RP recovering from crisis-Estrada

Oops, Take Two.

President Estrada, claiming he was quoted out of context, denied yesterday having declared that the country is in a crisis.

In another move, the President assured the business community there is method behind the "seeming madness" of his administration, rejecting criticisms that the economy was adrift 19 months into his six-year term.

Mr. Estrada insisted that what he said in his speech at the National Prayer Breakfast with religious leaders at the Manila Hotel the other day was that the country has overcome the crisis and was, in fact, the first to emerge out of the regional financial crunch.

In his speech, he said he was glad "this religious undertaking comes at a time when the whole nation is facing the difficult trials of economic and political problems."

"I need not dispute nor deny the displeasure of many regarding the crisis that grips the country at present," he said.

"Our nation is, indeed, beset with too many ills, but I would be the last one to lose heart. When I assumed the presidency a year ago, I placed all my trust in the power of God just as I continue to place all my trust in His hands now," Mr. Estrada added.

The President took to task reporters covering Malacañang for using his statement on the crisis as slant for their story.

"The headline is very destabilizing. It's a national prayer. I did say that we have overcome the crisis," Mr. Estrada said.

He said the headline might project a negative image for the country and scare away foreign investors.

He asserted that he has repeatedly declared that the country has attained economic gains during his watch. "So there is no basis to say we are a nation in crisis when we are, in fact, on the (road to) recovery."

Coming to the rescue of his boss, Presidential Spokesman Fernando Barican elaborated that the "crisis" referred to was a "result of several realities."

He identified the "realities" as the regional currency crisis that swept the region two years ago, the continuing oil price hikes that hampered efforts at economic recovery, and lack of political unity and the resultant image problem projected to fund managers and investors.

In a speech at a joint oath-taking rites for five business groups at the Dusit Hotel Nikko in Makati City the other night, the President said his government has a vision focused on addressing mass poverty and turning the national economy around.

The affair involved the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI), the Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP), the Philippine Export, the Management Association of the Philippines and the Philippines Inc.

"I know that most of you did not vote for me, and still remain skeptical and critical of me," Mr. Estrada told the business leaders.

"We meet at a time when the business sector is bothered by what it perceives to be lack of direction, or flip-flopping, or drift, and of wrong-headed policies on the part of the government. I believe the perception must be corrected," Mr. Estrada said.

The President's popularity has plummeted during the past six months over allegations of cronyism and a perceived slowing down of economic reforms meant to further liberalize the local market.

Mr. Estrada reacted by revamping his Cabinet and shelving his unpopular plan to amend the Constitution.

The Chief Executive insisted in his speech that his administration was following a master plan which involves doing away with "protected, narrow, inward-looking policies of the past."

"People tend to see only the seeming madness, but not the method behind the seeming madness. They see the turbulence of the surface of the river, but not the steady, determined flow of the water underneath," Mr. Estrada said.

"Should my government offer less day-to-day excitement? Perhaps, but that would mean offering more day-to-day boredom," he added.

Mr. Estrada also hit back at his critics whom he referred to as "bleeding hearts" for criticizing his strong-arm tactics against crime, which included the fielding of Marines in Metro Manila and spray-painting the homes of suspected drug dealers.

Both moves have been challenged before the courts.

"If the owners of those walls were innocent, they should sue for defacement of private property," he said.

Stressing that he was determined to stamp out graft and corruption, he challenged the businessmen to do their share by not cheating on taxes and avoiding bribing law enforcers.

He called for reforms in the country's "primitive" securities market, but did not say anything about allegations that he had pressured Securities and Exchange Commission chairman Perfecto Yasay Jr. into clearing Dante Tan of Best World Resources on charges of price manipulation in the stock market.

He also said he would not pursue his Charter change initiative "until the nation is ready to deal with it rationally rather than emotionally."

Reacting to Mr. Estrada's challenge, the business leaders scored the government for alleged ambiguity in policies and changing the rules in the middle of the game.

While PCCI president Miguel Varela agreed with Mr. Estrada's statement that "it takes two to tango," he said the government should make its rules very clear to make it difficult for unscrupulous businessmen to circumvent it.

"Transparency and consistency are the key to efficient and graft-free governance," Varela stressed.

As long as there are loopholes, short cuts or constantly changing policies, Varela said there would always be people taking advantage of the situation.

He viewed as positive steps the Estrada administration's willingness to accept proposals from the business community and government's efforts to bridge the gap between the state and the business sector.

Raul Concepcion, chairman of the Federation of Philippine Industries, said Mr. Estrada is still in the honeymoon period with the business community following the recent Cabinet revamp.

The business leaders have given the President 100 days to prove that his administration is coherent and has a clear vision of its objectives.

Opposition Sen. Raul Roco said "nobody could disagree with Mr. Estrada's statement that the country is in crisis.

"The more important thing for the President to do is to identify the cause of the crisis and solve that, and I think that his advisers should study carefully," Roco said.

At the same time, Roco noted that Mr. Estrada himself created a big problem for incoming Presidential Management Staff (PMS) chief Aprodicio Laquian by revealing that he is a Canadian citizen.

Roco pointed out that if Laquian is, indeed, a Canadian citizen, he committed an election offense when he campaigned for Mr. Estrada in the May 1998 elections.

Sen. Robert Barbers, also an oppositionist, urged the people to rally behind the President's call for national unity amid the crisis gripping the country.

"All sectors, regardless of party affiliation, should support the call of President Estrada because without support of the people, no government will succeed," Barbers said in an interview with The STAR.

He added that the calls for unity and public support are an indication that the President is aware of the difficulties besetting the country.

"The President has the political will to overcome the problem and our share is to give him full support," Barbers added.

The militant Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) said, however, that it would support the Estrada administration provided the government shows its sincerity in fulfilling its promises to the people.

"The President cannot just call for public support if he is not doing his job. The public is already tired of his roadshow. Before he asks for unity, he should do something that will win back the confidence of the majority, especially the workers," said Bayan secretary general Teodoro Casiño.

He lamented that the recent Cabinet revamp was not even a sincere effort by Mr. Estrada to improve public service. "The revamp was meant for image building and not to introduce improvements."

For its part, ECOP said Mr. Estrada should focus his efforts on economic recovery rather than other problems confronting the country.

To acquire financial support from other countries, ECOP suggested that the government should prepare a total infrastructure plan that includes budget sharing under the build-own-operate and build-operate-transfer schemes.

On the other hand, the private think-tank Foundation for Economic Freedom (FEF) urged the President to stick to economic reforms which it said is a sure-fire formula to keep the country out of crisis.

FEF said one of the reasons for the country's present economic condition was the failure of the government to institute economic reforms.

"Over the past 18 months, nothing substantial has moved in the area of economic reforms," FEF president Alex Magno said in a statement..

"This was primarily because the President continues to allow himself to be derailed by such issues as how he has been doing in the surveys and how his aides have been behaving," Magno said.