President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today ordered all concerned Cabinet officials to extend all possible assistance to "Angelica," the 13-year-old Filipino girl allegedly raped by Malaysian authorities while in detention in Sabah.

The President also directed the said officials to accomplish all the work here in Manila and do what only are necessary in Malaysia.

The President issued the orders during a conference in Malacaņang with Gerald John (L. Pereira & Associates) and Francis Ng Aik Guan (Ng Aik Guan & Co.), the two Malaysian lawyers representing the interests of Angelica in Malaysia.

The President, along with other Philippine government officials, was briefed on the Malaysian law and procedure during the conference. For instance, the two counsels informed the Philippine side that statutory rape in Malaysia extends up to 16 years old, in contrast to the 12-year-old cap in Philippine laws.

Likewise, various options and plans of actions were studied during the conference.

Justice Secretary Hernando Perez, who was present during the conference, emphasized that the two lawyers are working on a pro bono basis.

"Pinagbilin ng ating Pangulo na gawin lahat ng magagawa upang matulungan si Angelica. At yung maaring gawin dito sa Pilipinas, dito na sa Pilipinas gawin at yung kailangang–kailangan lamang na maganap sa Malaysia ang gaganapin sa Malaysia (The President ordered everyone to help Angelica in all possible ways. She also directed us to do all the work here and do what is only necessary in Malaysia)" Perez said in a briefing.

The two counsels, who arrived in Manila last Friday, have met with representatives from various departments.

Accompanied by officers of the Public Attorney’s Office and the Department of Foreign Affairs, the two counsels visited Angelica and another potential witness in the presence of Department of Social Welfare and Development personnel.

Based on the interviews, Perez said the relevant action would be imparted to the Malaysian authorities for their follow-up action.

Perez said the government is giving the necessary clearance for Malaysian police investigators to visit Manila and conduct interviews with Angelica, which may include recording of statement and possible formality of lodging a police report.

Perez said the government would also allow the duly-designated member of the Malaysian police force to conduct an investigation and inquiry in the Philippines of any claims of rape, maltreatment, violations of human rights and infringement of any laws in Malaysia.

Perez also said that it is up to Malaysia if, based on the relevant information the two counsels gathered here in Manila, they are going to send the Malaysian police to the Philippines.

Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye today clarified that he did not blame the Philippine National Police (PNP) for some kidnapping incidents in the country even as he renewed his appeal for the media to momentarily cease from reporting about the kidnapping of the children of Congressman Jules Ledesma.

"Walang katotohanan yan (There is no truth to that)," Bunye said in a radio interview when asked if he indeed blamed the PNP for the latest kidnapping incident in Metro Manila involving the Ledesma children.

According to Bunye, what he said was that there is a need for everybody--the citizens and the law-enforcement agencies--to double their efforts so that the criminals would not have the chance to strike.

"That’s why we will just have to double our vigilance. Alam natin na ang PNP ay talagang doing its best. Kaya lang merong pagkakataong talagang nakakalusot ang mga criminal elements (We know that the PNP is doing its best. But there are times when criminal elements could get the chance to strike)," Bunye said.

Bunye said that the citizenry is always the first line of defense in the fight against all forms of criminality.

"Kailangan talaga ang pagtulungan nga mga mamamayan at mga awtoridad (What we need really is the cooperation between the citizenry and the authorities)," Bunye said.

In the kidnapping case of the Ledesma children, Bunye asked the media to respect the wish of the congressman from Negros that the media should suspend reporting about the incident in the meantime.

Social Welfare and Development Secretary Corazon Juliano-Soliman today said doctors and social workers are now allowed to go to the detention centers housing Filipinos in Malaysia to determine if they are fit to travel back to the Philippines.

Soliman said the new arrangement was the result of the recent private phone conversation between the President and Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir.

"Because of the arrangements borne out of the conversation of the President and Prime Minister Mahathir and the party of Nur Jaafar, the first level of work that will be done by the team of doctors and social workers is to go to the detention centers to see if Filipinos are fit to travel and if they are fit to travel, then they board the boats," Soliman said in a briefing at Malacaņang.

Soliman noted that the arrangement would require that their parents or guardians accompany minors.

Soliman was among the Cabinet officials present during the President’s conference with the two Malaysian lawyers representing the interests of a 13-year-old Filipina rape victim in Malaysia.

Soliman announced that there are two groups of Filipino deportees numbering at most 536, who’ll be arriving this week on board the BRP San Juan and BRP Bacolod.

Soliman said aside from detained Filipinos, the Philippine vessels will be taking in voluntary deportees. "These are Filipinos who do not wish to be detained if and when the moratorium is lifted," she said.

Soliman said the 536 Filipinos are expected to be the last batch of Filipinos since there is a halt in the deportation.

Malacaņang today allayed fears of a mass layoff of employees in the 14 state agencies whose functions are now being reviewed by the Presidential Commission on Effective Governance (PCEG).

In an interview, Budget and Management Secretary Emilia Boncodin said that while some 7,000 employees correspond to the total number of workers in the 14 agencies now being reviewed by the PCEG, this does not mean that they will all be laid off.

Boncodin said that some of the agencies, especially those with overlapping functions, could be merged and the affected employees could be absorbed.

"Palagay ko yong nagsasabing ile-layoff yong 7,000 ay hindi tumutulong sa bansa, kung hindi naninira (I think those who are saying that the 7,000 will be laid off are not helping the government but are trying to destroy it)," Boncodin said.

Boncodin appealed to all sectors, including the media, to just wait for the result of the ongoing review being undertaken by the PCEG, which is chaired by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM).

In the case of the National Printing Office (NPO), which is under the Office of the Press Secretary, Boncodin said its operations are also being studied.

Boncodin confirmed that she has indeed discussed with Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye on how to make the operations of the NPO more efficient.

She said that the NPO has a budget deficit since its income from printing jobs is not sufficient to cover for its operations.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today received from Manila Bulletin Chairman Emilio Yap the amount of P3 million drawn from the contributions of concerned donors for the reintegration of Filipino returnees from Malaysia.

In a ceremony at the Study Room in Malacaņang, the President personally thanked Yap for the contribution and immediately turned over the check to Social Welfare Secretary Corazon Juliano Soliman for proper disposition.

Yap said the Manila Bulletin fund drive was in response to the President’s appeal for support from the private sector.

The donation will be deposited in the account of the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC), which is in charge of holding the common fund for the different line agencies of the government.

Yap expressed gratitude to the concerned donors for their continued generosity and kindness in support of the thousands of Filipino returnees from Malaysia.

Last September 4, Yap also turned over to the President the amount of P2 million representing his personal contribution to the Manila Bulletin fund drive to help the returning Filipinos from Malaysia.

Soliman said the President turned over Yap’s initial donation to Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) Chairman Parouk Hussin for the needs of the returnees in his area of jurisdiction.

Aside from Yap’s donation, the social welfare secretary said the P7.1 million raised during last Saturday’s live telethon fund-raising campaign will also be deposited under the NDCC.

She said there is now a total of more than P10 million in contributions from the private sector, ordinary citizens and corporations.

"We should not make a mountain out of a mole hill."

This was Malacanang’s reaction regarding the criticisms about President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and some of her Cabinet members appearing a la "Men in Black" in the anniversary cover of Philippine Tattler, a lifestyle and entertainment magazine.

In today’s press briefing in Malacaņang, Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye pointed out that the photograph of the President, together with some of her Cabinet members, should not be taken out of context, saying, "it is not inappropriate in a magazine like this to show the President letting her hair down."

"Tatler is a lifestyle magazine. It’s not in the same category as the newsmagazine like Time and Newsweek. The President, on occasion, can show her lighter side," Bunye said.

In the said cover photo, the President, together with Defense Secretary Angelo Reyes, Finance Secretary Jose Isidro Camacho, Trade and Industry Secretary Manuel Roxas II and Executive Secretary Alberto Romulo, were shown wearing black suits and dark glasses similar to those worn by the characters in the famous American action-comedy movie series, "Men in Black."

Bunye stressed that the photograph of the President and some of her Cabinet secretaries should not be taken out of context

The Press Secretary noted that in the movie "Men in Black" that starred Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones, the lead actors were portrayed as the "good guys and saviors of the Earth."

"So this magazine is trying to portray the good guys, the President and her Cabinet as the good guys in a fun sort of ways. We don’t see anything wrong with that," Bunye said.

Bunye advised the President’s detractors to lighten up instead of criticizing her.

"I don’t think that the photograph has detracted from the President’s ability to government," he said.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo presented to the media today eight suspected members of the Bonnet Gang – including three alleged "rascals in uniform" and two women -- who are believed to be involved in robbery-holdup and carnapping cases in Metro Manila.

In presenting the suspects to reporters just hours after their arrest this morning in Quezon City by the Philippine National Police-Traffic Management Group (PNP-TMG), the President appealed to possible victims of the gang to go to the police and identify the suspects.

"The Bonnet Gang is notorious for its criminal activities," the President said in Filipino during the presentation of the suspects at the PNP headquarters in Camp Crame. "I hope those who have been victimized by this group would come out and go to the police to identify them," she added.

The President also assured the media and the public that the police are relentlessly pursuing the fight against criminality, particularly the campaign against rascals in uniform.

Among the suspects are two soldiers on absence without official leave (AWOL) – Roberto Bacus and Raul Ravina of the 10^th Infantry Battalion of the First Infantry Division of the Philippine Army – and Senior Fire Officer 1 Dionisio Pabanto of the Bureau of Fire Protection assigned in Ozamis City. Bacus has been AWOL since 1993 and Ravina, since 1992. Both have been dropped from the rolls of the military.

The two women in the group were identified as Grace Hamili and Sheryl Sta. Rita. The other members of the gang were identified as Neil Santos, Silvino Oca and Jade Abalon.

The eight were on board a stolen green Isuzu Crosswind AUV (Asian Utility Vehicle) when arrested at the corner of Aurora Blvd. and Gilmore Avenue in Quezon City by members of the TMG.

The President personally congratulated TMG chief Senior Supt. Danilo P. Mangila and his men for the arrest of the Bonnet Gang members and their successful operations against carnapping syndicates operating in Metro Manila.

"Congratulations, Colonel Mangila. It is Colonel Mangila and his men who did this. And Colonel Mangila, tell it to your troops, ‘Congratulations,’ and ask them to continue their good work," President said.

The President said the TMG operatives were also behind the neutralization of six members of the Parungao gang of car thieves who were killed in a shootout with the police last Saturday.

In her speech, the President said that because of the quick action of the TMG operatives, the eight members of the Bonnet Gang were caught unharmed.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today appealed anew to the media to cooperate with law enforcement agencies in solving cases of kidnapping by refraining from airing live reports or writing about these cases while operations are ongoing.

In her remarks at the presentation to media at Camp Crame of eight members of the so-called "Bonnet Gang" earlier arrested by operatives of the Philippine National Police (PNP), the President asked the media to consider the safety of the hostages by not reporting about the ongoing rescue operations.

"So, sana tumulong kayo. Muli akong nananawagan na yung mga live cases ay i-postpone muna natin ang pagre-report (So, I hope you will cooperate. Again, I would like to appeal to you not to report live the ongoing operations)," the President said, particularly referring to the broadcast media.

She said that this was also the appeal of non-government organizations (NGOs) involved in anti-crime activities.

The President was referring to the ongoing operations by the PNP against the kidnappers of the two children of Negros Congressman Julio Ledesma who were abducted last Friday.

According to the President, the media would be properly briefed as soon as there is a breakthrough in the solution of the cases now being investigated by police authorities.

In his regular press briefing this afternoon, Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye also called on the media to respect the wish of Congressman Ledesma that the media should refrain from writing about the kidnapping of his children at the moment.

Bunye said that what we should all do at this time is to pray for the safe return of the children to their father.

The press secretary also clarified that he did not blame the PNP for the kidnapping incidents in the country. "Walang katotohanan yan (There is no truth to that)," Bunye said, adding that he was misquoted by the paper.

According to Bunye, what he said was that there is a need for everybody--the citizens and the law-enforcement agencies--to double their efforts so that the criminals would not have the chance to strike.

"That’s why we will just have to double our vigilance. Alam natin na ang PNP ay talagang doing its best. Kaya lang merong pagkakataong talagang nakakalusot ang mga criminal elements (We know that the PNP is doing its best. But there are times when criminal elements could get the chance to strike)," Bunye said.

Bunye said that the citizenry is always the first line of defense in the fight against all forms of criminality.

"Kailangan talaga ang pagtulungan nga mga mamamayan at mga awtoridad (What we need really is the cooperation between the citizenry and the authorities)," Bunye said.

The Philippines wholeheartedly welcomes and fully supports the proposed visit of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi of Japan to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea on 17 September 2002.

A meeting between PM Koizumi and General Secretary Kim Jong-Il would be a fitting follow-up to the June 2000 summit meeting between the leaders of the two Koreas.

This unprecedented visit signals the normalization of relations between Japan and the DPRK, and should hasten the resolution of certain outstanding issues between the northeast Asian neighbors.

It is also a critical step towards the further engagement of the DPRK in the effort to promote peace, security and stability in the Korean peninsula, in the region and, ultimately, the world.