Economy stable, Estrada tells US businessmen

Dismissing anew calls for his resignation, President Estrada said he has steered the country to stable growth during his watch.

Mr. Estrada defused allegations of cronyism, corruption and lack of policy, saying the economy had grown during his two years in office and was likely to expand further.

"Our fundamentals are strong, very strong," Mr. Estrada said in a speech before the Asia-Pacific Council of the American Chambers of Commerce late Friday.

"We are in a season of political exaggerations. I would like to make sure you look at the fundamentals and not the theatricals in appraising this country as an investment venue," he told the American businessmen.

The President said the 3.2 percent Gross Domestic Product growth in 1999 met the higher end of the government target, with growth expected at four to five percent in 2000.

Inflation was also benign to date, expected to come in at an average of five to six percent for the year from the previous projection of six to seven percent.

Investors have sworn off the Philippines on concerns about Mr. Estrada's leadership which have triggered a 21 percent quarter-on-quarter decline in stock prices and further weakness of the peso.

"Management style is judged by only one criterion: results. And given the difficulties, results are what my government has been delivering," Mr. Estrada said.

"Overall, our economic performance is superior to that of the past two administrations, and yet, in the face of this record, some of my headline-grabbing opponents are asking me to resign," the President said.

He also told American business leaders he will not change his controversial leadership style.

"They want to reinvent me. I call that reverse dictatorship. I have a right to be what I want to be and to be what I am," Mr. Estrada said.

His comments came after the launch earlier this week of an anti-Estrada "silent protest" movement and calls by a leading opposition senator for him to step down over alleged corruption and cronyism and his supposedly poor working habits.

Just hours before Mr. Estrada spoke on Friday, members of the movement in several parts of Metro Manila changed their tactics and asked motorists to honk their horns to show dissatisfaction with the President, but public response was lukewarm.

The President said on Wednesday opposition politicians and critics demanding his resignation had "lost their minds" and that chronic rumors of a coup were wrecking the economy.

He called for an end to political bickering among Filipinos, saying the country had become the laughingstock of its neighbors.

Catholic bishops, meanwhile, apparently heeded the President's call as they expressed their desire for Mr. Estrada to succeed.

"We want him to succeed very much," said Bishop Nestor Cariño, spokesman for the influential Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP). "This is for the good of the country."

In a related development, a church-based organization shunned a prayer rally planned by Bro. Mike Velarde of the El Shaddai Catholic charismatic movement and urged the faithful to instead join a prayer rally sponsored by the CBCP.

The Promotion of Church People's Response said Velarde was actually a "stooge" of Mr. Estrada -- "a false prophet who is using a movement and prayer rallies as a political propaganda machine of the President."

In a statement, the group said Velarde has been silent on issues such as graft and corruption, cronyism, extreme poverty, proliferation of gambling and other immoral activities.

In other deelopments yesterday, Lakas secretary general and Isabela Rep. Heherson Alvarez described Mr. Estrada as a "simpleton" who could be "wily" at times.

"We thought Erap was a simpleton. He is not," Alvarez said.

"He is a simpleton when it comes to running the presidency, but he is wily" when it comes to issues concerning gambling and cronyism, he said.

In Ramos town, Tarlac, former congressman Jose "Peping" Cojuangco asked the people to "pray for another miracle" to save the country from the people surrounding Mr. Estrada.

Although Cojuangco did not name names, he said "a miracle should take place for the sake of the country." --