Arroyo administration

BY WENDELL VIGILIA
CONCEPCION, Tarlac – Liberal Party standard bearer Sen. Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III on Tuesday accused Sen. Manuel Villar, of using too much money in his campaign and forming an "unholy alliance" with the Arroyo administration.

"Alam niyo naman po, mapera yung kalaban ko. Magsasama-sama ang pwersa ng kadiliman," he told a crowd of about a thousand people at the Concepcion public market.

Ice cream vendor Jeff Garcia, 37, one of the faces in the crowd, said he would vote for Aquino not only because they hail from the same province but because of his strong conviction against graft and corruption.

"Maganda ang layunin niya sa kapwa," he said, adding that the public money that will be saved from corruption is enough to cause economic recovery.

Chronic deficit spending since President Arroyo rose to power in 2001 is the main reason why the national debt ballooned to P4.2 trillion, from just around P2.2 billion eight years ago, a former budget chief said Friday.

"The major source of the ballooning debt of the country, from P2.2 trillion to P4.2 trillion, is the yearly deficit under the Arroyo administration. Too much spending; we're talking of P200 billion to P300 billion deficits," former budget secretary Benjamin Diokno told ABS-CBN's Umagang Kay Ganda.

Diokno, former President Joseph Estrada's budget chief, said he expects the government to incur a P250 to P300 billion deficit this year and another P200 billion in 2010.

MANILA The Arroyo administration is seriously considering the granting of incentives, particularly tax breaks, to companies that decide not to retrench their workers even in the face of the deepening global and financial crunch, the chairman of the Board of Investments (BOI) disclosed.

Undersecretary Elmer Hernandez of the Department of Trade and Industry, who is also the BOI chief, explained the incentives are to be granted in a determined attempt to keep the country’s employment levels at a minimum despite the ongoing crisis.

Earlier, the Department of Labour and Employment warned that at least 10,000 Filipino workers have been retrenched since the country started feeling the adverse impact of the crisis in late 2008.