Negros business leaders welcomed President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's order yesterday for two Cabinet task forces to link up with the Church, business, and academe to draft reforms to stamp out corruption in government, but Bacolod Bishop Vicente Navarra stressed that she must first face incriminating issues against her administration.

The President, at a Cabinet meeting yesterday, issued the order to the Anti-Red Tape Task Force headed by Trade and Industry Secretary Peter Favila and the Procurement Transparency Group of Budget Secretary Rolando Andaya, amid revelations of government corruption by Senate witness Rodolfo “Jun” Lozada.

Lozada told a Senate investigation that the scrapped $329-million NBN contract with China 's ZTE Corp. was overpriced. He alleged that former Commission on Elections chairman Benjamin Abalos and First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo were involved, which both have denied.

“As far as I am concerned she (President Arroyo) can do anything she wants but she has to face the issues which are personally incriminating against her administration,” Navarra said.

Roberto Montelibano, president of the Metro Bacolod Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said he welcomed the order of the president because “All of us in the academe, church and private sector can definitely help government stamp our corruption.”

He said that while Lozada's claim that an about 50 percent commission was sought for the national broadband project was not so believable, there is a perception that it is a standard procedure for government officials to take 20 percent commissions on projects.

And oftentimes finished projects are easily destroyed, he said, citing the circumferential road in Bacolod City .

James Chua, president of the Bacolod Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said the order of the president is probably in answer to the church clamor for change.

Definitely there ought to be some changes in the system that the church, the private sector and government can discuss to stop if not minimize corruption in government, Chua said.

He said he welcomes the move as long as it done in good faith, and is not just all talk.

At the Cabinet meeting, the president said government will speed up infrastructure projects and pro-poor programs in the coming months, to sustain the growth of the economy and strengthen business and agriculture.

Government will also increase investments in human resources through education and training, especially for jobs that are in demand, like construction and call centers, she also said.*CPG

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