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| 05 FEBRUARY 2008 | . | |
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| 05 FEBRUARY 2008 | . | |
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| PGMA commiserates with China over massive devastation wrought by heavy snowfall |
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President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo commiserated last night with the Chinese
people over the widespread devastation wrought by the heavy snowfall that
swept across the eastern and central provinces of that country recently. In her speech at the Spring Festival Reception hosted by the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China (PROC) for the Philippine Chinese community Monday night (Feb. 4) at the Manila Hotel’s Centennial Room, the President said she was honored to join “our Chinese friends on this auspicious occasion.” She pointed out that “Chinese new year is widely celebrated in the Philippines and very popular even outside the Chinese community.” She said that while she was delighted to celebrate the occasion with the Chinese community, “I am also sad about the reports of widespread devastation in many provinces across central and eastern China due to heavy snowfall.” “I speak for the Filipino people in expressing deepest sympathies to those whose family and friends perished in the disaster,” she added. The President said that the widespread “damage to property and the disruption of the normal course of life for many of our Chinese brothers and sisters before the spring season are tremendous challenges -- more snows in China may mean higher world commodity prices this year as demand remains strong while agricultural supplies are badly hit by weather.” “In the face of these trials, the Filipino people stand squarely with the Chinese people in the hope and confidence that resolve and commitment will lead to full recover of all distressed individuals and the complete rehabilitation of all affected communities,” she said. The President also expressed confidence that with the “resilient nature of the Chinese people and under the able leadership of President Hu Jintao, we are sure that the challenges the people of China face now will be overcome.” The President explained that “this disaster and the global economic
situation are a key issue for us because the more interconnected we become,
the more we need to manage through the ups and downs of other nation’s
problems. And this is true certainly with any further volatility in the big
economies of the world.” |
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PGMA's Speech at the 2008
Philippine Energy Summit SMX Convention Center, Roxas Blvd., Pasay City February 5, 2007 |
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Thank you very much, Secretary Reyes. Officials of the Philippine government, members of the diplomatic corps, partners and stakeholders in the energy sector, guests, ladies and gentlemen. I’d like to thank Angie for putting together such a good summit. And I’d like to thank you all for the output and the very practical and concrete recommendations. This is indeed a great day for energy independence as we wind up this summit now ready to implement its recommendations to enhance policies and programs to attract investments and technology and to launch development projects that will impact favorably on energy in the medium-term. In this Energy Summit, we also especially wanted to reach consensus on efforts to moderate energy and power costs – a top concern of investors and ordinary Filipinos alike. Even before crude hit a 100 dollars per barrel, we had instituted a plan for immediate relief, including the rollback in oil tariffs, which recently cut one peso off the diesel price. And today, I’m happy to hear from Ed Chua that there’s another 50 centavos rollback. Thank you. And I’m happy to hear from Secretary Reyes, though Attorney Digor Mendoza did not announce it earlier because Secretary Reyes asked him to give me the honor of announcing it. I’m very glad to hear that Attorney Mendoza, chair of the United Transport Coalition in behalf of the transport sector, is withdrawing their fare increase petition. One of the reasons why they have done that, as he said, it’s not because of market forces but because of the oil sector, the transport sector and the government working together. And one very important factor of government action that led them to do their part is that we have cracked down on ‘kotong’ and colorum activities eroding the earnings of franchised buses and jeepneys. And again, congratulations to Secretary Reyes and his anti-kotong and anti-colorum task force. As part of the safety nets that we have presented even before the 100 crude was reached, I also instructed Secretary Favila to make the Bureau of Consumer Protection petition the Energy Regulatory Commission to grant a bigger electricity discounts for low-income consumers. Now, I hear a recommendation from Raul Concepcion about the VAT reduction. A VAT reduction would require legislation, but as he was talking about coupons, I was thinking -- and this is what we have to study further, Secretary Reyes and Department of Justice -- that perhaps instead of a VAT reduction for the lowest consumers of electricity -- you talked about electricity, Raul? Okay -- why not a VAT refund? Because they can present their coupons and then when the coupons are surrendered to the government, the government can refund those coupons. Where will the money come from? From the Malampaya government share and from our excess profits in the privatization of Napocor and Transco. So that would be implemented by Transco and the PNOC-EC. It’s an idea that we’ve been looking for a long time because we had been hearing recommendations about the government passing on the savings of Malampaya, not getting the dividends. But the problem is we cannot trace the dividends we give up all the way to the consumer and we cannot trace from the convoluted accounting whether they’re really being brought to the doorstep of the consumer. This way with the coupon discount we can really trace that. Indeed, we are always concerned about prices that consumers and industrial users alike pay. We want our power costs to be average for the region. That’s why seven years ago, we enacted the EPIRA. It was supposed to provide competitive power rates for our electric consumers. It provides for open access once we privatize 70 percent of the power generating plants of Napocor. That’s why we’re eager to move along the privatization of Napocor. Not only will it enable open access, it will also free the government of its subsidy. So let me say that this subsidy problem for Napocor has disappeared several years ago. When I came into the presidency, Napocor was bleeding the government to the tune of a hundred billion pesos a year. Now Napocor is in the block. So, congratulations to Napocor as well. And as I mentioned earlier because our privatization efforts have been fetching prices much higher than our reserve price, we have windfall proceeds to subsidize power costs. We in the government, in the cabinet have been cracking our heads how do we use the proceeds of subsidized power cost? And Raul Concepcion’s coupon recommendation is a great mechanism for doing that. We can do this because we made important progress last year with the successful sales of four Napocor generating plants worth a total of more than two billion dollars. This is in addition to the $3.9 billion bid for the concession contract for Transco, where the government received much more than we asked for. And in all these transactions, let me say, that even the losing bidders congratulated us on the transparency of these transactions. We are confident we will be able to sustain this momentum of privatization. And yet, seven years after EPIRA, we continue to experience the high cost of electricity. I’d been wondering and I’d been asking everybody why power costs in the Luzon urban beltway are so high when Luzon is reliant on imported oil for only one percent of its power requirements. Preliminary information from Napocor indicates Meralco buys about 45 percent from Napocor, 45 percent from its own independent power plants, and 10 percent from the wholesale electricity spot market. I’m told that the average selling price of Napocor to all Luzon Electric Cooperatives is P4.11 per kilowatt hour if they buy a 100 percent from Napocor. I’m told that Meralco buys electricity from Napocor and WESM at peak hours, which are more expensive at 6 to 10 pesos per kilowatt hour. So, the general charge of Meralco becomes much higher because of the blended mix. Therefore, I instruct Napocor to charge Meralco the same rate that it charges Luzon Electric Cooperatives. Well, we can’t tell Meralco what to do. We can’t even tell ERC to tell Meralco what do to do. Because ERC is independent and quasi judicial. But I can instruct the DTI, there’s Peter, the DTI’s Bureau of Consumer Protection to petition ERC to enjoin Meralco from buying electricity from WESM at peak hours. They should buy from WESM at non-peak hours so that they will buy at a lower price. We also learned that the charges of Transco are not equally distributed by Meralco to industrial, commercial and residential users. Since they differentiate anyway, again, I instruct the DTI to petition ERC to ensure in the way that the discharges are distributed preferential treatment for the poor households as defined by Ronnie Concepcion and the power-intensive industries as identified by Meneleo Carlos. This will be one way by which the distribution of Transco charges can help alleviate the extra burden of the poor and the intensive power users that need to be competitive. We also learned that Meralco’s system loss is charged as a separate item. Again, I instruct the Bureau of Consumer Protection of DTI to petition ERC to prohibit this. Maybe the reason why system’s losses can be charged separately is what was revealed to us by Ito Carlos. You said that ERC now allows 16 percent return on rate base when before EPIRA it is only 12 percent. Again, we cannot tell ERC what to do. But maybe the consumer group, the industry group, and the DTI can together petition ERC. We also learned that Meralco’s distribution charge is the highest among all 140 distribution utilities and electric cooperatives in the country. Maybe the 16 percent RORB has something to do with it and maybe that will be the solution to bring it down. But let me just add, that VECO, CEBECO and Davao Light all have a lower distribution charge. So, therefore, in petitioning the ERC to stick to 12 percent RORB perhaps that will require Meralco to charge only the same rate as VECO, CEBECO and Davao Light. Another way we could mitigate the high cost of electricity and give our industrial consumers the power of choice is to accelerate the implementation of open access. That was one or two or three of the recommendations mentioned earlier. I mean one of the recommendations but mentioned two or three times. With 42 percent of Napocor generating capacity sold, the consumers still do not have a choice of where they can source the most competitive rates. This is what led us to propose the amendment of EPIRA to remove the 70 percent privatization as a requirement for open access. But the private sector has expressed their willingness, I’m glad to hear, for an early implementation of open access without the 70 percent privatization. I therefore urge the industry players, particularly private generation companies and distribution utilities, to cooperate in finding solutions on how to implement open access now. Our former Secretary of Energy, Vince Perez, who is now with the private sector has been tapped for this, representing the private sector, we hope he and Angie Reyes together can work on the mechanics so that we can have open access now. If we could have it yesterday we would, but now this way instead of putting all our efforts and time and energy on EPIRA, we can prioritize now the Renewable Energy Bill which we have certified as urgent. Indeed, energy security demands the development of renewable and indigenous sources. Of course, including domestic oil and gas but especially geothermal, solar, wind, wave, biofuels. And what father has said earlier, whatever it’s called, we have a science and technology council, PCIERD, which determines where research funds should go. And so therefroe, I instruct PCIERD to concentrate its industrial -- PCIERD means industrial energy... That’s it, Philippine Council for Industrial Energy Research and Development -- so to concentrate on energy. And that would therefore make these funds available. We have made gains in energy independence, of course, with domestic sources having grown about 43 percent since our administration started in 2001. And now domestic sources supply 60 percent of our needs. The strong peso has also helped offset the impact of the rising price of oil. But we must further cut our reliance on foreign oil. And so, I want to take the opportunity today to pay homage to some of our pioneers in energy independence. For instance, the publicly-listed CHEMREZ is producing coco-biodiesel in Quezon City while SEMBER is producing in Lucena City. But, I hear from Artie Yap that both are working under capacity levels for lack of coco oil supply. Therefore Artie, I instruct you to help them look for the supply and to plant more coconut in Luzon. Indeed, we cannot underestimate the contribution of energy to our economy. And we’re encouraged not only by CHEMREZ but also by other major investments in generating facilities. In 2005, we were with Mr. Sabaleta launching the national ethanol fuel program by breaking ground in the San Carlos Bioenergy plant in Negros Occidental. And Mr. Sabaleta do I hear right this will go on stream in December. Congratulations! For indigenous power sources, the windmills in the north are supplying almost all the energy needs of an entire town in the Ilocos. And Vince Perez, as I said who is now back in his private sector role as investment banker, was with me in my last trip to Dubai. And he came home having raised a 150 million dollars to invest in renewables like wind power. The first Philippine-made bioethanol from molasses will be out in March in Ormoc, with an investment from Praj industries -- a result of our India state visit last year. The North Wind Power Corporation in Luzon will be completed this year, right Vince? The Sibulan Hydro-Electric Plant in Mmindanao will be completed in 2009. So may I say, is this right Lorie Tan that hydro power is not to be encouraged? Yeah, not in a large scale. So, we don’t prohibit the private sector from doing it but we will not spend government money on hydro power. There is the Mindanao geothermal coming up in 2010, and KEPCO-NASULO Geothermal and Global Business Power Corporation, all in the Visayas, will be completed by 2010. I believe we will still have a 100-kilowatt gap in 2009 before the power plants come on stream in 2010. But because I have plugged this to our investors many of them are accelerating their gestation period so that they can meet this lap in 2009. In biofuels, because we don’t want to use sugar as much as possible for biofuels -- because we don’t want to compete with food -- Bionor Transformacion of Spain is looking for a 100,000 hectares for Jatropha nursery in Palawan -- a result of our Spain state visit last year. Abengoa of Spain is also interested in 60,000 hectares for cassava bioethanol nursery and they’re looking at Misamis Occidental. And I welcome that because Misamis Occidental has a large number of impoverished population. We must indeed sustain and expand the investments in the delivery of non-traditional fuels as well like again mentioned many times by our speakers, compressed natural gas now available to dozens of provincial buses through mother-daughter CNG stations in Batangas for the mother and Laguna for the daughter. But we must make CNG available not to dozens of buses, we must make it available to hundreds of buses by pursuing large investors who have long expressed interest in building a chain of CNG stations and a natural gas pipeline to the various stations in that chain. PNOC owns a franchise, so therefore I instruct Secretary Reyes and Secretary Favila to pursue all those big names in energy who have said they’re interested in building this pipeline and the chain of daughter stations so that then that is the only way we can have CNG buses all over the region. Solar power is lighting up rural homes in Mindanao. Aside from the projects in the land reform areas, I remember also inaugurating the largest solar power plant outside the developed world in Cagayan de Oro. And I am told by Secretary Reyes that the doe will expand its solar projects in the far-flung areas. The geothermal fields in South Luzon, the Bicol Region, the Central Visayas and some Mindanao provinces make us, in the words of Bill Clinton in his Clinton Global Initiative in Nnew York late last year, the world’s geothermal leader. So, of course, we will continue to do that whether government or private sector. And aside from these investments, I heard a lot of great recommendations today about energy conservation, and they are all important in our quest for energy security. I’ve heard about the phasing out of incandescent lights. So like Australia, we should phase out incandescent lights by 2010. Which will of course require legislation because anytime you require private individuals to do something you need legislation. So the doe will have to prepare the draft legislation. So all of these, are meant, in the words of Lorie Tan, to give us energy security, clean energy security because the unceasing combustion of fossil fuels on a planetary scale is the main culprit of climate change, right? And to us, from rising tides, to changing weather, to deforestation and pollution of air, sea and land, the challenge of climate change is great. As a nation made up of over 7,000 islands, rising seas due to global warming takes on a whole new meaning. The state of Florida may lose some coastline, we can lose a whole nation. Our response to this great challenge may sound facetious, but our intention is deadly serious: we must work together to solve this problem. Every nation, developed or developing, must assume the mantle of leadership and work to address the challenge of climate change. Each and every person bears some responsibility for what we’ve done today and throughout our history to diminish our global environment. That’s why, as Lorie Tan says, it’s not only you and you and you, it’s all of us. Some nations are more responsible than others; some are more responsible today than yesterday. But right now, it’s not the time to apportion blame because apportionment of blame does nothing against a rising tide of global warming that will swamp our nation if we do not act with decisiveness and solidarity. In the case of our country, we have begun a Green Philippines plan. It is a blueprint for mapping out our environment and economic policies, including energy policy, that will allow for sustainable development that doesn’t fall on the backs of the poor or erode our environment. There is a cost to make the Green Philippines come to life. Ito Carlos quantify the cost of moving to incandescent lights. Bigger costs are there in developing alternative fuels, renewable energy, but as Ito demonstrated with the issue of incandescent and fluorescent lights, the cost is greater without the Green Philippines plan. The cost is greater without the investment in our people and our environment. Compounding the challenges we face on the energy front is the global economic situation. This is clearly an issue for us because the more interconnected we become, the more we need to manage through the ups and downs of other nations’ economic bubbles. This is certainly true with any further volatility in the U.S. economy. The good news for the Philippines is that we have matured and diversified our economy so much the last few years that our economic turnaround is permanent and our economy is resilient to major economic disruptions. And to make sure it’s resilient, I have ordered a surge in infrastructure spending as a firewall against U.S. volatility and as a springboard for further growth. We are focused like a laser pointed on the infrastructure boom and the expansion of public services and not on politics. And as far as the infrastructure and public services are concerned, as of last month, there are now lights in all but three percent of the country’s 42,000 barangays. Congratulations! N.E.A., I saw some of them over there. And N.E.A., may I promise that we will be wiring up the remaining 1,400 villages before 2010. Okay. So, at the same time, expect me to see me ground making projects the whole month of February as we frontload our 2008 budget for the surge. You see, Joey Salceda was proposing a 75 billion-peso fiscal stimulus package, which would mean a 75 billion-peso deficit when our economic manager are trying to balance the budget for this year. So, they were sort of having a problem with that and they said besides it might be inflationary and one of the reasons why we’re able to do all these rollbacks is the low level of inflation. So, therefore, while they continue to debate about submitting a supplemental budget, what we do is frontload the budget that we have. Because if indeed the volatility is short and sharp, let’s do the pump-priming now and hope that by the end of the pump-priming quarter we will be back, the world will be back to normal and we would not have suffered at all from it. So, we thank everyone for contributing what they can contribute to our economic stability during this time of economic volatility in the world. We thank the transport sector, the energy sector and the government agencies for working together to help bring relief to the poor during this time of world difficulty. And we thank the DOE, the collaborating agencies like ADB, JAICA, UNDP, USAID, the World Bank. We thank the program partners for this summit. Now, as Angie says, the summit is ended but the work is now beginning. Let us now move in concert. Together, let us fulfill the opportunities in the midst of crisis to sustain our development even in this time of volatility. Thank you. |
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| Administration "focused like a laser pointed on frontloading infrastructure boom" -- PGMA |
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“Focused like a laser pointed on frontloading the infrastructure boom and
expansion of public services.” That was how President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo described her administration in her speech before the Filipino Chinese community at the Spring Festival Reception at the Manila Hotel Monday night (Feb. 4). The dinner that kicked off the Chinese New Year celebration tomorrow (Wednesday, Feb. 6) was hosted by the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China (PROC) at the hotel’s Centennial Room. Enthusing about the resilience of the Chinese people in springing back from disaster – central and eastern China being in the midst of heavy snowfall that has devastated its agricultural lands – President Arroyo revealed to the Filipino-Chinese leaders about how the Philippines itself is keeping its economy resilient. “To keep our economy resilient to major economic disruptions, we have ordered a surge in infrastructure spending – P200 billion from the national government, government corporations and local governments; three thousand kilometers of roads and 10,000 school buildings – these are a firewall against the world volatility and as a springboard for further growth,” The President said. “We are able to do this because of the additional resources generated by our economic reforms. Our economy, through those reforms, has reached a new level of maturity and stability with some of the strongest macroeconomic fundamentals in a generation,” the President added as she thanked Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Song Tao “for acknowledging a 7.3 percent growth rate (in the Philippine economy).” “Seven years ago, no one thought we could get more revenues, cut down on tax cheats, strengthen the peso and move the stock market. No one thought we could bring the budget close to balance, lower our national debt and raise employment, but we have,” the President said. “Today, the Philippines is on a path to permanent growth and stability. Investments are pouring in,” the President enthused, mentioning China’s Jinchuan, Citic and Jilin Nickel as “some of the investors who have expressed interest in projects in the Philippines.” |
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| President takes immediate action on Energy Summit recommendations |
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President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo fired off today several directives
intended to soften the impact of the soaring prices of oil in the world
market on the Filipino people, especially the poor, Philippine businesses
and industries. The directives were issued by the President in response to the recommendations of energy stakeholders at the concluding session today of the four-day Energy Summit at the SMX Conference Hall of SM Mall of Asia in Pasay City. Upon receiving a copy of the output of the Energy Summit from Energy Secretary Angelo Reyes, the President ordered the Department of Energy (DOE) to effect the full and immediate implementation of the open access and retail competition in the power sector in a move to lower the cost of energy to ensure industry competitiveness and protect the welfare of consumers. The President also directed that: - - The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) petition the Energy Regulatory Board to prohibit Meralco from charging system losses, and to stick to the 12 percent and not 16 percent rate of return of investment (RORI). -- Directed former Energy Secretary Vince Perez and Trade Secretary Peter Favila to urge individual players and government to cooperate on how to implement open access now. -- Ask Napocor to sell electricity to Meralco based on the same rate that the former is charging Luzon electric cooperatives. The President noted that Meralco buys from Whole Sale Electricity Market or WSEM during peak hours. -- Instructed DTI to direct Meralco not to buy from WSEM during peak hours as rates are enormous. As to the recommendation of the Summit to scrap the value added tax (VAT) on electricity, the President said such a move would need legislation. For the immediate relief of consumers, instead of scrapping of the VAT on electricity, discount coupons on electric bills would be distributed to the poor. ''VAT reduction would need legislation; why not a VAT refund? the President said. The money would come from government's share in the Malampaya oil drilling project and privatization of Transco. ''We had much more than we asked,'' the President said, referring to the proceeds from the sale of the Transco assets. Reyes said the Energy Summit has come up with several recommendations and action plans on how the country’s economy could ride out the storm posed by the slowdown in the United States economy. The Energy Summit opened on Jan. 29. The meeting continued on Jan. 30 and 31. As earlier agreed upon, the concluding session was held today. |
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| Statement on Secretary Ignacio R. Bunye on Secretary Neri |
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The timely action of the Supreme Court preempted what could have been a
grave injustice to Secretary Neri. We have always maintained that Secretary Neri has already exhaustively testified on a project that has long been cancelled. There was no point subjecting him to further inquisition by the Senate committee. |
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| 'Let's get back to work,' Bunye urges lawmaker |
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Press Secretary and Presidential Spokesperson Ignacio R. Bunye called on all
legislators today to set aside last night’s nominal voting process at the
House of Representatives and instead “get back to work as soon as possible.” Bunye made the call when he was interviewed over dzMM radio this morning, hours after an overwhelming majority of the more than 200 congressmen elected Davao Congressman Prospero Nograles as House speaker vice Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr. The Palace official said lawmakers owed it to their constituents to get back to work and enact laws for their benefit. “We owe it to our people that the legislators should get back to work as soon as possible,” Bunye said. He added that President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo had taken steps to avert the long-winded debate over the speakership from breaking out into a fullblown inter-coalition fighting. The President even convened a caucus of the leaders of the administration coalition leaders in a last-ditch bid to thresh out the issue and arrive at an amicable solution of the “problem.” “Kaya lang nangyari na iyong nangyari kaya siguro let’s just try to get back to work. Let’s try to attend to the problems that we are facing as soon as possible,” Bunye said. |
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| PGMA seeks speedy congressional action on Renewable Energy Bill |
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President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is prodding Congress to take immediate
action on the pending Renewable Energy bill as she stressed the urgent need
to accelerate the development of renewable and indigenous sources of energy
to wean the country away from its dependence on imported oil. In her message this morning at the culmination of the four-day First Energy Summit held at the SMX Conference Center of the Mall of Asia in Pasay City, the President said while the amendment to the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA) pends in Congress, it would be wiser to push for the approval of the Renewable Energy bill. “This way, instead of EPIRA, we can prioritize the Renewable Energy bill which we have certified as urgent,” the President said. The Renewable Energy bill has gathered dust in Congress over the past 10 years. The bill seeks the declaration of a state policy of giving preference to the development and utilization of renewable energy sources and technologies in view of its environmental and social desirability. The President noted that while the government has made remarkable gains in the development of indigenous and renewable sources of energy, there is a need to accelerate efforts to achieve total independence from finite, fossil fuel. “Energy security also demands the development of indigenous and renewable sources of energy, including domestic oil and gas, geothermal, solar, wind, wave and biofuels,” she said. The President said that as a result of government efforts to develop renewable and indigenous sources of energy, the country has slowly lessened its dependence on imported oil. “We have made gains in energy independence, with domestic sources having grown 43 percent since our administration started in 2001 and now supplying 60 percent of our needs,” she said. “But we must further cut our reliance on foreign oil,” she stressed, adding that there is a need for more investments in the energy development area as she cited the interest shown by foreign businesses in pouring their investments into biofuels and bioethanol. Among these foreign investors are the Bionor Transformacion of Spain and Abengoa, also of Spain. Bionor is looking for 100,000 hectares in Palawan for its jatropha nursery, Abengoa needs some 60,000 hectares for a cassava bioethanol nursery. Both investments were generated during the President’s recent state visit to Spain. The President also cited the need to expand and sustain investments in non-traditional fuels such as compressed natural gas (CNG). “We must make CNG available to hundreds, not dozens, of buses by pursuing the large investors in Japan and India who have long expressed interest in building a chain of CNG stations and natural gas pipeline from Batangas to the various stations in that chain,” she said. |
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| PGMA inducts officers of KBP, RPN-9, IBC-13 |
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President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo inducted on Monday night (Feb. 4) the new
set of officers of the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas (KBP) and
those of television channels RPN-9 and IBC-13. The induction, held at Malacanang’s Rizal Hall, was witnessed by Presidential Management Staff (PMS) Secretary Cerge Remonde, himself a former KBP head, and Secretary Conrado “Dodie” Limcaoco, former head of the then Aquino-time People’s TV-4 and now the chief of the Philippine Information Agency (PIA). Dressed in an embroidered red-orange gown,President Arroyo inducted the KBP national officers led by Butch Canoy, chair; Ruperto Nicdao, vice chair; Maloli Espinosa, president; Herman Barbano, EVP; Atom Henares, VP for TV; Manny Luzon, VP for radio; Joselito Yabut, corporate secretary; Fr. Manuel Bongayan, treasurer; and Engr. Armand Ursal, Antonio Ventosa and Albert Sikat, directors. The IBC-13 officers were led by Remedios Petilla, chair; and Roberto del Rosario, president and CEO; while those of RPN-9 were headed by Antonio Albano, chair; and Orlando Mercado, president and CEO. The KBP Manila chapter, on the other hand, was led by the following: Rey Langit, chair; Deo Macalma, vice chair; Manny Luzon, treasurer; and Gerry Zamudio, Angelo Palmones, Eli Saludar and John Manalili, directors. |
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| PGMA bullish about long-term RP-China economic relations |
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President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo said on Monday night she is bullish not
only about the continued growth of the economies of both the Philippines and
China, but also the two countries’ long-term relationship. China has not only vaulted to the top of the list of the Philippines’ biggest export markets, dislodging the United States, but it has also emerged as one of the country’s top sources of foreign investments. Addressing leaders and members of the Filipino Chinese community during the Spring Festival Reception hosted at the Manila Hotel by the Chinese embassy in Manila, President Arroyo said: “We are bullish about the long-term economic prognosis of our two countries and we are even more bullish about our relationship with each other.” The President added that “an aggressive foreign policy is essential to the lifeblood of the Philippines, that is why we are so gratified -- reflecting on our relationship during this Chinese new year’s eve -- that the Philippines and China and our relations with each other have so much to expand and build on in 2008.” For starters, the President cited three Chinese companies – Jichuan, Citic and Jilin Nickel – as “some of the investors who have expressed interest in projects in the Philippines.” “In terms of mining, China is one of the world’s biggest consumers of metal so, for the mining industry, this represents a significant opportunity in terms of mining exploration, development and mineral exports, particularly at a time when we are looking to develop our one trillion dollars worth of mineral reserves across the country,” she said. “We hope to see the nickel and other Chinese investments come to fruition soon,” she added. Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Song Tao led Chinese embassy officials at the dinner reception. The President said “with Beijing hosting the 2008 Summer Games, the Olympics, and China’s rise as the third-largest economy in the world, China’s performance is also expected to bring heightened economic progress in our region.” China’s rise as an economic giant, the President said, is a “significant opportunity for the Philippines” as she stressed that the Philippines’ “overall relations with China are now more confident, mature, and comprehensive.” The RP-PROC relations are “punctuated with substantial and important projects, not just the legal mines, many projects aimed at deepening exchanges in a number of areas, including trade and investment,” she said. She pointed out that China is now the Philippines’ largest “export market and as Ambassador Song Tao has said, we have had a substantial trade surplus with China since 2002.” “Our framework agreement on expanding and deepening bilateral economic and trade cooperation is further enhancing bilateral merchandise trade with China,” said President Arroyo, who advised that both countries should endeavor to close the income-inequality gap. But the President pointed out that although “both our economies are booming – the Philippines with 7.3 percent… and China with its continuing double-digit growth -- like so many places in the world, whether rich and poor alike, we must both fight to close the gap in income inequality.” In the face of uncertainties in the global economy, the President said she remains “cautiously optimistic that both our countries have worked to manage our economy so that we can weather any storm -- whether it be economic or a snow storm or a typhoon in the near term.” In her address, the President wished the “Chinese people all over the world, and especially the Chinese people and the Filipino-Chinese in the Philippines, a happy and prosperous Year of the Rat… (and) may we all have a meaningful and progressive 2008 ahead.” |
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| PGMA's Speech during the Grand Spring Festival Reception hosted by the Embassy of the People's Republic of China |
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Thank you very much Secretary Romulo, Ambassador Song
Tao member to the diplomatic corps, Vice President De Castro, other
officials of the Philippine government, members and leaders of the
Filipino-Chinese community, ladies and gentlemen: It is an honor to join our Chinese friends on this auspicious occasion. Chinese New Year is widely celebrated in the Philippines and very popular even outside the Chinese community. But while we are delighted to be together tonight, I am also sad about the reports of widespread devastation in many provinces across Central and Eastern China due to heavy snowfall. And I speak for the Filipino people in expressing deepest sympathies to those whose family and friends perished in the disaster. The extensive damage to property and the disruption of the normal course of life for many of our Chinese brothers and sisters before the spring season are tremendous challenges. More snows in China may mean higher world commodity prices this year as demand remains strong while agricultural supplies are badly hit by weather. In the face of these trials the Filipino people stand squarely with the Chinese people in the hope and confidence that resolve and commitment will lead to full recover of all distressed individuals and the complete rehabilitation of all affected communities. With the resilient nature of the Chinese people and under the able leadership of President Hu Jintao we are sure that the challenges the people of China face now will be overcome. This disaster and the global economic situation are a key issue for us because the more interconnected we become, the more we need to manage through the ups and downs of other nation’s problems. And this is true certainly with any further volatility in the big economies of the world. To keep our economy resilient to major economic disruptions, we have ordered a surge in infrastructure spending – 200 billion pesos from the national government, government corporations and local governments; three thousand kilometers of roads and 10,000 school buildings – these are a firewall against the world volatility and as a springboard for further growth. We are focused like a laser pointed on frontloading the infrastructure boom and expansion of public services. We are able to do this because of the additional resources generated by our economic reforms. Our economy through those reforms has reached a new level of maturity and stability with some of the strongest macroeconomic fundamentals in a generation. And I thank Ambassador Song Tao for acknowledging a 7.3 percent growth rate. seven years ago, no one thought we could get more revenues, cut down on tax cheats, strengthen the peso and move the stock market. No one thought we could bring the budget close to balance, lower our national debt and raise employment, but we have. Today, the Philippines is on a path to permanent growth and stability. Investments are pouring in. China’s Jinchuan, Citic and Jilin nickel are some of the investors who have expressed interest in project in the Philippines. In terms of mining, China is one of the world’s biggest consumers of metal so for the mining industry, this represents a significant opportunity in terms of mining exploration, development and mineral exports, particularly at a time when we are looking to develop our 1 trillion dollars worth of mineral reserves across the country. We hope to see the nickel and other Chinese investments come to fruition soon. With Beijing hosting the 2008 summer games the Olympics and China’s rise as the third-largest economy in the world, China’s performance is also expected to bring heightened economic progress in our region. We see the rise of China as a significant opportunity for the Philippines. Our overall relations with China are now more confident, mature, and comprehensive, they are punctuated with substantial and important projects not just the legal mines, many projects aimed at deepening exchanges in a number of areas, including trade and investment. On trade, China is now our largest export market and as Ambassador Song Tao has said we have had a substantial trade surplus with China since 2002. Our framework agreement on expanding and deepening bilateral economic and trade cooperation is further enhancing bilateral merchandise trade with China. And even though both our economies are booming, Philippines with a 7.3 percent , the lowest poverty rate, self-rated in actual, unemployment rate down, and China with its continuing double-digit growth like so many places in the world whether rich and poor alike, we must both fight to close the gap in income inequality. We are cautiously optimistic that both our countries have worked to manage our economy so that we can weather any storm whether it be economic or a snow storm or a typhoon in the near term. We are bullish about the long term economic prognosis of our two countries and we are even more bullish about our relationship with each other. An aggressive foreign policy is essential to the lifeblood of the Philippines, that is why we are so gratified, reflecting on our relationship during this Chinese new year’s eve that the Philippines and China and our relations with each other have so much to expand and build on in 2008. And so as we prepare to toast the lunar new year, we wish the Chinese people all over the world, and especially the Chinese people and the Filipino-Chinese in the Philippines, a happy and prosperous year of the rat. may we all have—the Chinese, the Filipinos and our friends from all over the world , may we all have a meaningful and progressive 2008 ahead. Kong Hae Fa Tsoi. Xiexie. |
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| Chinese envoys cites 'positive progress' in RP-China relations |
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There have been a number of “positive developments” in the relations between
the Philippines and China, according to the ambassador of the People’s
Republic of China (PROC) to the Philippines. Speaking at the Spring Festival Reception that he hosted for his Chinese countrymen at the Manila Hotel Monday night (Feb. 4), Ambassador Song Tao stressed that the year 2007, among other accomplishments, “witnessed the positive progress of China-Philippine relations.” With President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo as the guest of honor and speaker in the Chinese New Year dinner, Ambassador Song enthused that bilateral trade between the Philippines and China “grew by 30.8 percent to $30.6 billion, with the Philippines enjoying a surplus of $15.6 billion.” “The frequent high-level exchanges and contacts further deepened our mutual political trust while pragmatic cooperation in various fields has brought about substantial fruits,” the ambassador said. Ambassador Song noted that the two countries “have reached three years ahead of schedule the trade target volume of $30 billion for year 2010 which was set out by (PROC) President Hu Jintao and President (Gloria) Arroyo.” The Chinese envoy -- who thanked the Philippine government for its “consistent adherence to the One-China Policy and support for China’s great cause of reunification” – added, thus: “Friendship and cooperation between China and the Philippines serves the fundamental interests of our two peoples. The Chinese government is determined to further push forward the China-Philippines strategic and cooperative relations, work hard for further deepening of pragmatic cooperation in the area of trade, investment, tourism and culture.” “I am sure that, with the common effort of our two governments and peoples, mutually beneficial and win-win cooperation between China and the Philippines would bear fruitful results,” Ambassador Song concluded. When it was her turn to speak, President Arroyo held the Chinese ambassador to his word “fruitful results,” stressing, thus: “We hope to see the nickel and other Chinese investments come to fruition soon.” Three Chinese companies -- Jichuan, Citic and Jilin Nickel – are just “some of the investors who have expressed interest in projects in the Philippines,” the President said as she revealed that “we are looking to develop our $1 trillion worth of mineral reserves across the country.” |
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