President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo Thursday night expressed elation over the acquittal of five Filipinos in Kuwait on charges of conspiracy and murder.

Philippine Ambassador to Kuwait Bayani Mangibin, in a report to the President during the regular daily teleconference in Malacanang, identified the five acquitted overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) as Mary Jane Bitos, Teddy Tomara, Jimmy Binuya, Rosalia Baclig and Norayza Esich.

The five Filipinos were charged with the murder of Bitos’ husband, Luc Echier, in 2002.

They were released by the Kuwaiti police last October 2002 on the condition that they would be housed at the Philippine Embassy.

On Thursday (April3), the Court of Cassation (Kuwait Supreme Court) issued a release order for the five Filipinos, as it found no evidence of the crime imputed to them.

The Philippine embassy has provided legal assistance to the five.

During the teleconference, the President asked Mary Jane how she is and if she would be coming home soon.

"Congratulations on your acquittal," the President said.

During the President’s state visit to Kuwait last February, the foreign government pardoned 20 Filipino prisoners who have been jailed for various offenses.

Davao Incident

The President will not let terrorists succeed in turning Davao into a city ruled by fear.

She is confident that Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, aided by the AFP, PNP and the entire citizenry, will catch the culprits soon and will return the city back to normalcy. Duterte has done this before. He can do it again.

Meantime, the President asks for a strong inter-faith solidarity, unity and forbearance. She says there is no way we can win against terror if there are ethnic and religious barriers among our people.

Mawanay

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today assured the public that the government has the expertise and enough resources in the public health system to adequately manage any possible severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) case.

In a press briefing in Malacaņang this morning, the President announced her formal creation of a SARS management team in response to the public’s growing concern on the dangers which SARS poses to Filipinos.

Although there has been no documented SARS case yet in the Philippines as reported by the World Health Organization, countries and territories like China, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Singapore, Canada and the United States have recorded cases of the killer pneumonia.

The SARS management team is headed by Health Secretary Manuel Dayrit with the following as members: Labor and Employment Secretary Patricia Sto. Tomas, Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Lauro Baja, Immigration Commissioner Andrea Domingo, Interior and Local Government Undersecretary Ed Soliman, Press Undersecretary Milton Alingod, Commodore Ruben Lista of the Philippine Coast Guard, Ninoy Aquino International Airport General Manager Edgar Manda, and Dr. Jaime Montoya of the Philippine Society of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases.

The President designated National Security Adviser Roilo Golez as the adviser of the crisis management team on SARS.

According to the President, the Department of Health has already put in place all measures and strategies to prevent the entry and spread of SARS in the Philippines.

The team will be on top of a well-coordinated implementation of a system that consists of the following components:

1. A rapid identification, isolation and management of suspected SARS cases in hospitals;
2. The prevention of the entry into the country and spread of possible cases through an effective quarantine system at Philippine ports of entry; and
3. A communication system that will not only be able to manage the flow of vital information to the public but also handle public anxiety on the deadly viral infection.

In the event of an outbreak of SARS in the country, the President said that the San Lazaro Hospital and Research Institute of Tropical Medicine will be at the apex of the hospital system that is properly equipped to handle the influx of large numbers of cases.

The President enjoined everyone to contribute to the government’s collective effort to manage the situation. "Do not entertain rumors spread by text messages, e-mail or any other means," she said.

She said that if the public has any concerns, call up any of the SARS hotlines for information and help.

The President likewise called on the people to be calm but prepare for the worst. "This was our policy for the Iraq war and we are reaping the dividends of our collective efforts," she said.

What the country needs today, the President said, is education, information, alertness, sobriety and a sense of public responsibility among all Filipinos.

DAVAO CITY—In the aftermath of the April 2 bombing of the Sasa Wharf here, merely securing the country’s ports and installations may no longer be enough.

"There is now a need to defend our vital installations far more than just securing them," said PNP Deputy Director for Administration Edgardo Aglipay.

Aglipay was directed by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo Thursday to create a task force that would integrate all security efforts at the air and seaports of Davao, which have reeled from a second bombing attack in less than a month.

Last Wednesday night, a bomb ripped a crowd of passengers and well-wishers just outside Philippine Port Authority (PPA) compound here that left 15 dead and scores injured.

Under the newly-created task force, all the agencies operating within and immediately outside the port’s premises will be integrated into a defense unit tasked with securing the port.

The authority of the task force will extend to as far as two kilometers from the port, according to Aglipay.

Aglipay has actually implemented a similar scheme in Zamboanga City, which has so far been successful in deterring terrorist attacks.

The port manager will act as task force commander, with representatives from the PNP, AFP, the local government, Bureau of Customs and Bureau of Immigration as members.

The task force will have intelligence, investigation, security, logistics and technical capabilities enough to frustrate or cope with any terrorist attack.

Earlier. The President underscored the need for the task force to stage regular security drills to develop the port as "target hardened".

First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo today dismissed suggestions from some quarters that he files libel or perjury complaints against Angelo "Ador" Mawanay, saying that he would rather ignore the latter’s allegations.

In a radio interview, the First Gentleman said that if you file a case against Mawanay, you would only give importance to a person who has no credibility at all.

Mawanay, who was earlier tagged by the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (ISAFP) as its star witness against opposition Senator Panfilo Lacson, has made a turnabout and implicated the First Gentleman in his so-called expose on Lacson.

The First Gentleman said that Senator Lacson himself has called Mawanay a congenital liar and an incredible witness.

He said that he and President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo were in Davao City Thursday to personally attend to the needs of the victims of the bombing incident in the city when they heard of Mawanay’s fantastic tale.

"Kaya pinagtatawanan na lang namin (That’s why we just laughed)," the First Gentleman said.

In a separate statement, Presidential Spokesman Ignacio Bunye said that Mawanay has more comic and entertainment rather than evidentiary value.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is foregoing her birthday celebration tomorrow. She has decided instead to earmark the amount of One Million Pesos to help in the campaign against terrorism.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today expressed elation over the report that the country’s inflation rate has slipped to 2.9 percent in March compared to 3.1 percent in February.

The President took note of the decrease in inflation, which also dipped from 3.6 percent a year ago, after receiving a report from Socio-economic Planning Secretary Romulo Neri.

Inflation is defined as any sustained or continuous increase in the prices of consumer goods and services.

In his report, Neri said inflation went down due to the slowdown in the inflation of food, beverages and tobacco that mitigated the faster increases in the prices of fuel, light and water.

He said the abundant supply of some food items – to include fish, corn, eggs, fruits and vegetables -- led to lower prices.

Neri added that fuel and services remained as the main sources of inflation.

The prices of fuel rose 13.7 percent compared to last year’s level but electricity prices were lower by 3.5 percent year-on-year due to the reduction in the power purchase adjustment last June 2002, Neri noted.

The price of water went up by 11.1 percent compared to year ago levels due to the increase in water prices last January.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today issued three directives aimed at immediately bringing back normalcy in Davao City and the Davao provinces.

• Maintain law and order with an even hand to prevent inter-religious strife, and

• Speedily identify and get the culprits and return the normal course of community life and commerce (in Davao City) as soon as possible,

The President also directed Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Eduardo Ermita and Office of the Muslim Affairs Executive Director Zamzamin Ampatuan "to work closely with Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte in restoring the rampart of inter-faith solidarity in Davao City."

"Mayor Duterte is on top of the situation and must have the full cooperation of the military, law enforcement and related agencies. Let us contain the physical and psychological consequences of this event," she said.

"Terrorists want to put our lives in disarray, to institute suspicion and paranoia, to divide and to rule with the weapon of fear. Let us show them we are not afraid," she said.

"We will put up a good fight for law and order and we will work together to rebuild our lives," she added.