January 15 2008

Pahayag ng Pangulong Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo sa Pagbubukas ng Pulong ng National Security Council - National Anti-Poverty Commission - Cabinet Group
Aguinaldo State Dining Room, Malacanang
January 15, 2008

Mga kababayan, sa bisa ng lumalago nating ekonomiya at kaban ng bayan, masigasig na ang takbo ng mga proyekto ng pamahalaan sa imprastraktura, tulong sa masa, at paglaban sa katiwalian. Sa araw na ito, susuriin ng National Security Council-Cabinet Group at National Anti-Poverty Commission-Cabinet Group ang mga programa kontra sa kurakot at para sa kabuhayan, pagpaplano ng pamilya, ang pag-aalaga ng ating mga mamamayan sa ibayong dagat.

Upang di maantala ang mahahalagang proyekto at programa, nananawagan tayo sa Kongreso na agad makabuo ng kasunduan sa pagitan ng Senado at Kamara, at ipasa ang budget sa lalong madaling panahon. Ito ang pondong makapagpapalawak ng tulong sa maralitang nahihirapan kapag tumataas ang presyo ng pagunahing bilihin dahil sa pagtaas ng presyo ng langis sa buong mundo. Kailangan din ito upang matapos ang mga patubig at farm-to-market roads bago dumating ang susunod na taniman. Sa gayon, aangat ang kita ng magsasaka at dadami ang pagkaing abot-kaya. Ito ang mabisang tugon sa pagtaas ng bilihin dala ng tumatalong presyo ng langis sa mundo.

Samantala, rerepasuhin natin ang mga programa ng Presidential Anti-Graft Commission, Department of Finance at Department of Budget and Management upang maging mas malinis ang palakad ng pamahalaan at masigurong mapupunta sa taong bayan ang lahat ng biyaya mula sa lumalagong ekonomiya at kaban ng bayan. Kasama rito ang mas masigasig na pag-iimbestiga at pagtanggal sa mga tiwaling opisyal, at ang pagmamasid ng mga samahang civil society sa pagkokontrata ng mga ahensiya sa pamahalaan.

Sa lahat ng ating pagsisikap para sa kaunlaran at investment, napakahalaga ang katatagan ng lipunan, na kailangan upang makasulong ng mabilis ang mga programa ng gobyerno, at makaakit ng pribadong investment para sa dagdag trabaho.

Magkapit-bisig tayo, mga kababayan, at sama-samang isulong ang pag-unlad ng sambayanan.

Maraming salamat.

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PGMA asks Congress: Pass the P1.227-T 2008 budget

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo called today on both chambers of Congress to pass the proposed P1.227-trillion national budget for 2008 the soonest possible time to avoid delay in the implementation of the government’s priority projects and programs.

The President made the call in her opening statement at the National Security Council (NSC)-National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC)-Cabinet Group meeting at the Aguinaldo State Dining Room in Malacanang this morning.

“I ask Congress to pass the 2008 budget to avoid delay in the implementation of important programs and projects. These are the funds needed by government to help the people, especially the poor, cope with rising prices of basic commodities brought about by the increasing prices of oil in the world market,” the President said in Filipino.

The President also said the national outlay is necessary to complete ongoing irrigation and farm-to-market road projects before the next crop season begins.

“With the needed vital infrastructures in place, the farmers’ income would increase and there would be abundant and steady supply of food,” the President said, adding that it is the best means to counter the rise in the prices of basic commodities.

Congress failed to approve the proposed P1.227-trillion 2008 budget before it went on its Christmas recess last December as the Senate questioned the amount of P13.5-billion supposedly inserted by the House of Representatives.

The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) has said that the ”insertion” is not part of the original budget proposed by the Executive branch and urged the House to scrap the provision to break the impasse.

Last year’s P1.126-trillion budget was also delayed for three months due to a disagreement between the House and the Senate on the funds allocated for the food-for-school program.

The President signed the 2007 General Appropriations Act (GAA) in March.

The government operated on a reenacted outlay in 2006.

The proposed 2008 national allocation is P91 billion higher than the 2007 general appropriations of P1.126 trillion. Of the P1.227 trillion allocation, P11.5 billion will fund infrastructure projects mentioned by the President in her State-of-the-Nation Address, Budget Secretary Rolando Andaya said.

Under the proposed 2008 budget, the focus is on priority sectors like infrastructure facilities, education, health, science and technology, including housing and salary adjustments for the state workers.

The top gainers in terms of budgetary allocations this year are the Departments of Education (DepEd), P3.320 billion; Science and Technology (DOST), P1.876 billion; Health (DOH), P2.715 billion; Transportation and Communications (DOTC), P2.594 billion; Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), P776 million; Public Works and Highways (DPWH), P13.830 billion; National Housing Authority (NHA), P4.43 billion; salary adjustments, an additional of P30 billion which will be fully implemented next year, and P11 billion for the implementation of the Salary Standardization Law.

The allocation for the Commission on Elections (Comelec) was pegged at P2.63 billion for the full poll automation in time for the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) polls and the 2010 national and local elections.

The Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) remains the same under the proposed 2008 budget, while the Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA) was increased by 14 percent from 2007’s P183.9 billion to P210.3 billion.

The President said she convened the meeting so the NSC and NAPC-Cabinet Group could reassess government’s programs on livelihood, family planning and the plight of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) as the economy sustains its growth.

She added that the Cabinet Group would also reassess the programs of the Presidential Anti-Graft Commission, Department of Finance and Department of Budget and Management against corruption to ensure that the economic gains would benefit the people, especially the poor.

“Included in the discussion is the investigation and dismissal of corrupt officials,” she said.

The President stressed anew the importance of peace, security, and a stable institution in achieving progress and prosperity and in attracting more investments to create more new jobs.

“Let us all join hands and unite in pushing our country to progress,” the President said.

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Gov't vows to intensify drive vs. graft, corruption

The Cabinet vowed today to wage an intensified campaign against graft and corruption to ensure that the benefits of the growing economy would trickle down to the people, especially the poor, unmarred by corrupt practices.

The Cabinet’s decision to tighten the screws on corruption in the bureaucracy was reached during the National Security Council-National Anti-Poverty Commission-Cabinet Group (NSC-NAPC-CABG) meeting this morning at the Aguinaldo State Dining Room in Malacanang.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo presided over the meeting.

The joint meeting took up several proposals of the Presidential Anti-Graft Commission (PAGC) to crack down on grafters, including the issuance of the implementing rules and regulations of Republic Act No. 9485 or the Anti-Red Tape Act of 2007.

President Arroyo signed RA 9485 last June 2.

The Act requires all government offices, including local government units and government-owned and controlled corporations (GOCCs) to expedite action on all transactions as well as upgrade their frontline services dealing with the public to avoid red tape.

RA 9485 also states that heads of government offices are accountable to the public in rendering fast, efficient, convenient and reliable services. It also requires agencies concerned to act on pending papers within five working days involving simple transactions, and a minimum of 10 days for complex cases.

The number of signatories in any document is limited to a maximum of five.

One of the fiscal reforms initiated by the Arroyo administration, RA 9485 seeks to cut bureaucratic red tape, clean up transactions in the government and imposes stiff penalties on violators.

Another PAGC proposal taken up during the group meeting was the implementation of Executive Order (EO) No. 670 which seeks to amend EO 531 seeking to speed up the processing of cases of the PAGC by transforming the commission from a recommendatory to a quasi-judicial body.

Another proposal was to pilot the Anti-Corruption Scoreboard and call for the immediate passage of the Right to Information Act, Whistleblowers Act and House Bill 3003 that seek to compel the government to publish the income tax returns of all government officials, whether they are elected or appointed, in a move to lessen if not eradicate corruption.

With PAGC, the annual conviction rate of erring government personnel rose by almost 60 percent in 2007 from only six percent in 1987 when PAGC was created.

The number of cases against the so-called “big fish” charged before the Sandiganbayan also rose from 124 in 2004 to 336 in 2005 and 512 in 2006 or an 89 percent increase.

The President, in a move to rid the government of graft and corruption, has doubled the budget of the Ombudsman since 2002 to P974 million 2007.

With the increased budget, the Ombudsman was able to hire about 50 new prosecutors and 200 investigators.

The commission said, however, that the fight against graft and corruption could not be accomplished by the government alone. For the anti-corruption campaign to succeed, it needs the support and vigilance of the civil society, religious groups, the academe, the business community and even the international financial community.

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PGMA transfers OMA to OPAPP

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo ordered today the transfer of the Office of Muslim Affairs (OMA) to the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP).

The President issued the order during the National Security Council-National Anti-Poverty Commission-Cabinet Group (NSC-NAPC-CABG) meeting in Malacanang today that discussed a wide range of issues including the plight of overseas Filipino workers.

An Executive Order (EO) will be issued by the President to effect OMA’s transfer to the OPAPP.

At the same time, the President ordered OMA to “stop issuing late birth registrations.”

The presidential order was issued after Labor Secretary Arturo Brion reported that some 228 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) deployed to various parts of the world were suffering from mental illness. Most of the cases were in the Middle East, with 178 cases.

In Kuwait, 35 OFWs were reported to be suffering from mental illness, Riyadh, 33; Lebanon, 21; Jordan, 19. Twenty-four more mental ailment sufferers among the OFWs were reported in Europe, and 26 in Asian countries.

In the wake of the report, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) proposed a tighter medical screening processing of those leaving for jobs abroad.

The DOLE said the many reported cases of mental illness among OFWs maybe due to the absence of actual physical and mental screening despite, misrepresentation or error in the issuance of health certifications.

Brion said instruments used in assessing mental conditions are limited in scope and the tests may not capture accurately the mental condition of an OFW.

The problem is aggravated by such factors as unfavorable work environment, cultural differences, language barrier, and emotional stress, Brion said.

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said that stricter checks of birthdates and other information in passport applications must be implemented.

DFA also recommended the blacklisting of those found violating passport regulations and the imposition of stricter regulations on the private sector, including travel agencies, from intervening in passport applications.

The Anti-Trafficking in Persons program of the inter-agency Council on Anti-Trafficking must also be intensified, DFA said.

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15 JANUARY 2008		.