President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has called for humanitarian compassion and we welcome the independent action of the court.

We should not mix up the rightness and nobility of things with politics.

The court acted in its independent and enlightened judgment after a close study of the issues and thought this was the most judicious course of action.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo formally opened to the public this morning a call center in Malacanang that will give relatives of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) a chance to get in touch with their loved ones for free this Yuletide season.

The call center, an initiative of Presidential Adviser on Overseas Filipino Communities Secretary Heherson Alvarez, is open from Dec. 24, 2003 up to Jan. 2, 2004 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

It is located at the ground floor of the Tahanan ng Masa building inside the Malacaņang complex.

Coming from the dawn mass early today, the President launched the project dubbed "Pamaskong Handog nina Pangulong Gloria at Secretary Alvarez: Tawag Overseas sa Ating mga Minamahal na OFWs."

According to Alvarez, each caller will be allowed a maximum of 15 minutes to talk free of charge with their loved ones in any part of the world.

"Through this simple but meaningful program, we hope to serve as a link for families to come together this holiday season. We understand the close-knit Filipino family and how we value our families. This is the least we can do in gratitude for the immeasurable sacrifices of our countrymen abroad," Alvarez said.

There is an estimated seven million Filipinos residing or working abroad. Their collective annual remittances, now amounting to US $8 billion, helps keep the economy afloat despite several regional economic slumps in the past.

The long wait may soon be over, after 16 long years of endless speculations, the Sandiganbayan’s first division on July 11, 2003 declared the government as the legal owner of the United Coconut Planters Bank (UCPB).

Local coconut farmers are now benefiting from the Macapagal-Arroyo administration’s persistence in the resolution of the coconut levy issue in favor of the farmers.

As of September, this year, the government’s Coconut Farmers Food Access Program (CFFAP) has provided farmers about P440 million subsidy to establish 3,147 CFFAP stores, which sold basic commodities at low prices to 229,503 families.

The government also upgraded insurance for farmers’ families from P5,000 to P10,000. As of September, the government has enrolled 1,444,342 families and distributed 601,464 insurance policies to farmers.

Now that the fund ownership has already been categorically determined, the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) can already look forward to implementing projects to address the immediate needs of farmers for livelihood, credit assistance and income enhancement.

Microfinance and credit were also made more accessible to coconut farmers. The UCPB has already released P4.84 million to 195 microfinance groups.

Under the cooperative re-lending program, 29 coconut farmer cooperatives have availed of P17.15 million funds from the UCPB for re-lending to 5,912 farmer-cooperators.

Another program that was spearheaded by the Macapagal-Arroyo administration is the launching of the direct copra marketing program for farmers.

The CIIF Oil Mills Group and the PCA have established 14 coconut farmers cooperative copra buying units, covering 5,826 coconut farmers in Quezon, Sorsogon, Negros Oriental, Southern Leyte, Northern Samar and Eastern Samar.

The decision of the Sandiganbayan has also provided the PCA with greater confidence to proceed with development plans for small coconut farmers, in accordance with the original intents and purposes of the fund, such as research and development for farm productivity and product diversification, socio-economic development programs as well as farmers social security.

The safety net program for coconut farmers, put in place by the Macapagal-Arroyo administration, including microfinance and credit, farm diversification, and direct copra marketing assistance, is now on steam, and the availability of additional resources will enable expansion of coverage and ensure that coconut farmers’ plight would be uplifted.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today said she wants to deliver efficient basic services as her Christmas gift to the Filipino people.

"I understand the needs of the Filipino family—food, jobs, shelter, education, health and potable water. So we will focus government attention on these needs," the President said in a message during the interview of movie and television personality Jolina Magdangal for a special episode of "The Working President."

"Gawin natin na doon ang atensiyon ng ating pamahalaan sa pangangailangan ng karaniwang pamilyang Pilipino. At iyon ang aking gustong ihandog sa inyo sa Pasko bilang Pangulo (We will focus government attention on the needs of the common Filipino family. That is what I want to give as my Christmas present as President)," Mrs. Macapagal-Arroyo said.

In her message delivered in Pilipino, the President also thanked the Filipino people for their unwavering support to her administration "during these trying times."

She admitted that as President of the country, she has a very difficult job, made harder by the fact that she inherited a deeply polarized society. The country was also hit by terrorism and the dreaded severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS).

"Ngunit magkasama tayo. Nakaraos tayo dito sa mga krisis na ito. At ito ay nakatulong sa aking pagkapangulo na madagdagan pa ang aking karanasan (But we stayed together. We were able to survive these crises, and this has even helped me enrich my experience as a president)," the President said.

The President also expressed gratitude to various countries which continued to support the government’s poverty alleviation efforts.

In her Christmas message released by Malacanang on Tuesday, the President noted that although the world is in the throes of crisis and terrorism, it remained an undeniable fact that the Filipinos will overcome.

"That is our nature. Unrelenting in the face of hardships. Heads up high amidst the tests," she said.

Presidential Spokesman Ignacio Bunye said today that President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo will forgo her traditional Christmas break in Baguio City, and use the money instead to alleviate the plight of the disaster victims in Southern Leyte and Caraga Region.

The President will also have a very simple Christmas Day by hearing the traditional midnight Mass, then have noche buena at her official residence in Malacaņang, Bunye said

Tomorrow, the President intends to spend the whole day with her family at home. "The essence of this is a very simple celebration and this is a family affair," Bunye said.

Bunye also quoted Executive Secretary Alberto Romulo as saying he wants the people to take a cue from the President by having an austere celebration of Christmas Day in deference to the less fortunate and deprived members of the Filipino society.

"The President is very concerned about the welfare of the (disaster) victims, and she would like to set the example for other members of the society. At the same time, she is appealing to each and everyone to give whatever they can share for the benefits of these victims," Bunye said.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo welcomed this afternoon at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) a group of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) returning home for the holidays, notably Lolita Montealto, who was injured in a bomb blast in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia last Nov. 8.

The President, accompanied by First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo, went out of her way to personally meet the homecoming migrant workers whom she had described not only as world-class workers but also "good investors" because of their foreign exchange remittances, estimated at $8 billion this year.

Other ranking government officials who joined Mrs. Macapagal-Arroyo in welcoming Montealto were Administrator Virgilio Angelo of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration and NAIA General Manager Edgar Manda.

The 33-year-old Montealto, a native of Sto. Tomas, Davao del Norte, arrived aboard Philippine Air Lines Flight PR 659, her fractured right forearm still in plaster cast and cradled on an arm sling.

She was extricated from the rubble hours after her employer’s home was shattered by the explosion that left a number of people dead and wounded.

Angelo said the OWWA will provide all necessary assistance for the speedy recovery of Montealto, as well as the cost of her air fare to Davao.

Presidential daughter Evangeline "Luli" Arroyo, representing the President, also accorded VIP treatment to returning OFWs on Tuesday pursuant to the program Pamaskong Handog Para sa OFWs.