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PRESIDENT Arroyo on Tuesday bared what she called the
government’s “next wave of reforms,” which include
infrastructure development to sharpen the competitive
edge of the country’s superregions, and investing in a
five-point strategy to keep the country at pace with the
rest of the world.
At the
economic briefing for the Economic Journalists
Association of the Philippines (Ejap) in Makati City,
the President said progress achieved by her
administration over the last “24 quarters of
uninterrupted economic growth” has created a stronger
nation poised for better times ahead.
“Economic reform is not easy. No one said it would be
easy when I got into this job. But together with our
economic managers and the people who supported us
through these tough decisions, the Filipino nation is
better off today than six years ago, and there’s no
turning back,” she said.
Mrs.
Arroyo said that “to be world-class, we invest in five
comprehensive strategies for global competitiveness,”
among them, to keep labor costs on a par with the world
by ensuring the abundant supply of affordable food, and
the provision of health care and quality education for
the youth.
“Human
resources must be at the frontline of our competitive
comeback,” she said. Another strategy, she said, is
reduced power cost so that factories, for example, can
become regionally competitive.
To show
the government is moving toward this direction, the
President cited a Department of Justice (DOJ) opinion
that there is a law that gives economic zones regulatory
powers over factories operating in their areas, which
“will to help reduce the cost of electricity in economic
zones.”
Other
strategies include modernizing infrastructure at the
least cost for the efficient transport of goods and
people; and mobilizing, upgrading and disseminating
knowledge and technologies for productivity, which the
President said is a “major area of competitiveness.”
She went
on: “I said it in 2001, but I can say it with more
fervor now that we have the money to make it come true:
technology is the foundation of future economic
development.” The Department of Budget and Management
will release P200 million for masters and doctorate
scholarships in science and engineering.
She said
that in the remaining three and a half years of her
administration, the government will invest P1 trillion
for vital infrastructure development to sustain the
economy and attract more investments.
The
government, she said, will continue reducing red tape to
cut the cost of business operations, and that she has
appointed an “investment ombudsman,” Tita Flores, to
assist Trade Secretary Peter Favila, who heads the
antired tape task force.
Mrs.
Arroyo also urged the private sector “to make national
interest a top priority and to take advantage of the
positive economic momentum and make investments that
will contribute to the long term sustainability of the
nation.”
“We
challenge the business community to take a bigger stake
in the country’s development. This partnership between
the government and the private sector should focus on
the exchange of new ideas to propel our economy forward
and not on old complaints that will only hold us back,”
she said. |
