Malacaņang today lauded the local governments of Cebu City and Baguio City for agreeing to pilot-test the national identification system (NIS) in their respective areas.

In an interview, Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye said that if the NIS would be successfully carried out in the two cities, then it would be easy to implement the plan throughout the country.

During a meeting in Malacaņang Monday, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo approved the offer of Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmena and Baguio City Vice Mayor Lourdes Tabanda to pilot-test the NIS in their cities pending the passage of a law on this plan.

According to Osmena and Tabanda, the NIS could be implemented in the cities through city ordinances.

Bunye said that through the pilot-testing of the NIS, kinks could be ironed out before a bill is crafted and submitted to both houses of Congress.

Authorities agreed that one effective way of combating terrorism is to put in place a national ID mechanism, to be based initially on the Social Security System ID card.

Bunye also said that during the meeting last week in Brunei Darussalam of the ASEAN Ministers Responsible for Information, it was agreed that there is a need for a region-wide cooperation in the fight against global terrorism.

A resolution signed by the ministers after the meeting condemned the bombings in Bali, Indonesia and in Zamboanga City.

Malacaņang today took exception to malicious reports that President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo was hosting "a lavish party" in the palace for the victorious basketball team of Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU) while Zamboanga City was rocked with its second bomb attack.

"Just to set the record straight. The party was anything but lavish or excessive as some reports portrayed the occasion," Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye said in a statement.

Bunye said food served during the occasion was "pica-pica."

There was a lot of picture-taking and autograph signing. "But that was about it. The President just dropped in to congratulate the players but she did not stay long," Bunye said.

Bunye also said that the occasion was scheduled in advance.

"We just have to get on with our lives. Let us not allow the terrorists to dictate our tempo," Bunye said.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today extended her condolences to the family of well-known cartoonist Severino "Nonoy" Marcelo who died Tuesday at the Chinese General Hospital in Manila due to complications arising from diabetes.

The President said that with Marcelo’s death, Philippine media has lost a pillar in illustrative journalism.

During his long career as a caricaturist and editorial cartoonist, Marcelo has been cited for his perceptive insights into everyday life and political developments of the country, the President said.

She said that as a social and political satirist, Marcelo has been known for his long-running "Tisoy" and "Ikabod" comic strips.

In l985, Marcelo’s "Ikabod" was honored by the prestigious Catholic Mass Media Award, one of the rare occasions where a comic strip was recognized as a serious journalistic commentary.

Marcelo carried "Ikabod" to the now-defunct Pinoy Times where he last served as the paper’s art director.

Aside from his daily "Ikabod," Marcelo also illustrated the Pinoy Times’ editorial cartoon and a front-page cartoon complimenting the banner story.

CEBU CITY -- President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and her official party arrived at the Mactan Benito Ebuen Air Force Base here at 2:15 p.m. today

The President was met by top civilian and military officials here who have been waiting for her since 9:00 a.m. She was originally scheduled to arrive here at 9:25 a.m.

Immediately after disembarking from her plane, a Learjet, the President boarded a blue and white helicopter which took her to Colawin, Argao to attend a program at the Colawin National High School.

Argao, the hometown of Chief Justice Hilario Davide Jr., is situated some 66 kilometers southeast of this city.

During the program, the President distributed certificates of turnover for three projects, namely, the farmers trading post building, the research farm house and the Colawin multi-purpose irrigation system.

The President also turned over a P5-million check for the Cebu Vegetable Highway project.

From Argao, the President and her party proceeded to Danao City to attend the groundbreaking of a fish port project.

Tonight, the President is scheduled to attend a dinner at the Cebu Grand Convention Center to celebrate the recent selection of Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmena as one of two outstanding city mayors in the country.

HONOLULU, Hawaii – Filipinos in Hawaii are now in the midst of feverish preparations for the first visit of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to the Aloha State on October 24.

While the visit is brief – the President will fly in from Manila on her way to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Los Cabos, Mexico and is expected to stay only overnight – the Filipinos here are waiting for the Philippine leader with great anticipation, being perhaps only the third Filipino President to come to Hawaii after the late President Ferdinand E.Marcos and then President Fidel V. Ramos.

While in Hawaii, the President is scheduled to meet with United States Sen. Daniel K. Inouye, a supporter of Philippine interests in the US legislature in Washington, and Admiral Thomas Fargo, commander in chief of the US Pacific Command based here.

She is also scheduled to visit the Philippine Community Center on the islands and meet with the members of the large Filipino community here.

The President comes to Hawaii at a very auspicious and appropriate time. The highest state leader, Governor Benjamin Cayetano, is a lawyer who is originally from Urdaneta, Pangasinan, and the top leaders of the state Senate and state House of Representatives as well as the state Supreme Court are also of Filipino descent.

The state’s Senate President is Robert Bunda (Democrat) who was born in Quezon City. In the state Supreme Court are Associate Justices Mario Ramil, who was born in Quezon City, and Simeon Acoba, Jr., although born in Hawaii, is also of Filipino descent.

The President’s visit also comes at a time when the Filipinos are busy campaigning for a Filipino, State Senator Ron Menor, for Lieutenant Governor who could later be a strong candidate for governor.

More than that, the President’s visit will also be a big boost to the preparations of the Filipinos here for the grand celebration of the arrival of the Filipinos 100 years ago.

While the grand centennial celebration of the arrival of the first Filipinos in Hawaii will not be until 2006, the Filipino community here is already in the heat of the campaign for the big event, thanks to Filipino leaders headed by Governor Cayetano, the first Filipino to be elected as state governor in Hawaii and in the entire United States, and Assemblyman Felipe Abinsay, Jr. of the State House of Representatives.

With the support of Cayetano and through the initiative of Assemblyman Abinsay and his fellow Filipino assemblymen in the state House of Representatives and the Filipino senators in the state Senate, the 21^st State Legislature Regular Session of the State of Hawaii has approved a bill creating an organization that will oversee the arrangements for the commemoration of the centennial anniversary of the arrival of the first Filipinos in Hawaii.

Assemblyman Abinsay said the organization is called the Filipino Centennial Celebration Commission under House Bill No. 1942 which both chambers of the State Legislature approved unanimously last April. The bill was subsequently signed into law on June 12 by Governor Cayetano and took effect only last July 1 as Hawaii Act No. 159.

Abinsay said that in approving the measure, the State Legislature of Hawaii recognized that the members of the Filipino community in Hawaii have "contributed significantly and substantially to the growth and development of Hawaii."

"Since the arrival of the first Filipinos in Hawaii in 1906, the rich culture and proud heritage of the Filipino people have been and continue to be a positive influence upon life in Hawaii," the Hawaii lawmakers said.

"In recognition of the great contributions of Filipinos to Hawaii’s diverse and multi-cultural society, a celebration to commemorate their arrival and subsequent achievements in Hawaii is appropriate," the lawmakers said.

According to Abinsay, the Filipino Centennial Celebration Commission will take charge of all arrangements for the commemoration of the centennial of the Filipinos in Hawaii.

Press Secretary Ignacio R. Bunye today said President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo will be traveling to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders Meeting on Oct. 26 and 27 in Los Cabos, Mexico to advance the Philippine economy and coordinate security through concerted action with its Pacific allies.

In a press briefing in Malacanang, the Press Secretary said the President expressed the belief that now, more than ever, the member-economies of APEC must work together to bolster security and at the same time advance their economies.

"It is vital that the work of APEC continue undeterred by global terrorism or economic slowdown," Bunye said.

The President believes that the opportunity to make the case for trade and investment in the Philippines to regional business leaders is critical to bringing about more economic opportunity to the Philippines, Bunye added.

The President is resolute in her belief that the APEC agenda and the benefits it brings in terms of jobs and trade and peace and security are essential at this important junction in time, Bunye said.

"The President looks forward to having frank and honest discussions with the other APEC leaders, including wide-ranging discussions on the hunt to destroy terrorists and the need to tackle poverty in order to undermine terrorism," Bunye said.

The President will leave for Los Cabos on October 25 from Hawaii where she will hold meetings with US Senator Daniel Inouye and Admiral Thomas Fargo, Commander in Chief of the US Pacific Command.

In Los Cabos, the President will take the opportunity to hold bilateral meetings with her Australian Prime Minister John Howard, Russian President Vladimir Putin and New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark.

She will also be joining the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) leaders’ meeting with US President George Bush.

Malacaņang today reiterated its previous stand that under the present situation, there is no need to clothe President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo with emergency powers.

In his regular press briefing, Press Secretary Ignacio R. Bunye said that although some well-meaning leaders in the House of Representatives, notably Deputy Speaker Raul Gonzales, volunteered to file a resolution giving emergency powers to the President, the administration does not see any need for them.

"The present situation does not warrant it," Bunye said, adding that the proposal was not even discussed in official meetings in Malacanang.

Gonzales wanted the President to wield extra powers to cope with the threats of terrorism in the wake of bomb attacks in Zamboanga City and in Metro Manila.

In a related topic, Bunye also said that since they enjoy autonomy, local government units have the right to legislate within their jurisdictions and this includes the right to impose curfew for minors in their localities.

"The curfew is being undertaken by various local government units. For as long as they are covered by appropriate ordinances, these ordinances are deemed valid until proven otherwise," Bunye said.

"The mission is a success,"

In a press statement issued today, Foreign Affairs Secretary Blas F. Ople said the special diplomatic mission to the European nations that he headed "succeeded in initiating the process of severely limiting the ability of the CPP-NPA-NDF (Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army-National Democratic Front) to mobilize and use their financial and material resources to commit acts of terrorism in the Philippines."

Ople said the European officials who met with the diplomatic mission reiterated their support for the war against terrorism and expressed their desire to assist the Philippines in its own efforts to fight terrorism.

According to Ople, the diplomatic mission, composed of Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Eduardo Ermita, Presidential Adviser on Special Concerns Norberto Gonzales, Presidential Management Staff Head Silvestre Afable, Jr., and Undersecretary Abraham Purungganan of the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Special Concerns, traveled to Germany, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Belgium and Spain "to ask the support of our European partners for our own efforts at combating terrorism and to bring terrorists to justice."

Several European officials gave their commitment to declare the CPP-NPA as terrorist organizations while others agreed to study this matter closely, Ople said.

Ople said he led the diplomatic mission to end the death and destruction brought by the terroristic acts committed by the CPP-NPA-NDF and to bring peace and progress to the Filipino people.

"Within the span of a week, the diplomatic mission held discussions with senior officials from the ministries of foreign affairs, justice and interior of Germany, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Belgium and Spain," Ople said. 

ARGAO, Cebu—President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today ordered the Presidential Anti-Graft Commission (PAGC) to spearhead a lifestyle check of all government officials from Cabinet secretaries down to bureau directors as well as executives of government-owned and controlled corporations (GOCCs), government financial institutions (GFIs) and other offices of the executive branch.

In her speech at the Third Farmer-Scientists Congress held at the Colawin Technical School here, the President said that her administration will embark, starting next week, on a campaign to foster honesty in public service.

The President said that under this campaign those who have shown dedication and fidelity to the service will be rewarded but sanctions will be imposed on government officials and employees found to have amassed wealth and property beyond their means "or those who visibly live in affluence when their circumstances do now warrant such luxury."

She said she has empowered the PAGC to enlist the material and manpower support of other Cabinet departments to enable it to carry out its work of cleansing the bureaucracy of corrupt officials.

The President was specific in ordering the PAGC to conduct the lifestyle check of government officials immediately.

In the presidential directive, the PAGC was ordered to undertake the following as part of the campaign:

• to determine compliance with present government requirements, such as submission of statement of assets, liabilities (SAL) and net worth, submission of income tax returns, and other requirements needed for assumption to office;

• to make determination in current standard of life of government executives covered by the order or consistent with submitted SAL;

• to make ocular inspections of the residences, properties and businesses of government officials;

• to submit reports to the Office of the President on the result of its work on regular basis;

• to communicate to the public its findings and recommendations; and

• to undertake investigation and prosecution as part of its work.

In her speech, the President, however, said that while the government is determined to conduct the campaign without pause, people should not expect prosecutions and convictions overnight.

"Due process will be observed in the course of the drive. The effort may be laborious but it shall be focused and determined," the President said.

She also called on the perpetrators of graft "to change, to repent and to correct their ways."