final platform joseph ejercito estrada

8/14/2019 Final Platform Joseph Ejercito Estrada

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PLATFORM OF JOSEPH EJERCITO ESTRADA

Vision: A democracy that is truly pro-poor. A country with peace and order. A government of transparency and accountability.

Economic AgendaREVIVING THE ECONOMY

Steady economic growth that is felt by the masses .GNP growth is meaningless if poverty and hunger levels and other measures of quality of life remain poor. AnEstrada Administration will increase growth while also increasing the country's human development index. This wibe achieved by strengthening the country's domestic economy, specifically in the field of agriculture, instead of relying on overseas remittances to increase GNP; and by ensuring that the bulk of the budget goes to servicesthat trickle down to the poor, such as social services and education, instead of to debt servicing or overpricedinfrastructure projects.

National Security AgendaPEACE AND ORDER

Ending criminal, insurgent and secessionist movementsPresident Joseph Estrada's primary goal is to achieve peace and order nationwide, especially in Mindanao,because he believes that peace and order is a prerequisite to economic development. His top priority is to bringdown crime rates in Metro Manila, especially drug-related activities; end insurgency in the Visayas and other provinces infested with rebels; and end the secessionist movement in Mindanao. Aside from the obvious benefitsof peace, ending the secessionist movement is a top priority because the country must send out the signal to theinternational community that we are nation that can keep its own laws in its own land, with the underlying objectivof removing travel bans or advisories against the Philippines in order to entice investors and tourists to come.Negotiations will still be the priority means to achieve this objective . However, should the MILF continue to renegon peace agreements and sow terror against Filipinos in Mindanao, war may be considered as a last resort or finalmeans to attaining lasting peace.

Social AgendaFOOD SECURITY AND A TRULY PRO-POOR GOVERNMENT

Alleviating poverty and hunger by achieving food security and ensuring that government's economic gains are directed to truly benefit the poor The cause of poverty and hunger in this country is massive corruption; studies have shown that the cost of corruption is as much as 20% of the budget. Couple that with government policies that prioritize debt servicing,overpriced infrastructure building with sovereign or government guarantees, and massive importation, and itbecomes obvious that poverty alleviation is not the priority of the present administration. An Estrada Administratiowill be a truly pro-poor government, as exhibited in 1998, through the following social policies:

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1. Correct budget prioritization.Instead of the bulk of the budget going to debt servicing, priority will instead be directed towards social services,education and health services, both on the national level and on the local level.2. Strengthening the agricultural industryTop priority will be given to the achievement of food security by pouring incentives and strengthening theagricultural industry instead of entertaining a policy of importation. Food security will be achieved by 2015, as thecountry fulfills its commitment to the Millennium Development Goal to halve the number of people who are hungrby 2015.

Governance Policy ENDING GRAFT AND CORRUPTION

Achieving transparency and accountability in government The Arroyo administration has shamed the nation by reaching levels of graft and corruption that have tagged thecountry as one of the most corrupt countries in the world (Transparency International, Political and Economic RiskConsultancy, World Bank). An Estrada Administration will reverse this reputation through the following policies:1. Respect for appointment processes and appointments based on meritocracy instead of loyalty2. Increased private sector participation in the government procurement process through the creation of anEconomic Coordinating Council such as the one created by the Estrada Administration in 1998 comprised of respected business leaders through which all bids for government projects will be scrutinized before beingapproved3. Bidding out of sugar and rice importation4. Public participation through real time reports via the internet5. No sovereign or government guarantees6. Eliminating recourse to the use of executive privilege when the issue is not a threat to national security

Fiscal Policy BALANCING THE BUDGET

Gaining investor confidence through peace and order and good governanceThe country's budget deficit has blown up to almost P300 Billion caused admittedly by weak revenues. The weakrevenues are due to a decrease in investments due to the unstable peace and order situation in Mindanao and thedecreased investor confidence caused by the prevailing image of the Philippines as the world's most corruptcountry under the Arroyo Administration. An Estrada Administration will increase government revenues byincreasing investor confidence. The primary incentive for investors will be the assurance of peace and order,especially in areas like Mindanao, and the setting up of systems that will guarantee less graft and corruption ingovernment, such as increased private sector participation in government procurement by the creation of anEconomic Coordinating Council that will review all bids for government projects, a measure set in place during the1998 term of former President Joseph Estrada. Other measures to increase revenues will include an overhaul of the tax system in order to increase tax collection, as well as increasing the collection of trade taxes by endingsmuggling, an effort that was successful during the term of former President Joseph Estrada.

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Agricultural AgendaFOOD SECURITY

Achieving food security and economic stability by strengthening the agricultural sector President Joseph Estrada has always believed that agriculture has the potential to be the greatest strength of thePhilippine economy if nurtured properly. His contributions to the agricultural sector include the Carabao Law andIrrigation Law which he authored as senator, as well as the highest agricultural growth in 20 years when he waspresident, a record 12% increase (from -6% to +6.6%) in spite of the effects of the El Nino crisis. An Estrada Administration will achieve food security through the following programs:

1. Agrikulturang Makamasa.This program was created to give incentives to the agricultural sector for the increase of farm output. Priority wasgiven to the following: irrigation development, research and technology commercialization, post-harvest andprocessing modernization, and close partnership with investors and industry groups. Local government units werealso given prize money of P100 Million for the province that would produce the highest farm output within a perioof time. This program has proven to be effective in increasing farm output, as the Estrada Administration reachedrecord-breaking farm output levels, and also achieved the following results: In nine months alone, the Departmentof Agriculture installed or rehabilitated almost 8,500 irrigation projects that covered 200,000 hectares of farmlandand produced an extra yield of 400,000 MT of palay; extended P3.58 billion in loans to more than a quarter-millionrural folk and agribusiness enterprises; and built 500 kilometers of farm-to-market roads.

2. Implementation of the Agri-Agra Law through ERAP Bonds.The Agri-Agra Law or Presidential Decree No. 717 (Providing and Agrarian Reform Credit and Financing Systemfrom Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Through Banking Institutions) requires the banking sector to allocate at least25% of its loanable funds for agricultural credit in general, of which 10% of said loanable funds shall be madeavailable to agrarian reform beneficiaries. Prior to the Estrada Administration, there was an alarming lack of compliance with this law. The 1998 Estrada Administration was able to commit itself to this law by creating analternative compliance mechanism wherein long term bonds called Economic Recovery through AgriculturalProductivity (ERAP) Bonds amounting to Fifty Billion Pesos (P50,000,000,000.00) were issued to support projectsfor economic growth under a revitalized rural development program undertaken in cooperation with theDepartment of Agrarian Reform.3. Implementation of the Irrigation Law. The Irrigation Law (RA 6978), authored by then-Senator Joseph Estrada i1991, mandated the National Irrigation Administration to irrigate 1.5 Million hectares of agricultural land over a teyear period. Had this law been fully implemented, farmlands across the nation would already be irrigated insteadof depending on rain or water. An Estrada Administration will ensure that this law is fulfilled in order to increasefarm output as well as to protect farmers from the El Nino phenomenon.

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Educational AgendaEMPOWERING OUR YOUTH

Investing in our childrens futurePresident Joseph Estrada has always been committed to providing affordable quality education for the poor. Asmayor, he established the San Juan elementary school and high school. As president from 1998 to 2001, he gavethe highest real per capita for basic education as compared to all presidents under the present Constitution. Hefounded the Erap Para Sa Mahirap Scholarship Foundation, which has graduated 16,000 scholars, and the ErapMuslim Youth Foundation, which has allowed poor but deserving Muslim students go to colleges or universities of their own choice anywhere in the world. He has also donated all his salaries from the time that he was mayor toscholarship foundations. As president this 2010, he will:

1. Prioritize education in the budget, as mandated in the ConstitutionThe Constitution mandates that Article XIV Sec. 5 (5) that the State shall assign the highest budgetary priority toeducation. However, of all presidents under the present Constitution, only the Estrada Administration followed thimandate. An Estrada-Binay Administration will strictly follow this Constitutional mandate in order to give our bettaccess to better quality education.

2. Invest in zero-to-five early childhood education.Research shows that early experiences shape whether or not a childs brain develops strong skills for futurelearning, behavior and success. Investing in early childhood education during the infant and toddler years isparticularly critical. An Estrada-Binay Administration will invest in early childhood education by mandating andsupporting day care centers into incorporating kindergarten and pre-school education in their programs.

3. Achieve Universal Primary Education by 2015President Joseph Estrada, as the millennium president of the Philippines, signed the Millennium DevelopmentGoals initiated by the United Nations. One of the goals that the Estrada Administration committed to for the countris the achievement of universal primary education by the year 2015. This means all children will be able tocomplete a full course of primary schooling or basic elementary education by 2015. This will be achieved byincreasing the budget for basic education, as he had done as president, and fulfilling the mandate of theConstitution to prioritize education in the national budget. Indigent parents will also be given incentives to sendtheir children to school at least from Grades 1 to 4 through a conditional cash transfer program. To make it lessdifficult for children to go to school, an Estrada-Binay Administration will also ensure that each municipality has aelementary school so that children will not have to walk more than 5 kilometers just to attend class.

4. Assist Out-of-School Youth An Estrada Administration will assist out-of-school youth by providing skills training for jobs that do not require adiploma. This is also intended to curb the unemployment rate because 45% of the countrys unemployed are partof the youth who have received no more than a high school education.

5. Make college affordable for everyone An Estrada Administration will streamline the onerous financial aid application process that discourages studentsfrom getting aid for college. An Estrada Administration will increase the number of government scholarships.

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(1) Strengthening bilateral relations with receiving countries.(2) Supporting our labor attaches and welfare officers.

2. Minimizing the social cost borne by separation from their families. This will be achieved by creating a specialcommission under the Department of Social Welfare and Development specifically to monitor and address theconcerns of the families that the OFWs leave behind.3. Encouraging their return. All efforts will be made to encourage OFWs to return, including:

(1) Giving them incentives to invest their money here.(2) Creating a commission to study how best to achieve OFWs when they return home.

Transportation AgendaINFRASTRUCTURE: CONNECTING THE COUNTRY BY LAND

An Estrada Administration will focus on rebuilding Metro Manila from the effects of tyhoons Ondoy and Pepengand will make sure that the countrys infrastructure is strong enough to withstand similar typhoons in the future.

An Estrada Administration will integrate and expand mass transit systems to create a world class national railwaysystem that will connect north to south.

An Estrada Administration will link the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) with the South Luzon Expressway (SLE

An Estrada Administration will properly implement the Road Users Tax for proper road maintenance nationwide,not just street sweeping, as practiced by the present administration.

Energy RegulationTOWARDS GEOTHERMAL ENERGY

Becoming the Leader in Geothermal Power in Asia An Estrada Administration will be ready for the next frontier of global investments, specifically, the demand for green technology or green factories. As more multinational corporations such as Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft,are looking to relocate to countries with geothermal resources, the Philippines, being a country with one of themost highly developed geothermal resources, should be ready to be the next geothermal power.In order for the Philippines to become the haven of green factories in East Asia and possibly in the entire region,an Estrada-Binay Administration will create an investment strategy to induce foreign direct investors to build greefactories in the Philippine provinces of Bicol, Eastern Visayas, Western Visayas, Southern Tagalog, Soccsksargenand Central Mindanao. The objective will be to generate impressive investments in geothermal power and utilizethe fact that the Philippines has the second highest geothermal power capacity in the world today, next only to theUnited States of America.

Foreign Policy STRENGTHENING TIES WITH THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY

An Estrada Administration will strengthen the role of the Philippines as an advocate for democracy and humanrights in Asia. A prerequisite to this is a real democracy that benefits the masses and not just the elite.

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An Estrada Administration will negotiate carefully with other international claimants to various land and water territories of the Republic of the Philippines in the South China Sea while fighting for Philippine territorial integrit

An Estrada Administration will strengthen ties, especially trading relations, with Asian neighbors such as Chinawhose economies are growing rapidly.

An Estrada Administration will strengthen relations with receiver countries of the Philippines millions of overseasforeign workers in order to ensure our workers protection and encourage increased benefits.

An Estrada Administration will maintain the Philippines strong relations with international giants such as the UniteStates but will not compromise on matters that involve the nations territorial integrity.

An Estrada Administration will join the effort of the global community to fight climate change and promote bio-energy and agriculture.

Human Rights Agenda

President Joseph Estrada believes that private armies are illegal per se. An Estrada Administration will dismantleall private armies.

President Joseph Estrada believes that uncontrolled population growth is a source of poverty. An Estrada Administration will support the passage of the Reproductive Health Bill and work towards fulfilling our countryscommitment to the Millennium Development Goal of achieving universal access to reproductive health by 2015.

President Joseph Estrada believes that the blessings of democracy come alongside the responsibility of maintaining peace and order. An Estrada Administration will resolve as speedily as possible all existing casesrelating to extrajudicial killings in order for the victims families to find justice; condemn all extra judicial killings;increase security for the protection of journalists especially in far flung places like Mindanao where the threat totheir lives is higher than other visitors.

/margaux

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final platform joseph ejercito estrada

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