8 Cabinet officials tasked to complete Palace projects

President Arroyo has designated eight Cabinet secretaries and presidential advisers to "crack the whip" to ensure the administration’s eight flagship projects are completed within the next six months.

Speaking at the two-day Cabinet workshop at Clark Field last October 2, Mrs. Arroyo named the following as her point men:

• Transportation and Communications Secretary Leandro Mendoza and Tourism Secretary Richard Gordon to coordinate with the Philippine International Air Terminals Co. (Piatco) for the scheduled "soft opening" of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport-Terminal 3 on Dec. 15.

• Mendoza to ensure the start of construction within six months of the North Rail project to link Metro Manila to Clark and Metro Manila to Batangas port.

• Trade and Industry Secretary Manuel Roxas II to review tariff policy signals to slow down Philippine accession to AFTA (Asean Free Trade Agreement) tariff reduction schedule to encourage the manufacturing sector.

• Gordon, along with Chairman Bayani Fernando of the Metro Manila Development Authority, to coordinate the transformation of Makati and Roxas Boulevard as urban/tourist commercial destinations.

• Agriculture Secretary Leonardo Montemayor and presidential advisers Sito Lorenzo and Lito Sarmiento to tap private investors to invest in agriculture.

• Secretary Michael Defensor of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council, and Interior and Local Government Secretary Jose Lina Jr. to "jumpstart housing projects" in coordination with local government units, and tap idle military lands as housing sites in coordination with the Department of National Defense.

Mrs. Arroyo reiterated her six-month timetable when she spoke at the induction of newly elected officials of the Liberal Party at Rajah Sulaiman Park in Malate, Manila yesterday.

"I am proud that among those who will be implementing our national agenda are key LP leaders Mar Roxas and Mike Defensor," she said. "They hold key roles in our national agenda."

Roxas, one of the administration’s key economic managers, is the brains behind her policy to promote the domestic economy as a measure to cope with the global economic slowdown, Mrs. Arroyo added. – Marichu Villanueva