Estrada to tackle businessmen's gripes with advisers

Malacañang said yesterday President Estrada is set to discuss with his economic advisers the business community's complaints about alleged weaknesses of his administration.

This developed as political and economic analysts affirmed the foreign businessmen's concerns about a perceived weakness in the Estrada administration.

University of the Philippines professors Dr. Emmanuel de Dios and Felipe Miranda, head of Pulse Asia, agreed that Mr. Estrada "failed to lift the fighting spirit" of the investors.

For his part, Interior and Local Government Secretary Alfredo Lim asserted that the peace and order situation has dramatically improved and could help attract foreign investors into the country.

In a press briefing at the Palace, Presidential Spokesman Fernando Barican said the President merely brushed off criticisms about his style of governance by expatriates managing multinational corporations in the Philippines.

Malacañang was reacting to results of a survey by the Economic Intelligence Unit (EIU) which showed that while the foreign business executives were bullish about the national economy, they said economic targets could be exceeded with a more efficient government.

Barican said the issues raised in the EIU survey would be taken up during the President's weekly meetings of the senior economic advisers and the Economic Coordinating Council (ECC).

He also said Mr. Estrada was displeased by the EIU survey. "The President saw it... he disagreed with it," he said.

Rebutting the EIU's allegation that government contracts with the private sector were being canceled in midstream, Barican said the move was being done only if the contracts were flawed or tainted with irregularity.

"We can't uphold contracts that violate the laws or the Constitution," Barican stressed.

However, he conceded that there was a need to assure the business sector that the government has been transparent with the reasons for the scrapping of questionable contracts.

Barican noted that the President has been very sensitive to public sentiments, citing as example changes in the Cabinet, with Justice Secretary Serafin Cuevas as the latest to resign.

"I think, by and large, no matter what the criticisms, the quality of the appointments of this administration is rather commented upon as very, very high."

He pointed out that new appointments made by Mr. Estrada have been roundly accepted by the people.

He also claimed that the EIU findings contradicted findings made by certain government officials, specifically Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Gov. Rafael Buenaventura who has just returned from Davos, Switzerland.

Buenaventura said the international business community has remained upbeat on the Philippine economy.

While Barican admitted that there were concerns about alleged re-emergence of cronyism and persisting corruption in the bureaucracy, he said such apprehensions could not be considered "jitters" which, according to him, is quite a strong word.

Speaking before a Kilosbayan forum yesterday, De Dios identified lack of direction, corruption and cronyism as major factors that hinder the national economic growth.

De Dios said the first factor alone was enough to discourage foreign investors from coming into the country.

"There is an impression that business governance is not being taken seriously in the highest levels of government," the professor said.

On the other hand, Miranda cited results of recent surveys conducted by his Pulse Asia showing the people's discontent over the President's leadership.

"The President should not only preside in time of crisis, but he should act as the president. The President should be given all the ropes to pull the people out of the abyss, but failing to do that, he should use the rope to hang himself," Miranda said.

He added that the people have made a complete turnaround from the populist demands last September to more practical calls for decisive government action.

He said this was brought about by a worsening economic situation.

Meanwhile, in a press briefing, Lim took exception to reports that instability of the country's peace and order situation has stunted economic growth.

Citing the Philippine National Police (PNP)'s accomplishment report for 1999, Lim said there was a marked decrease in crime. Lim said the PNP's intensified campaign against organized crime led to the dismantling last year of 600 armed groups, representing a 74 percent performance growth compared to 345 groups dismantled during the previous year. -