TOKYO (Via PLDT) -- President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo said she is continuously reviewing the performance of government officials to find out if they are up to their jobs or need to be replaced.

During a late coffee chat with media representatives at the Akasaka Palace, the state guesthouse, the President said she couldn't say if there's no revamp per se in the future.

"I won't say no, there wouldn't be no revamp. I won't say there would be. I will keep reviewing to see if a particular individual is still the appropriate person for the work," she said.

TOKYO (via PLDT) -- President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo said she is not inclined to declare a ceasefire this Yuletide season with the New People's Army.

Nevertheless, she said she would await the recommendation of the her security officers on what would be the most apropriate response on the issue.

"I will still wait for the recommendations of my security officers but I am not inclined," she said.

When asked why, the President said:

TOKYO (Via PLDT) -- President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and Japan Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi witnessed the signing of two major agreements, worth at least Y6.7 billion that would provide for socio-economic development and peace building in Mindanao and for the improvement of firefighting efforts in Metro Manila.

The signing ceremony yesterday, held at the Prime Ministers' Residence, was led by Philippine Ambassador to Japan Domingo Siazon and Japan’s Ambassador to Manila Kojiro Takano.

The ceremony followed a bilateral meeting between the two leaders Wednesday evening.

The first agreement, worth Y1.5 billion, is a counter-value fund of Japan's non-project grant assistance.

This is set to be used for economic and social development for peace-building in Mindanao.

Japan has strongly supported the policy of the Arroyo administration to simultaneously promote both the fight against poverty and the fight against terrorism.

According to the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the project is aimed at demonstrating Japan's active support for the Mindanao region and to contribute toward the escape from extreme poverty and the consolidation for peace in the region, which are among the most important policy objectives of the Arroyo administration.

The second agreement is the Metro Manila Fire Protection Enhancement Project which is worth at least 5.2 billion yen.

This project aims to develop and enhance the network of the fire protection system in Metro Manila through the construction of 30 new fire stations, and repair and renovation of 124 fire stations and 22 central fire stations.

Under this project, approximately P2.3 billion would be financed under Japan's special yen loan package.

TOKYO (Via PLDT) – If it were just up to her, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo would take all the members of the Senate and the House of Representatives, both from the opposition and the administration, in all her foreign trips.

But the President said the choice is made by the leaders of both chambers of Congress, dismissing speculations she could be playing favorites among senators and congressmen.

In a late night meeting with members of the Philippine media covering her state visit here, the President explained Wednesday the process of selecting the members of the official delegation to her foreign visits, particularly those from elective posts.

"The delegation from the legislative is really something agreed upon by themselves," the President said, explaining that those included in the list of senators and congressmen joining her delegation are nominated.

"So the Senate President sends me the nominees of the Senate, the Speaker sends me the nominees of the House. The president of the mayor’s league sends me the nominees of the mayors; the president of the governors’ league sends me the nominees of the governors," she said.

In her state visit to Japan, the President was joined by opposition Sen. Aquilino Pimentel, Jr. from the Senate and by Reps. Jacinto Paras, Josephine Sato and Antonio Roman from the House of Representatives.

From the ranks of the governors, the President’s official delegation includes Nueva Ecija Governor Eduardo Joson III, Compostela Valley Governor Jose Caballero, Agusan del Sur Governor Adolf Edward Plaza and Pampanga Vice-Governor Juan Miguel Arroyo, the President’s son.

The mayors are represented by Mabalacat Mayor Marino Morales in the official delegation.

TOKYO (Via PLDT) – President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo feels her critics will always criticize her anyway, so she’s standing pat on her decision to appoint First Gentleman Miguel "Mike" T. Arroyo as special envoy to overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).

In a late Wednesday night coffee with members of the Philippine media covering her state visit to Japan, President Macapagal-Arroyo hinted that her critics will always find fault in all her actions, so she might as well just go ahead with her decisions.

"Some of my critics always find something to criticize," she said.

The President defended her husband from her critics, stressing that his appointment to a non-paying job was a clear indication of her administration’s determination to address the concerns of OFWs.

"Our OFWs do need attention from our government because they’re sending us $6 billion to $8 billion a year," she said.

TOKYO (Via PLDT) – A concrete alliance among countries in Asia, not divisions and tensions between states, is what is required in addressing international terrorism.

This was stressed by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in a late night coffee chat Wednesday with the members of Philippine media covering her state visit here.

There are "so many uncertainties, economic and security. It’s very important that we cement alliances," the President said in the wake of the tension between Australia and countries in Southeast Asia triggered by the statement of the Australian Prime Minister John Howard that his country is prepared to take preemptive attacks overseas where there are terrorists believed to be targeting his country’s interests.

Given the threat of international terrorism and the economic slowdown in many parts of the world, President Macapagal-Arroyo said, the presence of uncertainties require that each state solidify its alliance with its neighbors.

A stronger alliance with Japan, she said, is what she sought out to do in her state visit here, and this, she stressed, she accomplished.

The President said her main agenda is to remind Japan of its role, being the biggest economy in Asia, to lead the region in the fight against terrorism by helping its neighbors address the very root of the problem which is poverty.

"The important thing is that the Philippines and Japan have a good partnership at this time when the partnership is very, very much needed," she said.

While she did not criticize any particular state in Asia, the President reiterated that the fight against terrorism cannot be won by any state acting alone, but through a collective effort of all countries in the region.

"In any case, I think the most important thing with regard to the terrorist threat is to remember that terrorism knows no boundaries. You don’t know when or where it will strike next in the whole world and we have to recognize that this is the fight not of one country," she said.

"It is very important that we all cooperate and work together," the President said, as she stressed that the work of gathering intelligence information on the movement of terrorist groups, as well as the flow of funds that support their illegal activities, requires the participation of other states.

"The most important thing is cutting the network, cutting the flow of funds, searching for the cells where we can find them," she said.

The President said this is the reason she initiated the forging of the treaty among Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines on the exchange of intelligence information on terrorists, to which Thailand and Cambodia later acceded.

TOKYO (Via PLDT) – Japanese conglomerate Marubeni Philippines has committed to bring in $100 million in fresh investment to the Philippines for the establishment of geothermal plants in Mindanao.

Marubeni president and chief executive officer Tohru Tusji informed President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo about his company’s signing of a memorandum of understanding for the new energy project with the Philippine National Oil Co.-Energy Development Corp. (PNOC-EDC) during a call on the visiting Chief Executive at the Asahi Room of the Akasaka Palace late yesterday.

The MOU was for the establishment of a joint ownership of the 100-megawatt (MW) Mindanao Geothermal Power Plants, which will include the development of an additional capacity of up to 40-MW geothermal power at the Mt. Apo facilities.

The President expressed appreciation for Marubeni’s contributions to the Philippine economy and its continuing involvement in the development of the country’s power resources.

She also thanked the Japanese firm for its confidence in her administration by further expanding its projects in the Philippines.

Marubeni has built majority of the power plants owned by the National Power Corporation (Napocor).

Just recently, Marubeni completed the $1.4-billion San Roque Multi-Purpose Dam which was designed not only to provide electricity but also irrigation, flood control and water quality improvement for the northern provinces of Pangasinan, Tarlac and Nueva Ecija.

The President encouraged Marubeni to pour more investments into the Philippine market as she assured the Japanese conglomerate of the government’s commitment to extend necessary assistance and support to investments in the Philippines.

Also present during the call of the Marubeni CEO were Philippine Ambassador to Japan Domingo Siazon, Jr., Trade Secretary Manuel A. Roxas II, PNOC chairman Sergio Apostol and Presidential Assistant for Northern Luzon Renato Diaz.

TOKYO (Via PLDT) -- First Gentleman Atty. Jose Miguel "Mike" has barely warmed his seat as special envoy of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) but he is now busy attending to his first case.

The case involves Ma. Cristina Salvador, 33, a Filipino "overstayer" here who has been detained since April, at the Tokyo Immigration Bureau.

Cristina was discovered by the Japanese authorities as an "overstayer" following a complaint she filed at the Chichibu police station against her former boyfriend, a Thai, for taking away her three-year-old daughter Alliyah Salvador.

Apparently because of her complaint, her boyfriend Khajornsak Thawornpraset was detained for 10 days at the police station. Later, an arrangement was made where the child would stay with Cristina and her father alternately (one week each).

Hence, the child first stayed with Cristina for one week, and afterwards was taken by the mother of Cristina's former boyfriend since he was still in detention.

A few days after the above arrangement was made, Cristina was arrested and detained by the police for "overstaying." She was then transferred to the Tokyo Immigration Bureau last April 25 for immediate deportation, embassy officials said.

Cristina, fully aware of her options and their consequences, appealed to Philippine authorities for assistance in getting back her child.

She expressed her request not to be deported and to stay longer in the detention center so she could claim back her child. The request was approved by the Tokyo Immigration Bureau.

But she has to pay a considerable amount of fine to bring the case to the court. And this is where the First Gentleman's assistance comes with an initial $2,000.

The amount, which comes from his own pocket, was handed over today to Cristina's Japanese lawyer, Mikiko Otani, at Otani Hotel this morning.

"Hindi aalis si Cristina hanggat hindi niya makuha yung anak niya. Ganyan ang Filipina mother, talagang mahal na mahal nila ang mga anak nila (Cristina will not leave until she gets her daughter. That is how a Filipina mother is. They care deeply for their children)," Atty. Arroyo said.

The First Gentleman said the President recognizes the need to help our OFWs, especially in their personal problems.

The President has announced the appointment of the First Gentleman as special envoy to the OFWs during a meeting with the Filipino community here.

Atty. Arroyo is set to go to Hong Kong on December 12 to address the needs and provide assistance to Filipinos there. In January, he will visit Italy.

TOKYO (via PLDT) -- President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo brought to a close today a very successful four-day state visit to Japan.

The President, First Gentleman Atty. Jose Miguel "Mike" Arroyo and the rest of the official Philippine delegation boarded the presidential plane at the Narita International Airport shortly before 3 this afternoon (2 p.m. in Manila).

Before she left the Akasaka Palace, where she stayed during the four-day visit, the Imperial Couple, Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko, made a farewell call on her.

The President's state visit is marked by the reinvigoration of the ties formed forty years ago between the President and the Imperial Couple.

It is also marked by the high esteem accorded by the Japanese government as the President spoke before House of Councilors, the National Diet of Japan, which is the Japanese parliament.

Philippine Ambassador to Japan Domingo Siazon, Jr., during a late coffee with Philippine media, said that based on the records which he was given, the President emerges to be the only woman speaker before the Diet.

"Historically, invitation to speak before the Parliament for the joint session is a very rare invitation," he said.

The first Philippine president and the last one known to have addressed the Diet was President Carlos P. Garcia in 1958 and based on the records given, President Macapagal-Arroyo is the only lone woman speaker.

Siazon also noted that the standing ovation, like the one accorded to the President, is very rare.

Siazon also noted that it was rare that Japan Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi was present during an address.

"And this time, you didn't only have the incumbent Prime Minister, you had Hashomoto Morihata. So at least, I saw three previous Prime Ministers and an opposition leader, who was having problems, who were there during the whole speech," he added.

During the same late coffee with Philippine media delegation, the President said she came to Japan to emphasize that notwithstanding new players in the world economy or global cyclical conditions or recessions, Japan is still the most dominant economic and security influence in the region.

While China is an exciting new player in the world economy, Japan still commands more than one-half of the Gross Domestic Product of the region.

"This is the message that I'm giving in this state visit -- to emphasize to Japan not to be discouraged by recession that they are undergoing, to remember that they are still the biggest economy by far in this region and to have confidence in that role, confidence that the rest of us continue to look to Japan for leadership in this region," the President added.

In her bilateral meeting with the Prime Minister, two major agreements, worth at least Y6.7 billion, have been inked, providing for the socio-economic and peace building in Mindanao and for the improvement of firefighting efforts in Metro Manila.

The President and Koizumi also discussed the importance of ongoing efforts for the establishment of a Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership, ordering their concerned officials to work more closely in advancing the establishment of the JPEP.

At the e-Services Philippines: Information Technology Exhibition and Interactive Business Investment Seminar, sponsored by the Japan External Trade Organization, the President urged Japanese companies engaged in IT to set up businesses in the Philippines as she formally opened the seminar.

"Our economies' respective strengths complement each other very well. Japan's leadership in various technological fields can be adequately supported by the Philippines' large pool of quality human resources with high IT literacy rate," she said.

During the visit, the President also formally announced that she was designating the First Gentleman to be her special representative to overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).

She also announced the launching of "Kabayanihan," a new government program for OFWs that would provide an integrated delivery of basic services to them at worksites abroad and at home in the Philippines.

Under Kabayanihan, the OFWs will be able to avail themselves of the following services:

-- Overseas Workers Welfare Administration On-Site Welfare Services that would include expanded/voluntary membership.

--DOLE/OWWA/Philippine Overseas Employment Administration Electronic Identification Card (e-Card) services.

--Health Maintenance services through the OWWA Medicare program wherein the OFW and members of the family will be entitled to benefits over and above those granted by PhilHealth.

--Pag-IBIG Fund's Housing services wherein DOLE and the Pag-IBIG fund have already signed a memorandum of agreement for the joint implementation of the Pag-IBIG Overseas Housing Program (POP).

The POP aims to expand Pag-IBIG membership among OFWs and provide them the opportunity to acquire their own homes at affordable means.

Malacañang today described the well-planned and well-executed killing of Police Superintendent John Campos as the height of brutality as it expressed condolences to the families of the police officer and the cashier of an eatery where they were killed in the pre-dawn shooting in Parañaque, Metro Manila.

"It is really the height of brutality to have this kind of killings, particularly that kind of killing where it seemed to be well-planned and well-executed," Presidential Spokesman Rigoberto Tiglao said in a press briefing.

Tiglao assured the public that police authorities are doing their work to solve the killing as soon as possible.

"They are finishing their sketches from the account of witnesses," Tiglao said, adding that even before the day is over, the police will be able to come out with a good description of the perpetrators.

Tiglao said the Palace does not have a reason to conclude at this time that a senator was behind the brutal killing of Campos, a former anti-narcotics officer of the Philippine National Police.

Presidential Spokesperson Rigoberto Tiglao today said that the Macapagal-Arroyo administration will just have to work harder so that the people can feel the efforts of the government to really help the poor.

"It is good there are such polls to remind us on what aspects we are weak," Tiglao said of the latest Pulse Asia.

Tiglao, however, said that the Pulse Asia report released today indicated there were areas where the President has very high rating, citing the human rights and environmental issues. "She rates high on certain things, and peace and order has been improving a lot," Tiglao said.

"Essentially certain projects have to be accelerated. The conclusion here is that even if projects are being implemented continuously, they seemed not to be felt by the masses," Tiglao said.

"Secondly, of course, there is a need to communicate her decision as what happened during her November 30; her decisions were clear and it was well articulated, well expressed," Tiglao said.

Tiglao said that all the internal surveys that the government has commissioned demonstrated a major rebound after the President clarified her decisions on certain critical issues and programs for next year.

The recent Pulse Asia survey showed that the President has slightly lagged behind other perceived candidates for the 2004 presidential election. The President has consistently said that she is focused on her job and is not thinking of 2004.

Tiglao also said that it is too early to measure who would be winning or would be presidentiables at this point in time.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo arrived tonight from a highly-successful four-day state visit to Japan bringing with her, in concrete terms, 5.2 billion yen (P2.2 billion) special loan for a Metro Manila fire protection enhancement project and a grant of 1.5 billion yen (P645 million) for economic and social development projects in Southern and Western Mindanao.

Her plane, Philippine Airlines Flight PR 433, touched down at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport at about 6:30 p.m.

Among those who welcomed her back from her successful state visit to Japan were Vice President Teofisto Guingona, Jr., Executive Secretary Alberto Romulo, House Speaker Jose de Venecia, Jr., Interior and Local Government Secretary Jose Lina, Jr., Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Eduardo Ermita, Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Dionisio Santiago and Customs Commissioner Antonio Bernardo.

In an arrival statement, the President pointed out that the 5.2 billion yen loan will be used to build 30 substations and upgrade 124 substations and 22 central fire stations in Metro Manila.

The President said the 1.5 billion yen grant will be on top of the official development assistance (ODA) that the Philippines receives from Japan each year, stressing that Japan ODA accounts for 60 per cent of the total financial assistance that the country receives from abroad.

The President, however, said that more than the immediate financial results of her state visit is the bright outlook for the Philippines enhanced economic cooperation with Japan.

She emphasized that her talks with the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Nippon Keidanren, the Japanese organization of enterprises, allowed her to apprise them of the continuing great opportunities for investments in the Philippines.

"The Japanese businessmen were impressed by our continued growth despite a worldwide slowdown," the President said.

The President said that her state visit to Japan gave her an opportunity to address the concerns of the Japanese businessmen already doing business in the Philippines.

"I apprised them of the efforts and facilities we have already put in place to ensure much better business climate," she said.

The President told Japanese businessmen that the Philippines is working closely with international efforts in the fight against terrorism, at the same time eradicating kidnap gangs to ensure the security of investors.

"Our investment incentives are already well known, but we assured them that we are working towards even making our country the best target of opportunity for foreign equity and portfolio investment," the President said, citing as the best encouragement the continuing improvement of the economy, particularly low inflation and rising growth.

The President also addressed the members of the Japanese Diet, the legislature of Japan, which met in a joint session.

President Macapagal-Arroyo was the first woman head of state to ever address the Diet. "An honor which I will always cherish," the President said as she recounted her meeting with Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi as well as three former Japanese prime ministers.

Emphasizing the need for unity in Asean and in East Asia, and the Philippines’ unity with Japan, the President also detailed to the Diet her economic programs which she believed will make the country more competitive in the globalized market.

"I stressed to them the need to maximize more fully the many areas of complementarity between our two economies, one of them being in the area of human resource development," the President said.

In a bilateral meeting, the President discussed with Koizumi the importance of ongoing efforts for the establishment of a Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership.

In this meeting, the two leaders underscored once again the need to strengthen the complementarities as well as the competitiveness of the two economies.

"We recognized that trade and investment liberalization and facilitation, along with enhanced cooperation in other related areas, would accelerate cross-border flow of resources and provide greater opportunities and larger economies of scale for Japanese and Philippine business," the President said.

The President said that during her state visit, she was warmly welcomed by the Japanese people and by Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko, the symbols of the Japanese nation.

"The hospitality and sincerity with which they received us leave nothing to be desired," the President said.

According to the President, she is looking forward to the first visit in the 21^st century to the Philippines of the Emperor and Empress of Japan where the Philippines may return the warm hospitality and also further cement the two countries’ strengthening ties.

The President also met with the Filipino community wherein an early Christmas party was held for them.