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Sunday, January 05, 2003
Arroyo to focus on delivery of services
MANILA -- President Arroyo on Saturday outlines her priorities for the remaining months in office, taking terrorism, criminality and politics on the back seat and focusing her energy to economic recovery and delivery of services.
She however clarified that except for her declaration not to seek an electoral mandate in 2004, President Arroyo said her "plans and visions" for the country have remained unchanged.
Arroyo said she would concentrate on housing, creating jobs, boosting education and food production in her remaining 18 months in office.
In a speech opening the New Year, Arroyo said her recent decision not to seek another term in the 2004 polls freed her from political pressure to carry out her duties.
She said she was inspired by the words of her father, the late President Diosdado Macapagal, who said, "Coupled with integrity, the quality required of a President is self-denial. A President must be ready to sacrifice for the sake of the country."
"That's why I want to stay away from politics and devote my remaining months in office in working to improve the economy and render genuine service to the people," she said in Filipino.
The President called anew on her critics to put an end to political sniping and faultfinding and instead help her administration with the fight against poverty.
"I thank those former critics and (political) enemies that have expressed support to my de-politicized government. For my critics and opponents who
continue with their barrage, I urge you to stop the faultfinding and unproductive criticism and instead help me lift the country pass the difficult times," she said.
She said this kind of system has been the bane of the country's progress and it is about time to veer away from it.
"I want to move away from politics and pour the rest of my 18 months in government into lifting the economy and the delivery of true social services to the people," the President said.
"We must put aside politics and our personal interests so we can join and help one another for the benefit of the many," Arroyo said in the address, which was carried on government television and radio.
In her recorded radio address, the President said much of her time last year went to fighting the lawless elements of terror and staving off political sniping and for the rest of her 18 months in office, the President wanted to veer away from them for good.
The President admitted that most of government's effort was directed to the campaign against terrorism and to maintaining the country's peace and order.
To her mind, this effort has apparently tempered terrorism and criminality at very manageable levels enough for them to take the backseat.
"There have been big changes in the country's peace and order situation. Incidents of kidnapping have been stopped; corruption in the police force has been reduced considerably; the bandits Abu Sayyaf in Sulu and Basilan have either been hiding or on the run leaving for other countries," the President said.
She reiterated her priorities as "jobs, homes, education, food on every table", citing a plan to build 500,000 homes during her term.
Arroyo said she had boosted revenue collections in an attempt to control the growing budget deficit, which has been identified as the key problem facing the country.
As part of this effort, the government would work to develop the Mount Diwalwal mining site in the southern Philippines, where as much as 18 billion dollars in gold may be tapped, Arroyo said.
Even the President's P804 billion budget for the year, according to the Department of Budget and Management, has allocated 30 percent to the social service sector, which include education and social welfare.
DBM undersecretary Laura Pascua even said that this allocation could even grow to 41.4-percent "if we net out interest payments and advances to government
corporations."
Arroyo also said she would work to heal the divisions in society and strive to make the 2004 elections clean and honest, now that she had abandoned plans of running.
She remarked that despite the problems faced by the country, the Philippines continued to post impressive economic growth and that the peace and order situation had improved during her term.
The President said that with this new focus she hoped that the reforms she plans to announce in the next few days, would be "free from political color."
"I hope you will help me make my decision not to run for re-election to be meaningful step towards the progress of our country," she said.
The president stunned the country on December 30 by announcing that she was not running for the presidency in 2004, freeing her to concentrate on reforms in her remaining 18 months in office. (Sunnex Luzon with AFP) |
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