Press Release
April 15, 2009

Press statements of Senator Loren Legarda

ON ENVIRONMENT AWARD

I congratulate Atty. Antonio Oposa for being granted the 2008 International Environmental Law Award by the Center for International Environmental Law, which is based in Washington, D.C., USA. Citizen Oposa was responsible for obtaining the Supreme Court decision requiring government agencies to clean up Manila Bay and to implement environmental laws, like the Solid Waste Management Act.

The success of Attorney Oposa in compelling the government to comply strictly with environmental enhancement laws signifies what a simple individual can do to make life better for the present and future generations. I urge our countrymen, in communities from barangays to towns and cities, to emulate the example of Attorney Oposa in actively pursuing the protection and enhancement of our environment.

A good environment promotes the health of the community, improves the quality of life and protects life-giving resources, such as fishing, agriculture, poultry and livestock. It also prevents climate change that threatens the existence of whole communities worldwide.

OBAMA'S FOREIGN POLICY

I hail the foreign policy initiatives of US President Barrack Obama that promote world peace, understanding and cooperation. In particular, I welcome his directive to allow Americans with relatives in Cuba to visit that island and remit money to them in unlimited amounts. I also welcome his statement in Turkey that the United States "is not at war with Islam", as well as his opening up of negotiations with Iran over the nuclear issue.

We Filipinos, grappling with the problem of chronic poverty, will benefit from a world environment free from tension, conflict and suspicions. Wars and an unremitting arms race will divert development aid to armaments. Worse, if a war breaks out with Iran, it will not only devastate present and potential sources of employment for Filipinos in the entire Middle East, it would also push up prices of petroleum beyond what could be afforded by developing countries like ours.

The easing up of tension affecting relations between Islamic countries and the Western world could also affect favorably our continuing problem over secessionist movements in the South. I hope that the US government's revision of some of its foreign policies would also include a review of its current Visiting Forces Agreement with the Philippines which is a cause of local dissent.

Our government should manifest its support for the Obama foreign policies more strongly in the international sphere.

FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT

The sharp decline in foreign direct investment (FDI) received by the Philippines over the past two years is alarming. According to data released by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, FDI last January was 51.9 percent lower than the FDI received in the same month last year. In the whole year of 2008, net FDI fell 48 percent.

Government should impartially review the causes for the decline. It cannot be blamed solely on the global financial crisis. Were corruption, government inefficiency and wrong policies also part of the problem? Certainly, there can be no basis for the claim of the Central Bank that "sound microeconomic fundamentals have continued to attract FDI inflows," when in fact its own statistics show a drastic slump in the FDI receipts.

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