Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo

“ To reduce the cost of power, we will begin implementing the power sector reform law which the previous congress just passed.
To reduce deterrents to investments in agriculture, I ask Congress to enact a law making farm land acceptable as loan collateral.
To reduce excessive friction in labor and management relations, we will go the extra mile to work for industrial peace, and to work with labor and business to retrain workers for the fast-changing technologies of the new economy. ”

“ And i ask congress to enact a law giving overseas Filipinos, who continue to play a critical role in the country’s economic and social stability, giving them the right to vote.
Preparing our growth sectors of the future enables us to tap the opportunities of the 21st century.
We will promote fast-growing industries where high-value jobs are most plentiful. One of them is information and communications technology, or ICT, our English literacy, our aptitude and skills give us a competitive edge in ICT Filipino workers are ranked number one in the field, number one among knowledge workers. ”

“ For i know that the greatest obstacle we as a nation must overcome is inside us. The enemy to beat is ourselves: when we spread division rather than unity; when we put ourselves above country and profit above fairness ”

“ We will take a hard look at education and ask: is it preparing the youth for the jobs of the new economy? Or is it just-keeping-them-off-the-streets-until-they-are-thrown-there jobless after graduation? If they finish school at all.
To increase the chances of Filipino children finishing school, we will minimize the cost of going to school. When we stopped the collection of miscellaneous fees last enrollment day, 900,000 more students enrolled than anticipated. And to reduce the time and money spent to actually travel to school, i want a school building in every barangay by 2004. ”

“ But the government cannot do it alone. It cannot do it alone in customs, it cannot do it alone in fighting graft, it cannot do it alone in fighting poverty. I’m not a miracle worker. All of us must do our share. We have to think Filipino, buy Filipino, invest Filipino. ”

“ I invite the taipans and other business people all over the country to start pump-priming the economy by investing once again in the Philippines. I invite you to create jobs, accelerate progress, and thereby address the root causes of the crime and unrest that so much alarm us. ”

“ To help small and medium enterprises, i will restore the policy of providing government guarantee for their bank loans.
The fourth component of our national agenda is improving moral standards and the rule of law.
We need every ounce of resource to wage this war on poverty. We cannot afford to lose anything to waste or graft and corruption. ”

“ To succeed, the template of our national agenda must revolve around four components — apat na elemento ng pakikibaka sa kahirapan.
The first is an economic philosophy of free enterprise appropriate to the 21st century. Pagnenegosyo upang dumami ang trabaho. Not a pitiless free-for-all but free enterprise with a social conscience.
The second component is a modernized agricultural sector founded on social equity. Palalaguin ang kita at ani ng maralitang tagabukid.
The third component is a social bias toward the disadvantaged to balance our economic development plan. ”

“ To improve the quality of education as required by the new economy, we will increase the number of textbooks per student as well as the quality of instruction. This year all public school students will have textbooks for priority subjects in grades one to four and in the first and second years of high school. And they will have better paid and therefore better motivated teachers not to mention more teachers because sound fiscal management enabled us to provide a supplemental budget of 1.5 billion pesos to hire more teachers and increase their pay without increasing our deficit. ”

“ To create jobs, we will attract investments. To attract investments, we will attend to macro measures and concerns.
In addressing macro concerns, we will focus on long-term structural issues. We started with the reform of the power sector, and i congratulate those of you who are here and who were in the previous congress for this accomplishment. Now, we will turn to other basics like infrastructure, productivity, and the savings rate.
In focusing on infrastructure, we will harness the private sector via the build-operate-and-transfer law. ”

“ The strength of the financial and fiscal sectors partly lies in how we use the realities in the global and regional environment to our benefit. Thus we will enhance our relations with the United States, whose economic and military power continues to make it important as a factor in the affairs of the region and in the nation. ”

“ On the drug front, i ask congress to enact a law reducing the amount of drugs in a suspect’s possession for him to be charged with drug trafficking.
We will uphold law and order through a holistic response consisting of political, economic, psychosocial and security components. We will meet the defense and security challenges of this era. To achieve this end, we have earmarked additional funding in several billions of pesos for the afp modernization program. ”

“ A re-energized police will stamp out the crimes that have plagued our businesses, terrorized the common folk, and embarrassed our country. In the economics of fighting crime, the more resources devoted to crime prevention, the less the amount of crime. ”

“ Starting tomorrow I will hold office at the Department of Agriculture, until i can get a clear and demonstrable picture of our agricultural accomplishments for our first 100 days and i can see the program for the million new jobs get off the ground, and i can see that short-term goals are in synch with the goals of farmer groups and agribusiness. ”

“ Our new e-procurement program will save billions and minimize anomalies. And I gave the reinforced presidential anti-graft commission added teeth to investigate and prosecute moto propio corruption in high places. And we will make the B.I.R. and customs showcases in this fight against graft and corruption.
To reduce corruption among elective officials, we will help honest people get elected by financing the full computerization of elections. We have released two billion pesos of the needed 3.4 needed for computerization. I ask congress to add another 500 million in the 2002 budget. ”

“ Our administration will spend to modernize and professionalize the police. We will start with one billion pesos.
Although the numbers say that index crimes in the first semester were down 14 percent since a year ago, we are determined to stamp out violent crimes altogether. The ongoing reorganization of the police is part of the effort to add vigor to its anti-crime drive. The new national anti-crime commission will tighten coordination among law enforcement agencies as well as with the Chinese-Filipino community. ”

“ To fight poverty, agricultural modernization will be socially equitable. We shall redeem in earnest the promise of land reform, a commitment that spans several presidents. Isa pa itong pangakong hindi dapat mapako. ”

“ Aside from ICT, we also have the competitive edge in tourism in the natural wonders of our country and the natural warmth of our people. We will provide the roads to those wonders and the means to take the tourists there. ”

“ The internal enemy engaged, the battle will not be easy. We inherited very difficult problems.
From 2.5 million jobless four years ago, unemployment now stands at four million. From a budget surplus in 1997 under President Ramos of more than a billion pesos, my government inherited a deficit exceeding 140 billion pesos. In the same period, poverty incidence rose from 36.8 percent of the population in 1997 to 40 percent in the year 2004. ”

“ On the peace process, while the AFP stands ready to protect our people at a moment’s notice, we will continue to talk with the moro islamic liberation front and the national democratic front as long as all sides maintain good faith. ”

“ Less meetings, more action, more tangible results whether in generating jobs, improving peace and order, or fighting graft.
I throw full support behind bir commissioner rene ba”ez. He has undertaken a mission many believe impossible: overhauling the bir which accounts for 80 percent of our tax revenues.
Rene has been threatened. He has been blocked by restraining orders at every turn. After the Supreme Court ruled in his favor, he was accused of the very corruption he is stamping out.
This man needs friends, who share his goals, and i know he will find them in this young congress. ”

“ But the anti-smuggling drive must be relentless. So must the drive against the harassment of legitimate businessmen doing legitimate imports. I call on all concerned to help end the open drawer syndrome. ”

“ Instead of speculating, let us further strengthen the financial sector. We will design innovative policies to develop our capital market. We will set up a secondary housing mortgage market, an asset management company, and a provident fund for overseas filipinos. ”

“ With exports slowing down due to the world downturn, we will strengthen the domestic market. We will intensify efforts to promote small and medium enterprises or smes especially in the countryside. Last friday i inaugurated the sme board in the philippine stock exchange. ”