She also said Filipinos are as well optimists and can face any problems head on thus despite the global economic crisis, the country was able to survive.
The President said the recent world economic picture is a challenge to everyone and added that the government had been able to make tough choices that led to reforms in the tax systems and more investments in the country which help “protect the people from oil and food crises.”
Arroyo said programs and projects have also been put in place which helped cushion the impact of the rising prices of fuel and food especially on the poor.
These include the microfinance and livelihood assistance for relatives and families of those from the transportation sector, the loan programs for the public transport sector, and the upgrading of government hospitals.
She said other measures are the removal of tariffs on petroleum products and the provision of subsidy programs like the “Pantawid Kuryente,” “Pantawid Pag-aaral,” and “Programa Para kay Lolo at Lola”.
Measures which help provide lifeline electric subsidies, student scholarships and loans, and financial aid to senior citizens that are not covered by the Social Security System and the Government Service Insurance System, respectively.
Arroyo, during the visit, distributed checks close to P80 million for several programs like infrastructure and agriculture. This includes the two checks worth P1 million each for the scholarship program for college students and financial aid to senior citizens in Zamboanga del Sur, and the P10 million check for the improvement of the OB-Gyne section of the Zambonga del Sur Medical Center.
Arroyo assured that the government would “stay the course with determination and compassion” to ensure that the country would continue to face the global economic crisis.
The President, in the economic forum, likened Filipinos to fighters that are not quick to quit whenever they get knocked down.
“Filipinos are fighters, naturally optimistic and we don't quit. Our story as a people has a practical down to earth theme, ‘Beat The Odds.’ We are doing everything in our power to focus on the fundamentals, keep the economy steady and provide relief to those most in need,” she said.
Arroyo said the recent upheavals in the global economy had a “significant and painful impact on Filipinos” as it led to the “unfortunate levels of inflation” and greater pressures on our poor as crude prices breached the US$100 per barrel barrier while rice prices reached the US$1,000 per metric ton levels.
She said there were those that attributed the high prices especially of food to crop failures caused by climate change induced weather shifts and to the protective cutbacks on grains exports by some producing countries.
She said in the Philippines, her economic team instead rises up to the global challenge that has brought down the gross domestic product growth to 4.6 percent in the second quarter from 8.3 percent in the same period in 2007, raised the country’s inflation figures to an all time high. (JMR/Sunnex)
