GMA targets 4 M new jobs till 2004

BAGUIO CITY — Amid grim predictions of a global economic slump, President Arroyo vowed to create four million new jobs as she painted a rosy picture of the Philippine economy next year.

In her weekly radio-television program aired from the presidential Mansion House here yesterday, the President expressed optimism that the country would sustain its economic growth, rein in inflation, bring down unemployment and curb foreign exchange speculation.

"Countries like Singapore are in recession, but we have positive growth. Our peso is stable. The price of rice is stable," Mrs. Arroyo said.

"We have survived the storm and our economy has stabilized because of the growing number of jobs, aided by industrial peace and good relations between labor and capital," the President said.

She pointed out that the new jobs would come from emerging small and medium-scale enterprises, the tourism and transportation sector, information and communications technology as well as the agriculture modernization program.

The Chief Executive has designated businessman Luisito Lorenzo as her adviser for job generation in the agriculture sector.

She brushed aside fears that the Philippines could be affected by the crisis in Argentina. "That is far away. The fall of their GNP (gross national product), their high inflation rate, the shortage of food...it is far from our situation," Mrs. Arroyo said.

She cited Congress’ passage of economic reform bills and the success in keeping the budget deficit within government ceilings despite skepticism from international institutions like the International Monetary Fund.

She conceded, however, certain shortcomings in such areas as land reform and delayed release of development funds.

"There was more than 11 percent unemployment when I took over as president (on Jan. 20). Now, it is 9.8 percent. That is still high," the President said.

To fight inflation, Mrs. Arroyo said the government will concentrate its efforts on reining in prices of food and medicine without resorting to price control.

She said the government would concentrate on its competitive advantage of low-cost, skilled labor.

To deflect further softening of the peso, the President said the government would take positive steps to prevent speculation.

Asked about criticisms that the general public has not felt the effects of economic growth, Mrs. Arroyo countered that the people would feel it more if the economy collapsed. "You notice the negative more than the positive."

The government is expecting gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 3.3 percent and GNP growth of 3.7 percent this year.

The GDP growth target for next year was placed at about 4 to 4.5 percent while the GNP growth was set at 4.5 to 5.5 percent.

Meanwhile, opposition Sen. Teresa Aquino-Oreta urged the Arroyo administration to continue treating job generation as a high priority in its economic agenda for 2002.

Oreta issued the call as she expressed doubts over a report by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) saying the unemployment rate went down from 10.2 percent last year to 9.8 percent this year.

However, the DOLE also reported that cases of business closure and retrenchment went up by 19 percent during the first 10 months of 2001, or from 1,927 last year to 2,294 this year.

Oreta noted that for October alone, 313 businesses closed shop or laid off personnel due to the economic slowdown.

"How can the DOLE reconcile these negative statistics and still claim that unemployment has dropped this year?" Oreta said in a statement.

However, she expressed optimism that Malacañang would still deliver on its pledge during the Dec. 10 socio-economic summit to create more jobs and modernize agriculture as a way to spur rural growth and raise incomes in the countryside.

"Job generation should still be Malacañang’s paramount concern given that unemployment is still pegged at a high of 9.8 percent based on DOLE data despite a decline from last year’s figure.

"Malacañang should remain steadfast in its commitment to create more jobs and preserve existing ones next year as one tangible way to bring the benefits of economic growth to the ordinary Filipino. Creating more jobs translates to higher consumer spending, which in turn spurs business activity and revs up the economy," Oreta said. — Marichu Villanueva, Aurora Alambra