On the assumption that we heard/read the SONA of the President last month (July 2009), we are to identify at least 3 areas related to Human Resource Mangement and explain how these areas can improve our quality of life.
1) Key Reforms
“Towards that vision, we made key reforms. Our economic plan centers on putting people first. Higit sa lahat, ang layunin ng ating mga patakaran ay tulungan ang masisipag na karaniwang Pilipino. (applause) New tax revenues were put in place to help pay for better healthcare, more roads, and a strong education system. Housing policies were designed to lift up our poorer citizens so they can live and raise a family with dignity. Ang ating mga puhunan sa agrikultura ay naglalayong kilalanin ang ating mga magsasaka bilang backbone ng ating bansa, (applause) at bigyan sila ng mga modernong kagamitan to feed our nation and feed their own family.”
Government Owned and Controlled Corporations Reform (GOCC)
After discussions and consultations, the Consulting Team, ADB, and DOF agreed to bring down to four (4) the initial six (6) pilot GOCCs. The key criteria for the selection of the four pilot GOCCs are, a) GOCCa??s importance to the sector, b) impact on fiscal position of the government , e.g extent of dependence on the national budget,c) broad sector coverage, possibility of quick gains from reforms, visibility of GOCCs, and willingness of the GOCC management to undertake reforms. The 4 pilot GOCCs identified are: Home Guaranty Corporation (HGC), National Development Company (NDC), Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA) and Philippine National Railways (PNR). The proposed policy and GOCC specific reforms that will enable the 4 pilot GOCCs to operate more efficiently.
2) Infrastructures
“Compared to the past we have built more and better infrastructure, including those started by others but left unfinished. The Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway is a prime example of building better roads. (applause) It creates wealth as the flagship of the Subic-Clark corridor.
We have built airports of international standard, upgraded domestic airports, built seaports and the RORO system. I ask Congress for a Philippine Transport Security Authority Law.”
Philippines to spend 28 billion dollars on infrastructure projects
MANILA, April 27, 2006 (AFP) - The Philippines plans to spend 1.5 trillion pesos (28 billion dollars) on major infrastructure projects over the next five years, seen as a hindrance to investments, the government said Thursday.
It plans to finance 56 percent of the costs and rely on the private sector for the balance of funds required for the projects.
About 743 billion pesos worth of transportation projects lead the list, the economic planning department said in a statement.
The rest would be spent on the power sector, water utilities, communications and social infrastructure.
Infrastructure spending would account for about four percent of the country's total gross domestic product for 2006-201O, the statement added.
"Infrastructure plays a crucial role in boosting economic growth and reducing poverty. Substantial investment is needed to create new infrastructure and maintain or improve existing ones," Economic Planning Secretary Romulo Neri said.
Kuwait firms plan $10 bln Philippines investments
KUWAIT, Jan 15 (Reuters) - Kuwaiti firms including logistics provider Agility plan to invest more than $10 billion in infrastructure projects in the Philippines, the company leading the group said on Tuesday.
The firms and one non-Kuwaiti company plan to develop airports, ports, railways, power stations and telecommunications, Kuwait investment firm Al-Abraj Holding Co said in a statement.
The deal is pending a signing with the Philippine government expected at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, later this month, Abraj Deputy Chairman Sameer Nasser Ali Hussein told Reuters.
The Philippines government has said it wants to invest 1.7 trillion pesos ($41 billion) in its power, water, telecommunications and transport industries by 2010. Last year, it offered 10 infrastructure projects worth $2 billion to foreign investors.
LUCRATIVE
Gulf Arab states and companies, buoyed by record oil prices, have been looking to invest more in Asia, where economies are growing faster than in Europe and the United States, traditional destinations for their surplus funds.
Qatar's $60 billion sovereign wealth fund, the Qatar Investment Authority, said last month it plans to spend at least $850 million in Indonesia, its biggest commitment to the country. [ID:nL06717821]
Kuwait's Abraj said the group would set up a holding company in Europe, of which the Kuwaiti partners would own 75 percent and British firm Argon, acting on behalf of Philippine authorities, 25 percent. This could change a little, Hussein said.
He said Abraj wanted to raise the money possibly through an initial public offering, while Philippine institutions would also contribute to the project.
Kuwaiti partners include International Leasing & Investment and al-Mal Investment Co , Abraj said.
Agility said negotiations were continuing. "A big part of this project would come to Agility," Hussein said.
The biggest investment from the Middle East in the Philippines is a 40 percent stake held by state-owned Saudi Aramco in Petron Corp , the largest oil refiner in the country.
3) Microfinance
“Nakinabang ang pitong milyong entrepreneurs sa P165 billion in microfinance loans.
Nakinabang ang sandaan libo sa emergency employment ng ating economic resiliency plan. Kasama natin ngayon ang isa sa kanila, si Gigi Gabiola. (applause) Dating household service worker sa Dubai, ngayon siya ay nagtatrabaho sa DOLE. Good luck, Gigi”
• The Government of the Philippines took a decidedly pro-microfinance stance ten years ago. How has the sector evolved in relation to your expectations at that time? Do you feel that the 1997 National Strategy is still valid today?
About ten years ago, the vision to have a viable and sustainable private microfinancial market was espoused through the creation of the National Strategy for Microfinance. The main objective of this strategy is to provide low income households and microenterprises access to financial services.
I am happy to report we have made significant progress since then. Through the National Strategy for Microfinance, a policy framework was created and several laws and issuances were passed to ascertain that the private sector will have a greater role in the provision of financial services and that the Government will focus on the creation of an enabling policy environment. It is evident that these policy principles are being adopted. At present, more and more private microfinance institutions are providing this much needed service while the Government rationalized its directed credit programs and established a microfinance-friendly policy and regulatory environment. The strategy is definitely still the guiding principle of the development of the sector in the Philippines.
• What are the salient features of microfinance in the Philippines? What are the main challenges facing the microfinance sector in the Philippines today?
I would say that one of the most salient features of microfinance in the Philippines is that there is a microfinance-friendly environment in which microfinance institutions operate, whether Bank, Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) or Cooperative.
In the Philippines, the necessary infrastructure is in place for these microfinance institutions to flourish in a sound and sustainable way. Aside from the National Strategy, we have a regulatory framework and a uniform set of performance standards that cut across all types of microfinance institutions.
The development of microfinance in the banking sector is also one of the encouraging features of microfinance in the Philippines. The Bangko Sentral NG Pilipinas (Philippine Central Bank / BSP) has taken proactive measures in institutionalizing microfinance within the banking sector through the creation of an enabling policy environment, capacity building, as well as promotion and advocacy. We now have, in the BSP, a Microfinance Committee, a Microfinance Unit and a core group of examiners specialized in microfinance operations of Banks. These initiatives have borne much fruit as the number of Banks with microfinance operations has increased by 300%.
Because of the increased interest in microfinance and the ever-growing number of microfinance institutions, the main challenges lie in assuring that the operations maintain a good level of performance standards. At the end of the day, only sound and viable institutions can provide quality and timely services to the entrepreneurial poor, the microfinance clients.
Another challenge is the need for a comprehensive credit bureau. Again, because of the increased number of players in the field, credit pollution and multiple borrowings need to be addressed through the proper reporting and sharing of credit information.
Microfinance Focus August 31, 2009: Grameen Foundation on Monday announced it has facilitated the first privately placed corporate note issued by the Center for Agricultural and Rural Development, Inc. (CARD) of the Philippines.
The $10.4 million transaction, which was supported by a $5 million guarantee from Grameen Foundation’s Growth Guarantee program and related advisory support, was oversubscribed by six local Filipino institutional investors: Security Bank Corporation, Allied Banking Corporation, Banco de Oro Unibank, Inc., BDO Leasing and Finance, Inc., BDO Private Bank, Inc., and Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation. SB Capital Inc, the investment banking subsidiary of Security Bank Corporation, served as the lead arranger for the notes issuance.
The five-year note is the first ever to be issued by a microfinance institution (MFI) in Southeast and East Asia, and marks an important milestone in opening up broader capital markets to MFIs in the Philippines.
This is Grameen Foundation’s third and largest Growth Guarantee transaction with CARD and will provide it with long-term financing to expand its outreach by an additional 100,000 poor families. The first two transactions, totaling $5.3 million in bank financing, were partially secured by guarantees of $1 million each through the program.
“In the current economic climate, when banks and investors are generally more risk averse than they were previously, this transaction sends a strong message about investor confidence in quality MFIs such as CARD, as well as in the broader microfinance industry,” said Alex Counts, president of Grameen Foundation.
CARD is one of the first Grameen replication programs in the world and is the largest MFI in the Philippines. Formed in 1986, it targets primarily low-income landless rural women and serves over 435,740 clients throughout the Philippines. It is part of CARD Mutually Reinforcing Institutions, a family of organizations which focus on providing financial and non-financial services to poor Filipino women.
“This transaction is a watershed moment for CARD, as well as for the microfinance sectors in Southeast and East Asia,” said Dr. Jaime Aristotle B. Alip, founder and managing director of CARD.
4) Cheaper Medicine
“Mula pa noong 2001, nanawagan na tayo ng mas murang gamot. Nagbebenta tayo ng gamot na kalahating presyo sa libu-libong Botika ng Bayan at Botika ng Barangay sa maraming dako ng bansa. Our efforts prodded the pharmaceutical companies to come up with low-cost generics and brands like RiteMed. I supported the tough version of the House of the Cheaper Medicine law (applause) over the weak version of my critics. (applause) The result: the drug companies volunteered to bring down drug prices, slashing by half the prices of 16 drugs. Thank you, Congressmen Cua, Alvarez, Biron and Locsin.“
For the first time, half-priced essential medicines, universal health insurance coverage and lower rental rates for residential units are now being enjoyed by ordinary Filipinos under the government's social services program for the poor and the vulnerable sector of society.
In her last State-of-the-Nation-Address (SONA) at the Batasan Complex in Quezon City, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo said her administration has been working hard to provide cheaper essential medicines which ordinary Filipinos are now enjoying at some 13,000 Botika ng Barangays nationwide.
To best serve the public welfare, the President said government efforts have now prodded the pharmaceutical industry to come up with a 50 percent cut on low-cost generics and branded medicines like RiteMed under the Cheaper Medicines law which she signed last year.
The President earlier gave a deadline to drug firms to voluntarily comply with the cheaper medicines law by reducing the prices of essential medicines by at least 50 percent. Otherwise, the government will mandate price ceilings for 22 commonly prescribed drugs.
"I supported the tough version of the House on the Cheaper Medicine law. I supported it over the weak version of my critics. The result: the drug companies volunteered to bring down drug prices, slashing by half the prices of 16 drugs," she said.
The President thanked the lawmakers who pushed for the passage of the tougher version of the cheaper medicines law even as she advised critics to just work hard to immediately provide relief for the poor and vulnerable.
The President pointed out that 86 percent of the population is now enjoying Philhealth insurance coverage.
As part of the its economic resiliency plan, the government is providing additional Philhealth benefits for the universal health coverage particularly of the poorest sector.
The President thanked Congress for the passage of the Rent Control Law which she recently signed providing for a one-year moratorium in the rental increase of residential units including the allowable seven percent annual increase until 2013. (PND)
Sources:
http://pid.adb.org/pid/TaView.htm?projNo=39606&seqNo=01&typeCd=2
http://www.gov.ph/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2001259&Itemid=2
http://www.skyscrapercity.com/archive/index.php/t-343729.html
http://www.microfinancefocus.com/news/2009/09/01/grameen-foundation-mobilizes-10-million-investment-for-card-microfinance-2/
http://www.uncdf.org/english/microfinance/pubs/newsletter/pages/2005_03/featured_guest.php
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