`Concord not solons' priority anymore'

President Estrada has assured the country's top foreign creditors that he would not pursue his proposed Constitutional Correction for Development (Concord) for now as he wanted Congress to prioritize some pending economic reform bills.

The President, at a press briefing yesterday, said he has officially told the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the World Bank (WB) his decision to set Concord aside.

He said the two agencies need not worry that Concord would further delay the completion of key reforms in the country's economy.

"That's precisely why I put aside Concord to focus on our revenue bills," he said.

The ADB earlier cited the Philippines' recovery from the Asian financial crisis as "gaining momentum."

It warned, however, that the recovery process could be halted by lack of progress in key reforms initiated by the government after the advent of the crisis.

"The delays in completing the reforms are beginning to be a major source of concern for investors," it said.

To allay the ADB's fears, the President said that a number of economic reform bills he had certified as urgent are expected to be approved by Congress before it adjourns in April.

Among these bills are the 1999 Securities Act, the amendments to the General Banking Act, amendments to Central Bank Act, and the Power Sector Reform Bill which would involve the privatization of the National Power Corp.

Mr. Estrada added that he wants to see more government-owned corporations privatized before his term ends in 2004. "We will privatize as many as possible," he said, adding that the government stands to earn some P20 billion in Napocor's privatization alone.

He also said that the predicted P20-billion earning is expected to fill the government's huge budget deficit which had stalled the passage of this year's proposed budget.

Also included in the measures pending before Congress is the Optimal Revenue Performance Law. This law seeks to oust those working for the Bureau of Internal Revenue and Bureau of Customs who fail to hit their revenue targets and reward those who would exceed their goals.

The President said he is confident that Congress would enact the measure soon. "We are hoping and praying," he said.