In line with the efforts of the Macapagal-Arroyo administration to reduce red tape in government transactions, the Department of Health (DOH) has drastically reduced the average registration period for local and imported drugs from 180 days to five days.

The new DOH program has also cut down the number of signatories for the certification of product registration under the Bureau of Food and Drugs Administration (BFAD) from five to four days, according to an update prepared by the Presidential Management Staff (PMS) on the targets set by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in her State of the Nation Address (SONA) last July.

The latest comparative data released by the DOH covers the period of June-Sept. 2001 to June-Sept. 2002.

The PMS report showed that the DOH has filed charges against six of its personnel for offenses ranging from attendance to ghost seminars, extortion, vaccine pilferage, procurement anomaly and overpricing since July 2002.

On the accreditation and certification of medical equipment and devices, the DOH has also reduced the average accreditation period by 50 percent, from 10 days to five days.

The number of signatories for the said process has also been trimmed down to two.

In her SONA, the President has vowed to reduce red tape by cutting in half the number of signatories needed for transactions in various government agencies.

Since then, frontline agencies of the different departments have instituted red-tape reduction measures, to reduce opportunities for graft, which are being monitored by concerned civil society groups and client groups.

In a related development, DOH Secretary Manuel Dayrit has tasked newly-appointed BFAD Director Dr. Leticia-Barbara Baņez-Gutierrez to continue the reforms instituted by her predecessor in the agency.

Dayrit commended erstwhile Food and Drug chief Dr. William Torres for the major improvements in BFAD.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today congratulated the Philippine National Police (PNP) for another major accomplishment against big-time kidnapping syndicates and thanked the media for cooperating with the authorities for the success of the operations against a kidnap-for-ransom (KFR) gang in Cavite.

The President went to General Trias, Cavite, this morning to personally congratulate PNP Director General Hermogenes Ebdane, PNP Region 4 (southern Tagalog) Director Chief Superintendent Enrique Galang and Cavite Provincial Police Director Senior Superintendent Samuel Pagdilao for neutralizing the Radam-Mostrales KFR gang which was believed responsible for a series of kidnappings in Metro Manila.

"Congratulations and keep up the good work," President said to Ebdane, Galang and Pagdilao.

Addressing the reporters, the President said: "I’d like to thank the media in Cavite because they did not report the kidnapping. Because of their full cooperation, the solution time just took two days and the police also recovered the ransom money."

Three members of the kidnap gang – Rodolfo "Bullet" Patinio, Diosdado Santos and Eugene Radam, former members of the Philippine Marines – were killed in a gun battle with members of the Police Anti-Crime and Emergency Response (PACER) and the Cavite provincial police at dawn today.

The police also rescued the gang’s captive, businessman Jose Piņano, and recovered the ransom money picked up earlier by the gang.

The three slain kidnap suspects were linked to slain Pentagon kidnap-for-ransom gang leader Faisal Marohombsar who was also killed by PACER members and members of the military during a shootout in Magallanes town, also in Cavite.

Pagdilao informed the President that the encounter came a day after the gang members released Peņano last Tuesday at a McDonald’s outlet in Tagaytay City after the victim reportedly paid P2 million in ransom. The businessman was abducted last September 16 near the boundary of Carmona and Silang, Cavite.

He further informed the President that he ordered a raid on the gang’s hideout in Barangay Manggahan in General Trias only after assuring that the victim was free and safe.

Recovered at the scene of the shootout were one traveling bag containing the P2-million ransom; one black leather bag; two cellular activated bombs; one Pietro Berreta 9mm gun with serial number MOD-9205; one 9mm DP51 Daewoo gun with serial number BA-003945; one 9mm Rugger P85 gun with serial number 300-45431; three cellular phones, one M16 A1 Armalite rifle with serial number 180300; three magazines of 9mm; two black inside holster; two fragmentation grenades; two leather wallets containing a list of suspected target victims; one camera; and other personal belongings of the suspects.

Pagdilao also said the Mostrales group was also responsible for the kidnapping of Grace Ong on October 2, 2001 in Ayala, Alabang; Jason Lim on October 15, 2001 in Sta. Cruz, Manila; and Angela Vina Pineda on November 12, 2001 in Mandaluyong City.

Santos was one of the prime suspects in the killing of Baron Cervantes, former Young Officer Union (YOU) spokesman, last December 31, 2001 in Las Piņas City.

Patinio escaped from the defunct National Anti-Kidnapping Task Force (NAKTAF) detention cell last June 19, 2002 together with Pentagon gang leader Marohombsar, who was killed in an encounter last month in Magallanes, Cavite.

The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) reported to Malacaņang today that employment grew in July this year and the quality of employment improved as more people found full-time jobs.

In her report, Labor and Employment Secretary Patricia Sto. Tomas said the 2.8 percent expansion in employment in July compared to the same period last year represents an increase of 823,000, bringing the total employed persons to 30.104 million.

Sto. Tomas said the gain in employment was recorded strongest in the service sector with 4.9 percent, with the agricultural, fishery and forestry sector posting a modest increase of 1.5 percent.

She noted, however, that the growth in industry employment was essentially flat with –0.1 percent.

Sto. Tomas also said more people found full-time employment during the period.

"Of the total employed persons, 60 percent or 18.343 million were engaged in full-time employment," she said, adding that wage and salary employment also grew by 3.6 percent.

Sto. Tomas also said underemployment, the incidence of employed persons who expressed desire for additional hours/additional jobs, posted a slight decline.

The gain in employment, however, was matched by an even larger growth in the labor force (4.1 percent or 1.351 million) as more people entered the labor market, she added.

Sto. Tomas also reported that the rise in labor supply pushed the July unemployment rate to 11.2 percent from 10.1 percent in the same month last year. "This figure is, however, lower by 2.7 percentage points than the April unemployment rate of 13.9 percent," she said.

According to the labor secretary, if the number of Filipinos who are employed abroad (which as of September 12 has reached 665,741) are included, the employment figures will further improve by at least 2 percent more.

It can be recalled that the Macapagal-Arroyo administration is targeting a deployment of one million Filipino workers for the year.

Sto. Tomas vowed to continue to strengthen the implementation of DOLE’s four employment strategies, namely, employment generation, employment preservation, employment enhancement, and employment facilitation.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today formally welcomed the heirs of the Sultanate of Sulu and informed them that their interest and welfare are foremost in her mind.

In a press briefing in Malacanang after the President’s luncheon meeting with representatives of the nine families acknowledged as heirs of the Sultanate of Sulu, Presidential Assistant on Special Concerns Norberto Gonzales said that the President told the heirs of her reestablishing the Legislative-Executive Committee on the Sabah claim to review the initiatives undertaken by past administrations vis ā vis the issue.

The move of the President, Gonzales said, was in response to the request of the heirs to resolve the issue of sovereignty and proprietary rights of the Sultanate of Sulu on Sabah.

Gonzales said that Sultan Jamalul Kiram III, the recognized head of the heirs of the Sultanate to Sulu, said that he will pursue simultaneously both the proprietary and sovereignty rights. Aside from Jamahal Kiram, Sultan Bantilan Esmail Kiram also attended the meeting.

Gonzales pointed out that the sovereignty question has been given back to the heirs of the Sultanate of Sulu, but they have asked the President for assistance with respect to both their sovereignty and proprietary rights.

"There will be discussions on whether the heirs of the Sultanate will probably give back to the Philippine government the power of attorney for the sovereignty rights," Gonzales said.

But the President, according to Gonzales, has cautioned the heirs that the sovereignty issue would take a long time to settle.

"In the case of the proprietary rights, the President was very precise in her statement that what she really wants was for the heirs to be protected in terms of their future," Gonzales added.

The representatives of the nine families recognized as heirs of the Sultanate of Sulu who attended the luncheon meeting with the President in Malacanang included the heirs of Dayang Dayang Mariam Kiram, Sultan Punjungan Kiram, Dayang Dayang Jahara Kiram, Dayang Dayang Sitti Rada Kiram, Mora Nafsa, Sultan Esmail Kiram I, Princess Tarhata Kiram, Dayang Dayang Hjipiandao Kiram and Princess Sakinur-in Kiram.

The nine families are the ones recognized in court ruling that defines the authentic and legitimate heirs of Sulu.

The Washington-based World Bank has approved a US$100 million loan for the Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan (KALAHI) program, an anti-poverty initiative of the administration of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

In a press statement, the WB said that the loan from the International Bank for Rehabilitation and Development (IBRD) was approved Wednesday by the WB’s board of executive directors.

The loan, the WB statement said, would be used for the KALAHI program and for the Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services (CIDSS) project of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).

The WB said that the project will assist the government in strengthening the capability of local government units (LGUs) to design, implement, and manage development activities.

Such activities may include basic infrastructure like new or rehabilitated roads and bridges, barangay schools and clinics, and water supply and sanitation facilities.

Communities will prioritize their development needs, design activities, seek technical expertise and make informed choices on how resources are used for sustainable poverty reduction, the WB statement said.

More than 5,300 poor barangays in 193 municipalities in 40 of the poorest provinces in the Philippines are expected to benefit from this project. These will be mostly in rural areas, where most poor Filipinos live.

"The KALAHI-CIDSS project will promote good governance, transparency, participation with local level decision-making, and increased accountability, as villagers gain hands-on experience in managing projects," said Cyprian Fisiy, World Bank task team leader for the KALAHI-CIDSS project.

Robert Vance Pulley, WB country director for the Philippines, said that promoting growth and enabling people, especially the poor, to participate fully in development are the twin pillars of the World Bank’s strategy for the Philippines.

"This project will support the second pillar by giving influence over decisions and resources to local communities. Poverty reduction efforts are more likely to be effective and sustained when communities are responsible for activities that affect them," Pulley said.

The WB identified the core project principles as follows:

• Localized decision-making. Decisions on community sub-projects will be made by barangay residents and their representatives.

• Transparency. Every aspect of project decision-making will be known to local communities and each peso spent will be accounted for on public information boards and independently monitored by non-government organizations (NGOs) and media groups.

• Social inclusiveness. The entire community, not just a few families, will have the opportunity to be involved in planning and decision-making processes.

• Competition. Participating barangays will submit project proposals to an inter-barangay forum for selection based on criteria like number of poor beneficiaries and technical soundness of the proposal.

• Demand-driven poverty reduction. Options for community-driven projects are based on an open menu, but projects with negative environmental or social impacts will not be funded.

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) today said the country’s overall bilateral relations with the United States have been in "excellent condition" starting in 2001 shortly after the September 11 terrorist attack in New York and Washington, DC, when President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo declared the Philippines’ support for the US-led war on terrorism.

The DFA spokesman, Assistant Secretary Victoriano Lecaros, made this statement in the wake of the reports that the Philippines and other Southeast Asian nations were even behind Africa in the hierarchy of interests of the US.

Lecaros said the excellent relations between the Philippines and the United States have been manifested in the large number of visits to the Philippines by high-level US officials.

Among the US officials who visited the Philippines under the Macapagal-Arroyo administration include US Secretary of State Colin Powell; Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Robert Mueller III; US Senators Daniel Inouye and Ted Stevens; US Veterans Affairs Secretary Anthony J. Pincipi; US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Richard Myers; Admiral Thomas Fargo, Commander in Chief of the US forces in the Pacific; US Congressional delegate Robert A. Underwood; US Rep. Dana Rohrabacher; and Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul D. Wolfowitz.

Lecaros also said the Balikatan 02-1 exercises, the first of its kind between the Philippines and the US, went very well.

"The Bush administration requested the US Congress to grant $25 million in Foreign Military Financing (FMF) for the Philippines," he said, adding that this amount is significant compared to the low FMF levels provided to the Philippines in recent years.

Moreover, Lecaros said the $25-million FMF intended by the Bush administration for the Philippines was doubled by the US Senate to over $50 million.