NOLI EXPECTS SWEEP IN HIS HOME PROVINCE FOR HIM AND GMA
MANILA, February 14, 2004 (STAR) By Marvin Sy - Vice presidential candidate Sen. Noli de Castro said yesterday he is confident of securing a 100 percent vote for himself and President Arroyo in his home province of Mindoro Oriental.De Castro, during the Mindoro Oriental leg of their campaign sortie, corrected Mrs. Arroyo when she said 90 percent of the province supports the candidates of the Koalisyon ng Katapatan at Karanasan sa Kinabukasan (K-4).
"Not only 90 percent but 100 percent of Mindoro is for the President," De Castro said in Filipino.
Mrs. Arroyo’s official campaign spokesman, Michael Defensor, also expressed confidence that the President will have 100 percent support in De Castro’s bailiwick.
"There is no competition here at Mindoro. It will be a landslide here for the President and I believe that with (De Castro) in the lead at least 80 percent of the votes will be for the President. It would be a shame if the votes will be anything less than 80 percent," Defensor said.
Mrs. Arroyo, in what Malacañang described as part of "governance," mixed campaigning with the launch or inspection of various government projects as she went from province to province.
Upon arriving at the Roxas City port on board a helicopter, the President visited the police headquarters before inspecting the construction of the port access road’s extension and the passenger terminal.
She also inspected the ramp for the government’s "nautical highway" project, which aims to decrease the cost of transporting goods by bridging the country’s various islands through the use of ferries, passenger and cargo vessels, and other modes of transportation.
Mrs. Arroyo made brief stopovers at Bansud, Naujan, Gloria, De Castro’s hometown of Pola, and Calapan. At Pinamalayan, the President had to answer questions raised by residents during a town hall meeting.
Mrs. Arroyo stressed that Mindoro Oriental is now the second largest rice producer in the country through her administration’s efforts. She noted that farmers in Mindoro Oriental now produce 200 cavans of rice per hectare by using the "Gloria" hybrid rice, compared to the 80 cavans they used to harvest using the traditional rice varieties.
"But this is only a down payment. There are still several areas that need irrigation," she said.
The President lamented that new irrigation projects and the rehabilitation of old irrigation systems have not been completed because she did not have a full six-year term.
Asked about her priorities should she win the May presidential elections, Mrs. Arroyo said she will merely continue what she started and ensure the completion of various projects.
The President promised to provide six million jobs over the next six years to address the problem of unemployment, noting that she was able to provide three million new jobs since she assumed office in January 2001. The previous administration was able to generate only one million.
Mrs. Arroyo also vowed to keep inflation in check by continuing her administration’s support for the agricultural sector.
"We provided P20 billion every year for agricultural modernization. None of the other administrations were able to allocate this much," she said in Filipino.
The President, however, pointed out that the country needs 500,000 hectares planted to the Gloria rice in order to be self-sufficient.
Mrs. Arroyo also promised to provide microfinancing in all barangays to support small and medium enterprises, housing for the poor and indigenous people, and health insurance for every family. She also vowed to reduce the cost of medicine by half.
Meanwhile, the President said the provision of less expensive fertilizers and farming equipment from China for the expected increase in the production of Gloria rice will be her final national initiative.
She said Agriculture Secretary Luis Lorenzo Jr. just arrived from China and brought with him the Chinese government’s commitment to provide low-cost fertilizer and equipment for Filipino farmers.
The Gloria rice is also a product of China, which it shared with the Philippines during Mrs. Arroyo’s state visit in November 2001.
According to Mrs. Arroyo, the "state secret" shared by Chinese Premier Zhu Rongii has resulted in a rapid increase of productivity among Filipino rice farmers.
From 35,000 hectares in 2002, the President reported that there are now 100,000 hectares planted to Gloria rice in 2003. This figure is expected to go up to 500,000 for this year.
Mrs. Arroyo assured the public that the government will be able to purchase the bumper crop of rice from the farmers, since the National Food Authority’s budget will be increased from P1 billion to P4 billion.
She pointed out that the Philippines will no longer have to import rice from other countries and may even regain its capacity to export rice.
Mrs. Arroyo also said that Mindoro Oriental, aside from producing grains, can also be a potentially huge market for aquaculture, particularly for breeding tilapia (St. Peter’s fish).
Reported by: Sol Jose Vanzi
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