PHILIPPINE president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo

GMA's First 100 Days

Net 21 - Educationing Filipino Youth for the 21st Century

Common Man's Day
Medical Missions and Supplemental Feeding

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo served as Secretary of the Department of Social Welfare and Development from July 1998 to October 2000, or a total of 27 months.

In her more than two years at the Department, she established the AHON Programs - Ahon Bayan, Ahon Bata and the Ahon Pamilya - which are all aimed at improving the lives of the poor and the disadvantaged through strengthening linkages with various stakeholders. The Quick Reaction Team was also started during her term.

Ahon Bata sa Lansangan
Our Future is in the Future of Filipino Children

The project seeks to strengthen and speed up past and present attempts to address the difficulty of street children. Specifically, it provides street children and their families with necessary social services to protect their rights and enjoy a new lease on life. The project covers as priority areas the 17 cities and municipalities in the National Capital Region. More than 11,730 children were reached out through the project.

Ahon Bayan
Ahon Bayan and the DSWD's Main Tasks

Ahon Bayan is a resource generation project for social welfare services. It addresses the insufficiency of funds for social welfare. The project aims to produce and mobilize resources by matching donors from local and international funding agencies with proponents from non-government organizations and people's organizations. The project is now institutionalized as a regular DSWD project. Since 1998, Ahon Bayan programme has funded a total of 80 projects throughout the country.

Ahon Pamilya

The project is also universally known as the "National Family Violence Prevention Program". It is a community based plan of preparing family members to protect themselves against violence and manage resolution of disagreement within the context of family members. The program is being supported by the New Zealand government and is being pilot tested in regions III, IV, V, VIII and X.

Quick Reaction Team Pamilya
The program which was launched in January 1999 has put in place an instrument that guarantees immediate response to the needs of sexually abused women and children. It assembled individuals, professionals, volunteers and other socio-civic and religious organizations towards am effective response in sexual abuse cases. It involved the Integrated Bar of the Philippines, Katarungan para sa Kababaihan at Kabataan, and Child Justice League for the provision of legal services. The QRT assisted 4,128 child abuse victims.

Internal Audit Service (IAS) and the External Assistance Office (EAO)
The two offices were also operationalized during her stewardship of DSWD. The IAS helps ensure that DSWD's resources are administered efficiently, economically and effectively through continuous and special review of control and quality assurance, policies and procedures. The EAO on the other hand, mobilizes resources and generates fund sources for social welfare and development projects.
During her stewardship of DSWD, Pres. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo also made major achievements in the regular DSWD programs.

Self- Employment Assistance Kaunlaran (SEA-K)
The SEA-K project is a community-based micro-financing project which builds abilities of people's organizations to self-administer a socialized credit system. Project components are social preparation, capital assistance, savings mobilization and access to other social services. For this project, 2,184 SEA-K Associations were extended capital support benefiting 61,879 families. Each family-beneficiary was given P5,000.00 capital assistance for its chosen livelihood project.

Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services (CIDSS)
The flagship program to fight poverty in the 5th and 6th class municipalities nationwide including urban communities. It uses the four-pronged approach of community organizing, total family approach, convergence and focus targeting. More than one million family-beneficiaries benefited from the package of CIDSS project during her term as Secretary of DSWD.

Early Childhood Development Project (ECD)
The project was designed to uphold the survival and development of children six years old and below in Regions VI, VII and XII. It refers to child and family focused services designed to build on and improve existing health, nutrition and early education services for disadvantaged children. During her term more municipalities and provinces in the pilot region were covered.

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Health Revolution
Leading the country to a better health, safety and well-being, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo keeps on providing development in the health division through various projects and policies. Foremost among these are her commitments to ensure that affordable, high-standard and efficient health services are accessible to poor families. Some of the projects undertaken are food enrichment program, measles elimination campaign for Filipino children, reducing the price of drugs and medicines by fifty percent (50%), Sentrong Sigla health centers, and execution of programs against emerging diseases (e.g. SARS, meningococcemia, Avian flu virus etc.)

Tax and Fiscal Reforms
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has always believed that an increase in revenue collections would result to more funds for social services. It is also expected to strengthen the people's standard of living by providing them with more jobs and attend to the country's budget debit.

That is the reason why through her leadership, the government has instituted administrative measures and revenue-generating tax measures to further improve revenue collections. Three monthly budget surpluses have been recorded in 2005, with revenue collections increasing by 15% in the first eleven months of that same year over the same period in 2004. Thus, the budget deficit is now very well within its target.

The president aims to achieve a balanced budget by 2010 by generating additional revenues and savings through aggressive legislative and administrative measures.

Ginintuang Masaganang Ani
Fighting poverty by building prosperity for the most number of the Filipino people has been the major concern of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo since the start of her term in office. Through Republic Act 8435, otherwise known as the Agriculture and Fisheries Modernization Act (AFMA), the strengthening of the agriculture and fishery sectors by modernization and greater participation of small farm holders was implemented which in turn had resulted to revived food security and food self-sufficiency programs of the government. Effective program implementation and policy execution in 2005 increased the agricultural sector's production during the first three quarters by 1.7%. The government continues to formulate programs which would eventually increase production of agricultural supplies to ensure availability of supply.

Creation of Jobs
Included in the 10-Point Reform Agenda of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, the government is putting its best efforts to give the people with jobs and open up employment to strengthen the economy. Alongside with the government's Medium Term Development Plan for 2004- 2010, employment and generation of jobs are one of the government's top priority.

Improving Transportation and Road System
Decongestion of roads within Metro Manila is part of the agenda of the President in decentralizing progress around the nation through the use of transportation networks like the roll-on roll-off and the digital infrastructures.

Education Reform
In line with her obligation to significantly decrease poverty nationwide, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has stressed the need for an active partnership between the government and various sectors to sustain efforts concerning various aspects of the schooling system. These are lessening the textbook backlog; constructing more school buildings; restoring English as medium of instruction; implementing the Basic Education Curriculum or BEC ; improving teacher welfare; sparing public school teachers from the “vagaries of politics”; mainstreaming distance learning; and launching the internet-based education program.

The National SME Development Agenda
President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has been pushing for the expansion of small and medium enterprises through her national SME Development Agenda, believing that they are a vital engine of the Philippine economy.
Participating agencies have taken the initiative in various projects to attain major gains being a flagship program for poverty improvement. The Department of Trade and Industry remains focused on the small and medium enterprises program of the government while the National Anti-Poverty Commission continues to be the champion for micro-enterprise development and open access to markets for the poor. The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, Department of Science and Technology, the Social Development Committee have likewise been practicing the promotion of SMEs.
The role of Local Government Units (LGUs) has been cited in the implementation of the ‘Isang Bayan, Isang Produkto, Isang Milyong Piso’ program.

Housing
Housing efforts under the Macapagal Arroyo administration plan to provide the bottom 40 percent of households with affordable socialized housing. The private sector shall be organized to innovate and produce decent housing at lower costs, while the government shall be tasked to improve the efficiency of the housing market. The President has enjoined the support of Congress to enact bills addressing the high price of urban lands for housing. By putting into place a sustainable housing financing, the private sector, especially the banks, is called to participate in the housing market. The housing program shall also provide security of tenure for the informal sector, consisting of poor and low salaried workers from government and the private sector. Assistance will be extended in the form of consultations for resettlement, housing and livelihood training to affected poor families who are in danger areas.

Land Distribution
In recognition and support of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) as a strategic program to fight poverty and push rural development, the Macapagal Arroyo administration has speed up land distribution and delivery of support services to the farmer-beneficiaries. The same shall apply to the distribution of public lands. The Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) and Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) are the lead agencies for land distribution, agricultural lands to be distributed by DAR, while public lands to be distributed by DENR.

Mindanao Natin
The Mindanao National Initiative or “Mindanao Natin” is the sound strategy for peace and development in Mindanao that is being executed across many areas of action from security to infrastructure to education to economic growth to poverty reduction to law enforcement. Pushed to be an important step towards the fulfillment of the promise of the region, “Mindanao Natin” aims to mobilize the local governments, civil society and the business community in the blueprint for development for Muslim Mindanao. It has been noted that Muslim Mindanao continued to be the poorest area in the country, beset by a very low literacy rate and whose economic exclusion has resulted in conflicts. Guided by four principles, the socio-economic package would be carried out in over 5,000 villages in Mindanao’s four regions- Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), Southcentral Mindanao, Western Mindanao and Northern Mindanao. A 10-point program has been drawn in view of the Tripoli Agreement reached by the Government of the Republic of the Philippines and the Moro National Liberation Front.

Strong Republic Nautical Highway
The Strong Republic Nautical Highway is one of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's major legacies to the nation. Covering 17 cities, towns and islands that will reduce by 17 hours the travel time using the common land and sea routes, the "highways of the sea" or the "moving bridges concept" is something that could transform not just business and agriculture in our island provinces, but also domestic tourism. The nautical highway will provide the backbone for the development of tourism and agricultural industries, by enhancing the accessibility of unique tourist destinations west of the Philippines. It would minimize the handling expenses and time travel for goods, resulting in reduced prices for consumers. There will be less need for loading the goods on and off barges, as cargo trucks themselves can get on the ro-ro. The leading beneficiaries would be our island provinces.

Presyong Tama, Gamot Pampamilya
Gamot na Mura at Abot Kaya
The Presyong Tama, Gamot Pampamilya is the government's actual response to address the heavy burden of high medicine prices on the Filipino consumers. President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has directed the instant accomplishment of this program that will improve public access to quality healthcare. The program involves the importation of widely recognized, off-patent branded medicines which are usually prescribed for the most common ailments and diseases. These medicines shall be made available to Filipino consumers at very affordable prices.

KALAHI
The Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan (KALAHI) program is an anti- poverty plan of the administration of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. The project will help the government in strengthening the capability of local government units (LGUs) to design, implement, and manage development activities. Such activities may include basic infrastructure like new or rehabilitated roads and bridges, barangay schools and clinics, and water supply and sanitation facilities. Communities will prioritize their development needs, design activities, seek technical expertise and make informed choices on how resources are used for sustainable poverty reduction. More than 5,300 poor barangays in 193 municipalities in 40 of the poorest provinces in the Philippines are probable to benefit from this project. These will be mostly in rural areas, where most poor Filipinos live.

E-Procurement
The Electronic Procurement System or EPS is one initiative of government to improve and modernize government's procurement services. It involves the creation and operation of a central portal for government procurement, bidding and supplier information requirements, and the increasing use of the portal among government agencies. The EPS is expected to attain transparency in public procurement activities. The resulting improved competition will encourage the attainment of the best quality products at the lowest possible prices and consequently generate substantial savings in public spending. Some P80 million in newspaper advertisements and P600 million out of the P17 billion government procurement budget are expected to be saved. Acquisition time by government agencies shall also be shortened by two (2) weeks, and eventually, deliveries can be done "just in time".

Electrification of Barangays
The program aims to provide electricity to 1,513 barangays all over the country.

National Health Insurance Program
Philhealth is the government's priority health program that aims to benefit the country's poor communities. Citing the need for universal health care to help the poor survive with the prohibitive costs of getting sick, the President directed the Philhealth to expand its network coverage to the poor, mostly those living in the urban areas. A health insurance card holder and any member of his family who gets sick can go to a government hospital and present the said card to avail of free medical services.
Good Governance - Intensified Anti-Graft and Corruption Campaign

In her Inaugural Speech in 2001, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo explained on her administration's core belief to achieve good governance: "To ensure that our gains are not degenerated through corruption, we must improve [moral standards]. As we do so, we create fertile ground for good governance based on a sound moral foundation, a philosophy of transparency, and an ethic of effective implementation."

KABAYANIHAN
The program is an integrated delivery of basic services to OFWs at worksites abroad and at home in the Philippines. Under Kabayanihan, the OFWs will be able to avail themselves of the following services: Overseas Workers Welfare Administration On-Site Welfare Services that would include expanded/voluntary membership. DOLE/OWWA/Philippine Overseas Employment Administration Electronic Identification Card (E-Card) services. Health maintenance services through the OWWA Medicare program wherein the OFW and members of the family will be entitled to benefits over and above those granted by PhilHealth. Pag-IBIG Fund's Housing services wherein the DOLE and the Pag-IBIG fund have already signed a memorandum of agreement for the joint implementation of the Pag-IBIG Overseas Housing Program (POP). The POP aims to expand Pag-IBIG membership among OFWs and provide them the opportunity to obtain their own homes at affordable means. SSS Provident Fund (Flexi-Fund) services, which will be solely for OFWs, is designed to allow workers to save hard-earned money while working abroad. By investing in the Flexi-Fund at a very affordable cost, workers are assured continued earnings after retirement.

Tindahan ni Gloria Labandera Rolling Stores
This project aims to give the poor the opportunity to buy food and medicines at much lower prices. Rice is now available anytime, inexpensive and of good quality.