Business confidence in RP cited

President Estrada had reason to feel elated yesterday, branding as "good news" the result of a recent survey that showed business executives are still bullish on the Philippine economy.

The survey, conducted by Receivables Integration Systems Inc. (RISI), noted that a majority of respondent-businessmen expect their net sales to grow in the first quarter.

"That is definitely good news," the President told reporters. "RISI is a very respectable firm."

RISI is an associate of Dun & Bradstreet, the leading provider of information for business-to-business relationships. The worldwide survey, called D&B Optimism Index, aims to measure the pulse of the business community as a benchmark for investors.

The survey showed that 70 percent of respondents from the service sector look forward to a favorable projection of their net profit and sales.

In the manufacturing sector, 65 percent of manufacturers expect an increase in demand for their products and services. The same outlook has been projected by wholesalers.

The President noted that his administration's economic recovery effort has started to produce results as proven by the 6.8 percent growth in agriculture last year.

"My economic team is in place. I have my peace and order team in place, and, of course, food security is in place," Mr. Estrada said. "They are starting to produce results. We have no other place to go but up."

Earlier, several local business groups gave the 19-month-old Estrada administration low marks due to the perceived cronies involved in high profile transactions and contracts with the government.

The President admitted that the issue has become a thorn on the side of the administration.

"The only problem we have is cronyism. But they have to name names and show solid evidence so we can go after them," he said. -