The more we bite the bullet, the earlier we reap the fruits of our sacrifices. I appreciate the solid outlook of the business sector on the economy and we shall match growing confidence by a stronger resolve to fight corruption, forge national unity, uphold the politics of performance and drive charter reform forward.

I ask for greater consolidation and support for the key linchpins of global confidence—fiscal soundness, united institutions of governance, effective social justice programs and the rule of law—and mustering our gains to fight poverty.

I order the police to clean up all drug enclaves in the metropolis, whether they are in the slums or the affluent neighborhoods. These are nests of ruin and criminality that should never be allowed to fester.

Politicians or law enforcers who are involved in the drug trade or who neglect their duties should be dealt with sternly. The young victims should be brought in for rehabilitation while the hard core criminals must be prosecuted and jailed.

Describing the drug problem as a sign of corruption, social decay and familial disintegration, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo ordered the police today "to clean up all drug enclaves in the metropolis, whether they are in the slums or the affluent neighborhoods."

The Chief Executive issued the directive a day after the Philippine National Police raided a big "one-stop market for shabu" in a shanty neighborhood in Pasig City and arrested more than 300 people, including women and children, believed to be drug users and pushers.

The drug den was considered by the police as the biggest of its kind discovered by law enforcement authorities in the country.

The National Capital Regional Police Office chief, Director Vidal Querol, described the busted drug den as "a flea market of illegal drugs activity."

In a statement released by Malacañang this morning, President Arroyo noted that drug enclaves "are nests of ruin and criminality that should never be allowed to fester."

She also warned that "politicians or law enforcers who are involved in the drug trade or who neglect their duties should be dealt with sternly."

At the same time, she said the young victims of the drug trade "should be brought in for rehabilitation while the hard core criminals must be prosecuted and jailed."

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo expressed today her appreciation of the business sector’s solid outlook on the economy, saying her administration will match growing confidence by a "stronger resolve to fight corruption, forge national unity, uphold the politics of performance and drive charter reform forward."

"The more we bite the bullet, the earlier we reap the fruits of our sacrifices," she said in a statement referring to the economic reforms the government is implementing to shore up the economy, among them the reformed value added tax (RVAT).

Proof of this solid outlook was Standard and Poor’s upgrading of the country’s credit rating from negative to stable resulting in the peso’s highest performance in three and a half years that perked up the market.

The peso closed at P51.48 on Friday, its highest finish since ending at P51.30 on Aug. 2, 2002.

"The stable outlook reflects revised expectations concerning the prospects of policy continuity and adherence to fiscal consolidation, which foreshadows improved chances for overall deficit reduction and stabilization of the country’s debt dynamics," S&P said in a statement.

S&P’s stable credit rating offset rival Moody's Investors Service’s earlier decision to leave its ratings on the Philippines unchanged.

But foreign and local investors ignored Moody’s move to maintain its negative outlook as the peso continued to seek higher ground while yields on Philippine bonds narrowed further as the financial market cheered the change.

So elated was the President that she asked the nation for greater consolidation and support for the key linchpins of global confidence – fiscal soundness, united institutions of governance, effective social justice programs and the rule of law – and mustering these to fight poverty.

Some 935 urban poor families who used to be squatters in Paranaque City finally realized their dreams of owning a home after President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo awarded them their documents of ownership in simple rites today at the Paranaque City Hall.

"Congratulations to all our new lot owners and home owners, you are not squatters now," the President announced in her brief remarks.

The President personally distributed the certificates of lot occupancy, certificates of lot entitlement and conditional contracts to sell to the leaders of the homeowners’ associations for the Paranaque Coastal Socialized Housing Project and Baclaran-Tambo Socialized Housing Project.

The President informed the residents that the United Nations had earlier commended the Philippines for the good housing program of the government.

Upon her arrival, the President led the ribbon cutting and unveiling of the marker of the newly constructed annex building of the City Hall where the fully air-conditioned assessor’s office and tax payer’s lounge are located.

Accompanying the President in her visit were Presidential Chief of Staff Secretary Michael Defensor; Silvestre Bello III, general manager of the Philippine Reclamation Authority (PRA); Amado Bagatsing, vice chairman of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC); Federico Laxa, general manager of the National Housing Authority, and Percival C. Chavez, chairman of the Presidential Commission for the Urban Poor (PCUP).

Paranaque 1^st District Representative Eduardo C. Zialcita, City Mayor Florencio Bernabe Jr. and Vice Mayor Anjo Yllana assisted the President in the ribbon-cutting and unveiling rites.

In his welcome remarks, Mayor Bernabe said the distribution of the lot occupancy and lot entitlement are clear manifestations of the President’s determination to push through with her 10-point pro-poor agenda to help uplift the lives of the urban poor families.

Zialcita informed the President that the Gawad Kalinga, a non-governmental organization, and the leaders of the Rotary Club of Paranaque have expressed their commitment to help the city government to build more or less 100 houses in the two socialized housing projects.

The beneficiaries of the Paranaque Coastal Socialized Housing Project are residents of Sto. Nino De Coastal Neighborhood Association, Damayan Neighborhood Association, La Huerta-San Dionisio Neighborhood Association, Seaside Square Neighborhood Association, SAMAKIBA Neighborhood Association, and Back of Lorenzana Neighborhood Association.

These areas are properties of Public Reclamation Authority (formerly Public Estates Authority) located along Coastal Road in Barangays Tambo, Don Galo, La Huerta and San Dionisio of the first district of Paranaque City.

For the Baclaran-Tambo Socialized Housing Project, the beneficiaries are the residents of Sitio San Juan Neighborhood Association, Sitio Sta. Rita Neighborhood Association, Sitio Maligaya Neighborhood Association and Puyat Compound Neighborhood Association.

Sitios San Juan, Sta. Rita, Maligaya and Puyat compound are the sites that the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) agreed to dispose to their occupants through Presidential Proclamation No. 135 dated July 5, 1999 with the National Housing Authority (NHA) as administrator.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo commended today the performance of concerned government agencies and the support of the local business sector in raising investor confidence and improving the country’s economy.

"I would like to thank the good performance of government agencies, like the BSP (Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas) and PEZA (Philippine Economic Zone Authority), and the confidence of the businessmen in the stock market and establishing factories and offices," the President said during a roundtable discussion this afternoon at the Kalayaaan Hall in Malacanang.

Present during the discussion were former Prime Minister and Finance Secretary Cesar Virata, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Deputy Governor Diwa Gunigundo, Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) Director General Lilia de Lima, Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) president Francis Lim, and Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) president Donald Dee.

To make prices stable, Gunigundo told the President that the BSP is making sure there is enough money in circulation to enhance the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and attain the inflation target of four to five percent this year.

Gunigundo said there is a big task ahead because of the increase in the price of oil in the world market, but added this could be cushioned by the continued strong performance of the peso that closed Friday at P51.48 to the dollar.

De Lima also informed the President that the identities of big investments in the country would be announced within February or early March.

Last year, De Lima said investments grew by 32.6 percent, exports by 6.2 percent, and employment by one percent.

During the discussion, the President sought the advice of Virata, as an economist and former finance secretary and prime minister, on how to further raise the country’s economic growth so its fruits would be felt by the ordinary Filipinos.

Virata said the early passage of the 2006 national budget is crucial to further boost investor confidence which, he added, would greatly benefit the education, health, social services and infrastructure sectors.

While waiting for the passage of the 2006 budget, the President said the government has pump-primed the economy by frontloading fund releases to the education and health sectors.

"This year we have already released P500 million for school buildings, P500 million for high school vouchers, P500 million for Food for School program, and P500 million for college scholarships," the President said.

She added that P500 million was released for the health insurance program and another P500 million for the acquisition of half-priced medicines that would greatly benefit the poor.

To make major infrastructures not too much dependent on the budget, the President said the Philippine Infrastructure Corporation was established to take care of the improvement and rehabilitation of the South Luzon Expressway and the construction of the Laguindingan Airport in Cagayan de Oro City.

The Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) is also taking care of the Clark-Subic road infrastructure projects, she added.

Lim, for his part, told the President that the PSE has a very positive outlook for 2006 and they would work hard to outperform the 15 percent stock market growth in 2005, a close second in the Southeast Asian region performance last year.

The Standard and Poor’s upgrading of the country’s credit rating was seen as a result of pump-primed spending in health, education and infrastructure that perked up the market, aside from government efforts to reduce inflation and cushion the impact of high world oil prices.

Dee said credit rating agencies, at present, see the better budget situation of the country.

Dee said Moody’s Investor Service, on the other hand, is likely holding up a possible upgrade of the country’s credit rating as it still wants to see an additional P75 billion increase in tax collection and the passage of the 2006 national budget.

Dee said he just returned yesterday from Seoul, South Korea where many sectors are interested in investing in the energy and infrastructure sectors.