Malacaņang will soon issue a Memorandum Order (MO) that would set government policy and guidelines on the disposition of public lands for the informal settlers and providing funds for this program.

The MO will direct the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC) to adopt certain guidelines on how to regularize the status of informal settlers now occupying government lands.

These guidelines were discussed during the second en banc meeting of the National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC) held in Malacaņang yesterday and presided over by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

One of the items in the agenda of the meeting was the immediate disposition of all government lands that have not been used for the purposes for which they have been reserved during the past 10 years.

The President said she would study if there is a need for an executive order that would declare open to disposition for socialized housing purposes certain government-owned lands defined under Republic Act 7279.

The President also directed the NAPC to hold en banc meetings every month. He also directed the fast tracking of the completed staff work on memorandum orders or presidential proclamations as petitioned by actual settlers on the following:

• Authorizing the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) to dispose of certain portions of right-of-way of its abandoned aqueduct in favor of the bonafide family occupants for socialized housing;

• Lifting the directive holding in abeyance the implementation of Proclamation No. 770, s. 1966, on the TELOF Property in Pugad Baboy in Valenzuela;

• Amending MO 119, series of 1987, which provided guidelines for the implementation of Proclamation No. 187, series of 1987, on the Western Bicutan farmlands;

• Directing the Department of Justice and HUDCC to investigate the reported irregularities in the titling of lands on portions of the Lungsod Silangan Townsite Reservation located in the province of Rizal, and to explore and recommend possible tenurial arrangements for their legitimate occupants.

The President is also set to sign an MO directing NAPC and the Presidential Commission on the Urban Poor (PCUP) to act as the national and regional clearing houses for the conduct of demolition and eviction activities involving the homeless and underprivileged.

Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye today stressed that the country’s budget deficit was "still very manageable," despite having slightly gone beyond the P130-billion target for the year.

Bunye, in a radio interview, said the government has instituted a number of measures to cut down on or postpone non-urgent public expenses.

He cited training and travel expenses that could be stricken off the expense list of government agencies.

"This is one way to control the deficit," he said.

But he allayed fears of local officials on rumors that the national government would withhold the Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA) being given to the latter for their programs and projects.

Bunye said there is a provision in the Local Government Code that would allow the withholding of the IRA if there is an unmanageable budget deficit but this would not happen under the present situation.

He also said the national government would release to members of Congress their Countrywide Development Funds to make sure that vital projects are implemented.

Earlier, Budget Secretary Emilia Boncodin belied reports that the government was running out of cash and might be unable to disburse funds needed for the day-to-day operations of the different agencies.

Boncodin said the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) has released the notice of cash allocations for August and September of all government agencies.

She urged the agencies to prioritize their mandatory operational requirements like salaries and the payment for water and power bills.

On the other hand, Finance Secretary Jose Isidro Camacho stressed that the government would go on maintaining fiscal discipline, as it remained committed to budget deficit targets that correspond to about 3.3 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP).

The GDP is the sum total of all goods and services a local economy produces in a particular period of time.

Camacho expressed optimism that surpluses would be attained in the next few months going into the last semester.

He projected better revenue collections and substantial proceeds from the sale of big-ticket state assets to keep the budget deficit in line.

Meanwhile, former Economic Planning Secretary Cielito Habito said that there was "no real strong economic reason to fear a larger-than-target deficit at this point."

But Habito said the state budget would have to be spent well, with priorities – particularly in infrastructure development -- given due social and economic relevance in so far as the country’s growth potentials were concerned.

He even called for the relaxation of the budget deficit ceiling so that the country could expand the GDP to the targeted 4 percent to 4.5 percent.

I will be issuing shortly an Executive Order promulgating the Restructuring Program of Electric Cooperatives (ECs), which among others, authorized the condonation of ECs Rural Electrification loans incurred as of 26 June 2001.

This means eighteen (18) billion pesos worth of government support directly benefiting almost six (6) million households served by 119 ECs throughout the country.

This E.O. effectively condoning the loans of all ECs, means the eventual lowering of electric rates and improved power service.

The program the E.O. outlines, setting forth its terms and conditions, demands vigorous positive response in terms of drastic reforms, mandated as well as self-imposed, both of which will exact tremendous sacrifices.

Together with me, our countrymen, particularly the rural folk, recognize, appreciate and thank the leaders of the rural electrification program for their extraordinary achievements in providing for our people better quality of life, triggering economic development in the countryside. I am happy and grateful for what you did in the Lanao del Sur, Masbate, Aklan and Basilan, thus manifesting a dramatic demonstration of massive cooperation of all ECs from Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.

Considering, however, the utmost importance of the power sector, without which no country can really progress in many aspects of human endeavors, I must state categorically the following:

1. I will not allow any EC to hold hostage to its inefficiencies the thousands of member-consumers in its area coverage. Our people deserve the best, and I will see to it that they get it.
2. I shall expect transparency and honesty in all transactions. Any dishonest act must be considered a crime against the thousands affected by it, and this I will not tolerate.
3. I hereby direct the National Electrification Administration (NEA) to exercise forcefully, strictly and consistently its supervisory power over the ECs.
4. I want to see dramatic impact results from the performance improvement and rehabilitation and efficiency plans of ECs within the next 180 days, after which for those which fail, all other measures shall be open for consideration.

Defense Secretary Angelo Reyes today stressed that the military has yet to ascertain the involvement of Muin Sajiron, prime suspect in the recent abduction of six preachers of the Jehovah’s Witnesses in Sulu, to the Abu Sayyaf terrorist group.

In a press briefing in Malacaņang, Reyes also stressed that there was no direct evidence yet to say that the Abu Sayyaf was responsible for the abductions and reported beheading of two of the hostages.

"We cannot, as of now, categorically ascertain that he (Muin Sajiron) is Abu Sayyaf. The moment that we ascertain that, then we will tell you," he said.

He said Sajiron, leader of the gang that abducted the six preachers in Patikul town, was not Abu Sayyaf but "a loose cannon" who could not be controlled even by his uncle, Abu Sayyaf leader Radulan Sajiron.

Reyes recalled that it was Muin who led the group that kidnapped broadcast journalist Maan Macapagal, who was on her way home after an interview with the Abu Sayyaf.

Muin defied Abu Sayyaf safety clearances earlier given by the terrorist group to Macapagal.

The defense chief said Muin is a drug-crazed man.

"I was informed by the Mayor (Hasir Hayudini) of Patikul and (Sulu) Governor (Yusop) Jikiri, that in all probability, this guy is heavily into drugs," he said.

Reyes said the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) go by the Order of Battle in identifying members of the terrorist Abu Sayyaf.

"(Muin) is not in the Order of Battle. He is what we might call a loose cannon. Not even Radulan Sajiron can influence him," he said.

Earlier, AFP spokesman retired Major General Melchor Rosales claimed that Brig. Gen. Romeo Tolentino, commander of the Sulu-based Army’s 10^th Infantry Brigade, never stated that the Abu Sayyaf was behind the abduction of the six preachers.

Rosales also clarified that there were several other criminal groups operating in Sulu. These are pirates, lost commands, outlaws, breakaway groups and others.

Meanwhile, Reyes clarified that the military had not reduced forces in Sulu, but had even injected the Army’s 55^th Infantry Battalion in the province three weeks ago, and the 14^th Infantry Battalion two months ago.

"We have increased, as a matter of fact, our Armed Forces elements there because we knew and we know that we have to recover the remaining Indonesian hostages and we have to address the presence of personalities there," he said.

He further refuted the reported sightings of Abu Sabaya, as claimed by witnesses from the camp of Fr. Cirilo Nacorda, the parish priest of Lamitan in Basilan who also was a victim of Abu Sayyaf atrocities.

Malacaņang today assured the public that the government would be able to implement the absentee-voting law in the presidential elections in 2004 if Congress would enact it on time.

"It will indeed be difficult to implement the law, but it will not be impossible," Press Secretary and Acting Presidential Spokesman Ignacio "Toting" Bunye said today in his press briefing in Malacaņang.

Bunye said that President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo believes that the absentee-voting bill, now being deliberated in both houses of Congress, "is a very worthwhile legislation."

The press secretary agreed with the observation of Foreign Affairs Secretary Blas Ople that Philippine foreign missions, given their budgetary constraints, may not be able to fully implement the absentee-voting law in the 2004 polls.

Ople said that Philippine embassies and consulates, particularly in areas with a large concentration of Filipinos, such as the United States, Saudi Arabia, Italy, Japan and Canada, may not be able to properly handle the new voting system because of lack of adequate funding and personnel.

Bunye said the present election procedures in the country would be multiplied several times over with the additional overseas voting.

"There is also the problem of actual monitoring, counting, and safeguarding of ballots," Bunye said.

These concerns, however, are now being addressed by the Senate and the House of Representatives.

Malacanang today said that the fall of the Philippine peso vis a vis the US dollar is not peculiar to the Philippine currency but is also being experienced by other currencies in the region.

In his press briefing in Malacanang, Press Secretary and Acting Presidential Spokesman Ignacio "Toting" Bunye said the Thai baht and the Japanese yen have also gone down.

"So, this could be the effect of a trend and is not limited to the Philippines," Bunye said.

Even currency traders have said that currencies in the region have started to weaken against the greenback and this could have pulled the peso down in the process.

Bunye also explained that another factor that could have affected the peso-dollar exchange rate were the heavy corporate demands for the dollar during the last two or three days.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said that imports of goods expanded for the fourth consecutive month beginning February, peaking in April at 18.8 percent but tapering off in May at 3.9 percent.

But total imports for the first five months of this year reached $12.547 billion, 3.2 percent higher than the level a year ago, the BSP said.

"These developments reflected in part replenishment and inventory buildup as manufacturers have geared up importation following expectations of more robust domestic demands," the BSP said.

Malacaņang today reiterated the position of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to implement the capital punishment within the year.

"Maybe not on the exact date as planned but definitely some executions will be carried out within the year," Press Secretary Ignacio "Toting" Bunye told reporters during a press briefing in Malacaņang.

Bunye said the President received advice from various quarters, particularly on the issue on the date of the first execution under her administration. Scheduled for execution on August 30 is convicted rapist Rolando Padayawon.

Bunye said he believed there is merit in postponing the very first execution.

During the press briefing, Bunye also said the Palace will have to take into consideration the date of the execution of Padayawon, which incidentally falls on the eve of the birthday of Manila Archbishop Jaime Cardinal Sin.

Padayawon is one of the 22 death convicts who are scheduled to die by lethal injection before the year ends.

"It’s quite clear at this stage that she will implement or she will carry out some of these death penalties within the year, that’s for sure," the Press Secretary stressed.