Mathew Daley, president of the US-Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Business Council, said Thursday they also intend to inform other American firms about the economic opportunities in the Philippines.

"We will work with you and the government in bringing the access between the Philippines to the American audience and that we will be bringing this mission to Manila in October," Daley said during a luncheon meeting with President Arroyo together with 20 leaders of American companies at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel.

The President is on a three-day working visit in New York, mainly to address the United Nations General Assembly. She will return to Manila on Sunday, Sept. 30, 2007.

Among the American business executives who attended the luncheon meet were from Abbott Laboratories, AES, AIG, Citi, The Coca-Cola Company, Ford Motor Company, InterGen, Pfizer, and Time Warner.

In his remarks, Daley praised the "strong Philippine economy" built upon sound fiscal and monetary policies of the Arroyo administration.

"I think the council and its members are very excited about the opportunities in the Philippines. The statistics tell the story," he said.

He also cited the "remarkable accomplishments" in the Philippine domestic economy, saying Manila has the fastest yearly progress in economy, smallest increase in the prices, and the most number of new jobs created in the last two decades.

"I think one of the greatest challenges now is to focus perception to catch up with that reality. There is always the inevitable line," Daley said.

Martin Sullivan, president and chief executive officer of AIG, also commended the President for an "excellent job" in running the economy of the Philippines.

"It has really shown tremendous progress under her leadership and she recognizes quite clearly the long standing bilateral relationships between the Philippines and the United States," he said in the same meeting.

Mrs. Arroyo thanked the American businessmen for their plans to look into investment ventures in the Philippines.

She promised to sustain the economic growth and further improve the business climate in the Philippines, assuring the businessmen that revenues would be channeled to build modern infrastructure to attract more investors.

"I’m very happy and grateful for your willingness to share the good news about the Philippines with the rest of the American business community," she said.

She said the Philippines is now on the path to permanent growth and stability "because we are following up the pain of raising taxes with the gains of investing the proceeds in human and physical infrastructure which shall bring in investments and create jobs and that’s the source of long lasting economic growth and development."

The US-ASEAN Business Council and affiliates are dedicated to strengthening bilateral and USASEAN relations and building strong economic and commercial ties.

Members of the council include Fortune 1000 companies in support of promoting trade, investment, and technology cooperation, advancing USASEAN relations through strong participation in public-private partnerships, and committing to development and corporate social responsibility.

The council’s members come from various industries, including aerospace, agribusiness, automobiles, computers and information technology, consumer goods, energy exploration and development, express delivery services, financial services, health care and pharmaceuticals, media and entertainment, mining, software, and telecommunications.

Arroyo trumpets progress in RP outsourcing sector

NEW YORK CITY (via PLDT) — Spreading the good news about the country’s economic boom, President Arroyo yesterday encouraged the American business community to invest in the Philippines, particularly in the lucrative business process outsourcing (BPO) industry.

At the "Outsourcing Summit: Roadmap 2010 — New Directions in Offshoring and Outsourcing to the Philippines" at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel, the President trumpeted the country’s unprecedented fiscal progress in two decades partly driven by the trailblazing outsourced call centers.

On the second day of her three-day visit in New York City, Mrs. Arroyo said the Philippines has become one of the most attractive off-shoring destinations in the world "because of cost competitiveness and more importantly the country’s highly trainable, English-proficient, IT-enabled quality management manpower."

She said the International Monetary Fund 2007 Global Sourcing Study recognizes the Philippines as the second most preferred off-shoring destination after India, which has been echoed by top outsourcing analysts, advisers and sourcing companies.

"The sector continues to grow by leaps and bounds. The business services sector has become the fastest growing sector in the economy providing 300,000 new jobs since 2000," she said.

Mrs. Arroyo said the present US$ 3.6 billion industry is expected to increase threefold by 2010.

"We encourage those who have invested to continue to do so. And to those of you who are just getting to know the Philippines, we urge you to come explore all that the country has to offer you and your business," she said.

She acknowledged that the BPO industry has contributed "mightily" to the "economic renaissance" in the Philippines.

She said the Philippines has reached a new level of maturity and stability with some of the strongest economic fundamentals in two decades.

The President reaffirmed her resolve to consolidate the gains in new revenues by making long overdue investments in human and physical infrastructure, including education, healthcare, roads and bridges to upgrade the competitiveness of the Philippines.

She said the government is on track in balancing the budget in 2008, two years ahead of schedule.

Prior to the BPO summit, the President held meetings with several business executives on the second day of her working visit in New York. She met the executives of Merill Lynch and Head Strong, Washington Mutual SVP James Livesay, UST Global Inc. chairman Satendra Gupta, and JP Morgan. (Genalyn D. Kabiling)

GMA to assure UN of commitment to human rights

NEW YORK CITY (via PLDT) — President Arroyo is expected to assure the international community about her government’s commitment to uphold and protect human rights in her address before the 62nd session of the United Nations General Assembly.

The President said she would also report to the 190-member UN body the administration’s efforts to sustain economic growth, reduce poverty, and the peace process in Mindanao.

Mrs. Arroyo is scheduled to deliver the country report during the UN General Assembly at 10 a.m. Friday here (10 p.m. Friday in Manila).

In an interview with reporters Thursday at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel, the President said she would tackle the government’s resolve to address the spate of killings in the country when she takes the UN podium.

Mrs. Arroyo said her administration is "very much committed to human rights" despite criticisms from local and foreign groups about her poor human rights record.

She even pointed out that the Philippines recently won an extended three-year term at the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC).

The Philippines ranked third in the race for the 14 available seats in the 47-member council by garnering 179 of 190 votes.

Malacanang had earlier said the country’s reelection to the UNHRC was a recognition by UN member-nations about the government’s sincere efforts to address issues of human rights.

Apart from the human rights situation in the Philippines, the President said she would also emphasize that the UN remains a central pillar of global engagement to develop the economy, ensure peace and security and lift the nation out of poverty.

"I’ll begin by saying how important it is to be globally engaged because that’s really what the 21st century is all about, and the Philippines believes in that, that’s why the United Nations is important to us," she said.

Mrs. Arroyo said she would also talk about the Philippine economy and its accomplishments in recent years.

She will also share before the UN the government’s initiatives to protect the environment, particularly the "Green Philippines" program.

"During the APEC (Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation) summit, we kept stressing how addressing environmental issues should be within the process of the UN, so we are affirming that, and we’ll share a few things on what we’re doing in the Philippines," she said.

On security, Arroyo said she would also discuss the peace process in Mindanao, including government moves to promote religious understanding and economic development in the conflict areas.

On global trade, Arroyo said she would also push for the revival of the Doha round of talks, as well as remind developed nations of the Monterey Consensus commitment of allocating 0.7 percent of their gross national product for official development assistance. (Genalyn D. Kabiling)