President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo said today the administration will continue to pursue its development projects, particularly those meant to benefit the poor, even as its gears up contingency measures in the event of a flareup of the Middle East situation.

The President said during her weekly radio address to the nation that there will be no letup in development efforts as she detailed anew her priority concerns and work agenda for the next six months.

"We will remain focused on the growth and expansion of the economy through the ‘Isang Bayan, Isang Produkto, Isang Milyong Piso’ program that will benefit small and medium enterprises," the President said.

In pushing for SMEs, the President aims to strengthen the domestic market and wean the country away from too much dependence on the export market.

The President also said her priority programs for the next six months include the startup of the North Rail project from Metro Manila to the Clark Economic Zone; the upgrading of the transportation system from the metropolis to the Southern Tagalog growth area and the Batangas port; and the transformation of Makati and Roxas Boulevard into primary tourist destinations.

The President expects to decongest Metro Manila through the rail and road projects and cause the expansion of economic activities in the towns and cities along the routes of these transport systems.

"This will also make housing projects outside Metro Manila, where land is cheaper and the lifestyle more conducive to family, viable," the President said earlier at the conference of the Financial Executives Institute of the Philippines.

Another priority in her program of action for the next six months is the reduction of the cost of moving cargo from Mindanao to Luzon, the President said.

She said she is banking on the support that will be given by the Development Bank of the Philippines which has made a P30-billion credit facility available for a sustainable logistics development program for a Ro-Ro (rollon-rolloff) ferry and road network that would link Mindanao to the growth centers of the country.

"This will further stabilize food and commodity prices," the President said.

Her work agenda also covers moves to keep down transportation costs, jumpstart housing, stimulate private investments in agriculture, and make the Presidential Commission on Good Government contribute to the fiscal resources.

The President, at the same time, reiterated her call on the people to help conserve the nation’s energy resources.

She urged the people to plan their trips and form car pools, which would decongest the streets and reduce air pollution.

In the case of basic commodities, the President said the Department of Trade and Industry is holding continuing dialogues with the National Price Coordinating Council and manufacturers to ensure the stability of prices and supply of prime goods.

She thanked the producers and dealers for their social conscience and cooperation with the government and the public in maintaining the level of prices and supply of goods.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo presides tomorrow over a meeting of the National Security Council in Malacaņang in the wake of the rising tension in the Middle East, a bomb explosion outside the Philippine Consulate-General in the northern Indonesian city of Manado and two bombing incidents in Bali, also in Indonesia, where more than 400 people were killed and injured.

Press Secretary Ignacio R. Bunye and Foreign Affairs Secretary Blas F. Ople immediately denounced the Indonesian bombing incidents.

"We denounce these unprovoked attacks on our Consulate in Manado and those two others in Bali that followed and which killed or injured dozens of innocent people, many of them tourists," Ople said.

The Department of Foreign Affairs, at the same time, informed Malacaņang that it has instructed all of its posts overseas, particularly the Philippine Embassy in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta, to take extra precautions against possible terrorist attacks in light of the recent bombing of the Philippine Consulate General in Manado, North Sulawesi province, and the bombing incidents in Kuta and Denpasar, Bali.

Bunye said the Indonesian incidents, the United States Congress’ authorization for President George W. Bush to use military force on Iraq and a review of the contingency measures in case of a Middle East flareup top the National Security Council agenda.

While the Philippines remains committed to the US-led global war on terrorism, the administration remains hopeful of a peaceful and diplomatic solution to the Middle East conflict.

Meanwhile, Ople ordered the Philippine Embassy in Jakarta to closely monitor the developments in Bali and immediately report if any Filipino was injured in the bombing.

Philippine Ambassador to Indonesia Rafael Seguis said no Filipino casualties have so far been reported in Bali, adding that the embassy is still closely monitoring the situation.

On the Manado incident, initial reports from the Philippine Embassy in Jakarta revealed that an unidentified person or persons threw a bomb at 6:45 last night, which landed just outside the gate of the Philippine Consulate General.

Except for some broken windows, there was no major damage and no one was injured. 

Manado is a mainly Christian city located in the northeast of the world's most populous Muslim nation. The city is a jumping-off point for the southern Philippines.

A few hours later, two other bombs went off in Bali. One bomb destroyed Sari, a popular nightclub located at the tourist-oriented Kuta Beach and a second, less powerful one exploded 100 meters away from the premises of the United States Consulate.

Indonesian officials said it was not immediately clear if the attack on the Philippine consulate was related to the blasts in Bali.