GMA reiterates call for strong republic

Embattled President Arroyo vowed yesterday to push on with her economic agenda as street protests over accusations that she cheated in last year’s presidential election continued.

Mrs. Arroyo said the favorable Supreme Court ruling on the expanded value-added tax will speed up her administration’s economic reforms.

"Unfortunately, the politics of destruction and destabilization keep getting in the way of progress we should be looking forward to. Having survived the elements of destabilization wave after wave, it’s our mission now, the duty of this generation of leaders, bankers, entrepreneurs and financiers to build finally a strong Philippine republic in the 21st century," Mrs. Arroyo told a gathering of rural bankers.

"A state that cowers in fear before the mob cannot stand for long," she said.

Mrs. Arroyo reiterated her administration’s efforts to build a "strong republic, a republic so strong that it can defend the poorest, the weakest of Filipinos."

"We cannot tarry any longer in pursuing the aspiration of the common man by staying a soft state," she exhorted.

Mrs. Arroyo warned that the "winds of globalization" have been picking up and the country would be left behind unless it shapes up.

"The ship of the Philippine state must be robust and resilient enough to unfurl its sails to ride those winds rather than fumbling under their force," Mrs. Arroyo said. "An effective state must help its poor and weakest citizens, empower them and reform the structures that make them poor and weak."

Anticipating a political fallout over the EVAT, Mrs. Arroyo appealed to the public for patience, saying the new tax would "entail some sacrifice in the short run" but be beneficial later on.

"They will entail lasting rewards in the form of more jobs and livelihood opportunities, better social services, more infrastructure, less debt and more and better financing for rural programs."

The P120 billion in additional revenue expected from the EVAT, Mrs. Arroyo explained, could help the government balance the budget and, especially, reduce the country’s debt.

"This will benefit these people in this room and will benefit millions of farmers you help every single day," she told rural bankers. — Aurea Calica, Paolo Romero