President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo will address on Tuesday (March 8) the 2005 Philippine Development Forum at the Grand Ballroom of the Marco Polo Hotel in Davao City.

The forum is sponsored by the World Bank.

The President will also preside over the joint meeting of the Cabinet and the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) scheduled on the same day at the Mindanao and Borneo Room of the same hotel.

The World Bank-organized forum will have for its theme "Working Together for Sustainable Economic and Social Progress."

Cabinet members scheduled to attend the forum are NEDA Director General Romulo Neri and Secretaries Vince Perez of Energy, Juan Santos of Trade and Industry, Angelo Reyes of the Interior and Local Governments, Michael Defensor of Environment and Natural Resources, and Dinky Soliman of Social Welfare and Development.

While in Davao City, the Chief Executive will also inaugurate the Korean-Philippines Vocational Training Center at the city’s Tibungco district.

The training center is one of three such facilities being developed by the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), funded in part by a US$5-million aid from the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA).

The two other training centers are in Bulacan and Quezon City. Their construction is scheduled to start shortly.

I have authorized the selective lifting of the log ban because thousands of poor families are suffering in areas where alternative means of livelihood are not yet available.

We will continue to fight illegal logging because it is one of the roots of corruption but we will maintain selective legal logging to maintain precious jobs in communities thriving at the margins of the economy.

This will be accompanied by strict enforcement of pertinent laws and making sure illegal loggers do not take advantage of loopholes in the selective log ban.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has directed the Presidential Management Staff (PMS) to oversee and coordinate the implementation of the government’s Roadmap for Jobs Generation after abolishing the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Jobs Generation (OPAJG) and transferring its oversight functions to the PMS.

In Executive Order No. 408 dated March 3, 2005, the President tasked the PMS to review and assess the government’s existing programs, policies and projects towards the realization of the government’s commitment to create six to 10 million jobs until 2010.

The President likewise instructed all other government agencies, including Government-Owned and Controlled Corporations (GOCCs) and Government Financing Institutions (GFIs) to provide the PMS with necessary information to carry out the government’s jobs generation program.

The OPAJG was created under Executive Order No. 333 dated July 19, 2004 to coordinate the effective and timely implementation of the government’s Roadmap for Jobs Generation.

In that EO, various government agencies, including GOCCs and GFIs, were involved in the actual implementation of the program.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo will address the world’s biggest portfolio and corporate investors and update them on the progress of her fiscal reform programs during the Philippines Investment Conference in Cebu City on Wednesday.

Joining the President at the conference are her economic managers, including Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Romulo Neri and Trade Secretary Juan Santos along with Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Deputy Governor Amando Tetangco, Jr.

The President and her economic managers are expected to provide an outlook of the Philippine economy, the steps being taken to address the country‘s rising debt and its impact on Philippine bond spreads, while apprising them on the progress of the government’s program to increase revenues.

The government has laid out a fiscal consolidation plan that explains in detail how it intends to reduce the budget deficit, with the goal of achieving a balanced budget by 2010.

The President is expected to brief the investors on her administration’s programs not only to sustain but increase the current level of foreign direct investments and strengthen the partnership between the government and the private sector in pushing the economy forward.

Investors are likewise looking forward to hearing the President and her economic managers discuss how the increasing international attention to security risks affects the image of the country, and what is being done to ensure that it does not influence the local financial market.

Malacaņang said today that it has not issued nor implemented a gag on media interviews with known subversive groups, stressing the Armed Forces proposal has not been acted upon by the government.

In a radio interview this morning, Press Secretary and Presidential Spokesman Ignacio R. Bunye said he does not know of any issuance from the government that curtails media interviews with such groups.

"This is just a proposal from the Armed Forces," he said. "But so far, there is no new issuance from the government except the existing NTC (National Telecommunication Commission) regulation that was issued in 1989."

The NTC regulation, issued right after the 1989 coup attempt, prohibits the airing of live interviews of forces calling for the overthrow of the government.

Bunye said this regulation is limited to the broadcast media and does not include print.

He clarified that except for the NTC regulation, "wala po tayong alam na anumang restrictions maliban iyong kasalukuyang umiiral na Revised Penal Code. At sa Revised Penal Code ay punishable iyong acts of sedition (We don’t know of any restrictions except that of the existing Revised Penal Code. And that includes Acts of Sedition)," he explained.

The Press Secretary said the President has not issued any comment or reaction on the subject of limiting interviews.

"Kailangang pag-aralan ito (This needs to be studied). But I think the existing regulation is already enough for the meantime," Bunye said.

Press Secretary and Presidential Spokesman Ignacio R. Bunye said today some of the families displaced by the hostilities in Sulu have started returning to their homes in areas no longer affected by the fighting.

Families driven from their homes by the fighting between government troops and the combined forces of Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) renegades and Abu Sayyaf terrorists are temporarily housed in evacuation centers.

"Our latest information is to the effect that some of the displaced families are slowly going back to their homes," Bunye said in a radio interview this morning.

He said the government continues to provide adequate food supplies, care and protection to the evacuees.

Bunye also reiterated the government’s decision not to declare a ceasefire until there’s a better chance for long-term peace to prevail finally in the area.

"All of us want peace. We all want our countrymen to be safe and secure, but we cannot afford to stop the ongoing police operation (in Sulu) as long as certain groups continue to flaunt the law," he said.

He explained that unless the government takes decisive action against the lawless elements, people in the area would be in constant peril and they would be unable to experience peace.

Bunye stressed that government troops are going after MNLF renegades and Abu Sayyaf outlaws, not the MNLF itself. "The mainstream MNLF, the members of the 15 executive committee, are fully behind the peace efforts. They are all for giving peace a chance."

Malacanang today expressed confidence that the Department of Energy (DOE) would be able to convince oil companies to maintain the lifeline rates for critical petroleum products to mitigate the impact of rising prices in the world market.

In today’s press briefing, Press Secretary Ignacio R. Bunye said the hands of the government are tied, and it could not rush Congress into amending the Oil Deregulation Law, until the review of the measure has been completed.

The government ordered the review of the law in an effort to find ways to ensure transparency in price setting and prevent oil companies from manipulating prices to the detriment of the general public.

Oil prices in the world market have been skyrocketing over the last weeks. The price of the US light crude for instance has gone up by 18 percent from its level a month ago.

Bunye explained that the review to be undertaken by the group put together by Energy Secretary Vince Perez would also include proposals to amend the law.

Only if the review has been thorough, he said, could the proposal be acceptable to all parties, including the big players, the new players, oil companies that may be interested in joining the local downstream oil industry, the commuting public as well as the transport groups.

The Palace is counting on the group of congressmen in the United States who have been sympathetic to Manila to block the plan of the Bush administration to cut its economic and military assistance to the Philippines.

In today’s press briefing in Malacanang, Press Secretary Ignacio R. Bunye said the US-Philippine Congressional Caucus has so far been successful in pushing in the US Congress the enactment of laws favoring Philippine interests.

However, Bunye said the news that the US would cut by 30 percent the $124 million economic and military aid to the Philippines should also serve as a wake up call for the entire nation to push for the enactment of measures supporting President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s fiscal consolidation program.

"As much as possible, we would like the assistance to be restored. But it’s also time really for us to consider the possibility of losing all or part of the assistance and look for our own means to provide for our necessities," he said.

Bunye emphasized that the government remained hopeful that its friends in the US Congress would come through for the Philippines.

The same group of 72 legislators forming the US-Philippine Congressional Caucus was responsible for the enactment of laws providing additional benefits to Filipino war veterans who fought side by side with American soldiers in World War II.

"We have very good friends and sympathizers in the US Capital. There’s a group of US representatives who are very sympathetic to our cause and they have, in fact, been successful in pushing for the interest of the Philippines and we will continue to rely on them, as well as on the report of our officials in Washington," he said.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today approved the selective lifting of the log ban, pointing out that thousands of poor families are suffering in areas where alternative means of livelihood are unavailable.

She stressed, however, that the selective lifting of the ban does not mean a relaxation of the campaign against illegal logging. "We will continue to fight illegal logging as it is one of the roots of corruption," the President said.

In a statement, the President explained that the government will "maintain selective legal logging to maintain precious jobs in communities thriving at the margins of the economy."

She said the selective lifting will be "accompanied by strict enforcement of pertinent laws and making sure illegal loggers do not take advantage of loopholes in the selective log ban."

"We will put illegal loggers behind bars while enabling our people to survive while we protect the environment and seek alternative means of enterprise and livelihood," she added.

Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Michael Defensor said DENR is studying the possibility of limiting logging operations to two or three regions.

Under this limited logging option, a production forest will be established in two or three regions while logging will be banned in the remaining 13 to 14 regions, Defensor said.

DENR has identified CARAGA, Southern Mindanao and Western Mindanao as the possible areas for "production forest" in line with the new policy direction.