Our political detractors are getting desperate

Not having succeeded in the streets and then in the impeachment, they are now calling for a snap election.

A snap election will certainly snap our political and economic momentum.

It is not only unconstitutionally unsound. It will signal a return to the politicking that the people have rejected.

This is a surefire formula for a banana republic where the next leader will be the object of unending plots and intrigues.

Let us stop this cycle of destabilization. Instead, let us focus on the economy and overhaul our political system through constitutional change.

Let us not abandon the fate and future of 84 million Filipinos to the mercy of a power hungry few.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo welcomed today WinSource Solutions Inc. as the newest player in the country’s burgeoning call center industry, which has been making dramatic contributions to the economy in terms of investments and job generation.

Determined to reach her target of six million jobs before her term expires in 2010, the President has been encouraging the establishment of call centers in the country, slowly creating the nation’s niche as business process outsourcing (BPO) hub in Asia.

The President inaugurated the executive and servicing offices of WinSource at the new Robinson’s Cybergate Tower I along Pioneer Street in Mandaluyong City as part of her administration’s promotion of the offshore BPO industry.

"The opening of your company affirms business confidence in the Philippines as a global force in information and communications technology. We are proud of our highly-skilled and hardworking workforce that is proven to be among the best in the world," President Arroyo said.

WinSource is working on a 1,000-seat plan over a period of five years and plans to hire more than 2,000 contact center workers to man its 24/7 operations and business transactions.

WinSource Solutions Inc. Call Center chairman Teodorico Haresco Jr., president Grant Butsumyo, and Development Mabey Study Foundation chairman David Mabey guided President Arroyo as she toured the premises in the inaugural ceremony.

WinSource Solutions Inc., which is set to become a major player in the offshore BPO industry, offers customer management and accounts receivable management services for companies in the United States.

It will service its customers through digital and electronic software applications and other services and facilities to complete commercial transactions.

Aside from the US, its target markets also include Australia and the United Kingdom-based firms involved in telecommunications and information technology (IT), which have committed to outsource customer-related requirements.

The Philippines ranks as one of the top sites-of-choice for business process outsourcing due to the Filipinos’ excellent work ethic, proficiency in English language, strong government support, and low labor cost, among other factors.

At present, there are at least 63 outsourced contact or call centers in the country that make up about 25,000 seats. The industry raked in total revenues of about US$200 million last year and is projected to raise it to US$1 billion for 2005.

The Arroyo administration has declared offshore outsourcing services, particularly call center operations, as one of the developing sectors committed to support and promote the attainment of 40,000 call center seats.

One of the key strategies of the Arroyo administration’s development agenda is to harness the full potentials of information and communications technology (ICT) through digital infrastructure in bringing more investments into the country.

Malacanang branded today the proposed snap election as a surefire formula for a banana republic where the next leader will be the target of unending plots, counterplots and intrigues.

"Our political detractors are getting desperate. Not having succeeded in the streets and then in the impeachment, they are now calling for a snap election," Press Secretary Ignacio R. Bunye said this morning.

He warned that a "snap election will certainly snap our political and economic momentum."

Describing the snap election bid as another destabilization plot in a different wardrobe, Bunye said the proposal will signal a return to endless politicking that the people have roundly rejected.

"Let us stop this cycle of destabilization. Instead, let us focus on the economy and overhaul our political system through constitutional change," he said.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is spearheading the movement to amend the 1987 Constitution in order to make it more responsive to the economic, political and social challenges of the new millennium.

A key item among the proposed amendments is the shift from presidential-unitary to parliamentary-federal form of government.

Bunye said Malacanang appreciates all efforts to heal the nation’s political wounds and moving "our country forward, but not quick fix remedies that will only push our people deeper into poverty and uncertainty."

The fate and future of 84 million Filipinos cannot be abandoned to the mercy of a power hungry few who have been constantly scheming to grab power to satisfy their personal ambitions, he said.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has ordered the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to build an additional 1,000 new modular libraries to address the severe backlog of public libraries in the country’s public school system.

The undertaking, to be pursued under the "GMA Modular Libraries" program, is primarily designed to reverse the backlog of public libraries in remote public elementary and high schools nationwide.

To carry out the assigned task, DPWH said it will team up with the Bevil Mabey Study Foundation (BMSF) which will help provide the modular libraries with computers and comprehensive reference books.

Aside from equipping the 1,000 libraries with books and computers, DPWH said BMSF, a civic arm of Mabey & Johnson, Ltd. of the United Kingdom, sole supplier of pre-fabricated modular steel bridges for the President’s Bridge Program (PBP), has also committed to build 100 units of the modular library structures.

The additional commitment, DPWH said, will further lighten the demand of its limited resources since it will have to build only 900 of the 1,000 modular library units the President has ordered it to construct.

President Arroyo launched her GMA Modular Libraries program on the side of the formal inauguration of the WinSource Solutions Inc. Call Center in Mandaluyong City this morning.

WinSource Solution, the newest entrant to the country’s call center industry, is part of the Mabey Group of Companies.

During the inauguration, David Mabey, Board chairman of the UK Mabey Group of Companies, handed over to the President a miniature model of the GMA Modular Library.

Mabey said BMSF had actually started the reference books distribution project two years ago with some 100 remote rural schools as recipients. He said solar lighting for the Bevil Mabey library units is also under consideration and study.

The modular library units it will build, Mabey added, would most likely be situated in areas where Mabey & Johnson modular steel bridges have been built, notably in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), the Special Zone of Peace and Development also in Mindanao, and in far-flung villages nationwide.

National Library Director Prudencia Cruz disclosed that to date, only 500 municipal public libraries nationwide have been built since Congress enacted the Municipal Library Law in 1949.

Of the country’s 79 provinces, Cruz said only 40 have provincial libraries; while only 89 out of more than 100 cities have similar facilities, and only 350 out of 43,000 barangays have reading centers, most of which are poorly equipped.

Aside from its support for the GMA Modular Libraries program, Mabey said BSMF has also allotted some P5 million or P1 million annually for the scholarship of orphaned children of slain Filipino journalists in the next five years.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP or Central Bank of the Philippines) reported on Monday that the country’s gross international reserves (GIR) hit an all-time high of $18.6 billion, which further strengthened the peso. 

In a roundtable conference with President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, Trade and Industry Secretary Peter Favila and Finance Secretary Margarito Teves, BSP Deputy Governor Diwa Guinigundo attributed the GIR strong surge to the credible foreign capital inflows and the hike in remittances by overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).

GIR’s components include foreign investments, gold reserves, OFWs’ remittances and other foreign exchange receipts.

Guinigundo said OFWs’ remittances for the first seven months of 2005 posted an impressive 28 percent growth, which reaffirmed the role of OFWs as one of the pillars of the peso’s potency.

"We also acknowledge the capital infused by foreign investors, both portfolio and equity investments, which added to our dollar reserves," he noted. 

"We have exceeded our GIR target of $16 billion," Guinigundo added. 

The BSP official also cited the Supreme Court’s decision affirming the constitutionality of the Expanded Valued Added Tax (EVAT) law and lifting the temporary restraining order (TRO) on it which, he said, renewed the investors’ confidence in the country. 

He likewise expressed his appreciation to Congress for its having crafted new legislations to improve the banking system, the capital market and the overall economic environment. 

Trade Secretary Favila, for his part, said his department will continue efforts to further promote the country’s trade and investments, which have reached P145 billion. 

Today, the Consultative Commission makes history as it embarks on regional consultations to spearhead public debate and discussions on constitutional amendments at the grassroots level.

We reiterate the call of the President to all local governments, non-government organizations, and all sectors to actively participate in these debates and discussions that have a direct impact on our country’s future.

Will our country be able to catch up with its neighbors if the Filipino people agree to a proposed shift from the current presidential form of government to a parliamentary one? What would be the impact of federalism on rural economies and basic government services?

I anticipate that these and other questions would be part of the consultative process to be undertaken by the Con-Com.

As the Consultative Commission (Con-Com) makes its initial foray to the countryside to start the debate on the proposed shift from presidential to parliamentary form of government, Malacanang today called on all sectors to participate actively in the quest for a national consensus on constitutional amendments.

"Today, the Consultative Commission makes history as it embarks on regional consultations to spearhead public debate and discussions on constitutional amendments at the grassroots level," Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said in a statement.

Con-Com members made their first public consultations in Cebu City, the country’s biggest business metropolis outside Metro Manila. From Cebu, they will proceed to Mindanao before setting off for Luzon.

Ermita reiterated the call of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to "all local governments, non-government organizations, and all sectors to actively participate in these debates and discussions that have a direct impact on our country’s future."

He said that among the issues to be discussed during the public consultations is whether the Philippines would be able to catch up with its neighbors if the people agree to a proposed shift from the current presidential to a parliamentary form of government.

Another question dear to the hearts of the people in the countryside is: "What would be the impact of federalism on rural economies and basic government services?" Ermita added

He said the democratic exercise of consulting the public on the proposed Charter change will help the commission come up with the best recommendations on how to speed up national progress and promote national unity through constitutional change.

The Philippines is the only country in Asia still under a presidential system, a government form that has become vulnerable to political gridlock and bickering in the Philippine experience.