Speaker Questions Use of Fund for PAL

Bulletin

Sunday, December 20, 1998

By DIEGO CAGAHASTIAN

BANGKOK, Thailand (via PLDT) — House of Representatives Speaker Manuel Villar said here yesterday that Philippine Airlines (PAL), a private corporation, should not receive the bulk of the Miyazawa Fund scheduled for lending to the Philippines.

The Miyazawa Fund, named after Japan's Finance Minister Kiichi Miyazawa, was established to help ailing Asian economies.

Villar said while he believes PAL should be assisted by the government to survive, any foreiign assistance to the airline should be proportionately small compared to the more important government priorities such as school buildings, farm-to-market roads, and irrigation structures.

The speaker commented on the reported opposition of other congressmen to the use of part of the $5-billion Philippine share of the Miyazawa Fund to bail out ailing Philippine Airlines.

"I think it is too early to say yes or no on this issue. We have to know the full details on whether this is a viable thing or not. If it is going to be too big, may be not. But if it is going to be a reasonable amount, and it will be followed with the strengthening of the airlines, then, maybe yes. So my answer here is a qualified yes. But the amount should be small. I really don't think we should use the Miyazawa Fund for a private company," Villar said.

Villar said the working visit of President Joseph Estrada here will benefit the Philippines in three areas — sports, agriculture, and tourism.

The House speaker said the Philippines should conduct a top-to-bottom review of its sports development program, and assess the effectivity of various sports agencies of the government.

The speaker, in sum, noted the lackluster performance of Filipino athletes who competed in the 13th Asian Games which end here today, Sunday. The Philippines won only one gold medal delivered by the two-man team of Romeo Villanueva and Gandy Valle in the 9-ball event of billiards and snooker.

In of legislation, Villar said a congressional investigation of how the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) and the various national sports associations work may be in order. There is now a bill in the Senate sponsored by Sen. Robert Jaworski, also here with the official delegation a President Joseph Estrada, which seeks to amend the law creating the PSC and proposing new priorities in sports.

The speaker noted that Thailand has a good agriculture program, has a bigger area compared to the Philippines, and is emphasizing high-value crops.

He said Thailand has 7.7 million tourists compared to the Philippines' 2.2 million, including balikbayans. "Clearly, tourism provides a very big opportunity for us to make money from. I think the Thais are earning $17 billion just from their tourism industry, more than what we get from the remittances of our overseas Filipino workers," Villar said.

Villar also said he expects the General Appropriations Act of 1999 to pass the bicameral con¬erence committee this week, and then next week, it will be confirmed by both the Senate and the House in plenary sessions.