18 March 2004 - Secretary Delia Domingo Albert  welcomed the unanimous decision by CalPERS’ 13-member  Investment Committee to disregard the recommendation  of its consultant Wilshire Associates to delist the  Philippines from the Permissible Equity Markets list—a  roster of countries considered as suitable investment  destinations.

On the basis of a comprehensive presentation by the  Philippine Team led by Philippine Ambassador Albert  del Rosario, who was supported by an auditorium filled  to capacity with Filipino-American supporters, CalPERS  agreed on March 15 to grant the Philippines another 30  days before coming up with the final listing of  countries suitable for investments. During this  period, Wilshire will validate the information  presented by the Team, which has asserted that the Philippines has more than achieved the technical  standards to merit CalPERS’ passing grade of 2.0.

In its 2004 Report, Wilshire gave the Philippines a  score of 1.87, which was shy of 0.13 for the country  to be retained in CalPERS’ list of viable investment  destinations. The Philippine Team contested this by  showing Wilshire’s consistent bias to erroneous  assessments on the Philippines, to the point that the  Philippines had to repeatedly correct Wilshire’s  errors so as not to prejudice the country’s image. In  2003, for instance, CalPERS decided to place the  Philippines under a one-year “cure period,” and  subsequently extended this period for 30 days, after  the Philippines called attention to information  omitted by Wilshire in its assessment.

The Philippine Team also presented to CalPERS the  sustained efforts of the Arroyo Administration in  promoting the country as an investment destination.  The Team cited several reform measures such as in  securities regulation, creditors’ and shareholders’  rights, the Special Protection Against Child Abuse,  Exploitation and Discrimination Act, the  Rationalization of Compensation of the Judiciary Act,  and the Optical Media Act. It also underscored the  Philippines’ wide implementation of the IOSCO  Principles for Effective Securities Regulation since  2001, which was confirmed by the World Bank and the  IMF in their joint report.

For this initial victory, Secretary Albert commended  the efforts of the Philippine Team, composed of the  Philippine Embassy in Washington D.C., the Philippine  Consulate General in Los Angeles, the DOF, ACCRA  Law/PSE, and Puyat, Jacinto and Santos law firm. She  also thanked the Filipino-Americans in the U.S. for  their strong support.

CalPERS’ final decision on the Philippines’ rating  will be made at its next meeting on 19 April 2004. –  END