President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today congratulated Pasay City Regional Trial Court Branch 116 Judge Eleuterio Guerrero for convicting the kidnappers of Fritzie So who was abducted for ransom on November 12, 2000.

Judge Guerrero found accused Roberto Yap Obeles, Johnny Bautista, and Jerry Morales guilty beyond reasonable doubt for kidnapping Ms. So and sentenced them to die by lethal injection.

The Chief Executive said that "brave judges" such as Judge Guerrero "who convict kidnappers and others who commit heinous crimes should be encouraged."

The President said there had been accusations by some sectors that "we only have pictures of arrests but do we ever have convictions?"

"So I want to go there to congratulate the judge," the President said. She said she will also congratulate and encourage at least two people of Justice Secretary Hernando Perez who helped in the prosecution of the case.

Saying there is no monetary reward for judges and prosecutors for doing their job in the war against heinous crimes, the President said "I guess the most that we can do is put them in the front page and thank them for a job well done."

The appointment of former Senator Blas F. Ople as foreign affairs secretary has elicited a positive response from the public despite strong objections by some civil society groups.

A survey conducted by HB & A Research International Inc. from July 26 to 29, 2002 showed that 51 percent of the respondents said they agreed with the appointment of Senator Ople as foreign secretary despite objections raised by some members of the civil society.

The survey result showed that only a fourth, or 23 percent, disagreed with Ople’s appointment, while 26 percent were undecided.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo appointed Ople as foreign affairs secretary on July 23. He was sworn in to his new post on July 30.

She personally chose Ople to handle the DFA after the resignation of Vice President Teofisto Guingona, Jr. because of his outstanding achievements as a senator, particularly in the field of foreign policy relations.

A native of Hagonoy, Bulacan, Ople was elected senator for a six-year term in 1992. He was re-elected in May 1998 for a second and final term.

Prior to his appointment, Ople was chairman of the Senate committee on foreign relations from 1992 to 2002.

As chairman of the foreign relations committee, Ople steered to approval some 37 international and bilateral treaties that have opened more links between the Philippines and the rest of the world, particularly in trade, investments, employment, cultural exchanges, workers protection and the environment.

A few days after President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo delivered her State of the Nation Address (SONA) centering on the idea of building a strong republic, the President’s satisfaction rating rose significantly and her approval rating marked a directional increase, compared to a month ago in a public opinion survey conducted by HB&A Research International.

The President’s satisfaction and approval ratings were measured in a HB&A study made from July 26 to 29 and from June 22 to 25. Both studies covered 300 respondents in 17 cities and towns in Metro Manila. Both had a margin of error of +/- 5.7 percentage points.

Last week’s study showed that 48 percent of the respondents were "nasisiyahan (satisfied)" with the President’s performance, as against 40 percent in the June study, or an increase of +8 percentage points. Dissatisfaction dropped to 29 percent in the July study from 32 percent in June.

The 8-percentage points increase in the satisfaction rating and the 3- percentage points decrease in the dissatisfaction rating resulted in a significant and meaningful +11 points increase in the net margin of satisfaction, from +8 in the June to +19 in the July study.

The President’s "sumasang-ayon (approval)" rating also increased to 53 percent in July from 50 percent in June.

The study further showed a significant decrease in the number of respondents who said they did not approve (hindi sumasang-ayon) of the way the President handled her job, registering 29 percent in July as against 38 percent in June.

As a result, the net margin of approval rose by 12 percentage points to +23 in July from +12 in June.

The HB&A study said the two popularity rating indicators – satisfaction and approval – could not be compared to one another since questions asked were different. The study suggested the need to track and compare each rating over a period of time. But the same indicators could provide comparative perspective to survey results obtained by other agencies.

In the June study and consistent with the approval and satisfaction ratings, 42 percent of the respondents said they "liked her" when asked how they felt towards Mrs. Macapagal-Arroyo as a person, not as President.

However, compared with the disapproval or dissatisfaction ratings, only 11 percent of the respondents said they "disliked" Mrs. Macapagal Arroyo.

The HB&A study explained that when the respondents rated the President, they looked at performance where many variables interplayed. But when asked about feelings, they expressed deep sentiments, particularly those who showed dislike.

About 37 percent said they "didn’t know" or "can’t say" if they liked her or not, indicating a large group still did not feel "connected enough" to even give a net feeling towards the President as a person.

In the July study, when the level of unqualified trust or confidence towards the President was measured, 37 percent of the respondents expressed a certain level of trust while 23 percent said they did not trust her.

With both positive and negative scores posting comparatively lower figures than approval or satisfaction ratings, the percentage of those who could not respond was a high 40 percent, consistent with the June study result on feelings toward the President as a person.

Other findings in the July survey showed that:

• Metro Manila residents did not seem aware of the SONA, considering there was adequate tri-media coverage. Only 45 percent said they were aware of the SONA, versus 55 percent who said they were not. Outside Metro Manila, the awareness level may even be lower considering lower media penetration.

• Despite relatively good performance ratings for the President, there was still a need to address the level of hope especially in so far as the prospect for an improved economy was concerned. Only about 25 percent said they expected conditions to improve in the next 12 months while 15 percent said they expected conditions to worsen. A high 59 percent said they were on a wait-and see stance.

• Despite strong objections from some sectors of civil society, especially in the Metro Manila area where such sentiments were highlighted by tri-media, 51 percent said they "agreed with the appointment (of Sen. Blas Ople as Foreign Affairs Secretary) while 26 percent went undecided.

• As regard proposals to transfer police administrative control and supervision from the National Police Commission to the respective Metro Manila mayors, only 38 percent agreed while 43 percent disagreed, with 19 percent saying they didn’t know.

• When asked if they wanted to "scrap the color coding scheme" in Metro Manila, 43 percent agreed while 47 percent said otherwise. Only 10% had no opinion, most probably because they were not directly affected as users of public transportation.

• Finally, in response to the suggestion to use the military in the fight against illegal drugs, a high 59% agreed. For reasons not probed in the survey, 28% disagreed while 13% were undecided.

HB&A said it would track and report, at least on a monthly basis, the sentiments of Metro Manila residents covering current social, political and economic issues. Its next report would be issued in August.

HB&A -- incorporated in 1997 by lawyer Eduardo delos Angeles, Jose Sandejas and Antonio Abaya and counting Jose Pardo and Henry Ligot among its founding members – conducts regular market researches for its clients, among which are the country’s top 1,000 corporations.

Majority of the residents in Metro Manila agreed with the decision of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to use the military in the stepped-up campaign against the manufacture and trafficking of illegal drugs.

A survey conducted from July 26-29, or just four days after the President delivered her second State of the Nation Address (SONA), showed that 59 percent agreed with her decision to use the resources and manpower of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) in the anti-drug campaign.

The survey was conducted by the prestigious HB&A Research International among 300 respondents, picked at random from the 17 cities and municipalities in Metro Manila.

The research firm said that their survey had a margin of error of +/- 5.7 percentage points.

Thirty four percent among the respondents "strongly agreed" to the President’s decision, while 25 percent "somewhat agreed."

The survey also showed that only 28 percent of the respondents said that they disagreed with the decision, while 13 percent was undecided.

In her SONA, the President announced that she has ordered the AFP to field military intelligence units and soldiers in drug raids in support of civilian law enforcement units.

The President said that henceforth, the drug menace is now a national security problem instead of just a police matter.

She said that drug lords will now be treated as enemies of the state.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today warned company owners to pay the correct tax or face the full force of the law.

"Kaya kung alam ninyo na kayo ay nandadaya, bago kayo maabutan ng batas, amyendahan na ninyo ang inyong VAT declaration o magbayad na kayo ng tamang buwis (If you know that you are cheating, correct your value added tax – VAT -- declaration and pay the right taxes before the long arms of the law catches up with you)," the President said.

The President aired the warning during a visit at the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) head office in Quezon City where she was given an update on the agency’s bid to speed up the prosecution of some 300 companies who have underdeclared their VAT.

She said the government had "uncovered tax cheating of P400 million, but still counting, because this only covered three of the 19 revenue regions."

She directed the BIR to file cases against the tax cheats, using the full force of the law without fear or favor, as she stressed during her second State of the Nation Address (SONA) last July 22.

"Without fear, especially on the part of BIR Commissioner Rene Baņez, because you can see that there is this move to malign his integrity," the President told members of the media in a press briefing.

She disclosed that the BIR had filed collection and criminal cases against the Southland Security and the Coffel Air Industries today. She said the government should collect its money and send the perpetrators to jail.

Next week, five more cases would be filed. By the end of August, all 300 companies found to have underdeclared their VAT, at an average of 63 percent, would be charged.

She added that the BIR has closed down two firms because of tax cheating. Closed were the Susana Mart in Bulacan and the New San Agustin Oil Manufacturing in Malabon.

Susana Mart, however, amended its VAT and has reopened. Instead of the erroneous VAT declaration of only P200,000, the firm is now paying some P1 million. This is because of law enforcement, she said.

The President had earlier directed Justice Secretary Hernando Perez to assign 12 lawyers from the Office of the Corporate Counsel to help the BIR’s in-house lawyers in prosecuting the 300 cases.

She also said that she would seek lawyer-volunteers from among the alumni of the Ateneo Law School to help in the cases.

She commended VAT Task Force Head Deputy BIR Commissioner Lita Aguirre for her technology-based audit, saying the audit of the 300 firms was done not on location but right in the BIR’s computer center in Quezon City.

She also acknowledged the Philippine Institute for Development Studies under the National Economic and Development Authority for facilitating the development of innovative benchmarking system for the VAT.

Stressing that the administration needs all the cooperation and support necessary to build the foundations of a strong republic, the League of Provinces of the Philippines (LPP), the association of governors around the nation, today declared full support for the Mutual Logistics Support Agreement (MLSA), the imminent agreement between the Philippines and the United States.

In adopting resolution No 2002-23 in a meeting in Davao City, the LPP noted that the MLSA is in consonance with the RP-US Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT) of 1951, the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) of 1999 and the United Nations Charter.

"Relevant resolutions pursuant thereto, thus requires no ratification by the Senate," the LPP said.

The LPP further noted that the MLSA can contribute immensely to our efforts to modernize the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).

It would "thereby enable our government to promptly and efficiently respond to internal and external threats to our stability, peace and security."

The resolution was approved by LPP Secretary General and Bulacan Governor Josefina de la Cruz and attested by the national president and Davao del Norte Gov. Rodolfo del Rosario.

Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye earlier said the MLSA would not allow permanent basing rights to the US in the Philippines as feared by some sectors.

He also stressed that the MLSA is based on existing pacts, like the RP-US MDT and the VFA.

He also said that the MLSA is not a treaty but only an executive agreement and, therefore, is not subject to ratification by the Philippine Senate.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo will receive United States Secretary of State Colin Powell in Malacaņang on Saturday as the latter concludes his eight-nation Asian tour to strengthen the global coalition against terrorism.

In a press briefing, Press Secretary Ignacio "Toting" Bunye today said Powell, who is scheduled to arrive in Manila Friday evening, would briefly meet with the President and Foreign Affairs Secretary Blas Ople.

Bunye said Powell would also hold a press briefing right after his meeting with President Macapagal-Arroyo.

In their meeting, the President and Secretary Powell are expected to discuss the continuing cooperation between the Philippines and the US on the fight against global terrorism as an offshoot of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the United States.

In a speech last month before the Asia Society in New York City, Powell expressed elation over the Philippine-US cooperation against terrorism.

"I am proud, so proud, that American forces are helping to train and equip their Philippine Army counterparts to combat groups such as the Abu Sayyaf, a terrorist organization which regularly kidnaps, as you know too well, civilians for ransom," he said.

On the issue of the US role in the Asian region, Powell said the United States would continue to be the "balance wheel of security in Asia" upon which the region's stability depends.

"There should be no doubt that America's commitment to Asia's security and stability is an enduring one, for Asia's sake and for our own. We are a Pacific power. We will not yield our strategic position in Asia," the secretary said

A retired US military leader, Powell is the first black secretary of state in US history.

The son of Jamaican immigrants, Powell was born in New York City and attended the City College of New York as a cadet in the Reserve Officers Training Corps.

After serving two tours of duty in the Vietnam War (1962-1963, 1968-1969), he held a succession of important military and civilian positions, becoming national security adviser to President Ronald Reagan in 1987.

Promoted to the rank of four-star general in April 1989, Powell was named chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in August, the first black officer to hold the nation's highest military post.

Powell played a pivotal role in planning and executing the invasion of Panama in 1989 and the Persian Gulf War (1991).