President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has said that she is willing to submit a draft legislation to Congress on the proposed national ID system if this could not be done through an executive order.

The President told Malacanang newsmen Wednesday that she has already ordered National Security Adviser J. Roilo Golez to work on the details of the national ID system as a means of fighting terrorism in the country.

"So, I’m having Roy Golez to study. Either we will produce an executive order that doesn’t need a legislation or we will submit a draft bill for legislation," the President said.

The President recalled that during the term of former President Fidel Ramos, he also tried to implement an ID system through an executive fiat but the Supreme Court ruled that this should be done through a legislation in Congress.

A survey conducted nationwide by the Philippine Information Agency (PIA) showed that majority of the people want a national ID card system. The PIA is an agency under the Office of the Press Secretary.

"So, people want a strong Republic. Our people are tired of the use of democratic space to promote anarchy and to promote destabilization and to promote the government downfall," the President said.

Some sectors have expressed opposition to the proposal, saying that this could lead to possible violation of human rights.

Sen. Aquilino Pimentel, Jr., an opposition stalwart, has supported the administration proposal, saying that it is a basic requirement for peace and progress.

Pimentel has urged both houses of Congress to act with dispatch on Senate Bill l989, which he authored, establishing a National Identification System or NIS.

SAN JOSE, LUPI, Camarines Sur—President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today renewed her call for the people to unite and lock arms (kapit-bisig) in fighting poverty and improving their lives.

In her brief remarks at the National KALAHI (Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan) Day and the launching of the KALAHI program in this town, the President said that poverty, like terrorism, can be eradicated.

"Isipin natin na ang kahirapan, tulad ng karahasan, malulunasan kung tayo ay magtutulungan, malulunasan kung tayo ay kikilos bilang tunay na magkalahi, kapig-bisig (Let us think that poverty, like terrorism, can be remedied if we are united, if we act as one race with arms locked," the President said.

The President acknowledged that the basic needs of the people, like food, shelter, education, and jobs, are still not being provided to people in some areas, like in the town of Lupi in Camarines Sur.

She said that it was providential that the KALAHI National Day or a National Day for Overcoming Extreme Poverty was celebrated in this town, which is also celebrating its foundation day.

The President said that she is the only chief executive that has visited the town, known as one of the poorest in the country.

According to the President, some of her advisers thought of launching the KALAHI National Day somewhere in the CALABARZON (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon) area but she objected, saying that CALABARZON is the most affluent region outside of Metro Manila.

She then asked the organizers to launch the program in the country’s poorest of the poor region so that these people "can see the face of government."

LUPI, Camarines Sur – President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today congratulated the Southern Luzon Command (SOLCOM), led by Maj. Gen. Roy Kyamko, and the Philippine National Police for foiling an attack by communist terrorists on the police station of Siruma town in this province.

President cited in particular Col. Jacinto Cordero, Tactical Brigade commander of the Army’s 902^nd Brigade, and his men who led the encounter against New People’s Army (NPA) rebels at Barangay San Roque in Tinambac last October 15.

She also congratulated Philippine National Police Region 5 Director Chief Superintendent Rodolfo Tor for the PNP’s assistance and cooperation with the military in repelling the NPA attack.

"Congratulations, General Kyamko, Colonel Cordero and General Tor. Keep up your good work and close coordination," the President said.

During a ceremony held at the Alanao Elementary School here upon her arrival from Manila, Kyamko and Cordero presented to the President the documents, newsletters, Garand rifle, carbine and two M14 rifles seized from the rebels during the encounter.

The barangay residents played a key role in the repulsion of the NPA attack. It was learned that at 8:25 a.m. last October 15, the residents of Brgy. San Roque tipped off the elements of 42^nd Infantry Batallion on the presence of armed NPA terrorists.

The military-police report said the 25 fully-armed communist terrorists were waiting in the barangay for their other comrades to regroup and launch an attack on the Siruma Municipal Station.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Blas F. Ople said the Philippine government would only resume talks with the National Democratic Front (NDF), the political umbrella of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA), if the communists renounce political assassinations.

In a report from Oslo, Norway, Ople was quoted today as saying that the government wanted the communist rebels to renounce violence and political assassinations "before we can renew the peace talks" earlier hosted by the government of Norway.

Ople made his comments after meeting with his counterpart, Norwegian Foreign Minister Jan Petersen.

The Oslo talks between panels of the Philippine government and the leaders of the CPP-NPA-NDF now living in exile in the Netherlands, were suspended last year by the government after rebel death squads assassinated several local politicians.

Ople heads a top-level diplomatic mission to win support within the European Union for the inclusion of the CPP-NPA in the United Nations list of foreign terrorist organizations (FTOs).

Members of the Ople mission are Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Eduardo Ermita, Presidential Adviser on Special Concerns Norberto Gonzales, and Presidential Management Staff head Silvestre Afable, Jr.

Earlier in Berlin, the German government assured the Philippine mission that it would assist the Philippines in persuading other EU countries in declaring the CPP-NPA as a terrorist group.

Malacaņang today condemned the bombing this morning of two shopping centers in Zamboanga City that killed five people and injured more than 100 others.

In a press briefing in Malacaņang, Undersecretary Roberto Capco also appealed for the cooperation of the citizenry in the fight against all acts of terrorism.

"We need the cooperation of everyone, and every citizen should participate in this campaign against terrorists," Capco said.

In Zamboanga City, newly-installed Southern Command (Southcom) chief, Lt. Gen. Narciso Abaya also called on everybody "to counter this senseless act."

Abaya also said that it was just unfortunate that the incident happened on the day that he assumed the post of commanding general of the Southcom. "Terror strikes anywhere, anytime. It just happened in time for my assumption as Southcom chief," he said.

Capco said that citizens should report to police authorities suspicious looking persons or suspicious parcels or boxes placed near shopping malls or other populous areas so that incidents like what happened in Zamboanga and recently in Kidapawan, North Cotabato could be averted.

He also said the Zamboanga City bombing is being treated as a "local incident.

The first bomb exploded at around 11:30 a.m. in the Shop-o-Rama department store, and this was followed a half-hour after by another blast at the adjacent Shoppers Central shop.

LUPI, Camarines Sur – President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today visited the remote barangay of San Jose (formerly Alano) here to formally launch the Kapit-Bisig sa Kahirapan (KALAHI) in the Bicol region and witness the distribution of livelihood assistance to the people here.

The President’s presence here to provide assistance to the Bicolanos in uplifting their lives coincided with the nation’s commemoration of National Day for Overcoming Extreme Poverty (NDOEP) and the town’s 284^th foundation anniversary.

In her speech, the President prodded the residents to participate in the Jobs Fair put up by Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) as she noted that only 405 applied for the 2,060 jobs made available during the fair.

After her speech, the President witnessed the distribution of a check for P150,000 check, representing the first tranche of P300,000, to Lupi Mayor Roberto Matamorosa and San Jose Barangay Captain Alipio Villalin by National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC) lead convenor Secretary Teresita Quintos-Deles to jumpstart the water system in San Jose and nearby barangays.

Mayor Matamorosa also received another check for P300,000 from the Technology and Livelihood Resource Center (TLRC) for livelihood assistance to the people of Lupi.

He also received an additional check for P200,000 from the Department of Agriculture to complete the release of the P1 million for the upgrading, widening and concreting of the Colacling-Tible farm-to-market road.

The residents of the eight barangays of Lupi also received assorted garden tools and vegetable seedling.

Camarines Sur Gov. Luis Villafuerte got a separate check for P1 million to finance the "P1 Million, One Product, One Town" program of the President on behalf of the municipality of Lupi.

Under the program, Governor Villafuerte will choose one business establishment to expand investment in Lupi.

Among the Cabinet officials who joined the President in her visit here were Budget Secretary and Cabinet Officer for Regional Development Emilia Boncodin, Interior and Local Government Secretary Jose D. Lina, Jr., NAPC lead convenor Quintos-Deles, Presidential Advisor on Jobs Creation Luis Lorenzo, TLRC Director General Federico Laxa and Rep. Rolando Andaya, Jr. of the First District of Camarines Sur.

The barangay captains of Ipil and Ibuga also received two checks for P150,000 each for the establishment of day-care centers in their barangays.

The military today announced the capture of a newly-built camp of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) deep in the jungles of Lanao del Sur after a week of heavy fighting that left 46 guerillas killed and scores wounded.

Armed Forces Chief of Staff Gen. Benjamin Defensor, Jr. said the MILF camp, occupying an area of about 15 to 20 hectares in the town of Sultan Gumander, is complete with 40 concrete fortified bunkers with running trenches and foxholes.

Troops from the Army’s 4^th Infantry Division commanded by Maj. Gen. Alfonso Dagudag engaged the combined rebel forces of the MILF and Abu Sayyaf terrorists group in seven days of fierce fighting.

Quoting a report from Dagudag, General Defensor said at least 46 MILF and Abu Sayyaf bandits were killed and many wounded in the fighting.

The capture of the new MILF camp confirmed intelligence reports that the MILF has been building up its forces two years after all their 46 camps, including Camp Abubakar, were captured by government troops two years ago.

Defensor said Philippine Air Force (PAF) OV-10 light bombers and 520 MG helicopter gunships pounded the newly-constructed MILF camp with bombs and air-to-ground rockets during the week of heavy firefight.

The camp was virtually a duplicate of Camp Abubakar which was captured by the military during the war in Central Mindanao in the summer of 2000, Dagudag said in his report.

The camp, the headquarters of the 304^th Brigade of the MILF, could easily accommodate 400 fighters.