Press Release
November 27, 2008

ROXAS: PROTECT RP FROM "SICK" WORLD ECONOMY
SENATE TO PUSH CHANGES IN HOUSE VERSION OF 2009 BUDGET

Liberal President Senator Mar Roxas said today that the government must be able to protect the country from effects of the global financial crisis, and that significant changes must be done to the 2009 budget bill already passed by the House of Representatives.

"The world economy is sick, and we ourselves will be affected. Kami sa Senado, pipilitin namin na baguhin itong budget para magkaroon ng sapat na pondo, para mailutang natin ang ekonomiya, at ang hanapbuhay ng mga Pilipino ay masalba (We in the Senate will force a change in the budget for sufficient funds to be available to float our economy, and to save jobs)," said Roxas.

He noted that the House version basically approved the National Expenditure Program submitted by Malacañang in August when the global financial meltdown had not happened yet.

Roxas stressed that the President's economic managers have failed to provide safety nets for sectors expected to be hit most by the crisis, particularly exporters who are now experiencing decreased demand for their products.

"Dapat handa tayo para sa pag-uwi ng mga OFW mula sa Gitnang Silangan at Estados Unidos na mawawalan ng trabaho. Mawawalan rin tayo ng mga OFW remittances, na sa ngayo'y nagpapalutang sa ating ekonomiya (We should be ready for the coming home of OFWs from the Middle East and the United States losing their jobs. We will also lose OFW remittances, which have so far buoyed our economy)," he said.

"Wala pa tayong nakikitang malinaw na hakbang na isasagawa ng gobyerno para ipagtibay ang ating ekonomiya laban dito sa financial tsunami na umiikot sa buong mundo (We have not seen clear steps by the government to strengthen our economy against this financial tsunami going around the world)," he said.

Roxas said the Senate committee on finance, headed by Senator Edgardo Angara, has already expressed in plenary discussions its openness to reconfigurations of the budget.

"The committee has expressed openness to substantial changes in the way the budget is allocated, so that we can ensure that our economy remains as strong as it can be," he said. "The savings of our people should be as insulated from financial turmoil as they can be, and the purchasing power of our people must remain strong, so that it may in fact replace demand that used to come from abroad."

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