It is easy to understand the urgency with which President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo ordered the immediate evacuation of families leaving in sloped and mountainous areas of Visayas and Mindanao right on the path of tropical depression Zigzag.

A briefing by Bureau of Mines and Geo-Sciences director Horacio Ramos at the Command Center set up by the President at the Malacanang Guest House late Saturday revealed that all factors leading to possible landslides are in that area, particularly Panaon island, Sugid, Ormoc and Maasin in Leyte, Surigao City and the surrounding towns of Sison, Mahinon, and Maruitin Mindanao.

He also bared that areas prone to flooding include Butuan, Davao, Leyte and Cagayan de Oro.

Ramos enumerated the formula for disaster as excessive rain, which weakens the rock and soil, steep topography, type of rock and vegetation.

He said that geo-hazard mapping or the identification of disaster prone areas is the key toward preventing the occurrence of such tragedies.

"It is advisable to use this preventive method since the Philippines is prone to disasters like typhoons, earthquake, volcanic eruptions, tsunamis or tidal waves," he said.

Ramos said that they are now in the process of covering more areas for geo-hazard mapping.

The President has set up the Command Center to particularly take charge of the operations undertaken by the Department of Social Welfare and the various government agencies under the National Disaster Coordinating Council headed by Defense Secretary Eduardo Ermita.

Unity and reconciliation are the keys to the country’s progress and economic development.

This was the simple, meaningful message President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo conveyed to the nation in brief remarks during the 20th Christmas overnight family reunion of the El Shaddai charismatic organization held at Amvel Business Park in San Dionisio, Paranaque City, early morning on Sunday.

The President arrived here around 11:15 in the evening to lead the country’s yearly overnight family reunion celebration.

The President cited His Eminence Jose Cardinal Sanchez in his homily, saying that "forgiveness, love and respect" are the best foundations for every family to live happily and peacefully in the community.

By doing this, the President reiterated her call to the nation, particularly to all political organizations, to help her administration achieve the "reconciliation" effort she initiated since she assumed the presidency after the People Power 2 revolution that resulted in the ouster of former president Joseph Estrada on January 2001.

"Samahan nyo ako na makamit ang tunay na rekonsilyasyon sa ating marangal na bansa at pamilyang Pilipino. Iyan ang aking dinadalangin, iyan ang aking tinatrabaho (Help me achieve the true reconciliation for the sake of our country and the Filipino people. This is what I pray and work for)," the President said.

To attain it, the President said she always prayed to the Lord for the reconciliation and unity of all sectors as much needed to make the country more progressive and more competitive among developing nations in Asia.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today lauded the Regional Disaster Coordinating Councils (RDCCs) and local government officials in the Visayas and Mindanao for the successful evacuation of residents in the areas affected by tropical depression "Zigzag.

"Nagpapasalamat ako sa kanilang lahat sa kanilang malasakit, (I am thankful to all for their concern)" the President said during the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) meeting at the Malacaņang Guest House.

The President said the successful coordination between the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) Operations Center in Malacanang, which she activated yesterday, and the RDCCs and local government officials in affected areas resulted in the successful evacuation of residents and zero casualty in the areas under the path of Zigzag.

"Dahil sa paghahanda, wala namang casualty kaya isasarado na itong operations center pero tuloy pa rin sa NDCC headquarters hanggang umalis yung bagyo (Because of the preparations, there was no casualty reported. The Operations Center here will now be closed but the NDCC headquarters will continue monitoring the tropical depression," she said.

The President said typhoon Zigzag has weakened further and is now downgraded to low-pressure area with maximum winds of up to 25 kilometers per hour (kph).

Defense chief and NDCC chairman Eduardo Ermita reported that as of 4:00 A.M. today, Zigzag was estimated at 70 kms. east of Tagbilaran City. With this development, public storm Signal Number 1 elsewhere is now lowered.

But the NDCC issued a warning order to all concerned Provincial Disaster Coordinating Councils (PDCCs) to undertake appropriate precautionary measures to prevent injuries or casualties that may arise from the potential effects of heavy rains.

With the lifting of the public storm signal, the 11,424 stranded passengers in Regions 5, 7 and 8 can now resume their travel upon clearance from the Philippine Coast Guard.

Ermita said all other regions affected by Zigzag have reported no landslides or flashfloods and are reporting fair weather conditions as of this time.

"All disaster preparedness and response teams remain on standby alert to meet up with any contingencies in the future," Ermita said.

He said the National Disaster Management Center of the NDCC in Camp Aguinaldo continues to operate on a 24-hour basis monitoring the national situation.

The number of casualties remains the same at 198 dead, 57 injured and 26 still missing. Of the 154 dead in Southern Leyte, 31 remain unidentified:

Ermita said the latest body was recovered 2:15 p.m. Saturday.

The President said Dr. Raquel Fortun, a forensic expert, has volunteered to help in the identification of the unidentified bodies.

"So I told the Department of Health to accept her offer," the President said.

The President added that rescue operations would continue to find and recover the missing victims.

The NDCC also reported that damage to agriculture, infrastructure and private properties was recorded at P353 million.

To date, the amount of relief assistance coming from various donors, both international and local various donors for the victims of flashfloods and landslides has amounted to P24.85 million.

Of the amount, international assistance has reached P18.25 million; the local and national agencies contributed P2.95 million; non-government organizations (NGOs) and civic-minded citizens, P570,000; and the NDCC rice assistance of 3,125 sacks amounted to P3.082 million.

The Macapagal-Arroyo administration allocated P33 billion, representing a hefty slice of its budgetary appropriations for 2003, to agriculture modernization in a bid to increase farm productivity and subsequently raise the income of Filipino farmers.

The figure represented a growth of P8.64 billion or 35.46 percent higher than the P24.36 billion spent under the Agriculture and Fisheries Modernization Act (AFMA) in 2002.

Malacaņang explained that the P33 billion released through the General Appropriations Act and the state-owned Land Bank of the Philippines, was used to provide wider access to credit for the poor farmers and fishermen, and to build more irrigation projects in the countryside.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has said it was the highest annual allocation in the country’s history, adding that a large portion of the fiscal resources for agriculture went to irrigation projects.

"We have also irrigated the biggest number of hectares in history," the President said.

Records showed that as of the third quarter of 2003, the government had constructed new irrigation projects servicing a total of 55,517 hectares of farmlands all over the country. The government also rehabilitated existing irrigation structures providing water to 493,476 hectares, benefiting some 340,700 farmers nationwide.

In addition, the Macapagal-Arroyo administration constructed 1,456 post-harvest facilities, and distributed 641 post-harvest machineries and equipment to the rice farmers.

In terms of support services, the government completed 1,045 farm-to-market roads comprising a total of 1,148 kilometers, established a mariculture park in Samal, Davao City; constructed six municipal fish ports and nine ice plants and cold storage facilities; and rehabilitated five aging regional and four municipal fish ports.

The government also granted agricultural loans to over 1.08 million farmers and fishermen to the tune of P40.88 billion, and extended guarantee to P866.61 million worth of loans by 82,154 farmers and fishermen.

The President has said her administration focused on agriculture modernization "because most of the poor Filipinos live in the countryside and the program is aimed at providing food for every table."

She noted that the harvest of farmers who have adopted a rice hybrid from China has doubled.

President Macapagal-Arroyo indicated that more and more farmers have been shifting to the high-yielding Chinese hybrid. She said a total of 100,000 hectares have been planted to this rice hybrid, resulting in 20 percent growth in rice production as of the third quarter of 2003.

An additional 500,000 hectares more are targeted to be planted with the Chinese hybrid over the next two years.

The President said the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) is the government arm that is tasked to enforce the law against the reported NPA extortion.

Malacaņang asserted today that the Philippine economy has remained strong over the past year despite numerous challenges, adverse global developments and hostile forces including elements of destabilization that sought to undermine the Macapagal-Arroyo administration.

"All these challenges, the destabilization attempts, the SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) threat, the potential effects on us by the war in the Middle East—we have survived all these because the President showed us her (strong) leadership," Presidential Spokesman Ignacio Bunye said in a radio interview.

Bunye cited the Filipino people for rallying behind the President in the face of the trials that confronted the government.

"We have seen that although our President inherited an economy that is in shambles, by yearend, we still emerged as the sixth fastest growing economy in Asia," Bunye stressed.