Malacaņang was assured today by Kimberly-Clark Corporation that it is not pulling out of the country, contrary to some media reports that claim that it has actually moved out or decided not to move its regional headquarters to the Philippines.

Kimberly-Clark (K-C) Corp. vice president and legal counsel Thomas D. Brown Jr., assured Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye during a courtesy call at Malacanang of continued interest in the country.

"Media reports have recently suggested that Kimberly-Clark Corp. was moving or had actually moved out of the Philippines, or has decided not to move its regional headquarters to the Philippines. These reports are inaccurate," Brown said.

Brown stressed that Kimberly-Clark has no plans to stop servicing such a large and important market as the Philippines, where its brands have been consumer favorites for decades.

"As well, Kimberly-Clark’s Asia-Pacific regional headquarters had been located in Thailand for nearly ten years and there are no plans to relocate it," he added.

Brown noted that Kimberly-Clark Corporation’s regional investment decisions, including the company’s acquisition last year of locally-owned shares in K-C Philippines, Inc., are always made based on objective business factors.

These objective business factors, Brown said, have "form the basis for Kimberly-Clark’s well-known investment initiatives over the past ten years to acquire 100 percent ownership of its operations in Asia-Pacific, as most recently demonstrated by the Corporation acquiring the locally-owned shares of its affiliated companies in Taiwan, Vietnam, Philippines and, in June of this year, Australia and New Zealand."

He also noted that Kimberly-Clark "has always adhered to a strong code of ethics in business dealings."

He said K-C strongly supports President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s work and actions to develop and enhance a stable, ethical and transparent business and governmental community in the Philippines.

Bunye thanked Brown for the clarification.

He assured Brown of unceasing efforts from the President and the administration to make the Philippines a competitive market.

Settling in the Philippines nearly 40 years ago, Kimberly Clark has been providing Filipinos with personal care, tissue and health care brands such as Kleenex, Scott, Joy, Huggies, Kimbies, Kotex and Newtex. It is also a major producer of premium business, correspondence and technical papers.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today congratulated the Land Bank of the Philippines for making it possible for the government to surpass its target on land distribution even if the national budget for land reform was a pittance.

In her message at the 39^th anniversary celebration and awarding ceremony of Land Bank held in Malacaņang this morning, the President also congratulated the Land Bank for beginning to return to its original mandate to finance land reform as provided in the Land Reform Code of 1963.

During her speech, the President cited two essential features that marks a strong Republic - independence from class and sectoral interest and the capacity represented through strong institutions and a strong bureaucracy to execute good policy and deliver essential services that only governments can do.

"The Land Bank contributes to both essentials of a strong Philippine Republic. By financing land reform, the Land Bank stands for the interest of the people, especially the masses of the small farmers, rather than of a powerful minority in the landlord class," the President said.

She recalled that her father, the late President Diosdado Macapagal, once said that the date August 8 was the happiest day in his life because it was during that day in 1963 when he signed the Land Reform Code that eventually created the Land Bank.

"It was the happiest day in his life because one of his main purpose as President was to have land reform in the country," the President said.

The President recalled that in signing the law, her father had said: "Let the signing be recorded in our annals as an act of emancipation of the toiling farmer from slavery to death, poverty and misery and of his dignification of a human being and as citizen."

After 39 years, however, the President said land reform remains to be accomplished.

"I feel privileged and blessed that I can pick up from where he (President Macapagal) left and carry on his battles," the President said.

The President pointed out that the more than 100,000 hectares distributed by the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) and the more than 150,000 hectares distributed by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) were higher than the targets that were set in her first State of the Nation Address (SONA) in July last year.

This, she said, was achieved under a budget inherited by the previous administration which could only cover 70,000 hectares of compensable land.

The President said it was accomplished by the DAR through the help of the Land Bank of the Philippines.

The Chief Executive narrated that her father believed from his own sad childhood experience that to achieve prosperity that could be shared by all, it was imperative to release the impoverished tenant from his bondage to the soil.

Her father, the President added, considered it an irony that the Philippines had the best agricultural school in Los Banos - the International Rice Research Institute, which was created during his watch.

At that time, other countries were producing 100 cavans per hectare of rice while the Philippines was only producing 27 cavans, the President noted.

She said that in the mind of her father, the main reason was the lack of interest on the part of the tenants in acquiring advanced rice technology "simply because they did not benefit from any increase in productivity."

On the same occasion, the President outlined her father’s program of government which, she said, is still relevant in this new millennium as it was 40 years ago, adding that this is now being reflected in her own platform of government.

"According to my father, the task of the nation is to fight poverty. We must be concerned with the plight of the common man as an imperative of justice," she stressed.

The President saw the need to bridge the wide gap between the poor man and the man of wealth,not by pulling down the rich to the level of the poor but by raising the poor towards the more abundant life.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today presented awards to the 12 winning cooperatives of the country in the annual Gawad sa Pinakatanging Kooperatiba sponsored by the Land Bank of the Philippines.

The President also congratulated Land Bank on its 39^th anniversary celebration during the ceremony held at Malacaņang’s Ceremonial Hall this morning.

During the program, President confessed to Land Bank officials and employees, including the delegation of participating cooperatives, that the reason why she decided to celebrate today the Annual Gawad sa Pinakatanging Kooperatiba.

The President admitted that August 8 is the day when her father, the late President Diosdado Macapagal, signed the Land Reform Code which also created the Land Bank. The Land Reform Code was signed by President Macapagal on August 8, 1963.

"Pinakamasayang araw ito sa kanyang buhay dahil para sa kanya ang pinakapakay niya sa pagiging Presidente ay magkaroon ng reporma sa lupa sa ating bansa (This was the happiest moment in his life because his objective as President was to have land reform in our country)," the President said.

The President also recalled that when her father assumed the presidency, he took inspiration from the revolution of a plebeian, Andres Bonifacio, and said he regarded the task of the presidency as an unfinished and peaceful revolution.

"Since the revolution was launched by Bonifacio, a man of the masses, it can be assumed that he would have freed the people not only from foreign rule but also from exploitation by their own countrymen," she said.

The President, together with Finance Secretary Jose Isidro Camacho, Land Bank president and chief executive officer Gary Teves and Senator Rodolfo Biazon, chairman of the board of judges, conferred the awards to the winning cooperatives under the agri-based and non agri-based categories.

Winners under the agri-based category are:

1st place – Tayabas Community Multi-Purpose Cooperative of Tayabas, Quezon which won P500,000 worth of fixed assets and a study tour to the Bavarian Cooperative sector in Bavaria, Germany courtesy of the Hans Seidell Foundation.

2^nd place – Diffun Credit and Development Cooperative of Diffun, Quirino which received P400,000 in the form of fixed assets;

3^rd place – Philippine Army Finance Center Producers Integrated Cooperative of Fort Bonifacio, Makati City which got P100,000 in the form of fixed assets;

4^th place - Five Star Savings Credit Cooperative of Gamu, Isabela which was awarded P75,000 in the form of fixed assets;

5^th place – Gubat St. Anthony Credit Cooperative of Gubat, Sorsogon which was awarded P50,000 in the form of fixed assets;

The awardees under the non agri-based category were:

1^st place – Barangka Credit Cooperative of Barangka, Marikina City which got P300,000 worth of fixed assets;

2^nd place – NV Alay Kapwa Multi-Purpose Cooperative of Solano, Nueva Vizcaya which got P200,000 worth of fixed assets;

3^rd place – Philippine Army Finance Center Producers Integrated Cooperative of Fort Bonfiacio, Makati City which awarded P100,000 fixed assets;

4^th place – Five Star Savings Credit Cooperative of Gamu, Isabela which got P75,000 fixed assets;

5^th place – Gubat St. Anthony Credit Cooperative of Gubat, Sorsogon which won P50,000 in the form of fixed assets.

For the Cooperative Rural Bank category, the Co-op Bank of Bohol was adjudged as the most outstanding, bringing home the P200,000 cash prize while the second place went to the First Isabela Co-op Bank which received P100,000 in cash prize.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today thanked some 70 topnotch volunteer lawyers, who are graduates of reputable law schools, for offering their free legal services in the prosecution of some 300 tax cases and in helping fight corruption in the government.

In her extemporaneous remarks during a meeting with the volunteer lawyers in Malacanang, the President said the free legal services would contribute to the building of a strong Republic, which she had pledged in her second State of the Nation Address (SONA).

The President said that the services of the volunteer lawyers would be of great help in going after corrupt officials in such agencies as the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), the Bureau of Customs (BoC), and the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).

"Sa tatlo na yan, BIR, Customs at DPWH, pinakamabibigat na mga ahensiya sa ating paglaban kontra sa katiwalian (Our fight against corruption is centered in these three agencies)," the President said.

The President said that the Office of the Government Corporate Counsel (OGCC) would supervise the work of the volunteer lawyers.

She said that on Wednesday, she had ordered the OGCC to file appropriate charges against three bureau directors and 38 employees of the DPWH for their alleged involvement in the P139- million vehicle repair anomaly in the department.

The President said that because of the lack of government lawyers, the OGCC could not possibly prosecute the 300 cases of under-declaration of the value-added tax (VAT) filed by the BIR against certain individuals and firms.

Aside from the tax cases, the government is now also stepping up its fight against smuggling in different parts of the country.

She said that one problem encountered by government prosecutors in the fight against smuggling is the penchant of some judges to issue a temporary restraining order (TRO).

Government projections on revenues that can be raised are not that really hard to meet.

Budget Secretary Emilia Boncodin today stressed this, as she explained that an inter-agency committee made the revenue collection targets with due bases.

In a radio interview, Boncodin said "kung titingnan mo ‘yang mga indicators … hindi naman suntok sa buwan ang targeting (if we look at indicators, our targets are achievable)."

She said the inter-agency group preparing the revenue targets is led by the Department of Finance (DOF). The group’s output is then studied for approval by the Development Budget Coordination Committee among whose members are the DOF, Department of the Budget and Management, National Economic and Development Authority, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas and the Office of the President.

She added that the country’s tax structure and the experiences of other countries are two of the bases for setting revenue targets. She called next year’s revenue targets as "overly optimistic."

"We have not changed procedures in determining revenue goals. Yet, there were many times when revenue collection agencies met and even exceeded targets," she noted.

But Boncodin said collection shortfalls could also be attributed to problems haunting collection agencies like the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) and the Bureau of Customs (BoC).

She pointed to tax evasion and underdeclaration, among other things, as major causes of income shortfalls.

"This is why Commissioner Rene Baņez is working doubly hard, seeking to correct the anomaly," she said.

The BIR and BoC are implementing steps to achieve revenue targets. Admitting low collections in the first semester of 2002, she said the government is working on how to do away with shortfalls from this time until the end of the year.

Looking into tax underdeclarations was one of the measures the agencies has been carrying out, she added.

Baņez, for one, has a BIR transformation program that "we fully support," Boncodin said. The agency has focused on areas where it could get bigger revenues.

The BIR has asked the DBM’s help in hiring lawyers, through the Department of Justice, to prosecute erring members of the private sector that could afford top-notch legal counsels.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today personally thanked the Land Bank of the Philippines for its continued support in financing the Land Reform Code of 1963.

She also congratulated the Land Bank for making it possible to surpass the government’s target for land distribution even if the national budget for land reform was a pittance.

The President also extended her gratitude to LBP president and chief executive officer Gary Teves for the turnover of the P250-million cash dividend and P500-million stock certificates.

President Arroyo handed over the check and stock certificates to National Treasurer Sergio Edeza.

The Land Bank declared to the national government a total of P780 million in cash and stock dividends for its 2001 net income.

Cash dividends declared for last year’s net income amounted to P280 million where P54 million was remitted to the government in August last year as advance remittance.

The check of the remaining P226-million cash dividend and P500- million stock certificate were handed over to the President by Finance Secretary Jose Isidro Camacho and Teves.

For the eight-year period from 1994 to 2001, Land Bank has declared total dividends of P10.1 billion to the national government.

Land Bank does not receive budget allocations to finance its countryside development activities. Instead, it uses the profits generated from its commercial banking operations to sustain its developmental initiatives in the rural areas such as the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP), credit assistance to farmers and fisher folk cooperatives and institutional-building support for the cooperatives.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today assured that justice and fair play would prevail in the ongoing investigation of the money laundering case at the Land Bank of the Philippines branch in Binagonan, Rizal.

"Let us not have an extended run on this issue. We must move on with speedy and impartial justice," the President said in her speech during the 39^th anniversary celebration of the Land Bank of the Philippines in Malacaņang.

The President said she has ordered the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to determine once and for all, whether Land Bank cashier Acza Ramirez is culpable for violation of the anti-money laundering law.

"If she is culpable, I ordered the NBI to file charges immediately. And if she is innocent, I ordered the NBI to immediately clear her as well," she said.

Ramirez was one of the two cashiers in the Land Bank branch in Binangonan during whose term 17 questionable transactions had been uncovered.

At the same time, the President expressed determination to get at the root of the tax diversion case which, she said, involved three related felonies – plunder due to the tax diversion of P200 million, conspiracy for tax evasion and money laundering.

By getting to the root of the cases as soon as possible, the Chief Executive expressed her trust that the good name of Land Bank as an institution can be cleared and name of the majority of professionals in the said agency can be unburdened of the weight caused by the discovery of the anomaly.

The President said she felt sad that the anomaly came at a time when Land Bank was riding high on its sterling achievements.

Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye today announced he would adopt of the policy of non-exclusivity in giving relevant information.

"All information will be freely given to everybody," Bunye said, stressing that he would not give any special preference to any particular media group or reporter.

In his regular press briefing in Malacaņang, Bunye said all questions would only be answered at the Briefing Room or during a tele-conference on Saturdays and Sundays.

He, however, said that he would only entertain interviews in his office if there are at least two media representatives representing other members of the Malacaņang Press Corps. "So it’s not exclusive," he said.

"We do not want to be perceived as playing favorite to one particular group," he said.

Bunye added he did not consider radio interviews as exclusive, saying that once the information is aired, it becomes available to the public.

He expressed the hope that the policy of non-exclusivity would be fair to everybody.

The government scored another victory against kidnap-for-ransom (KFR) gangs as President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today presented at the Philippine National Police headquarters in Quezon City seven members of the Bucala KFR group and a former policeman suspected of leading the Durano KFR group.

At the same time, the President said she would continue to make the rounds of law-enforcement agencies and present criminals before the public.

"As for the controversy about showing criminals before the public, well, debate is free in a democratic society but let me declare that I will continue to make the rounds of law-enforcement agencies and present criminals before the public," she said.

The President said she would "teach the lesson by humiliation if necessary" and follow it up with speedy prosecution.

"This will not abate until we have shown a clear manifestation in our seriousness and sincerity in this campaign," she added.

She also said that she would not relent in her crusade for a morally upright and lawful society. "On the ground, I am happy to hear that a lot of feedback, that results of police action, are being talked about, being noticed by our citizenry. More and more information against criminals is being given to the police, and that is why more arrests are being done every day," she said.

The seven members of the sub-group Lucido-Espillore gang under the Bucala KFR group were arrested last August 6 near the Manila Memorial Park Garden in Dasmarinas, Cavite by joint elements of the Police Anti-Crime and Emergency Response (PACER), Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Cavite Provincial Police Office (PPO).

The suspects-- namely Eufemio Lucido, Pedro Motas, Primitivo Panganiban, Agapito Motas, Alberto Olfato, Reynaldo Maligalig, Pio Purificacion-- were caught by PACER operatives on board two vehicles, a jeep with and a Mitsubishi Lancer.

Monitoring of their activities indicated that the suspects were on their way to conduct another kidnap attempt.

Confiscated from the group were several high-powered firearms, cell phones and handcuffs.

Meanwhile, joint operations of PACER, Aviation Security Group and Police Region Office 7 led to the arrest today of former PO3 Engelberto Durano alias Kevin Durano alias Kevin Lopez at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport while he was about to board an aircraft bound for Bacolod.

The President congratulated Police Director Avelino Razon, who until recently was Regional Director for Region 7 and who knows this case very well, for leading the arresting team.

Durano, one of those listed in the PNP Order of Battle Watchlist, is the leader of the Durano KFR group.

The President said that in both cases, close coordination and good interoperability between units brought about these major accomplishments.

"These events are not happening by accident. These are the results of coordination, teamwork and concerted action by our law enforcement agencies and the military under the unified command concept.

The President said the two sets of arrests show that "we are moving forward both in our interdiction as well as prevention mode."