Magandang araw sa inyong lahat.

Sa pagharap ng mga namuno sa Oakwood mutiny, sa Feliciano Commission, at Senate inquiry muling natuon ang pansin ng madla sa katayuan ng ating sandatahang lakas. Kaya nais kong gamitin ang pagkakataong ito upang ilahad sa inyo ang ilan sa ating mga nagawa na. Hindi bilang pagtuon sa reklamo at hinaing ng mga junior military officers, kundi dahil ito ay matagal ng kinikilala kong kailangang gawin.

Sa simula pa lamang ng aking pagiging Pangulo, nagsikap na akong magtaguyod ng mga pagbabago sa military. Tulad ng pagtaas ng basic pay ng mga sundalo, upang hindi sila mapag-iwanan ng mga guro at PNP. Sa panahon ng aking termino noong 2002, naging batas ang RA 9166, na nagpantay sa suweldo ng ating enlisted men at officers sa antas ng mga pulis at guro.

Ang naturang batas ay nagkaloob din ng subsidized housing sa mga sundalo. Alinsunod dito ako ay nagproklama ng mga lupang. Magkakasya ang mga 75,000 na mga kawal na magkaroon ng murang pabahay. Marami pa nga sa mga pabahay na ito ay mababayaran ng 350 pesos lamang bawat buwan.

Sa loob din ng aking administrasyon, pinirman ang batas na nagbibigay ng malaking monetary reward, kasama ng Medal of Valor, ang pinakamataas na parangal sa kawal.

Noon pang nagsimulang mag-chief of staff si Gen. Villanueva, noong 2001 sinabi ko ng gumawa ng reporma ang Armed Forces sa kanyang procurement process. Noong pinirmahan ko ang procurement law noong nakaraang Enero at nabuo ang Implementing Rules and Regulations ng Department of Budget, sa nakaraang limang buwan nakikipag-ugnayan ang Armed Forces sa DBM, upang gamitin din ng Armed Forces ang procurement process ng aking procurement law.

Inuulit ko, ang mga benepisyong ito, ay naibigay sa ating mga sundalo bago pa man naganap ang mutiny. Mahalagang malaman ng ating mga kababayan, na ang mga repormang ating ginagawa sa AFP ay hindi bunsod o ginawang makatwiran ng nabigong pag-aalsa.

Nakahanda ang pamahalaan na tugonan ang karaingan ng mga sundalo, ngunit kahit kailan man ay hindi dapat ilagay ang batas sa sarili nilang mga kamay.

Habang inaalam pa natin ang katotohanang grievances ng mga junior officers, nagsimula na tayong kumilos upang tugunan ang ilan dito. Halimbawa, kaagad kong ipinag-utos ang pagpapalabas ng isang daang milyong piso, para sa mga kailangan ng AFP on the ground, turvan botas at iba pang field equipment.

Ipinag-utos ko rin, yung mga kawal at pulis na magkakamit ng mga medalya, dahil sa kagalingan sa combat at bigyan ng prioridad sa pabahay at scholarship.

This week I gave citations to the entire Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine National Police for their professional conduct and loyalty to the constitution before, during and after the Oakwood incident. Sa katunayan karamihan sa ating mga karaniwang sundalo ay tahimik na ginagawa ang kanilang mga tungkulin, dahil alam nila ang mga panganib at sakripisyong hinhingi ng larangang kanilang pinasukan.

They’re not noisily crying out their problems, but I want them to know, we’re trying our best to reform the Armed Forces and bring the benefits of the command down to the combat soldiers in the field.

Tatlong araw makalipas ng nabigong pag-aalma, nilikha ko ang isang independent Fact-Finding Commission, sa pamumuno ni dating Supreme Court Associate Justice Florentino Feliciano, na imbestigahan ang mga ugat ng rebelyon at kung ano ang nagbunsod upang ito ay maganap.

I believe the Feliciano Commission will get to the bottom of this and provide a thorough, unbiased and non-partisan examination of this event and render enlighten recommendations on how to prevent it from happening again. I similarly hope congress can shed light on the subject, and come up with productive and preventive legislation.

Now that impartial justice, due process and governance are taking their course, lets get on with the normal course of work and business and turn our sights on the essential tasks of nation building.

Isantabi na muna natin ang usaping ito at muling pag-buhusan ng pansin ang ating mga prayoridad tungo sa paglago ng ating ekonomiya at mapagbuti ang kapakanan ng ating mga mamamayan.

Ito ang dahilan kung bakit nandito ako ngayon sa MIMAROPA region para asikasuhin ang mga makatwirang pangangailangan ng ating mga kababayan sa mga isla na nagdaranas ng kahirapan at mga banta sa kanilang seguridad.

Marami sa ating mga kababayan ay tahimik lamang na pinapasan ang kanilang mga paghihirap at bukal sa pusong magsasakripisyo para sa isang magandang kinabukasan. Sila man ay karapat dapat ng ating tulong at kalinga upang maabot nila ang kanilang mga simpleng pangarap.

Ipagpatuloy natin ang ating mga pagsisikap hindi lamang upang iwaksi sa isipan ng mga tao ang mga pangamba sa kanilang kaligtasan kung hindi para itaguyod ang normal na takbo ng ating pamumuhay.

CALAPAN CITY -- President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has ordered the creation of the Trans-MIMAROPA Nautical Highway to link the provinces of Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon and Palawan (MIMAROPA) to the Strong Republic Nautical Highway.

Sec. Marita Jimenez said the President has instructed the local government units of the four provinces to establish strategic road networks, sea routes and other support facilities such as hydroelectric power plants to spur development and promote tourism in the MIMAROPA area and link it to the Strong Republic Nautical Highway.

Once completed, Jimenez said the entire program would cost around P7 billion.

In a briefing last night at the Microtel Filipiniana Hotel here, Jimenez said one of the critical projects is the road network between San Jose City in Occidental Mindoro and Bulalacao, the southernmost town in Mindoro Oriental.

She said the 20-kilometer road stretch would ultimately link the two provinces to the Strong Republic Nautical Highway.

Bulalacao is only 50 kilometers away from Roxas town where one can ride a roll-on roll-off vessel going to Caticlan, Aklan, the jump off point to the world-famous beaches of Boracay Island.

Jimenez said the President has also ordered the Department of Health (DOH) to make the Culion Leper Colony in Palawan as a drug rehabilitation center in the MIMAROPA area.

She said the medical center there has excellent facilities manned by a staff of 30 but now has only two lepers to take care of.

Jimenez said the President has ordered the DOH to transfer the two lepers to the Tala Estate in Caloocan City.

"This is in line with the President's anti-drug program to establish drug rehabilitation centers in every region," she said.

CALAPAN CITY -- President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo last night said the countryside is now back on track after the setback brought about by the Oakwood mutiny last July 27 in Makati City.

"The setback in the economy has affected all of us. As the wheels of justice turn, we work on the economic aspects to remedy this setback," she said after dinner with local officials at the Microtel Filipiniana Hotel here.

The President arrived in this province Friday as part of her three-day caravan in the Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon, and Palawan (MIMAROPA) growth area.

Although the ripples of the Oakwood incident have not affected this province, she said the strategy of the national government along with the military, police, provincial officials, mayors, and barangay captains here is to address poverty, lack of education and information, injustices, and the lack of basic services in the remote areas.

She said Mindoro Oriental is now peaceful after being dubbed the "center of gravity" of the New People's Army (NPA) in 2001.

Still, she said it is proper to make a "holistic approach" in bringing government programs directly to the poor communities which is the breeding ground of the NPA.

"We use the right hand, which is the strong arm of the law, and the left hand to address its root causes," she said.

Governor Bartolome Marasigan said 30 percent of the province's 700,000 population, whose main source of livelihood is farming and fishing, live within the line of poverty. He said these people are susceptible to the indoctrination of the NPAs.

But the governor said the President's Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan (KALAHI) program reaches the barangays including the medical and dental missions that they conduct twice a month.

In behalf of his constituents, he thanked the President for the various government programs here.

Among these, he said, are the distribution of seeds and planting materials, fingerlings, Kabir chicken, piglets, freshwater shrimp and tilapia culture, including the vaccination of working animals and dogs.

"Nagpapasalamat po ang mga taga-Mindoro sa maraming proyekto at magandang working relationship ng national government with the local government here (We thank you for the many programs and good working relationship of the national government with the local government here)," Marasigan said.

He said the government is also addressing the establishment of schools, provision of books and the lack of teachers in some areas of the province.

"We need quality education for globalization," Marasigan said.

He said some barangays in the province have a 96:1 pupil to teacher ratio.

The President said this is far from the situation in Bantoon, Romblon that she visited earlier wherein there is a 12 student per teacher ratio.

The President said the DepEd cannot open up additional teacher positions as the country has a 34:1 student to teacher ratio.

Deputy Presidential Spokesman Ricardo Saludo said today that the decline of the peso is nothing but a temporary setback, a direct repercussion of the Oakwood incident that would also be overcome by the country’s sound economic fundamentals.

In a radio interview this morning, Saludo cited the economy’s steady 5.2 percent growth rate which he said has prompted even the International Monetary Fund not to alter its 4 percent growth projection because "we are among the few countries not directly affected by the Iraq war and the SARS scare."

On observations that the suspension of Central Bank Governor Rafael Buenaventura may have something to do with the peso’s decline, Saludo said that it’s the defensive position of the business community that is bringing these fears.

"Sa pananaw po namin, ito rin po’y lilipas oras na kumilos ang Bangko Sentral upang i-apila ang desisyon na ito ng Court of Appeals o kaya humingi ng rekomendasyon. Matagal pa pong proseso yan bago pa po maipatupad. (In our view, this shall also come to pass the moment the Central Bank appeals the decision of the Court of Appeals. This is a long process before it can be implemented)," he said.

Saludo said the government has to wait for the final outcome of the case even before making moves to replace Buenaventura.

He denied that the Palace had a hand in the case and debunked allegations that it wants to have somebody else at the Central Bank.

The government is resolved to uphold the freedom of the press. At the same time, we are also foresworn to uphold national security.

We urge the press to be more circumspect in its reportage, as well as in the means to gather information, during times when the peace and order situation is threatened and the authorities are engaged in ongoing operations against persons suspected of being engage in a conspiracy to overthrow the duly-constituted government.

MAGSAYSAY, Occidental Mindoro - President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today urged members of the New People's Army (NPA) to go down from the hills and join the government in bringing peace, food and economic development to the countryside.

The President said the NPA rebels must show their sincerity and to give way for agricultural development in the countryside, particularly in Magsaysay,Occidental Mindoro.

"Sa NPA, kung gusto ninyo ng kaunlaran, kung talagang sinsero kayo sa kaunlaran, bumaba na kayo, sumama na kayo," (To the NPA, If you really want development, go down from the hills and join the government)," she said before more than 200 residents of Barangay Purnaga, Magsaysay, Occidental Mindoro.

In her impromptu speech, she urged the NPAs to spread education to the community of Magsaysay and join the government in bringing agricultural products to some areas of Mindoro like San Jose.

"Kaya ako narito para ipaalam sa inyo na kabaligtaran ang itinuturo sa inyo na hindi kayo mahal ng pamahalaan. Iyang palay na iyan ay pruweba ng pagmamahal ng pamahalaan sa inyo (That’s why I’m here – to show you that the government cares for you)," she said.

She told the residents that she had already released P20 million for the construction of a road in Magsaysay going to San Jose.

She stressed that the project would open the avenue for agricultural development and allow farmers to bring their products to the city of Mindoro.

"Yung kalsada hong iyan ay galing sa gobyerno hindi galing sa NPA (That road came from the government not the NPA)," she said.

She appealed to the residents to stop paying so-called "revolutionary taxes" to the NPA since the grassroots are exempted from income taxation.

Only those who have income, she said, may pay taxes to the government but not to the NPA.

MAGSAYSAY, Occidental Mindoro—Education is imperative not only for the school children but also to the natives like the Mangyans.

This, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo emphasized today as she launched her Strong Republic School.

As she launched the Strong Republic School in the Magsaysay district, she said education is imperative not only for the schoolchildren but also to the natives like the Mangyans that would empower the people to be more inclined in education.

"Sa pamamagitan ng telebisyon, na mayroon tape, lalawak ang edukasyon sa Barangay Purnaga. Dahil malayo, kailangan nila ng dagdag na teacher sa pamamagitan ng telebisyon, kaya education by television (Because of education by television, residents of Barangay Purnaga will be able to expand their knowledge)," she said.

She said that everyday, subjects like Makabayan or English will now be part of the curriculum through this education by television.

On Saturdays, she said all teachers of the barangay will go to the Sitio of the Mangyans to indulge them in education by television.

The President was welcomed by more than 300 townsfolk led by local officials including Congresswoman Josephine Sato, Mindoro Governor Jose Tapales Villarosa, Magsaysay Mayor Marleo B. Barrera and Vice Mayor Leo Abesamis.

She also met 25 Mangyans led by Bedo Wagan and Bayani Barredo who played their original instrument of "gitgit", while another elder, Uding Bandonedos, serenaded the President with her "agong", an old drum-type instrument.

The President was accompanied by Agriculture Secretary Luis Lorenzo and Presidential Adviser Marita Magpili-Jimenez.

She proceeded to San Jose, Occidental Mindoro where she gave P7,000 each to the 11 scholars of the Diosdado Macapagal foundation.