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Thursday, September 23, 2004
'Unprofitable' state-owned firms face abolition
PRESS Secretary Ignacio Bunye said the losers among the government-owned and controlled corporations (GOCCs) will be abolished if they cannot be rehabilitated in order to turn them into useful and profitable ones.
Bunye, who is also Presidential spokesman, also said Malacañang will look into reports that the National Power Corp. (Napocor) lost P1 billion in its US$1 billion bond offer.
Bunye also said its cost-cutting measures are not publicity gimmicks.
The Palace was reacting to an accusation by Sen. Alfredo Lim that Malacañang was treating the fiscal problem as "a passing public relations problem" instead of seriously addressing it.
Bunye said the fiscal problem is serious and should not be taken for granted. He said President Arroyo is working on a comprehensive plan to solve the fiscal crisis.
He said the proposed solutions include austerity measures, looking for new funding sources, fighting corruption and going after tax evaders.
He said some members of the Cabinet were holed up at the Philippine Trade and Trading Center (PTTC) to finalize the Medium-Term Philippine Development Plan (MTPDP), which will be the country's road map for the next six years.
"This will be output of the Arroyo administration in the first 100 days...(Planning) Secretary (Romulo) Neri is the one putting together the final draft of the MTPDP," he said.
He said the MTPDP seeks to reduce the poverty rate by half by the end of her term in 2010. He dismissed reports of possible civil unrest saying it is not time for blame tossing because the problems are being addressed.
Bunye defended the tax amnesty bill after former President Fidel Ramos's reported opposition to it. He said it would generate a substantial income. JMR
(September 23, 2004 issue)
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