The peace process is moving and peace in Mindanao is within grasp.

The Coordinating Committee on the Cessation of Hostilities (CCCH) of the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) has restored an "atmosphere conducive to the resumption" of peace talks between the two parties.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo earlier said preparations are being made for the resumption of the GRP-MILF peace negotiations in Kuala Lumpur, hosted by the Malaysian government.

In a report reaching Malacanang, members of the GRP and MILF CCCH expressed their desire "to empower the CCHS in order to significantly contribute to the success of the peace process."

During their 10^th joint meeting in Cotabato City last Monday, the two CCCHs called for "an effective ceasefire mechanism."

Both agreed to strengthen local monitoring teams (LMT), as they also asked the GRP and MILF peace panels to initiate action on the immediate deployment of 3^rd Party Monitoring/Observers Team.

Lt. Gen. Rodolfo Garcia, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Vice Chief of Staff and GRP CCCH acting chairman, said AFP Chief of Staff Gen. Narciso Abaya has directed all AFP ground commanders to fully support and cooperate with the CCCHs.

The MILF CCCH welcomed the initiative, which they said would ensure the effective implementation of the mutual ceasefire agreement entered into by the GRP and MILF.

MILF Peace Panel member Lanang Ali also conveyed the MILF Central Committee’s satisfaction on the reconvening of the CCCHs.

Ali also cited the presence of Garcia in the GRP committee and called it a sign of the sincerity of the Philippine government in carrying out the truce.

Irene Santiago, GRP CCCH member, asked both committees to evaluate existing ceasefire mechanisms so that flaws hindering its effective execution could be addressed,

In the same executive session, both parties submitted proposals to enhance the Implementing Guidelines on the Security Aspect of the Agreement on Peace of 2001.

Then proposals included the setting up of a specific coordinative linkage between the CCCHs and

The same was asked between the LMTs and the AFP and MILF ground commanders.

This would ensure that the ceasefire pact would be respected and upheld and that conflict would be prevented.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today condemned the car bomb attack Tuesday in Jakarta as she expressed sympathy within to the families and relatives of the victims.

"This is a clear message that the war against terrorism in the region must be pursued without letup through more intensive multilateral cooperation," the President said at the opening of the 7^th Asean +3 Finance Ministers’ Meeting held this morning at the Rigodon Ballroom of the Manila Peninsula Hotel in Makati City.

The President said the region needs the kind of cooperation that is being displayed by the Asean finance ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean).

A car bomb that ripped through the JW Marriot Hotel in Jakarta, left at least 13 people dead and more than 100 others wounded.

The President said the Philippine National Police and the Armed Forces of the Philippines and other law enforcement agencies have standing orders to be on the alert to similar attacks in the Philippines.

She said the region must now learn to live with this threat from day to day.

"Vigilance must become a way of life for our region even as we maintain normalcy in the course of work and business, and even as we face this regional challenge here in the Philippines," she said.

The Chief Executive also extended her gratitude to all Asean finance ministers for coming to the Philippines even after the short-lived military adventurism last July 27.

"We have seen an increase in visitor arrivals over the week before. And you are part of them. Thank you for recognizing that Makati is back to normal, the Philippines is back to normal," the President said.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today vowed to finally put a stop to military adventurism in the country even as she assured that those responsible for the July 27 mutiny would have their day in court under democratic processes.

In her keynote speech at the opening of the 7^th Asean + 3 Finance Ministers’ Meeting at the Manila Peninsula Hotel in Makati City, the President said that since the laws of the land and the Constitution have been violated, the government will assure due process "but not unwarranted leniency" to the leaders of the mutiny.

"The resurgence of mutinies can be traced in part to a reluctance to enforce justice against military adventurism," the President said.

The President said the government has learned its lessons from past experiences and would not allow the duly constituted political authority to be held hostage by a few men of arms.

"Civilian authority will never be forced to act upon any grievances at the end of a gun, especially those that are already being acted upon," the President said.

She said that since formal charges against the coup plotters have already been filed, it is now time to leave the judicial process to the courts.

The President said that her administration would refuse to be drawn into a propaganda festival with the coup plotters in the aftermath of that misadventure.

"We have the democratic tools to ferret out the truth and the democratic institutions to mete our impartial justice. It is fitting that the din of recrimination pipe down and give way to sobriety and prudence," the President said.

The President said that due process will be observed in all institutional hearings and investigations related to the incident.

While the courts are now ready to receive evidence, the independent commission that she has created would look into the root causes and provocations of the failed coup, the President said.

According to the President, the Philippines has, time and again, proven that democracy remains the best underpinning of its financial and economic fundamentals, which is also true elsewhere in the region.

She told the participants to the meeting that this is a time for great opportunities for the Philippines because "notwithstanding the terrorist threat in that failed military adventurism, peace is within grasp."

The President was referring to the scheduled resumption of the peace talks with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) under the auspices of Malaysian government.

Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) personnel have availed themselves of a total of P1.222 billion in housing packages ever since President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo came to power in 2001.

This figure is five times more than what the previous administration has provided for housing for military and police personnel combined, according to Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC) Chairman Michael Defensor.

Defensor also said more housing units will be distributed to soldiers by the end of this month as he ordered the Home Development Mutual Fund (HDMF), the National Housing Authority (NHA), the National Home Mortgage and Finance Corporation (NHMFC), and the Home Guaranty Corporation (HGC) to update their respective inventories of unoccupied shelter units that are ready for disposal.

Defensor said the P1.222 billion "is significantly more than the combined value of P224.149 million that our AFP and the Philippine National Police (PNP) personnel were able to access in the previous administration from June 1998 to December 2000."

He said the Macapagal-Arroyo administration was also able to bring down the interest rates for housing loans to as low as 6 percent.

"The Macapagal-Arroyo administration’s housing program makes available housing units that are affordable. We have done away with the notion that acquiring a house will only put one in further debt," Defensor said.

The HUDCC chairman said the government has distributed 1,206 housing units to soldiers and their families under its socialized housing packages in just two years.

Defensor also said a task force would be set up to orient, counsel and process the applications of AFP personnel so that unoccupied housing units, which could run to thousands, could be distributed to soldiers.

He said three other government housing projects are currently on various stages of development. These are the NAMRIA property in Fort Bonifacio, Makati City which will have 5,000 units on a seven-hectare area; Camp Claudio in Paranaque City where 477 lots are currently being developed; and the 2,800 lots in Camp Riego de Dios in Tanza, Cavite.

He said the development on these sites would be completed in two years and that the AFP Housing Board is already processing the applications of beneficiaries.

He added 10 other areas under the technical evaluation of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and the HUDCC would be utilized as off-base housing for the AFP personnel. These areas are expected to generate more than 58,000 single detached housing units with a lot area of 50 square meters each.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today called for collective action among the countries in the region to ensure that growth could be sustained now that the Iraq war is over and the region has successfully hurdled the adverse effect of the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS).

In her keynote address at the opening of the 7^th Asean Plus 3 Finance Ministers Meeting at the Manila Peninsula Hotel in Makati City, the President said the Asian crisis has now faded away and reforms in the banking and corporate governance are now in full swing.

"We in Asean are ready to regain our former position among the fastest growing regions in the world," the President said.

The President said that the financial and economic policies common to the region must address the emerging concerns of Asean.

She said that the first concern is that these policies must be responsive to the needs of the poorest of the poor "who live on the edge of famine, disease, illiteracy and despair."

Another concern, which she said is something that she is supporting, is Asean’s broad based economic engagement with the world.

The third concern, the President said, is that financial and economic policies must be open with greater flow of private capital from developed to developing countries, matched by a strong commitment to steer their flow towards long term development.

The final concern, the President said, is that regional policies must be geared towards institutional capacity building, particularly in the areas of improving governance, empowering civil society and increasing transparency, openness and pluralism.

The President said that in the area of finance and banking, the agenda is long and many opportunities are yet unexplored, adding that this is the challenge that should be tackled in the meeting by the finance ministers of Asean and its dialogue partners.

For performing its role quietly and without fanfare particularly in the quelling of the recent mutiny of young military officers, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) got more than just a pat on the back from President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

The President, in her speech before officers and men of the Coast Guard, announced a package of benefits that include pay increases, housing and Philhealth membership as a token of appreciation for a job well done.

"Ito ay isang pahayag ng pasasalamat ng pamahalaan sa inyo dahil sa inyong walang takot at tahimik na trabaho na hindi nahahaluan ng daing (This is a gesture of appreciation by the government for your fearless, albeit quiet performance of your duties)," she said.

She cited the role of the Coast Guard in the fight against terrorism and in guarding the country’s sea lanes. She also urged the the officers and men of the Coast Guard to join in the government’s drive to consolidate its position rapidly in these trying times.

"Kasama kayo doon – ang kongreso, hudikatura, cibilyan, business sector at civil society – let us close ranks and do our share in consolidating normalcy and refocusing the energies of our people towards the essential priorities of fighting terrorism and poverty," the President said.

In a meeting with the President to thresh out her directives last June on sea accidents, Philippine Coast Guard commandant Vice Admiral Reuben Lista reported that six programs, as espoused by the Chief Executive, are now being undertaken to raise the national maritime safety benchmark to higher grounds.

These are:

1. the fitness of wooden vessels to carry passengers;
2. PCG capability to enforce maritime safety standards and respond to maritime accidents;
3. measures to improve safety in narrow inter-island and other sea passages with dense traffic volume;
4. the institutional relationship and coordination between the Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA) and PCG vis a vis maritime safety implementation;
5. the conduct of random drug and alcohol test among ship crew members (officers and ratings); and
6. the creation of a maritime safety task force to regularly appraise and advise the President on legislation and executive priorities pertaining to maritime sector concerns.

Lista said the PCG intends to implement the Ship Routing System, which includes, among others, the Vessel Traffic Separation Scheme (VTSS) and Vessel Traffic Management System (VTMS) in narrow sea lanes.

He said he has coordinated with the National Mapping Resources Information Authority (NAMRIA) the superimposition of the scheme in the sailing charts.

The PCG commandant reported that the PCG, together with executives of the Department of Transportation and Communication, MARINA and NAMRIA, have established a mutual agreement regarding the strict implementation and adherence to proper accounting and manifesting of passengers.

The agreement also reminds shipowners and masters of vessels that they assume full responsibility in accordance with existing rules and regulations.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today thanked investors in information and communication technology (ICT) for their continued trust and confidence in the Philippines.

In a conference of ICT investors at the Shangri-La Hotel in Makati City, the President also lauded ICT businessmen for being part of the unprecedented growth of the IT industry in the country.

"I thank you for being here and I ask you all to be part of this fantastic growth of the ICT industry in the Philippines," the President said.

She said the mushrooming of call centers in the country only showed that the Philippines remained as one of the leading information and communication technology (ICT) service providers in the world.

The national ICT industry could be described as on a par with or even better than in other countries particularly India, she added.

She noted that when she became President, the country had only 1,500 call center seats.

But after two and a half years of her administration, the figures rose to 20,000.

The President recalled that in her first State of the Nation Address on July 2001, she mentioned that the ICT and other intensive service sectors were regarded as the country’s growth sectors.

She then called on the IT sector to address roadblocks and support the sustainability of the industry.

"I also said then that we must maintain our competitive advantage, the greatness of the Filipino workers, our knowledge workers," she added.

The President told IT investors that to maintain the momentum, she has ordered the upgrading of the country’s educational system.

Along this line, the Department of Education has strengthened Mathematics, Science and English teaching in basic education.

"We have more hours in Math, we have deepened the curriculum of Science and we have made English as the medium of instruction once again in our educational system," the President said.

"We hope that with this development, we will continue to develop our ICT industry," she said.

The President also compared the Philippine ICT call center industry with that of India.

Within a year from now, the Philippines is expected to host some 60,000 call center seats.

India has about 100,000 call center seats out of its 1 billion population. In comparison, the Philippines would have 60,000 call center seats out of an 80-million population.

"That means that proportionately the call center industry has become a bigger industry in the Philippines than in India," she added.

The President arrived here at around 11:30 a.m., an hour earlier than the 12:30 p.m. original schedule.