The government assures the people especially our overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) that Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3 will be open within this year to service their needs. As instructed by the President, this terminal will be OFW-friendly with more immigration counters and lounges for our OFWs.

Customs Commissioner Napoleon Morales as the new head of the anti-smuggling task force has the full backing of the Palace in going after smuggling syndicates and corrupt officials and personnel of the Bureau of Customs (BOC).

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo ordered the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) Monday to establish a Philippine School for Call Center and come up with a scholarship program for 100,000 young Filipinos to bolster the country’s position as a center of the business process outsourcing (BPO) industry.

In her brief message at the inauguration of the new call center facility of Sutherland Global Services at the Export-Import Plaza in Makati this morning, the President said call center companies need world-class personnel and the operation of a "finishing school for call centers" would assure investors of a steady and adequate pool of trained workforce.

"I would like to congratulate Sutherland and their employees on their success here in the Philippines. Sutherland’s expansion in Manila serves as a testament to the highly committed and professional workforce this country has to offer," she said.

TESDA Chairman Augusto Syjuco Jr. said the President has increased his agency's P50 million budget to P500 million to ensure adequate funding for the call center scholarship program.

The over $400 billion business processing outsourcing industry (BPO) worldwide has been growing by 11 percent annually. Many BPO firms prefer the Philippines over other countries because of the availability of a pool of talent, an environment conducive to the call center business and adequate infrastructure facilities.

Call centers in the country are a major employer. Starting with less than 2,000 employes in 2001, the BPO industry is expected to employ 100,000 Filipinos this year.

"Thank you for giving us employment and a share in the multibillion-peso BPO business," the President said.

A New York-based outsourcing firm, Sutherland Global Services set up its facility in the Philippines last year with only 500 employees. It has now 750 workers.

Sutherland officials informed the President that in six months their company’s workforce would double to 1,500.

"The Philippines continues to show great promise as a delivery location, offering advantages of high value at a competitive cost, along with a robust talent pool that will allow us to consistently meet the needs of our Global clients," Dilip Vellodi, chairman and CEO of Sutherland Global Services, said.

Sutherland has also made significant offshore expansion in India (Chennai, Mumbai and Kochi) and near-shore expansion in Canada (British Columbia and Quebec). Sutherland currently employs over 12,000 professionals worldwide.

Sutherland manages a strong global client base, over 70 percent of which are listed among the Fortune 500 in the Banking and Financial Services, Information Technology and Communications, Retail and Healthcare industries.

The company’s service portfolio includes Process Consulting, Back Office Processing, Technology Support, Customer Care, and Account Managements services that address the entire "customer management lifecycle."

The IT business, particularly call centers, has been the major contributor to the President's job creation program which targets to create 10 million jobs by 2010.

Malacanang said today that President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has always exercised her power to hire and fire functionaries in the executive branch judiciously in the public interest.

Press Secretary and Presidential Spokesperson Ignacio R. Bunye said the President is sensitive to the public pulse in the case of some controversial appointments that were eventually rectified.

"President Arroyo has sought to appoint men and women of integrity, drive and competence to government posts," he said, "and this is validated by our strong gains in good governance, political stability and economic growth."

Bunye was reacting to claims made by Civil Service Commission chair Karina Constantino-David that the Office of the President has repeatedly abused its prerogative to appoint government executives, many of whom, she said, have questionable backgrounds or lack civil service eligibility and other necessary credentials.

The CSC chief is the wife of university professor Randy David, one of the demonstrators arrested during a mass action in connection with the celebration of the 20^th anniversary of EDSA I last month.

"The President’s power to hire and fire has been exercised judiciously in the public interest," Bunye assured. "We shall continue to uphold professionalism in the service, purge the misfits and undesirables and make sure the conduct of officials are consistently above board."

Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita and Presidential Chief of Staff Michael Defensor also disputed the CSC chair’s claims.

Ermita said David’s disclosures "were not accurate" and "not valid."

"There is such a thing as presidential prerogative. And when the President makes a choice, nobody should question it."

Defensor, on the other hand, said there was nothing illegal about political appointments.

There will be no sacred cows in the government’s all-out war against smuggling.

This much, Malacanang assured today, after President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo appointed Customs Commissioner Napoleon Morales as the new head of the anti-smuggling task force which will run after smuggling syndicates and corrupt officials and personnel at the Bureau of Customs.

"The President has made it clear to Commissioner Morales that there are to be no sacred cows in this all-out effort to fight smuggling," Press Secretary and Presidential Spokesperson Ignacio R. Bunye said in a statement.

He added that in line with the President’s instructions, the BOC is now undertaking all necessary reforms to increase its collection efficiency and improve its services.

"As the new head of the anti-smuggling task force, Commissioner Morales has the full backing of the Palace in going after smuggling syndicates and corrupt officials and personnel of the BOC," he stressed.

Morales replaced then Interior and Local Government Secretary Angelo Reyes who now heads the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

"The elimination of smuggling and violations of Customs laws remain among the top priorities of the government because these acts deprive the government of needed revenues and unfairly compete with legitimate business," the President said in appointing Morales.

The Philippines will host a three-day international counter-terrorism conference at the Shangri-La Mactan Island Resort and Spa in Mactan, Cebu on April 20-22 amid continuing worries over terrorist activities in the region.

The key objective of the First Counter-Terrorism Experts Conference (CTEC) is to "extensively explore a realistic middle ground to counter-terrorism, a strategic policy response that is development in nature, takes into account sub-regional approaches, rationalizes capacity-building, addresses peculiar causes and conditions and allows developing countries to strike a balance between counter-terrorism assistance and protecting their cultures and religions."

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo first announced the holding of the conference during the meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) leaders with US President George W. Bush on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit in Busan, Korea in November 2005.

Keenly aware of the need for balance and moderation in the fight against terrorism, the President has pursued a middle ground in the quest for a comprehensive, socially just and "principled" peace process in Mindanao.

She has also carried the banner in promoting tolerance and broader solution of conflicts through interfaith dialogue as a policy response to conflict.

The CTEC will identify key dilemmas and difficulties in fighting terrorism from global, regional and national perspectives, and map out areas of convergence in counter-terrorism efforts through exploration of strategic and practical responses to address peculiar causes and conditions to sustain peace and development strategies while prosecuting the war on terror.

The conference is expected to come up with a declaration establishing the common counter-terrorism position of experts, particularly the "middle way" for those that live with and take direct responsibility for dealing with the threat.

The theme of the conference is "Defeating Dilemmas in Counter-Terrorism."

Lending substance to the theme will be five sub-themes: strengthening the basics, finding a realistic middle ground, understanding regional and sub-regional approaches, bridging the gaps and balancing assistance, and paving the middle way.