fiscal reforms in the government.

The House of Representatives passed the national budget in December last year without any cuts. However, the Senate slashed P240 million from the original proposal.

BATANGAS CITY -- President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today vowed to pursue and expedite the construction of a new road from Manila to the port of Batangas to match the fresh P1.3-billion investment by Honda Philippines, Inc. (HPI) in a new motorcycle manufacturing plant in Sto. Tomas, Batangas.

Such a road, she said, would translate to more efficiency the delivery of goods and services between Honda and its business partners and end-users.

The Chief Executive also said an expansion program for the Batangas Port is now in the pipeline.

"I understand that once the new motorcycle manufacturing plant is completed, Honda Philippines will be inviting its sub-contractors and suppliers to come and invest in this beautiful industrial estate (First Philippines Industrial Estate)," the President told the HPI officials.

"When that time comes, we will also construct the road from Metro Manila to Batangas Port," President Arroyo said in her remarks at the groundbreaking ceremonies for the HPI plant.

The Chief Executive noted that soon, the CALABARZON (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon) area will be economically autonomous from Metro Manila , which will translate into more jobs for the area and decongestion of the metropolis.

"We will have decongested Metro Manila and decentralized development in this part of Luzon," she explained.

The President said she hopes the manufacturing sector could help create more jobs to contribute to her 10 million jobs generation target by 2010.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today prodded Congress on the P907 billion 2005 national budget and the expanded Value Added Tax (VAT), saying approval of the General Appropriations Act (GAA) is
"crucial to restoring fiscal control and accountability."

In her address before the Rotary Club of Manila at the Rizal Hall of Malacanang this morning, the President warned that failure to pass the 2005 national budget and the much-needed revenue generating measures would put the country on a collision course with fiscal and economic responsibility.

"Those who oppose the national budget and those who oppose the VAT will set this nation back and put us on a collision course with fiscal and economic responsibility. They will hold this nation hostage to a future devoid of hope by putting petty politics ahead of the national good," the President said.

She also called on the public and the legislators to join hands in paving the way for the passage of the national budget and in generating revenues from the proposed VAT.

"We are all in this together. We must share the pain and share the gain. I’ve said so from the beginning of my term. Hear me clearly: if we don’t make the tough choices today, there will be no choices for us tomorrow," she said.

"The clock is ticking. There’s no time to waste," she added.

The President said passing a "national budget for the first time in two years is a declaration of independence from the politics of denial. This budget will set a clear and unmistakable message that this government and the elected officials who support this budget are accountable to the people we serve."

"I come to you today, centennial Rotarians, as a leader determined to undo the politics of turmoil. I pledge to slowly but surely set a new, steady course for the economic future of this nation," she said.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today hosted a luncheon for the Manila Rotary Club at the Rizal Hall of Malacanang on the occasion of the club’s centennial this year.

"Being the oldest Rotary Club in the Philippines, and the oldest Rotary Club in Asia, I decided to host this luncheon to honor Manila Rotary’s centennial right in Malacanang, in this hall, the Rizal Ceremonial Hall where state dinners are held," the President told her Rotary guests headed by Manila Rotary president-elect Cesar Ubaldo.

In hosting the luncheon, the Chief Executive said she was making up for her failure to attend the club’s centennial ball. "Indeed, 100 years of Rotary in the Philippines deserve a celebration in the Palace of the Filipino people," she said.

The President said aside from being the centenary of the Manila Rotary Club, 2005 is also "a year of urgent change for the Philippines." She made a strong pitch for the approval of the P907 billion national budget, saying approval of the general appropriations bill is "crucial to restoring fiscal control and accountability."

"Passing a budget allows the government to cut wasteful spending and allows the government to invest in the vital needs of the average Filipino, including my pledge on my pro-poor agenda," she said.

"We must cut waste and abuse, we must cut unnecessary government programs, we must redirect taxpayers’ funds and invest in important programs to stop crime, create jobs and educate our children," she said.

The President said that central to responsible governing is responsible budgeting. "The government is committed to fiscal discipline and restraint as our counterpart in the burden of increasing revenues."

She pointed out that the international community, including investors and bankers, will view the approval of the 2005 national budget as a "positive indicator that the Philippines is turning itself around."

Saying she is determined to "undo the politics of turmoil," the President pledged to "slowly, but surely set a new steady course for the economic future of this nation. To do anything less is an abdication of my promise to the people when I took office, to lift up the poor, fight corruption and move our nation forward."

The decision on whether or not to review and amend the Oil Deregulation Law or Republic Act 8479 now belongs to Congress.

Press Secretary and Presidential Spokesman Ignacio R. Bunye made the assessment when asked regarding the Palace position on the existing oil deregulation law during a radio interview this morning.

Bunye said Malacanang is supportive of outgoing Energy Secretary Vince Perez’s opinion on the need to review the oil deregulation law, but the decision on the matter still remains in the hands of the lawmakers.

The Press Secretary said lawmakers in both the House and the Senate would be the deciding authorities on what amendments to make on the oil deregulation law.

Filipinos planning to buy imported second hand vehicles may soon find themselves paying for them as much as their brand new locally built units.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo bared this possibility today in the in the light of the Court of Appeals’ recent decision upholding a lower court’s ruling which allows the importation of second hand vehicles including motorcycles.

The President, however, said she hopes no such tariff hike will happen.

"We will first file a motion for reconsideration. But if we lose the motion for reconsideration, I will simply raise tariff because I have the power to do that," she added.

The President’s statement was in reaction to a question on the issue during her visit today in Sto. Tomas, Batangas where she was guest at the groundbreaking rites for the P1.3-billion motorcycle plant Honda Philippines, Inc. will put up In the area.

Of the P907 billion national budget now pending approval by Congress, the social sector, according to President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, gets the largest share with 28 percent or P250 billion.

In a speech before members of the Manila Rotary Club this noon at the Rizal Ceremonial Hall in Malacanang, the President said that of this amount, the largest slice of P135 billion goes to education.

"The budget will fund the pro-poor agenda including more money for middle class entrepreneurs, clean water in every town and electricity for every barangay, better access to health care, a school in every barangay and a computer linkage to ever high school," the President said as she allowed a glimpse into the major projects to be funded by the proposed national budget.

Eighteen percent of the total amount or P160 billion is allocated to the economic sector, which she said will make sure that in four years time, the investment ratio will increase to 20 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

"More funds will reach the agricultural sector because we want to develop two million hectares for agri-business," she said adding that P19 billion has been set aside for agri-business in addition to the billions of funds available in government financial institutions.

Infrastructure will get P56 billion, she said, to boost the Medium Term Plan to develop trade and investment, particularly agri-business in Northern Luzon and Mindanao, tourism in Central Philippines and industry and logistics in the urban beltway from Clark to Subic through Metro Manila to Batangas Port.

Investments, she said will be more decentralized by decongesting Metro Manila through the rail systems and wider and well-maintained highways North and South.