Neri: US envoy 'misinformed' that RP lags behind neighbors

The nation’s top economic manager bit back at US Ambassador Kristie Kenney, saying the American envoy was misinformed and hadn’t spent enough time here to justify her comment that the Philippines lags behind its neighbors because of corruption. "I don't know where she gets her information. She's new here but she already has mindsets," Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Romulo Neri said Thursday. Neri disputed Kenney's claim that the country continues to trail its neighbors, noting that the Philippines had a higher growth rate in the past two years than Thailand. When asked if his office would brief Kenney on what Malacañang thought was the real situation, Neri countered that it was the American envoy who needed to keep abreast with what was going on in the country. "She has to review the situation first. It's too early for her to make statements like that," Neri said. In her first major public address since taking up her post last month, Kenney told American businessmen in the Philippines Wednesday that the Philippines lags behind its neighbors. She said that despite recent improvements in economic performance, the Philippines is held back because of rampant corruption and poor enforcement of intellectual property rights. "The Philippines is not where it ought to be ... Again, corruption and intellectual property issues play a role here," she said. Kenney, the first woman named American ambassador to the country, did noted that the US remains the Philippines' largest investor, largest foreign donor and biggest market for its products. She said that while she has met with President Arroyo and other government officials, she was open to meeting with opposition figures. "I want to meet as many Filipinos as I can. Obviously our focus at this point is on working with the government, but I hope to meet members of the opposition," she said. Earlier this month, Kenney paid met with Senate president Franklin Drilon, who has joined calls for the President to resign.-GMANews.TV