An outpouring of support to President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has flooded Malacanang in the wake of the government’s anti-terrorism, anti-drug and anti-graft efforts and in the heels of the thorough investigation on the failed Oakwood mutiny in Makati City.

Among the governors who wrote the President and expressed their resentment over attempts of some political groups to destabilize the government were Ramoncita Ong of Aurora, Leandro Verceles, Jr. of Catanduanes, Remedios Petilla of Leyte, and Isagani Amatong of Zamboanga del Norte.

Ong said destabilization efforts "render useless all our efforts towards development" while Verceles described them as "repugnant and unthinkable."

Petilla said that problems should be resolved "through the installed democratic institutions and processes" while Amatong said destabilizers should be "dealt with firmly" as he called for prompt action on complaints.

Zamboanga Sibugay Vice Governor Eugenio Famor said the people of his province remained supportive of the President, as he exhorted every one to disallow "force to suppress the popular sentiment of the people."

In a letter, the Provincial Board Members League of the Philippines --headed by its president Strike Revilla and vice chairman Dominic Tolentino – expressed strong support for the President. Both are Cavite board members.

On his own, Marinduque Board Member Toto Nepomuceno said "enough is enough" for those who seek to destroy government and "they have to pay the price of their senseless exercise."

Cavite Board Member Dominic Tolentino, in a handwritten letter, prayed that God would "give (the President) the strength and guidance to be on top of every situation."

Several mayors and members of the Sangguniang Bayan (town councils) have expressed their full support to President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in the wake of the government’s anti-terrorism, anti-drug and anti-graft efforts and in the heels of the failed Oakwood mutiny in Makati City.

Among the mayors who wrote the President and expressed their resentment over attempts of some political groups to destabilize the government included Sigfrido Tinga of Taguig and Luzviminda Valdez of Bacolod City.

Tinga and Valdez also expressed their resentment over politically-motivated destabilization efforts carried out by misguided military elements, saying that these repugnant activities only set the country’s growth backwards.

The Capas, Tarlac Sangguniang Bayan likewise passed Resolution No. 094-2003 reiterating its solid support to the President.

The council also thanked the President for "her judicious and successful handling of the Oakwood situation."

"Saludo kami sa inyo, mahal na Pangulo (We salute you, our dear President)," the resolution said.

Magandang araw sa inyong lahat.

Noong nakaraang Martes muli na naman tayong ginulantang ng balita nang pagbombang naganap sa Marriot Hotel sa Jakarta na ikinasawi ng may 14 katao – kabilang ang tatlong foreigners – at malubhang ikinasugat ng mahigit isandaan at limampung iba pa.

Mariin nating kinokondena ang pangyayaring ito na hinihinalang kagagawan ng terorista, at nakikiramay tayo sa mga inosenteng biktima at sa pamahalaan ng Indonesia. Sana ang mga may kagagawan nito ay mahuli kaagad at mapatawan ng kaukulang parusa.

Salamat naman at walang napabalitang Pilipino na nadamay sa pagsabog. Ganoon pa man, inatasan ko ang ating embahada sa Jakarta na makipagtulungan sa mga awtoridad para matiyak ang kaligtasan ng ating mga kababayan doon.

Dalawang mahalagang bagay ang ipina-paalala sa atin ng kaganapang ito. Una, ang target ay inakalang nasa ligtas na bahagi ng lungsod. Pangalawa, ang pagbomba ay nangyari sa likod ng mahigpit na pagmamatyag.

Ito ay isang napapanahong babala sa ating lahat. Ang naganap sa Jakarta ay maaring mangyari sa Metro Manila, at alinman sa ating five star hotels ay maaring dumanas ng sinapit ng Marriot. Kaya naman, hindi tayo dapat maging maluwag sa ating pagbabantay ng potential targets, kabilang na ang LRT na minsan nang nakaranas ng ganitong karahasan.

Ang banta ng terorismo ay pabago-bago ng lugar at hindi ito nagbibigay ng anumang babala bago mangyari. Terrorists strike whenever and wherever they have the opportunity. They strike when least expected.

Kaya nga dito sa ating bansa ay nanatili ang alert order ko sa ating PNP, AFP at ibang law enforcement agencies para lubusang mapag-ingatan ang kaligtasan at katiwasayan ng mga mamamayan. At noong Huwebes lamang ay muli ko silang pinulong upang paalalahanang huwag maging maluwag sa kanilang pagbabantay.

Alam kong naagaw ang ating pansin ng Oakwood mutiny nitong mga huling araw, pero ang terorismo ay hindi natin dapat ipagwalang-bahala. Sasamantalahin ng mga terorista ang anumang pagka-lingat ng publiko. Aatake sila sa sandaling hindi natin inaasahan.

Ang terorismo ay isang banta sa ating seguridad na dapat nating tanggapin at harapin araw-araw, oras-oras. Ang pagmamatyag at pag-iingat ay dapat nating isabuhay upang maiwasan ang anumang kapahamakan, lalo na sa kamay ng mga walang pusong terorista.

Bago nangyari ang Oakwood mutiny, nagiging maganda na sana ang takbo ng ating paglaban kontra terorismo, gayundin ang puspusan nating kampanya laban sa mga sindikato ng droga. Subalit tila lahat ng ating lakas ay nabaling at natuon sa mapangahas na pangyayari sa Makati.

Panahon na marahil upang isantabi muna natin ang usaping ito at muling pagbuhusan ng pansin at prayoridad ang ating paglaban sa terorismo at bawal na gamot. Dapat nating paigtingin ang ating mga depensa laban sa mga terorista. Higit pa nating pag-ibayuhin ang pagbuwag sa mga sindikato ng droga habang patuloy tayong nagmamatyag sa mga banta ng kudeta.

Tayo ay nabubuhay ngayon sa isang kapaligiran kung saan kailangan nating sabay-sabay na harapin ang ibat-ibang klase ng paghamon. Kaya naman, sa gawaing ito, kailangan natin ang pakikipagtulungan ng lahat. The prize is law and order and national security. We can win it with a collective sense of duty and faith in ourselves.

Muli akong nananawagan sa ating Kongreso, hudikatura, civilian bureaucracy, mga negosyante at civil society na palakasin pa natin ang ating pagtutulungan upang maging normal ang ating pamumuhay at mabigyan ng tamang pansin ang ating mga prayoridad, tulad ng laban kontra kahirapan at terorismo.

Hinihiling ko sa ating mga kababayan na pag-ibayuhin pa natin ang pag-iingat at pagiging listo sa mga panganib sa ating paligid. Ang banta ng terorismo at droga ay mga paghamon sa ating pambansang katatagan, kaya sama-sama at tulong-tulong tayo na labanan ang mga ito.

Former President Fidel Ramos last night said Sen. Gringo Honasan is no longer an idealistic soldier but has turned into an "ambitious politician" as he rallied the citizenry to support President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and join the collective action for the march toward the country’s progress.

The former president arrived at 8:25 p.m. Friday night from Singapore where he had a speaking engagement. He was welcomed at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) by Transportation and Communications Undersecretary Arturo Valdez.

Ramos said Honasan should come out and face the music if he is not guilty. "The longer he hides, the more the people would believe that he is guilty of what we call military adventurism," he said.

He said Honasan, who led several coup attempts during the term of President Cory Aquino, was given a second chance during his administration to relinquish the armed struggle that enabled him to run and be elected senator of the Republic.

"Now, he has no right to keep saying that his dreams will never die, thus poisoning the minds of idealistic officers to end up being utilized by politicians with a hidden agenda," Ramos said.

Ramos said this is not what he envisioned for the officers and men of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine National Police (PNP). "Because they deserve better treatment than just being used as cannon fodder by politicians," he said.

"That is what Mr. Honasan is now. He is an ambitious politician, no longer an idealistic soldier. Now let him come out and face the music. Let him come out so that the people will know his true colors," Ramos said.

Ramos said what the country and the Filipino people need is continuous period of peace "and not intramural politics if we are to achieve any significant progress for the benefit of our people."

He said that continuous fighting could make our country end up in a civil war just like what is happening in African countries and in Kosovo.

"Yun ba gusto natin? Yun ba gusto ni Gringo at ng kanyang mga kasama na yung kanilang dreams daw will never die? Aba’y ilabas nila kung ano yung kanilang mga panaginip para sa ating bansa (Is this what he wants? Is this what Gringo and his supporters want that their dreams will never die? It’s time that they come out with their dreams for our country)," Ramos said

Ramos also said that Honasan’s so-called national recovery program is just a ploy.

"He’s not the only one who has a national recovery program. He’s not the first one to even think about it. Let’s examine what is so important compared with some others and see the merit of that national recovery program being used now to mesmerize the so-called idealistic young officers," Ramos said.

Ramos, a former chief of staff and defense secretary, said the Oakwood mutiny last July 27 has created "immeasurable" damage, particularly the loss of confidence of the international community in the country’s economy that would linger on for a long time regardless of the valiant efforts of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

He said the media should also be more responsible in telling their stories as citizens of this Republic, adding that the country’s future is not going to be bright if media would not practice a more professional and responsible approach to journalism.

Ramos said he fought against several coups, all organized by Honasan when he was still with the military. "And I will continue fighting these attempted coups as a private citizen and I have the experience to do it even in a retired status," he said.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has exhorted Manila’s academe to help in government efforts to keep the university belt free from illegal drugs, as she led Friday the first joint anniversary celebration of the Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB) and Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA).

In a speech before students, faculty members, and employees of Far Eastern University in Morayta, Manila, the President said she had ordered the DDB and the PDEA to ensure that the university belt is a drugs-free area.

This would benefit some 40 colleges and universities in Manila within and around the university belt, the President said.

She reiterated the government’s four main goals in its serious anti-drugs campaign.

The goals are cutting the supply of drugs through raids on drug laboratories and arresting of street pushers and burning confiscated illegal substance; identifying areas where the drugs are sold rampantly; identifying drug lords and dismantling drug syndicates; and encouraging and educating the youth on the negative effects of illegal drugs.

The President told her audience that in the past six weeks, simultaneous drug operations of the PDEA and the Philippine National Police (PNP) resulted in the arrest of Chinese nationals involved in illegal drug manufacturing and some P6 billion worth of shabu was seized.

The police also neutralized the operation of drug laboratories in Paranaque, Las Pinas and Quezon City, while dismantling two other big laboratories in Silang, and Tanza, both in Cavite.

The President said Congress had expressed positive comments on the government’s anti-drug drive.

"They (lawmakers) said over television interviews that they are now ready to allocate P1 billion per year to drug enforcement because they already see the results," the President said.

Of the P1 billion in initial fund released for PDEA’s operations, only P100 million was used in the six weeks operations against illegal drugs.

In simple rites, the President awarded trophies to the anti-drug abuse councils of Valenzuela City and Muntinlupa City and other individuals who participated in the series of operations of the DDB and PDEA.

Among the DDB awardees were Vice Mayor Antonio Espiritu of Valenzuela City Anti-Drug Abuse Council; Rolando Espina, head of the Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Office in Muntinlupa City; and Senior State Prosecutor Archimedes V. Manabat of the Department of Justice.

Terrorists strike when least expected.

This in a way summed up President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s warning to the citizenry to be vigilant in the wake of the continued threat of terrorism as exemplified by the recent car bomb blast that rocked the Marriott Hotel in Jakarta.

In her radio message this morning, the President said that what happened to Jakarta can happen in Metro Manila.

"Ang banta ng terorismo ay pabago-bago ng lugar at hindi ito nagbibigay ng anumang babala bago mangyari (The threat of terrorism knows no bounds and it doesn’t give any warning)," she said. "Terrorists strike wherever they have the opportunity. They strike when least expected."

It is for this reason that her alert order to the Philippine National Police, Armed Forces of the Philippines and other law enforcement agencies remains in force to protect the citizenry and keep them safe.

She encouraged Filipinos to put behind the Oakwood mutiny, which she labeled as nothing but a distraction and focus on the threat of terrorism.

"Ang terorismo ay isang banta sa ating seguridad na dapat nating harapin araw-araw, oras-oras. Ang pagmamatyag at pag-iingat ay dapat nating isabuhay upang maiwasan ang anumang kapahamakan lalo na sa kamay ng mga walang-pusong terorista (Terrorism is a threat to our security that me must face everyday, every hour. Vigilance and care should by now be a way of life for us to prevent any tragedy at the hands of these heartless terrorists)," the President said.

Coupled with the drug menace and the threat of destabilizers, the Chief Executive said the country faces many challenges, stressing that it is only by closing ranks that the nation can overcome them.