President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo revealed here yesterday her government’s “battle plan” and strategy on how to keep the country’s economic resiliency in the face of the threat of recession confronting the entire world.

By embarking on increased but “controlled” spending on vital food, energy and infrastructure programs, the President said “we will be able to “secure our food, fuel and rice needs.” “So we intend to increase our spending and direct this spending to secure our food, fuel and rice needs which means investing in food security and energy security and also in jumpstarting our economy by investing in long delayed infrastructures – infrastructures that were needed from decades ago which we could not afford until now,” she added. President Arroyo spelled out her battle strategy to reporters on the sidelines of the 20th Anniversary of ASEAN-ROK Commemorative Leaders Summit yesterday. The President further pointed out that aside from the above-mentioned list of “spend-worthy” items, human and physical infrastructures are equally critical. “Spending in human and physical infrastructure means investments in education, healthcare and social services along with roads, bridges and ports,” the President stressed. She vowed, however, that this calculated and planned spending would not be used improperly assuring that “we will maintain benchmarks of fiscal discipline so that we will continue to have a stable macro-economic environment.” “The important thing is that we have jobs, jobs, jobs and jobs for our people,” the President emphasized.