President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo lauded this year’s Ten Outstanding Young Men (TOYM) for their exemplary achievements in their respective fields and for continuing to be paragons of excellence in humanitarian service.

The Chief Executive, assisted by TOYM Board of Judges chairman and National Defense Secretary Angelo Reyes, Philippine Jaycees national president Mabel Villarica-Mamba, Chairperson Judy Araneta-Roxas of the Gerry Roxas Foundation, Inc. and other officials presented the awards to the TOYM awardees in ceremonies held Wednesday night at Malacanang’s Ceremonial Hall.

The TOYM awardees are: Eduardo Calma for architecture, Dr. Eva Maria Cutiongco for genetics, Dr. Raquel del Rosario-Fortun for forensic pathology, Antonio Maigue for music, Florencio Tam Mongoso, Jr. for government and public service, Maria Angelita Ressa for international broadcast journalism, Gabriel Romero for plant breeding, genetics and molecular biology, Atty. Theodore Te for human rights/legal aid, Ramon Felix "Rafe" Totengco III for fashion design, and Luis Raymond Villafuerte for entrepreneurship.

In her message, the President said that through the awardees’ proactive and profound involvement in nation building, they epitomize the truly fine stones that make this nation’s enduring edifice.

The President noted that by their numerous acts of altruism, the awardees have proven themselves worthy of gratitude and emulation.

She exhorted them not just to lead, but to inspire through their benevolence saying that their acts of magnanimity create countless ripples of hope among the Filipino people.

The TOYM Awards were initiated by the Manila Jaycees as a chapter project on April 6, 1959. Subsequently, the Philippine Jaycees formally adopted the project on a national basis on October 15, 1959, during their 11^th National Convention in Baguio City.

LUMBA BAYABAO, Lanao del Sur – President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today joined farmers led by a former Moro Islamic Liberation Front rebel in a thanksgiving festival for the bountiful harvest of hybrid rice in a remote village here in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

The President said the farmers themselves told her that their income doubled when they turned to hybrid rice.

"Kaya gusto natin na mapalaganap itong hybrid rice sa ating bansa – itong hybrid rice na nagpapadoble ng kita ng ating mga magsasaka. (That is why we are propagating the use of hybrid rice, which doubles the income of farmers, in our country)," the President told the farmers and residents gathered for the "Kandori" or Thanksgiving Festival here.

"This is our flagship program for agriculture modernization," the President added.

The President received a warm welcome from local officials, farmers and other residents upon her arrival in Barangay Lindongan, the pilot area for hybrid rice production in the ARMM.

In welcoming the President, Mayor Minda Dagalangit assured the President that the people of Lumba Bayabao "will help your administration in building a strong Republic."

During a brief program, the President awarded a mechanical dryer worth P550,000, five units of shallow tube wells worth P66,000 each and two rice thresher worth P55,000 each to Elian Macala, president of the Elian Lindongan Multi-Purpose Cooperative and the Lindongan Farmers Association.

Macala, a young and upcoming political leader and farmer, was a former member of the MILF who was inspired by the President’s hybrid rice program that he decided to plant 20 hectares of hybrid rice for seed production and 75 hectares of hybrid rice on his land. Mayor Dagalangit is Macala’s mother-in-law.

The hybrid rice program here was conducted successfully in close coordination with the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries of ARMM, Agricultural Training Institute, National Irrigation Administration, Peace Equity Foundation and Datu Paglas Corporation. Use of the hybrid rice variety increases yield by at least 15 percent, raising the income of farmers

The President also also gave to Macala and the other farmers 30 bags of hybrid rice seed worth a total of P30, 000 and a reaper machine worth P90,000.

The mechanical dryer, tube wells and rice thresher were donated by the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries of ARMM while the reaper machine and "mestizo" hybrid rice seeds came from the Philippine Rice Research Institute.

The President also distributed 300 packs of assorted agricultural planting materials to 200 farmer beneficiaries of the Elian Lindongan Multi-Purpose Cooperative and to the other farmers who are not members of the cooperatives here.

After the awarding, the President flew to Barangay Saray-Tibanga in Iligan City to inspect the Gawad-Kalinga Missionville, a housing project of the Couples for Christ-Gawad Kalinga in partnership with the Iligan City government.

ARMM Governor Parouk Hussin, Lanao del Sur Governor Mamintal Adiong, and Iligan City Mayor Franklin Quijano assisted the President in the inspection of the four completed housing units.

LUMBA BAYABAO, Lanao del Sur -- President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today instructed Governor Parouk Hussin of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) to use the ARMM special fund to finance the ongoing projects in the province, particularly the irrigation of lands planted to hybrid rice in this town.

The President gave the order to Hussin during the celebration of the first harvest festival of hybrid rice in Barangay Lindongan.

"Ayaw ko kayo (ARMM) na nagmamakaawa parati sa national government agencies dahil autonomous na kayo. Kaya Governor (Hussin), gamitin nyo na ang pondo (I don’t want you to beg from the national government agencies because you are now autonomous. So, Governor, we give you special fund)," the President told Hussin.

In her speech, the President ordered Hussin to allocate at least 20 percent of the ARMM special fund to finance the irrigation projects of Lumba Bayabao, the pilot area for hybrid rice seed production in Mindanao.

She said planting hybrid rice is a flagship project of her administration as part of the government’s agricultural modernization and agricultural productivity program.

The President also told Hussin to allocate separate funds for road construction and upgrading of power facilities in the province.

The President also ordered Assistant Secretary Datu Harong Bandila of ARMM-Department of Agriculture and Manda Amirhansa to do the technical work to ensure that the 20 percent from the ARMM special fund should be released as soon as possible.

Presidential Spokesman Rigoberto Tiglao today said the allegations of Rep. Willy Villarama of Bulacan that the total amount of checks he collected from Mark Jimenez is P18 million is "strange and a bit funny."

In his regular press briefing in Malacaņang, Tiglao noted that Jimenez has repeatedly said the amount he contributed to the Lualhati Foundation in 1999 amounted only P8 million.

"The giver is not claiming any amount other than P8 million," Tiglao said.

The Palace spokesman noted that Manila International Airport Authority head Edgardo Manda, then the president of the foundation in 1999, has said that Jimenez’s donation to the organization was properly receipted and documented.

Tiglao also noted that President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, then the Vice President, has nothing to do with the Lualhati Foundation. "The First Couple is not in the Board of Trustees of the foundation," he said.

Tiglao further noted that it is up to the foundation if it sees fit to provide financial records to anyone who cares. "We don’t see any problem with that," he said.

"It would be up to the foundation…. these are matters that occurred in 1999," Tiglao added.

Tiglao earlier revealed that the checks Jimenez claimed he gave to the First Gentleman were solicited by Villarama in 1999, when the latter was in the staff of then-Vice President Macapagal-Arroyo.

Malacanang today clarified that contrary to reports that the Office of the President (OP) has accumulated some P159 million in unliquidated cash advances, only P32,019,754.32 remains unliquidated as of November 30 this year.

In a press statement, Susana D. Vargas, deputy executive secretary for administration and finance, said the total of P159,221,763.14 balance of unliquidated cash advances incurred during the Macapagal-Arroyo administration since January last year, includes those for operational expenses of various offices under the OP.

Vargas said that the OP has continuously written demand letters to those with unliquidated cash advances and have deducted from their salaries until the full amount of their cash advances are liquidated.

She also said that compared with those of the previous administrations, the amount in pesos spent for foreign travels for calendar year 2001 was much lower.

Presidential Spokesman Rigoberto Tiglao today said that while President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is in Lanao del Sur to lead a thanksgiving festival for the bountiful harvest of hybrid rice in a remote village in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), the Cabinet is undertaking a workshop in Malacanang to further enhance the implementation of the President’s eight-point work agenda.

In his regular press briefing this afternoon, Tiglao said the seminar discussed ways and means on how the Cabinet members can improve mechanisms in their respective departments and best deliver the targets outlined in the eight-point agenda.

Tiglao also noted that there was discussion during the workshop on perceptions of high prices of goods. He noted, however, that the inflation rate has been continuously going down for the past years.

Tiglao added that Interior and Local Government Secretary Jose Lina, Jr. has proposed certain measures to address gaps in the organizational plan on the implementation of the agenda.

The eight-point agenda covers the following: to keep transportation fares down, reduce transport costs from Mindanao to Luzon, stimulate small and medium enterprises, jumpstart housing, stimulate private investments in agriculture, continue building infrastructure to decongest Metro Manila, increase fiscal resources, make Makati City a specific tourist destination and improve Nayong Pilipino.

The President has said she is determined to undertake all reasonable means to keep transport costs down. She has directed the Department of Transportation and Communication to explore ways and means to stem the upward pressure on fares and asked the Metro Rail Transit (MRT) 3, Light Rail Transit (LRT) 1 and the Philippine National Railways not to increase ticket charges.

The Chief Executive has said that while imported crude oil now accounts for a mere 11.75 percent of the power generation requirements, the country’s transportation sector continues to be heavily dependent on oil imports.

On efforts to reduce cargo rates in the country, the President has said the government is promoting competition at the ports, addressing reported overcharging in cargo handling tariff, reducing the government share of port fees from 40 percent to 10 percent and rationalizing the bidding terms of reference for cargo handling services.

On moves to jumpstart housing, Malacanang is giving banks policy signal incentives to fund developers on their own and get bureaucracy out of their way.

The President said efforts to unclog the streets of Metro Manila would focus on beginning construction on the commuter links between Metro Manila, the Northrail system and the toll road all the way to Batangas port in the south.

Within Metro Manila, she said she is monitoring the smooth start of the final linkage of MRT with LRT.

On making Makati City a primary tourist destination, the President cited a recent study by a Hawaii-based expert who discovered that Makati offers more than what Honolulu does.

"Makati, with its compact, easy to secure location, world-class malls, entertainment facilities and cheap shopping, can be promoted as an attractive destination perhaps with a side trip to Boracay or similar resorts as part of the package," the President said.