President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo left this morning to attend the two-day ASEAN-Japan Commemorative Summit that opens today in Tokyo.

The President’s chartered aircraft, PR001, took off from the Villamor Airbase at 4:50 am, and is expected to arrive at the Haneda Airport in Tokyo at 10:00 am today. Flying time to Tokyo is approximately four hours but Tokyo is ahead of Manila by one hour.

The President was accompanied by a lean delegation led by Energy Secretary Vincent Perez, Presidential Spokesman Ignacio Bunye, and Davao City 1^st District Rep. Prospero Nograles.

Sending off the President in simple ceremonies at the Villamor Airbase in Pasay City were Vice President Teofisto Guingona, Executive Secretary Alberto Romulo, Japanese Ambassador Kojiro Takano, Armed Forces Chief-of-Staff Gen. Narciso Abaya, and other top military and police officials.

In Tokyo, the President will be joining nine other leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), notably Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri, who is this year’s ASEAN chairman.

The ASEAN-Japan Summit will be hosted by Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi.

The decision to hold the ASEAN-Japan summit in Tokyo was made during the ASEAN Summit in Bali, Indonesia on Oct. 8, 2003, which was also attended by the President.

During her first day in Tokyo, the President will meet with Koizumi where they are expected to discuss bilateral issues that would enhance trade and economic relations between Japan and the Philippines.

The President will also meet with Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi where they are expected to talk about the upcoming resumption of the formal peace negotiations between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is expected to take advantage of her bilateral meeting with new Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi to further advance the forthcoming peace talks between the government and the secessionist Moro Islamic Liberation Front.

Presidential Deputy Spokesman Ricardo Saludo today said in a radio interview that the President is determined to start the talks the soonest time possible so that peace and development could reign in Mindanao.

The Chief Executive’s meeting with the man who replaced the retired Mahathir Muhammad is scheduled at 8:30 a.m. tomorrow morning at the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo where she is presently attending the ASEAN-Japan Summit.

Formal peace talks between the government and the MILF are expected to start first week of January next year in Kuala Lumpur.

Chief government negotiator Silvestre Afable had earlier said there would be a short period of exploratory talks in the Malaysian capital before moving on to the formal opening of the talks.

Saludo said a six-man group of Malaysian officers is scheduled to arrive Monday, Dec. 15, as part of the advance party of the monitoring team, which will look at the terrain and determine the facilities and other things they would need.

Afable said the peace process is moving forward very well, backed up by a very good peace constituency in Mindanao.

"The ceasefire is holding. We have almost nil incidents on the ground, and the diplomatic initiatives of the President are continuing to get this process on track as soon as possible," he said.

In the radio interview, Saludo similarly expressed elation that the New People’s Army has also responded well to the government initiated-ceasefire for the holiday season.

The flurry of partisan activities in Manila shows how the campaign is heating up this early but I am not getting into the hype because I have come here to Japan to attend the commemorative ASEAN-Japan Summit.

All the leaders of ASEAN are here to reaffirm their commitment to fair and open trade and collective security, together with Japan, which is our number one source of ODA.

We have always looked at Japan as one of the major engines of growth in the Asia-Pacific as well as for our country.

We are expected to sign a declaration for a more enduring partnership for the new millennium and this augurs well for Filipinos in the Philippines and in Japan.

I shall ask Prime Minister Koizumi to help us open more jobs for our caregivers in Japan and I will meet our workers who are already there to thank them for bringing great pride for our country and for their solid contributions to our economy.

The Christmas season is the best time to give an accolade to our OFWs because it is a time when many of them are reunited with their families back home.

Commander Robot will definitely play a vital role in shedding light on a number of questions regarding the Sipadan hostage-taking.

In am very grateful for the eminent and dedicated service of Mar Roxas to my administration and to the country.

He will be a worthy candidate for any political position and will bring pride and achievements to his constituency.

Our campaigns will dovetail at the proper time because we share the same ideals of reform and good governance.

The wheels of justice may grind slowly and deliberately but the retribution of society will surely catch up with those who have transgressed the law.

There shall be no let up in the preemption and hunt down of kidnappers as well as drug traffickers as well as their relentless prosecution before the courts.

Thirty one participating cities of the Up-Scaling Poverty Focused City Development Strategies Project (CDS2) declared their continued commitment to the City Development Strategies (CDS) approach and will mainstream it in the local government programs.

In the Philippine Cities Declaration 2003 which the city mayors signed in the presence of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo during the CDS2 concluding workshop in Malacaņang yesterday afternoon, it said that the CDS has been proven to be a very effective tool for good urban management and governance.

The City Development Strategies, it said, is an effective device to achieve a long-term city strategic action plan guided by key principles of participation, responsiveness, transparency, accountability, equity, security and sustainability.

The CDS2 Project is a technical assistance grant funded by Cities Alliance and supported by the World Bank and UN-Habitat.

The CDS project was developed in response to the need to introduce an integrated, comprehensive, and participatory approach to urban management.

The pilot phase was implemented by the World Bank in 1999 with the participation of seven cities.

A parallel program of UN-Habitat, the Local Environmental Planning and Management Project, which also adopts a participatory approach to environmental planning, covered three cities.

The League of Cities of the Philippines (LCP) expanded the project participants to include 31 new cities.

The participating cities were selected following a demand-driven and competitive approach whereby an open invitation was sent to all 115 city mayors and only those who submitted their Letter of Interest and a City Council Resolution authorizing the allocation of counterpart funds for participation in the project by the deadline were included in the project.

The participating cities are Antipolo, Bais, Bayawan, Bislig, Cadiz, Calapan, Calbayog, Dagupan, Dumaguete, Iligan, Iloilo, Kabankalan, Ligao, Maasin, Malaybalay, Mutinlupa, Marikina, Masbate, Munoz, Naga, Palayan, Panabo, Samal, San carlos, San Fernando, San Jose, Sorsogon, Tagaytay, Tuguegarao, Candon and Mandaue.

The Philippines ranks among the fastest urbanizing countries in the world. Presently, there are an estimated 52 percent or 40 million Filipinos living in urban areas, which is expected to increase to 80 percent before mid-century.

The rapid urbanization rate is due in large part to the rural-urban migration brought forth by the fact that urban areas are beacons of opportunity in the Philippines.

Urban areas in 2000 accounted for 75 to 80 percent of the country’s GDP, illustrating a dramatic shift from an agriculture-based economy over the last 40 years.

TOKYO—President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo arrived here today to attend the two-day ASEAN-Japan Commemorative Summit being hosted by Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi.

The chartered Philippine Airlines 737, bearing the President and her official entourage, landed at the old Haneda Airport here at around 10:15 a.m. after a four-hour flight from Manila. Tokyo is one hour ahead of Manila.

The President’s party include First Gentleman Atty. Jose Miguel Arroyo, Foreign Affairs Secretary Blas Ople, Energy Secretary Vincent Perez, Jr., Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Sonia Brady, and Trade and Industry Undersecretary Gregory Domingo.

The President will join leaders of the other nine members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) at the summit.

Ople said that the summit, slated from Dec. 11 to 12, is a "watershed event" because it is the first time that ASEAN heads of state will hold a summit outside of the ASEAN region.

He said that meetings with an ASEAN dialogue partner are normally held in ASEAN countries, in conjunction with the annual ASEAN Summit.

Aside from attending the summit, the President will also hold bilateral meetings with Koizumi and Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi.

TOKYO—President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today witnessed the signing of loan agreements with the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) for power projects in the Philippines and for the establishment of a social fund for the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

The signing was held this afternoon at the Imperial Hotel here, where the President and her official delegation are billeted.

Philippine Ambassador to Japan Domingo Siazon, Jr. signed the loan agreements for the Philippines while Governor Kyosuwe Shinozawa signed for the JBIC.

Aside from the President, those who witnessed the signing included Foreign Affairs Secretary Blas Ople, Energy Secretary Vincent Perez, Jr., Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Teresita Deles, Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Sonia Brady, and Trade and Industry Undersecretary Gregory Domingo.

On the Japanese side, those who witnessed the signing included JBIC Senior Executive Takayuki Yamada, Director General Shigeru Kiyama, Deputy Director General Shigeya Kobayahi, and Director Takatoshi Nishikata.

In a briefing after the signing, Perez said that one of the loan agreements signed was the $40 million loan from JBIC for the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) operations.

Perez said that under a deregulated environment as provided for in the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (Republic Act 9136), electricity would be traded electronically on an hourly basis and the WESM operation is likened to the stock market.

According to Perez, with WESM in place, consumers, particularly the big users, could choose their electricity supplier and market forces, and under a liberalized environment, would now determine the price of electricity.

"This could eventually lead to lower power rates to end-consumers," Perez said.

The second JBIC loan, amounting to $68.50 million, would be used to fund the installation of a 33-kilometer submarine cable from Talisay, Cebu to Tabangao, Leyte.

Perez said that the project is intended to meet the growing power demand of Cebu by transmitting to the island province an additional 100 megawatts of cheap and environment-friendly geothermal power from the geothermal power plants in Leyte.

The project would eventually ensure the stability and reliability of power supply in Cebu, Negros and Panay, Perez said.

The third loan agreement involves a total of $307 million, to finance the setting up of a 210 megawatt clean coal power plant in Misamis Oriental.

Construction of this big project would be completed within 36 months. Its target commercial operation would start in 2006.

The loan agreement for the ARMM, amounting to $19.8 million would be used to finance small scale projects, particularly in the former conflict areas in the ARMM.

TOKYO—President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo said that the Philippines will support the long-standing bid of Japan to seek a permanent seat at the United Nations Security Council.

In an interview with Nippon Hoso Kyokai (NHK) aired here as a special program on the occasion of the ASEAN-Japan Commemorative Summit, the President said the Philippines would support Japan in all its endeavors in the United Nations.

The interview was conducted in Manila before the President left to attend the two-day ASEAN-Japan summit that opens here today.

"Japan, being our close neighbor and economic development partner, of course, we always want to support Japan in all its endeavors in the United Nations," the President said.

The President also expressed her gratitude to Japan for supporting the Philippines in its bid for a non-permanent seat in the Security Council.

Japan was among the 179 countries that voted last October 23, 2003 for election of the Philippines as a non-permanent Security Council member, along with Algeria, Benin, Brazil, and Romania.

The permanent members of the Security Council, with veto powers, are the United States, United Kingdom, France, Russian Federation, and China.

TOKYO (via PLDT) – President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi today agreed that there is a need to conclude, within reasonable time, the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA) that would further strengthen the two countries’ trade and economic ties.

During their bilateral meeting here, held shortly after the President’s arrival, the two leaders recognized the existence over the years of strong economic and strategic ties between their two countries and that "such ties have resulted in mutual economic benefits and opportunities."

A joint statement issued after their bilateral meeting said that the two leaders shared the view that an economic partnership should primarily bring about the following:

• liberalization of trade and services;
• facilitation and liberalization of investment; and
• technical cooperation and capacity-building to promote trans-border flow of resources and help create a bigger market for both sides.

The statement said that the bigger market as envisioned should provide greater opportunities and larger economies of scale for businesses on both countries, which should also have a positive impact on the other economies of the region.

The two leaders also reaffirmed the primacy of the multilateral trading system and stressed that the economic partnership agreement should serve as appropriate building block that would strengthen global trade.

The President earlier said that the Philippines is not asking Japan to open up its agriculture market to products from the Philippines, adding that what Japan needs, and what the Philippines can offer, are young people who can act as caregivers or health workers for the older people of Japan.

TOKYO (via PLDT) – Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi today assured visiting President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo that Japan would continue to support her administration’s peace and development efforts in Mindanao.

Koizumi gave the assurance to the President during their bilateral meeting held at the Prime Minister’s Office here shortly after the President’s arrival.

The President arrived here this morning for a two-day visit to attend the ASEAN-Japan Commemorative Summit.

Aside from the President, the other nine ASEAN leaders are also attending the summit, which is held to mark the 30 years of collaboration between Japan and the regional grouping.

A joint statement issued after the bilateral meeting said that the two leaders reaffirmed their two countries’ "unwavering commitment to strengthening peace and security in the region and to cooperating in the fight against terrorism."

The statement said that the two leaders took particular note of the signing of a loan agreement with the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) for the setting up of a social fund for peace and development for the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

The ARMM loan agreement, amounting to $19.8 million, is on top of the loan agreement signed recently with the World Bank amounting to $33.6 million.

The JBIC loan would be used to finance small scale projects for social and economic infrastructure in Mindanao aimed at reducing poverty, strengthening institutional capacity, and promoting sustainable peace in conflict-affected areas.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo said today she will ask the Japanese government to open its doors wider for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) to allow the entry of caregivers.

"I shall ask Prime Minister (Junichiro) Koizumi to help us open more jobs for our caregivers in Japan," the President said in a statement.

While in Tokyo, President Macapagal-Arroyo and Koizumi will have a one-on-one, to be capped by the signing of a bilateral declaration meant to further strengthen trade and economic ties between the Philippines and Japan. She said the signing of the document augurs well for the Filipino workers, especially those eyeing jobs in Japan.

President Macapagal-Arroyo flew to Japan yesterday to attend the two-day ASEAN-Japan Commemorative Summit.

The President said she would meet with OFWs in Japan personally thank them for propping up the national economy through their dollar remittances and "for bringing great pride for our country."

"The Christmas season is the best time to give an accolade to our OFWs because it is a time when many of them are reunited with their families back home. We do recognize their sacrifices and the honor they are bringing (to) our country," the President noted.

President Arroyo also said Japan "is one place where we are building close people-to-people bonds which has worked very well for our national interest."

Dec. 30, traditionally known as Rizal Day in the country, is a regular working day.

Malacaņang made this clarification today, saying the President has issued Proclamation No. 503 declaring Dec. 30 as regular working day.

The proclamation designated Dec. 24 and 26 and Jan. 2 as special non-working holidays "to spur domestic tourism throughout the country."

However, the Palace said Dec. 26 covers only government workers, adding that it is discretionary on the part of private employers to declare it a special non-working holiday for their respective workers.

This effectively gives state workers a five-day Christmas holiday starting from Dec. 24 to Dec. 28 which is a Sunday.

Deputy Presidential Spokesman Ricardo Saludo said Jan. 2 was declared a special non-working holiday in lieu of Dec. 30 which was previously observed as a regular holiday by virtue of Executive Order No. 292 issued in 1987.

Workers will again enjoy a five-day holiday on Dec. 31 to Jan. 4 in observance of the New Year.

Malacaņang today deplored an apparent misinformation and black propaganda campaign being waged by the political opposition meant to undermine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s chances at the polls while propping up the presidential bids of her rivals.

Housing Secretary and Presidential Spokesman for Political Issues Mike Defensor was reacting to a purported Pulse Asia survey results giving movie actor Fernando Poe Jr. a 44 percent lead in the presidential derby, with Mrs. Macapagal-Arroyo and former Education Secretary Raul Roco tailing at 16, percent and 15 percent, respectively.

Defensor said Pulse Asia itself has denied having conducted such survey much less released the results.

"We have just received a clarification from Pulse Asia that there is no such survey," Defensor said.

Defensor refused to comment on the "intramurals of the opposition, adding that he prefers to see them coming up with their respective platform of governance.

He lamented that the political opposition has engaged in such underhanded tactics to deceive the public.

"As I’ve said, I think the challenge is that we would like to see (them) come out with platforms, with programs of government, with policies and the track record of their candidates instead of going to personalities and the political bickerings that is going on with the opposition camp," Defensor added.

He also chided the so-called united opposition for repeatedly proclaiming its standard bearer in the May 2004 presidential race.

"This is I think the third time that they had a proclamation and we are not so worried about that. We would like to see finally who would really be the candidates," Defensor noted.