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Speech of Cerge M. Remonde on the Overview of the Pro-Performance System General Membership Meeting of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) |
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Rizal Ballroom B, Makati Shangri-La Hotel, Makati City |
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07 May 2008, 12:00 Noon |
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Ambassador Donald Dee, the distinguished Chairman of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, who is also special envoy of the President for Trade Negotiations, and active business sector representative to the pro-performance system or PPS Steering Committee, the rest of the officials and members of the PCCI, distinguished guests led by no less than ___________ (indicative list of guests to be supplied by PCCI later), ladies and gentlemen. I am truly pleased to join all of you in this highly important PCCI General Membership Meeting. Thank you Ambassador Dee for the kind invitation. Through all these years, PCCI has been a potent and reliable partner of government in bringing vital programs and services to our people, most especially the much-needed infrastructure projects. Thus, I come here to personally extend my heartfelt gratitude to PCCI, for your dedicated service and commitment to the well-being of all Filipinos, and to once again ask for your commitment to more of the same services in the years to come. It is truly apt and fitting that we apprise you today of the status of the government’s priority infrastructure projects, so that together, we might find new ways for PCCI to help government, particularly in implementing, completing and monitoring these priority infrastructure projects. I am happy to inform you that under the aegis of PPS, we already conducted a series of national government infrastructure forums nationwide, as part of president arroyo’s commitment to the business community and to other stakeholders to regularly apprise them of the status of the priority infrastructure projects, receive their feedback, and resolve implementation issues promptly. Last March, we successfully held the 3rd National Government Infrastructure Forum in Davao City. The forum focused on the priority projects in Mindanao. We also inspected the Sasa Port in the same city. The forum elicited feedback from the local government units and other Mindanao stakeholders on the government’s priority projects. Prior to the Mindanao forum, two other fora were held previously. The first in October 2006 where we introduced the super regional development strategy. The second, in May 2007, where we provided insights on the priority infrastructure projects to the Luzon Urban Beltway business community. Vision of a modernized society Allow me to start this presentation by first walking you through the president’s vision and roadmap for the country. President Arroyo, in her 2007 State of the Nation Address, envisioned the Philippines as a modernized society in 20 years. This is the central theme of the Medium-Term Philippine Development Plan (mtpdp) and the Medium-Term Public Investment Program (MTPIP). Super regional development To realize this vision, the president unveiled the super region as the development blue print. The “super region” strategy groups regions and provinces by their economic strengths and provides for massive infrastructure investments to stimulate economic growth, spread development away from an inequitable concentration in Metro Manila, and set the country in step with its Asian neighbors. The following super regions were formed with their respective development themes:
Each super region’s development thrust shall be realized through the implementation of infrastructure and social projects. The president, in close consultation with the business community, local government units, and civil society, identified 149 priority infrastructure projects to be completed by 2010. Super region projects In the North Luzon agribusiness quadrangle, the government, with the support of local government units and the private sector, shall invest in a total of 23 priority infrastructure projects designed to promote agribusiness, improve the delivery of agricultural produce from farms to markets, and increase farmers’ incomes. Of the 23 priority projects, the Dingalan port and the La Trinidad processing plant have been completed. We expect the completion of the Casecnan irrigation project, which will irrigate 81,920 hectares of farmland and serve 26,920 farmers, this December. In addition, by June 2008, under the nationwide small irrigation program, 96 small irrigation projects will be completed, which will irrigate 13,497 hectares of farmland. For the Luzon Urban Beltway, we are implementing 38 priority infrastructure projects to promote a globally competitive logistics and services center, improve and integrate the transport infrastructure system, and enhance the delivery of goods and services. As of end-February this year, four (4) projects in the LUB have been completed, namely, the Cawit port in Boac, Marinduque; the Lucena port in Quezon; the Batangas port in Batangas City; and the Subic port in Zambales; while the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway, Southern Tagalog Arterial Road, Porac Interchange, and Kamanava flood control projects are due for completion this year. Stating the obvious, the Central Philippines’ competitive advantage lies in its unique and lush greenery, bio-diverse ecosystem, beaches, and other natural wonders. The government’s thrust is to invest in its natural competitive edge through 53 priority infrastructure projects, such as railways, roads, ports, airports, and power projects. Thus far, ten (10) priority projects have been completed, namely the new Iloilo and new Bacolod-Silay airports, the Bohol Circumferential Road, and the ports of Jagna, Maasin, Tubigon, Ubay, Pantao, Siquijor, and Limasawa. This year, we expect the completion of 16 more projects, which includes the access road to the Bacolod-Silay airport, nine (9) other ports, four (4) airports, and two (2) power projects. To determine whether completed projects are operational and beneficial to its target stakeholders, the PPS secretariat conducted community benefits assessment in April 2008. Most notable in its developmental impact are the Bohol Circumferential Road and the Tubigon, Jagna and Ubay port in Bohol. The projects have been highly instrumental in Bohol’s high economic progress. The improved transport facilities aided in the remarkable transformation of the province into one of the top 20 most improved provinces in 2007 from its mark on the 20 poorest provinces in 2000. The road and port projects have intensified the province’ economic growth and showcased its place in the tourism industry. Rightfully named as the food basket of the Philippines, Mindanao accounts for 40% of the country’s food requirements and contributes more than 30% to the national food trade. It is only rational that the Mindanao super region’s central development theme be agribusiness development. This is why the government is investing in 27 priority infrastructure projects, which will not only support agribusiness development, but also provide greater access to Mindanao, thereby energizing the region, and bringing development closer to the people of Mindanao. These projects consist of seven (7) airports, two (2) ports, nine (9) roads, eight (8) power, and one (1) major irrigation project, with a total cost of almost P73 billion. We are also constructing small irrigation projects, and farm-to-market roads to serve our agribusiness farmers in Mindanao. To date, three (3) of these projects have been completed, namely the Diosdado Macapagal Bridge in Butuan, the 210-mega watt clean coal plant in PHIVIDEC, and the 950 kilo volt photovoltaic powerplant in Cagayan de Oro. The last, the photovoltaic powerplant, is particularly significant as a new and renewable energy source, and plans to uprate its capacity to as much as 20 mega watts, making it the biggest in Asia, are already underway. We expect some seven (7) more projects to be completed this year. This includes the Dinagat Island Road and the airports in Zamboanga City, Butuan, Pagadian, Dumaguete, Dipolog City, Ozamis City, Cotabato City and Laguindingan. The government shall also complete 271 small irrigation projects, which will provide water to 11,191 hectares of farmland and 33 farm-to-market roads worth p252.59 million in Mindanao. In the cyber corridor, the government is prioritizing two (2) major infrastructure projects. These are the BIR Revenue Dash Board and the Cyber Education Project. In addition to these, the government is also developing ICT hubs across the country. Pro-performance system To accelerate the implementation of these infrastructure projects and to ensure that these are completed on time and in the most cost-effective and transparent manner, the president created the Pro-Performance System or PPS. The president further mandated the PPS to “be merciless in ripping through undue obstacles in the way of overdue priority infrastructure projects.” A steering committee implements the PPS, which is composed of representatives from the business sector and civil society organizations. They are the CEO and chairman of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry Ambassador Donald Ddee, representing the business community; Kapisanan ng mga Brodkasters ng Pilipinas (KBP) Vice-Chairman Ruperto “Jun” Nicdao Jr., representing the media; Ambassador Marita Magpili-Jimenez, representing the international development organizations; Jose Rizal University President Dr. Vincent Fabella, for the NGOs; National Youth Commission Chairman Richard Nalupta, for the youth sector, Caritas Manila Executive Director Rev. Father Anton Pascual, for the religious sector; and Binalonan Mayor and Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines (ULAP) President Ramon Guico, for the local government units. The PPS is committed to help ensure the full and transparent implementation of the government’s priority infrastructure projects so that our people can fully partake of the fruits of national development. The PPS secretariat in its project visits and community benefits assessment have been vigilant in identifying and entrusting solutions to the issues and problems surrounding the different projects through interviews with the stakeholders; the local government units, the business, the residents, and the implementing agencies. The PPS secretariat serves as the channel between the stakeholders and the implementing agencies in addressing the concerns hindering full utilization of the different priority infrastructure projects. Affordable food, better social services, peace and order, and a more decent way of living -- all these can be achieved if we all work hand-in-hand. The government cannot do it alone. The local government units, the business community, and civil society all have very important roles to play. We need to act as a team. I urge you to help us monitor and address the bottlenecks that delay project implementation. May this event be a significant step towards attaining a stronger partnership and teamwork in the successful implementation of the super regions’ infrastructure projects. Let us move as one nation towards the 21st century Philippines. Thank you very much! |
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