President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, as chairman of the Presidential Agrarian Reform Council (PARC), has disapproved nine stock distribution option (SDO) applications and ordered the immediate coverage of these landholdings under compulsory acquisition.

The President concurred with the PARC Executive Committee recommendation for the disapproval of the nine SDO applications during the 3lst meeting of the PARC in Malacanang.

The nine disapproved applications and are now under compulsory acquisition are the following:

1. 271 Montinolla-Escarilla and Company, Inc. (MECO) located in Las Nieves, Agusan del Norte;

2. Kalaong Plantation, Inc. (KPI), with an area of 178 hectares and located in Maitum, South Cotabato;2.

3. Malibu Agro-Industrial Corporation (MAC), located in La Carlota, Negros Occidental, involving 625 hectares;

4. Ozamis Agricultural Development, Inc. Estate in Quezon, Bukidnon involving 1,603 hectares;

5. 14 Colored Corporations, a conglomeration of 14 small corporations, in Bacolod City, Negros Occidental, involving a total area of 1,147;

6. Valmayor Hermanos, Inc., in Canlaon City, Negros Oriental with 638 hectares;

7. San Jose Sugar Development Corporation in San Jose City, Negros Occidental, 744 hectares;

8. Garcona Agri-Industrial Enterprises in Medelin, Cebu involving 46 hectares; and

9. AFC Agri-Business Corporation located in Buenavista, Guimaras, involving 371 hectares.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today described the killing of Pentagon kidnap-for-ransom (KFR) gang leader Faisal Marohombsar as another shining star in the government’s all-out war against criminals and terrorists.

This was another "big blow" to the infamous Pentagon KFR group, the President said, as she hinted that operations have been ongoing against Marohombsar’s partner in Mindanao, Alonto Tahir.

She reminded everyone that Tahir was not, in any way, connected with the respected Alonto clan in the Lanao provinces.

She lauded the Philippine National Police (PNP), the military, cooperative citizens and the media for helping each other make Marohombsar pay for his sordid crimes against the Filipino people, particularly the victims of his kidnapping activities.

The body of Marohombsar was presented to the President.

In a light vein, she said "mabuti hindi sea encounter ito para hindi nalunod si Faisal Marohombsar. Makikita ng buong mundo ang kanyang bangkay (it was good Faisal was not killed in a sea encounter. Now, the whole world can see his corpse)."

She referred to the sea encounter between crack Navy troops and Abu Sayyaf terrorists led by Aldam Tilao aka Abu Sabaya off the coast of Zamboanga del Norte where Abu Sabaya was killed.

The President this morning motored to Magallanes, Cavite, scene of an early morning firefight between Marohombsar and combined elements of the PNP’s Police Anti-Crime and Emergency Response (PACER), National Capital Region Regional Police Office (NCRPO), Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) and the Anti-Crime Task Force of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (ACTAFP).

The joint police and military team was hunting down Marohombsar, escapees Abdul Macaumbang and Roland Patinio, and several others in connection with the abduction of four-year-old Patricia Chong and her nanny, Winena Jordan, last August 19 in Alabang, Muntinlupa City.

Kidnap victims Chong and Jordan were safely rescued at about 8 a.m. today.

The President also thanked the media for not reporting the kidnapping incident although it was being broadcast in text messages.

"Kasi kung ni-report iyon, mas manganganib yung bata (Reporting it in the media could have endangered the life of the child)," she said.

She added that the cooperation of the media enabled the police and the military to undertake the operation and uncover the truth behind the union of the Pentagon gang and the Villaver-Fajardo (KFR) gang, both in the Order of Battle of the military and the police.

The joint police-military team also arrested a policeman, Police Officer 2 Armando Ayson of the Magallanes Police Station, and Jimmy Lumabad in connection with the kidnapping case.

Marohombsar, Macaumbang and Patinio escaped from the defunct PNP National Anti-Kidnapping Task Force (NAKTAF) detention center last June 19 and had thus been the subject of a manhunt.

Magallanes Mayor Filomena Maligaya said Marohombsar and his group had rented a house in Barangay Pacheco. The kidnap group was reported to have been in that safehouse for the last three weeks, Maligaya said.

The President, in her inspection of the encounter site, was told that a soldier of the ACTAFP, Technical Sergeant Willie Madayag, was wounded during the firefight.

The President, together with PNP Chief Director General Hermogenes Ebdane, Jr. and AFP Chief of Staff Roy Cimatu, awarded financial aid to Madayag who was brought to the nearby Naic Doctor’s Hospital in Naic, Cavite.

The Chief Executive further expressed her gladness over the cooperation that civilians in the area gave to authorities, prompting the police and the military to get Marohombsar.

This, she said, was the best way to curb crime nationwide, as she again stressed the value of unity in all efforts to maintain law and order in the country and secure a better life for Filipinos.

She reiterated her appeal to all peace-loving citizens to immediately call Hotline 117, an immediate response police action system.

"Nananawagan din ako sa mga pamilyang maykaya na mag-ingat duon sa mga hina-hire nila. Puwede naming kayong tulungang makakuha ng background information sa mga ito (I urge families wanting to hire drivers to check with the National Bureau of Investigation on the background of these people)," she said.

National Security Adviser J. Roilo Golez today noted the victories made by the administration of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in its peace and order drive and all-out war against terrorists nationwide.

Golez said the killing of Pentagon kidnap-for-ransom (KFR) gang leader Faisal Mahorombsar and other criminal and terrorist leaders showed that the current administration stood as having the most number of scores against organized crime and terrorist groups over the years.

He further noted the government’s triumphs against illegal drugs, with the discovery of two shabu factories in Luzon.

"This shows that the President’s personal attention to anti-crime efforts is working brilliantly," he said.

He added the people could expect more scores in the next few weeks.

Marohombsar was killed in an encounter with joint police and military elements in Barangay Pacheco, Magallanes, Cavite.

Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye today noted the vital role of the public in maintaining peace and order, saying, "citizens are the first line of defense in our war against crime."

In a radio interview, Bunye said President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo had expressed appreciation for the concerned persons who provided the effective information that led to today’s recovery of two kidnap victims by a joint police-military team and the death of Pentagon Gang kidnap leader Faisal Marohombsar in a firefight.

With the death of Marohombsar, Bunye said the President has issued a "stern reminder against criminal elements that crime does not pay."

"You cannot forever evade the long arm of the law…our law enforcers will get you one way or the other," Bunye said.

Bunye further noted that the President praised the excellent teamwork and coordination of the various elements that participated in the operations.