Aquino keynotes top-level forum of industry leaders in ASEAN meet
President Benigno S. Aquino III cited the Association of Southeast Asia Nation’s resiliency to withstand the global influx brought about by “political unrest or economic uncertainty including the spring of revolutions in the Middle East and North Africa to the various financial crises engulfing Europe and the United States.
The President made this statement during his speech at the ASEAN 100 Leadership Forum held at the Grand Ballroom of the Makati Shangri-La Hotel in Makati City Thursday night.
“Understandably, countries all over the world are doing what they can to respond—to adjust accordingly to these rapid changes taking place. So I am glad to see many of our region’s brightest minds gathered here today, ready to share their ideas to push forward our region’s agenda,” the President said.
He said that instead of following the global markets’ turmoil, the region has been marked with unprecedented growth as evidenced by the 14.5 percent, 7.8 percent, 7.6 percent and 7.5 percent economic growth of Singapore, Thailand, Philippines and Laos, respectively in 2010.
“In this period of global flux, it is good to see that the ASEAN region is as strong as ever, standing as a solid pillar of stability and growth,” the President said.
This growth has underscored investor interest in our region. Foreign direct investment inflows in Southeast Asia reached more than 70 billion dollars in 2010; and I am sure I speak for everyone here when I say we hope this will rise further this year and in the following years,” he added.
The top-level forum of industry leaders belonging to the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have been meeting for eight consecutive years to dialogue and debate ASEAN’s pave of integration, prospects and discuss challenges.
This year’s ASEAN meet which, just like the previous ones, has been convened around the theme “One ASEAN: How Close Are We?”
The ASEAN meet aims to foster highly-insightful and intelligent discussions on the future of the Southeast Asian region – how the region can emerge as one of the world’s significant economic, social, cultural, technical and administrative bloc with the Philippines assuming its position as an Asian Tiger alongside Taiwan, Singapore, South Korea and Hong Kong.
Joining the President were Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima, Trade Secretary Gregory Domingo and Presidential Communications and Strategic Planning Office Secretary Ramon Carandang. (PCOO)
Aquino challenges ASEAN to keep up region's growth
President Benigno S. Aquino III challenged the members of the 10-country regional bloc to strengthen cooperation within its fold in order to bring ASEAN to where it deserves to be in the world.
In his speech keynoting the ASEAN 100 Leadership Forum held at the Makati Shangri-la Hotel in Makati City Thursday night, the President said that the unprecedented growth experienced by the region despite the global turmoil should not be taken to mean it was time to relax but to push on forward and seize the opportunity to better the lot of their respective peoples.
“It is difficult not to be optimistic about the prospects of ASEAN and the Philippines alike; but what I have always emphasized in the wake of such developments is that our work does not end with the initial wave of positive results,” the President said.
“In this sense, we must treat these indicators of our impressive economic performance not as goals already achieved, but as benchmarks—so that our region’s and our countries’ growth can continue; so that we can go from success to success, further cementing our position in the global milieu,” he added.
He pointed out that the Philippines has taken steps to build on this economic performance by “advocating and practicing good governance.”
“This concept champions inclusive growth—such that the gains that look so good on paper are truly reflected in the life of each Filipino. This means focusing spending on projects that can equip our people with the jobs, the education, and the health and social services they need to lead dignified, meaningful, and productive lives,” the President said.
“And this is what we are doing right now. We have set aside almost a third of next year’s budget just for social service projects, as we do not want the economic benefits of growth to merely trickle down to the last Filipino; we want the benefits to be felt by every last one,” he added.
He further pointed out that the government has also taken measures to institute transparency and accountability on the side of business in order to ultimately level the playing field by “making it easier for companies to set up shop here by cutting significant amounts of red tape.”
“It is significantly more convenient now, for example, to register a business name. What used to take endless hours, if not days, is now cut down to a mere fifteen minutes. We’re also in the process of streamlining the Business Permits and Licensing Systems in 480 priority areas, and we have made notable progress in this undertaking. Giving companies the bureaucratic runaround used to be a source of income for some crooked bureaucrats—planting unnecessary inconveniences in the process so they can solicit bribes from businesses; but we’re making sure that those days are over,” the President said.
He invited all potential investors and business leaders present to invest in the Philippines saying there are “plenty of opportunities here, especially in the high potential sectors of infrastructure, agribusiness, tourism, and services.”
“From the possible establishment of cold chain facilities in agribusiness to the promotion of eco-tourism and medical tourism in this beautiful country, there are plenty of mutually beneficial projects that can be undertaken, and we hope you consider working with us in the near future,” the President said.
He called on ASEAN to maintain peace, stability, and an environment that attracts investments “for us to all grow.”
“I am aware that the diversity in the ASEAN sometimes makes it difficult to completely agree with one another on some issues, but this has not stopped us from collaborating well on the economic front. Integration has always helped push our economies, so I am hopeful that we can continue working together and build on our momentum,” the President said.
“Let us work to further connect our businessmen and governments so we can avail of opportunities within ASEAN. There are plenty of opportunities for investment within our region — from rice production in Cambodia, infrastructure here in the Philippines, alternative energy in Thailand, to manufacturing in Vietnam. Let us be the first to explore these opportunities,” he added.
“As government, it is incumbent upon all of us not merely to do our jobs well, but to cooperate with one another, such that the sustained growth of all our countries is possible. Instability in one country affects us all, and stability in our countries benefits us all. And so with the good of our people foremost in our minds, may we strengthen our cooperation further, and bring ASEAN to where it deserves to be in the world,” the President said. (PCOO)
Aquino underscores importance of dialogue in addressing disputes
President Benigno S. Aquino III underscored the importance of diplomacy and dialogue in addressing disputes with neighboring countries saying that just by talking, world leaders can thresh out any differences and discover that they have the same focus and advocacy in terms of governing their respective peoples.
In his reply during the Q&A portion at the ASEAN 100Leaders Forum held at the Makati Shangri-la Hotel Thursday night, the President said that he and Chinese President Hu Jintao have discussed the issue of the West Philippine Sea and that they both saw “eye-to-eye” on the topic.
“The South China Sea or what we call the West Philippine Sea issue, has to be resolved but at the same time, when I talked to your leaders: President Hu Jintao, Premiere Weng Jiabao and others, we did agree that this is not the sum total of our relationships,” the President said.
He said that as neighbors, other issues such as global warming and piracy affect the two countries but we have chosen to focus on that which is mutually supportive and beneficial to us.
“So in this particular case, we are neighbors. The problems that affect the Philippines also affect China. Global climate change will not be kept by our borders. Piracy is not solely our issue. Trying to uplift the lot of all of our countrymen is also a common concern and in that aspect, there are so many areas where there can be mutually supportive, mutually beneficial activities at both ends and I think your country’s leadership is really focused as we are. Why concentrate on the issues that cause disputes between us and neglect those that can really redound to the improvement of our peoples’ lot?” the President said.
“So we are concentrating actually on areas where we can cooperate and we do see eye to eye and try to minimize any conflicts that we could possibly have,” he added.
The President also pointed out the Luneta hostage crisis last August 2010 as an "exemplar" of what good dialogue can do to ease tensions between our countries.
"The hostage crisis I think is exemplar. We talked with the leadership of China, the (Chinese) embassy here, various leaders in Hong Kong in what could have been transformed into a situation that could have been made worse, but reasonable and good dialogues happened between our respective officials and we have addressed that and minimized the potential tensions between our peoples," the President said. (PCOO)
Aquino confident over impact of government reforms that have been implemented
President Benigno S. Aquino III expressed confidence that the reforms his administration have been implementing, and will continue to implement in the way government is run has had a positive impact on the people’s perception of the bureaucracy.
He said that where once people appeared apathetic, jaded and cynical has now been replaced with optimism and cheer that has grown in the fifteen months since he assumed the Presidency.
“I think I am happiest by the fact that our people have a new outlook whereas the--we were wondering if most of them were already apathetic, some of them were totally jaded and cynical who could not see any bright prospects in the country from roughly one to fifteen or sixteen months we‘ve been in office,” the President told participants to the ASEAN 100 Leaders Forum held at the Makati Shangri-la Hotel Thursday night.
“Now it seems we can do so many things and the transformation is truly night and day. And with that attitude we think there are no objectives that we cannot reach,” he added.
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations 100 Leaders Forum brings together the region’s most prominent figures to discuss the future of the Southeast Asian region, its pace of integration, prospects and challenges.
Now on its eight year, the forum’s theme is “One ASEAN: How Close Are We?”
The Chief Executive pointed out that the Philippines has taken steps to build on the economic performance of his administration by “advocating and practicing good governance.”
“This concept champions inclusive growth—such that the gains that look so good on paper are truly reflected in the life of each Filipino. This means focusing spending on projects that can equip our people with the jobs, the education, and the health and social services they need to lead dignified, meaningful, and productive lives,” the President said.
“And this is what we are doing right now. We have set aside almost a third of next year’s budget just for social service projects, as we do not want the economic benefits of growth to merely trickle down to the last Filipino; we want the benefits to be felt by every last one,” he added. (PCOO)
Clear policy directions, close monitoring ensure Aquino's directives are followed
President Benigno S. Aquino III said Thursday night that by imparting clear policy directions to each of his Cabinet secretaries and closely monitoring their respective performance, he is ensured that his orders are taken seriously and followed to the letter.
He however said that should any of his Cabinet members slip on assigned schedules and tasks, “then I call their attention to it.”
The President told participants to the ASEAN 100 Leaders Forum held at the Makati Shangri-la Hotel Thursday night that although he would have wanted to be a “hands-on” leader, supervising 1.3-million bureaucrats would leave him nothing else to do.
“So I’ve gotten a lot of members in the Cabinet in particular who are acknowledged experts in their respective fields, I give them the policy directions and monitor what they are doing and if somebody slips on the assigned schedules and tasks, then I call their attention to it,” the President said.
“But at the same time, I do not think I should be crowding anybody once their particular assignments are being done. If I were to do that, then it would have been better if I’d take over that particular portfolio myself,” he added.
“So the best way to do it is to give clear directions, check on them periodically and call the attention of those not meeting the assigned tasks and schedules,” the President said.
In his speech keynoting the ASEAN 100 Leadership Forum, the President said that the unprecedented growth experienced by the region despite the global turmoil should not be taken to mean it was time to relax but to push on forward and seize the opportunity to better the lot of their respective peoples.
“It is difficult not to be optimistic about the prospects of ASEAN and the Philippines alike; but what I have always emphasized in the wake of such developments is that our work does not end with the initial wave of positive results,” the President said.
“In this sense, we must treat these indicators of our impressive economic performance not as goals already achieved, but as benchmarks—so that our region’s and our countries’ growth can continue; so that we can go from success to success, further cementing our position in the global milieu,” he added. (PCOO)
Aquino maintains iron fists against erring officials
President Benigno S. Aquino III, whose anti-corruption slogan is “kung walang corrupt, walang mahirap,” on Thursday maintained that his administration would be going after corrupt officials, and should evidence that is gathered be sufficient, prosecute them.
This was the response of President Aquino when he was asked about his government’s policy on corruption during the ASEAN 100 Leadership forum at Makati Shangri-La Hotel in Makati City on Thursday.
“So again I will be going after the ghosts of the past, and will prosecute as far as the evidence that we gather (will allow) and (should there be) a certainty that we will be able to convict. That actually just emphasizes that under my watch I will even be that much stricter,” he said.
The President was asked by Indonesia during the Question and Answer portion during the forum about his policy towards corruption that occurred during the previous administration.
The President said that a lot of the corruption activities that happened during the past administration still impact on the present.
“I was asked that question, I think last night, and I said I should end the attitude of let bygones be bygones. A lot of this corruption that happened in the past still impacts in the present,” he said.
President Aquino said that there has to be a certainty of punishment when someone had committed wrong. “And I think there has to be a singular message. You do something wrong, there has to be a certainty of punishment,” he stressed.
“If there is no certainty of punishment that is actually an advertisement to continue going though the corrupt route up to the present time and that hampers our ability to to achieve the goals that we want,” the President added.
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations is composed of Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam. (PCOO)
Palace says VAT on toll wouldn’t have much effect on passengers, commodity prices
Malacanang allayed public fears about the implementation of value added tax (VAT) on toll saying the effects on transport fare and goods of the tax measure would be minimal.
There have been calls to stop the implementation of VAT on toll, considering the devastation of Typhoon Pedring in many areas particularly agricultural provinces in Luzon.
“Naipaliwang na po iyan ni BIR Commissioner Kim Henares... and the effect on goods, or the effect on passenger buses and the effect on passengers will be very insignificant,” Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said in a press conference in Malacanang on Friday.
Lacierda said that any incremental increase in fares would be shared by the passengers so the effect would be minimal.
Also Lacierda warned traders who plan to jack up the prices of goods beyond the ceiling set by go vernment as a result of the implementation of VAT.
“If somebody is going to increase the cost of goods higher than 12 percent, that is something that we will seriously look into. That is not, and should not be the effect of this increase on VAT,” he said.
At the same time, Lacierda noted that the VAT on toll will go to the social programs of the government.
“Ito pong buwis na matatanggap po natin, ang makokolekta po natin dito ay magagamit po natin sa ibang programa ng pamahalaan,” he said.
According to groups opposing the tax measure, the implementation of the VAT on toll is ill-timed since Metro Manila and northern and central Luzon are still reeling from the devastation caused by Typhoon Pedring.
Provincial bus operators also have a pending fare increase petition before the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) believing that if approved, the increase may be enough to help them absorb the increase from the 12 percent VAT on toll. (PCOO)
Aquino calls on Filipinos to keep spirit of ‘bayanihan’ alive
With the onslaught of typhoon “Pedring” and the anticipated effects of typhoon “Quiel,” President Benigno S. Aquino III said on Friday that the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) started taking all necessary precautions.
“Two years after the unforgettable impact of tropical storm Ondoy on the Filipino nation, our resiliency as a people is once again being tested by nature,” the President said in a statement issued on Friday.
“Through the directive of NDRRMC Chair, Department of National Defense (DND) Secretary Voltaire Gazmin, the Armed Forces of Philippines - Disaster Response Task Force has deployed additional search and rescue units from the Army, Navy, and Air Force, including six helicopters in flooded areas in Central Luzon,” the President continued.
President Aquino said Metropolitan Manila Development (MMDA) Chairman Francis Tolentino, likewise, has dispatched a 14-man team with equipment in Bulacan.
"All relevant agencies of government are performing their respective mandates effectively. Notable among them are Department of Science and Technology-Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (DOST-PAGASA) for accurate and timely issuance of forecasts, the Department of Social and Welfare Development (DSWD) and Department of Health (DOH) for prepositioning relief goods and medical supplies respectively, the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) and its bureaus for overseeing the preparedness of local governments, the Department of Education (DepEd) for early suspension of classes and making schools available as evacuation centers, Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) for quick restoration of mobility corridors as well as the Department of Energy, National Electrification Administration, National Grid Corporation of the Philippines, and electric cooperatives for power restoration in affected areas. Local government units have also been performing their duties," he said.
"Relief and recovery from typhoon Pedring will be a priority and a continuing effort even as we brace our respective communities from potentially more damaging onslaught of typhoon Quiel,” the President said.
"I therefore ask our fellow citizens to heed our national and local authorities so that we can all achieve our common goal in disaster risk reduction. Let me emphasize: we need to move all those in danger. In particular, let us help each other persuade fisherfolks and residents of coastal, low-lying and mountainous areas to be on alert and be extra cautious. Let us keep the spirit of bayanihan alive by showing our concern to the more vulnerable sectors," he said.
The Chief Executive stressed that it is also comforting to note that civil society organizations continue to share the burden of helping our country and people cope with one disaster after another. He also thanks the international community for the assistance it has offered to our government.
The Aquino administration is fast-tracking the search-and-rescue operations for victims of typhoon Pedring who remain trapped due to massive floods in Bulacan, Pampanga and other affected areas as it underscored the need to conduct a full assessment of the situation to improve disaster preparedness strategies in the future, a Palace official said on Friday.
"We are concerned about the situation in Bulacan and other affected areas. That’s the reason why the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has been mobilized further. We want to make sure that those who have been trapped should be rescued and those who are in evacuation centers should be provided with ample relief goods and assistance," Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said during a press briefing in Malacanang on Friday.
Lacierda said, "We’d like to also ask the public to keep us informed kung may mga areas po na may mga taong hindi pa naililigtas or who are still trapped," he said.
Malacanang is closely monitoring the situation to ensure that contingency measures are steadily being carried out by concerned government agencies and local government units (LGUs) to mitigate the effects of the typhoon, according to Lacierda.
Several residents stayed on rooftops while others abandoned their homes in Calumpit, Bulacan on Friday due to massive floods. Calumpit Mayor James de Jesus said some 26,000 families in 22 submerged barangays were affected by the floods.
The devastation is vast and the water is still high in Bulacan, affecting thousands of residents who called up government offices and the media to help them get off the roofs of their homes.
Asked to comment on the performance of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) considering the number of loss of lives, Lacierda said the agency did its job and the standing operating procedure was followed.
"The protocol has been effective thus far, and based on the performance of the NDRRMC, we are able to minimizes loss of lives. (PCOO)
