Salceda says PGMA's economic record better than predecessors'
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The Philippines’ gross domestic product (GDP), the measure of its overall economic performance, has posted
an average of 4.4 percent growth annually during the nine-year term of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, better
than the yearly average recorded by her four immediate predecessors.
A comprehensive briefing held in Malacanang today by Albay Governor Jose Salceda with some 70
representatives of major industry and business groups in attendance indicated that President Arroyo did better
than her predecessors in terms of various economic indices, which economic planners utilize to project the
annual GDP.
The economic indices cited by Salceda in neatly arranged statistics include gross international reserves (GIR),
fiscal performance and reforms, foreign debt, credit ratings, tourism arrivals and revenues, foreign direct
investments (FDI), cyber industry figures, and even the revenues and income performance of the country’s top
1,000 corporations.
“Better than others, better than the previous, better than expected and better in 2010”, Salceda stressed in his
100-page briefing at the Bahay Pangarap in Malacanang attended by the President, Trade and Industry
Secretary Peter Favila, and Press Secretary Cris Icban, Jr.
Zeroing in on the GDP averages, Salceda said President Arroyo’s average 4.4 percent performance outshone
the annual growth posted during the terms of Presidents Joseph Estrada (3.4), Fidel V. Ramos ( 3.7), Corazon
Aquino (3.6) and even Ferdinand Marcos (3.8).
Salceda summed up Arroyo’s economic performance by citing the following highlights:
• The country’s 33 quarters of uninterrupted growth
• The Philippines was one of the few countries to avoid negative growth during the global financial crisis, even
securing a credit upgrade
• Average growth higher than all past periods since 1966
• Average inflation lower than all past periods since 1966
• GDP grew 2.23x since 2001 in peso terms
• GDP grew from $76 billion to $168 billion.
• GDP / capita increased by 87 percent.
• GNP / capita from $967 to $2,051 or +121 percent.
• Peak growth of 8.3% in 2Q07, the highest in 30 years, despite the drag /decrement impact of dysfunctional
politics on investments.
• Saceda said the World Bank, after careful study, arrived at the decision that the Philippines has improved its
economy based on the following six indicators:
• Efficiency of the customs clearance process (Rank #54)
• Quality of trade and transport-related infrastructure ( Rank #64)
• Ease of arranging competitively priced shipments (Rank #20)
• Competence and quality of logistics services (Rank #47)
• Ability to track and trace consignments (Rank #44)
• Frequency with which shipments reach the consignee within the scheduled or expected time (Rank #42).
The briefing was held to set for the record the country’s improved economic picture and to belie claims made by
the political opposition.
The President, obviously satisfied by the statistical presentation, told reporters that the gains could not have
been achieved without political will on her part.
“If one has political will, he/she should start with the difficult and the effort will bear,” she remarked.
Among the prominent businessmen in attendance were Corazon de la Paz of the Makati Business Club,
Rizalino Navarro of the Management Association of the Philippines, and officials of Finex. Also present were
representatives of the various industry groups.
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PGMA says travel in RP now cheaper, faster, safer
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BATANGAS City—President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo said today (Feb. 8) that her administration has effectively
made travel around Luzon and other parts of the country much cheaper, faster, and safer.
“The government has worked hard to make the future brighter for the next generation of Filipinos,” the President
told students of the University of Batangas in this city.
“We created a transportation system not only in the ULB but nationwide, which binds the nation together as
never before, so that people and goods can be delivered faster, cheaper and safer from one end of the nation to
another,” President Arroyo told the students.
In her speech, the Chief Executive gave a rundown of the progress in the government’s implementation of its
flagship, Urban Luzon Beltway (ULB) erstwhile called Luzon Urban Beltway, which is designed to provide
seamless travel from South Luzon to North Luzon.
The ULB is one of five target growth areas called Super Regions, each given a specific development theme by
the Arroyo administration.
The four others are Cyber Corridor for information communication technology and business process
outsourcing, North Luzon Agribusiness Quadrangle for agribusiness, Central Visayas for tourism, and
Mindanao Agribusiness for agribusiness.
The ULB is envisioned to transform Luzon into a globally competitive logistics and services hub in Asia-Pacific,
which is seen to capture about 30 percent of the global logistics market with an estimated value of $3.5 trillion.
In Asia alone, the logistics market was valued at $1 trillion.
To realize this vision, the government has embarked on an ambitious program, with the private sector as
partner, to develop airport and seaport infrastructure.
An interconnection of four major tollroads running across the CALABARZON (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal
and Quezon), Metro Manila, and the Central Luzon form a key part of the ULB.
President Arroyo pointed out that her administration pursued the vision to turn a worsening economy around
when she took over the reins of government in 2001.
“As an economist, I knew then that we badly needed to exercise fiscal discipline, expand the economy, and
invest in human resources and physical infrastructure,” the President said.
Implementation of the ULB has so far given rise to the transformation of the Batangas port into an international
seaport. The facility, completed in 2007, catered to the local maritime industry, notably the roll on-roll off vessels
plying the sealanes to Mindoro and other islands in the south.
The Southern Luzon Arterial Road (STAR) toll way, completed in 2008, has drastically cut down travel time from
Sto. Tomas town in Batangas to Batangas City by about 50 percent.
President Arroyo said civil works are underway to link STAR to the South Luzon Expressway (SLEX), which runs
from Calamba, Laguna, to Metro Manila.
“The widened SLEX has improved traffic from Metro Manila to Calamba and back,” the President said. “It thus
encourages people working in Metro Manila to take up residence in suburban Laguna.”
Meanwhile, work on the artery connecting C5 to North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) is going on.
Again, C5 is meant to reduce travel time between northern and southern Metro Manila by at least 30 minutes. On
the other hand, NLEX cuts travel time between Metro Manila and Clark, Pampanga by about 50 percent.
“All these made housing projects viable outside Metro Manila, where land is cheaper and the lifestyle more
conducive to raising a family,” the President pointed out.
The President said the government built about 500,000 low-cost houses under her watch, some 300,000 of
them within ULB.
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PGMA's legacy: Strong Republic Nautical Highway
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BATANGAS CITY – The Strong Republic Nautical Highway (SRNH) is one of the legacies President Gloria
Macapagal-Arroyo will leave the Filipino people when she steps down in June.
The disclosure was made by Oscar Sevilla, general manager of Philippine Ports Authority in Batangas City.
According to Sevilla, the SRNH links Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao via the western seaboard. It connects Manila
to Dipolog City in Mindanao, Biliran in Leyte to Surigao City, and Bicol to Cagayan de Oro.
It is thus instrumental in spurring growth in the entire country.
Envisioned as the “highway of the sea,” the 919-kilometer (land) and 137-nautical mile (sea) seamless
transport infrastructure network connects the huge consumer markets of Luzon to the agricultural production
centers of Mindanao. It reduces the cost of travel by 37 percent to 43 percent for passengers and 24 percent to
34 percent for cargo, and the time of travel by 10 to 12 hours when compared by conventional air and sea travel.
Because of this, Sevilla said, passenger traffic in and around the islands have grown from 2.6-million in 2001 to
4.9-million in 2009.
The infrastructure project has enabled tourist arrivals to breach the three million mark, while total domestic
cargo and passenger traffic in 2007 by sea reached 72.8 and 44.5 million (MT), respectively.
The ro-ro (roll on roll off) shipping facilitates much of the traffic.
Traffic between Batangas City port to other SRNH destinations has substantially increased, to 85 sea vessel
trips everyday.
Also, the ro-ro network has resulted in the reduction of port charges, with freight rates now based on the lane
meter, which is the actual space occupied by the cargo on the ship, rather than on the tedious commodity
classification system. It has also eliminated cargo handling and wharfage.
Because of competition, players in the domestic shipping industry, have improved their operations to improve
profitability.
For instance, Aboitiz Transport Service (ATS), in partnership with Maersk Line, has introduced bigger ships to
realize economies of scale. As a result, ATS net income grew by 130 percent, with ro-ro contributing much of the
profit.
Based on a recent study done by the Center for Research and Communication (CRC), transporting goods via
the western nautical highway is cheaper compared to conventional shipping.
For example, transporting fresh fish from Capiz, Iloilo, and Estancia to Manila has become economical.
Fish traders claim they are better off with the multi-trip schedules of ro-ro service compared with the limited daily
schedules of big liners. Instead of shipping at the same time, fish traders now time their shipments properly.
The reduction in cost has changed the way shippers transport their goods throughout the country.
For instance, Nestle Phils, a multinational food conglomerate, has closed down 33 of its 36 distribution centers
nationwide. It now makes small, frequent and direct deliveries to its clients, thus minimizing the need for
inventories.
Universal Robina, which transports its products from its plant in Ugong, Pasig to the rest of the country, now
makes 12 trips a day instead of once a week. . With the expansion of market coverage, the trucking industry is
undergoing major transformation as well.
From a highly dependent shipper-client type of operation, the trucking business is expected to evolve into an
entrepreneur/ marketing-based type of economic activity, where the truckers actively look for the products to
move within and among islands.
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