The German government recognizes the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) as a terrorist organization and is very interested in engaging in counter terrorism cooperation with the Philippines and would like to conclude a bilateral agreement to this effect.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Blas F. Ople, in a report to President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo from Europe, said he held talks yesterday (Manila time) with German officials who assured him that their government will support any effort within the European Union to include the CPP-NPA in the list of terrorist organizations maintained by the United Nations under UN Security Council Resolution 1373.

Ople is currently at the head of a top-level Philippine mission to win support within the European Union for the inclusion of the CPP-NPA in the UN list of foreign terrorist organizations.

Aside from Ople, the Philippine mission is composed of Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Eduardo Ermita, Presidential Adviser on Special Concerns Norberto Gonzales, and Presidential Management Staff Head Silvestre Afable Jr. who is in charge of back-channel negotiations with the CPP-NPA and its political organization, the National Democratic Front (NDF).

Ople and the other members of the mission will be proceeding to Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Belgium and Spain to get these countries’ support in the global fight against terrorism and the listing of the CPP-NPA as a terrorist organization.

Ople said that in his meeting with German State Minister for Foreign Affairs Christoph Zoepel and Parliamentary State Secretary Fritz Rudolph Koepper of the Ministry of the Interior, the German government assured that it would issue "a public statement supporting our request for the recognition of the CPP-NPA as a foreign terrorist organization."

The Foreign Affairs Secretary also informed the President of Germany’s readiness and willingness to expel or extradite terrorists in that country.

Ople added, however, that Germany was unable to do so "because their constitution prohibits the transfer of terrorists to countries with death penalties."

"I told them that I fully understand their situation and said that in the future, with regard to the Philippines, Germany may not have to face the same dilemma," Ople said in his report to the President.

Ople added that Germany is "very interested in any possible linkage between the CPP-NPA-NDF and Islamic extremists in the country."

To make public transportation less vulnerable to the volatility of world oil prices, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today unveiled the government’s natural gas vehicle program for the country’s public transportation.

The unveiling was undertaken during ceremonies at the Department of Energy Compound in Makati City on the occasion of the first anniversary celebration of the Malampaya Camago Deep Water Gas to Power project.

According to the President, it will be the policy of her administration to promote activities in the downstream industry, especially in the transport sector.

She said her administration has diversified fuel requirements for the power generation mix where natural gas now accounts for 18 percent as of the third quarter of this year.

"I want to pursue the same program for the transport sector by having alternative fuels, particularly CNG (Compressed Natural Gas)," she said.

She noted that widespread utilization of natural gas, which is a clean and environmentally friendly fuel, is a move towards the government’s policy of diversification of fuel sources at a time when there is a threat to energy security from the looming Iraq crisis.

The natural gas vehicle program for public transport outlines the government’s policies and strategies in developing the commercial use of natural gas in the transport sector.

The President said the Malampaya consortium has agreed to supply natural gas to be used as transport fuel at a 50 percent discount compared to prevailing diesel prices. The Malampaya Consortium is composed of Shell Philippines Exploration B.V. Chevron-Texaco and the Philippine National Oil Co. Energy Development Corp. (PNOC-EOC).

To lower the cost of converting existing vehicles into gas-fed vehicles and thus encourage the use of natural gas vehicles, the President announced that the Department of Trade and Industry will consider classifying natural gas conversion kits, which are imported materials needed to convert a diesel-fired engine into a gas-fuelled engine, as automotive spare parts.

"One percent lang ang taripa (The tariff is only one percent)," she said.

At the same time, the President urged the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) to promote and develop locally manufactured conversion kits that will be readily available in the market.

The President also said the Board of Investments is working to enhance the existing incentive package for investors who would be engaged in the supply and purchase of natural gas vehicles conversion kits, Original Engine Manufacturer and other related facilities.

Likewise, the President said the Department of Transportation and Communications, through the Land Transportation Office, is expected to grant exemptions to public utility vehicles running on natural gas from securing certificates of compliance with emission standards.

The DOTC, through the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB), plans to privatize the granting of bus franchises for natural gas bus fleets. Two of these new franchises will be for the Batangas-Manila route and another one for the Batangas-Bicol route.

"There’s already a bus company that intends to undertake a pilot project involving up to 100 buses next year using compressed natural gas," she said.

To accelerate the establishment of the necessary infrastructure and facilities related to the natural gas vehicle such as the refueling stations, the President ordered the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to fast-track the issuance of Environment Compliance Certificates (ECC) for natural gas-related infrastructure facilities.

She said that the DOST will also promote and develop locally manufactured conversion kit.

The President added that Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chairman Bayani Fernando would consider opening C-5 to buses that would use compressed natural gas.

Shell Philippines Exploration B.V. and First Gas Power Corp. are currently undertaking studies to establish refueling stations to meet the projected gas demand for natural gas vehicles.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today paid tribute to the courage and gallantry of the 11 Marines killed in a clash with the Abu Sayyaf rebels in Patikul, Sulu, saying the Filipino nation is proud of them.

The President went to Fort Bonifacio this morning to visit the remains of the eight Marine troops killed in action in Sulu, expressing her sympathies to the families of the soldiers and assuring them of government support for the heroism shown by their loved ones.

The President also conferred medals on the soldiers for their gallantry, saying "Ipinagmamalaki natin ang kagitingan nila, ang paglilingkod nila hanggang sa katapusan doon sa Mindanao sa Sulu (We are very proud of them, of the sacrifice they made until the end in Sulu)."

The eight Marine honored by the President were Privates First Class Reneo Herrera, Felix Baltazar and Alberto Cabrela; Corporals Joey Silva and Salvador Daniel; Technical Sergeant Oscar Mislang; and Staff Sergeants Rofilio Lequip and Aurelio Liberan.

The remains of three more soldiers are still in Zamboanga City. They are S/Sgt. Filbert Gadia, Cpl. Benedict Cabe and Pfc. Allan Tang.

After expressing her condolences and sympathies to the families of the soldiers, the President handed over P100,000 in financial assistance to each of them.

Aside from the monetary assistance, the President conferred posthumous promotions to the soldiers and assured the families that the benefits they would get would be commensurate with their higher rank.

The President at the same time announced an initial increase in the pay of soldiers effective this month as result of the administration measure to make the soldiers’ salary commensurate with the teachers’ pay.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today said she is turning down the resignation of Customs District Collector Celso Templo of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) even as she admired the latter for resigning without being asked.

In an informal luncheon with some members of the Malacanang Press Corps, the President said that during a command conference in Malacanang attended by officials of the Bureau of Customs (BoC) and the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), there were four district collectors from the BIR and two from the BoC.

The President said that the six district collectors were asked to explain their performance record and only Collector Templo had the delicadeza to resign even if he was not fired.

"So, for this reason, I am not accepting his resignation. When have you heard of a Customs man giving up his position without being sacked?" the President asked.

The President also acknowledged that Collector Templo’s performance last year "was not so bad."

"It is only just now. So, maybe he’s burned out and he needs a vacation," the President said, adding that she has instructed Customs Commissioner Antonio Bernardo to allow Templo go on "a short vacation and then come back refreshed."

Tribal folk from three municipalities in the CARAGA Region (Agusan del Sur, Agusan del Norte, Surigao del Sur, Surigao del Norte) will benefit from the P15 million worth of projects sponsored by the participating agencies of the Rural Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan (Rural-KALAHI) project.

The Rural-KALAHI, an anti-poverty reduction program of the Macapagal-Arroyo administration, had its caravan recently in the municipalities of Loreto, Agusan del Sur; Las Nieves, Agusan del Norte; and Gigaquit, Surigao del Norte.

During the caravan, National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC) Undersecretary Veronica Felix Villavicencio disclosed the projects to be funded by the social fund of President Gloria Macapagl-Arroyo.

These are dried fish processing; coffee, banana and abaca plantation and production: carabao dispersal; a floating day-care center; and a tribal house that will serve as the community center of the indigenous people.

Most awaited by the tribal folk was the distribution of land titles of their ancestral domain and the signing of a P12-million palm oil plantation in Loreto, Agusan del Sur.

The different line agencies also gave their commitments.

Participating agencies present during the caravan were the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), Department of Agriculture (DA), Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Commission on Indigenous People, Department of Health (DOH) and the Commission on Higher Education (CHED).

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today said that she would ask former Cebu Governor Lito Osmeņa to actively help her administration, specifically to work on a master plan to disperse government functions.

In an informal luncheon with members of the Malacaņang Press Corps, the President said that although Osmeņa has been her adviser on economic affairs since January 20 last year, this time she would be asking the former governor to help her in her plan of dispersing the various activities of government.

For instance, the President said, agriculture or defense could be in Mindanao, and then tourism and trade in the Visayas while infrastructure could be somewhere in Luzon or Metro Manila.

"It is not like transferring the whole capital from Karachi to Islamabad, or Sydney to Canberra. It is rather dispersing the various agencies where their services are most relevant," the President explained.

The President said this would be the main function of Osmeņa, adding that the master plan is funded by some P30 billion, with the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) lending P20 billion.

She also disclosed that Presidential Spokesman Rigoberto Tiglao, who is coming back October 23 from a study leave in Japan, would be assuming the post of chief of staff.

The President also said that she would be moving the "war room" from the Department of National Defense (DND) to Malacaņang.

She said that the "war room," which will have a secretariat to be headed by an official with a Cabinet rank, will keep track of all the various government programs and projects as well as issues like those involving internal security.