President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today appealed to the transport sector to defer requests for a fare increase as she assured them that the crisis arising from the Middle East events will be short and temporary and that oil prices should return to pre-crisis levels soon.

"A fare hike petition now may add to instability and social unrest," the President said in a prepared statement.

The President said that an increase in transport fares is usually followed by a demand for an increase in wages and this would usually result in an increase in the prices of basic commodities.

She admitted that the unfolding events in the Middle East would affect all Filipinos and that the crisis calls for all of us to come together to achieve true and lasting peace.

"The coming weeks will call for sacrifice, fortitude and cooperation from all of us," the President said.

The President also thanked the transport group, represented by the Confederation of Land Transportation Organizations of the Philippines, for their support to her as the country faces the Middle East crisis.

"In this critical time, I thank the transport sector for being Filipinos first and foremost, before being representatives from any sector," the President said.

She said that if all sectors, including those from the transport industry, would come together as a nation, the "storm ahead will pass quickly."

According to the President, among the sectors that could be heavily affected by the artificial rise in the cost of imported oil brought about by the Middle East crisis are the tricycle drivers, jeepney drivers, FX and taxi drivers, bus operators and drivers, truckers and cargo haulers.

She said that artificial pressures brought on by the Middle East crisis, not the real supply side shortage, have caused the prices of crude oil to rise temporarily.

Realizing that in a global crisis, the transport sector is having a difficult time, she has ordered a package of benefits for those in the sector.

This package of benefits include the following:

• For the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC) headed by Secretary Michael Defensor to allocate more housing units for the transport sector in addition to the 50 units per organization already awarded in Montalban, Rizal

• For the Philippine National Construction Corporation (PNCC) to immediately roll back to the January 2002 rates, the Southern Luzon Expressway toll fees for provincial buses;

• For Energy Secretary Vicente Perez to study the possibility of putting gas and diesel pumps in the terminals of the transport operators which should decrease pump prices;

• For Chairman Bayani Fernando of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) to build two terminals—one in the North and one in the South—for the convenience of provincial buses to connect with the MRT stations so that they will not find the need to enter the inner city of Metro Manila; and

• At the end of the color coding experiment on February 25, for the MMDA to come up with a scheme that will reduce the inconvenience to the riding public as well as the transport group

On the construction of bus terminals, the President directed Trade and Industry Secretary Manuel Roxas II to work for their initial financing, adding that these terminals would be privatized at the soonest time possible.

The President said she has directed Transportation and Communications Secretary Leandro Mendoza and the agencies under him, like the Land Transportation Office (LTO) and the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB), to coordinate closely with the MMDA in attending to the issues affecting the transport sector.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today proposed the conversion of the captured Buliok complex in the Liguasan Marsh – nestled in the provinces of Maguindanao and Cotabato – into a "peaceful and bustling agricultural community."

The President named Secretary Eduardo Ermita, Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process, to work out a comprehensive peace and development program in Buliok, which is part of Liguasan Marsh.

She said Ermita had been instructed to "accelerate talks with investors from the Middle East who are keen in helping develop this fertile area."

During her luncheon with the Malacanang Press Corps, the President said Cotabato Governor Emmanuel Pinol and other officials have started discussing the development plan for Pikit town where Buliok is situated.

She said the establishment of a palm oil plantation in Buliok was in order, to be bankrolled by the Khaddafi Foundation. "They have been looking for a consolidated area."

She added that the foundation’s local partner is the National Development Corporation.

Very soon, an investment decision might be concluded, she said as she noted government’s readiness to put up the initial seed fund for the palm oil project.

Government troops have retaken the Buliok complex from armed criminal groups who used the marsh as their hiding grounds and launching pad for despicable activities in the past several years.

The President, in a statement, said the erstwhile criminals’ lair in the Liguasan Marsh area had been cleaned up and "we are going full steam ahead in the relief and rehabilitation of the affected communities."

She said she had ordered Social Welfare and Development Secretary Corazon Juliano-Soliman and National Anti-Poverty Commission Secretary Teresita Deles to visit the area and "make sure that the needs of the residents of the area, especially the evacuees, are met."

"They will recommend to me short and long-term plans that will assure the well-being and livelihood of residents of the area," she added.

The President said she was "saddened by the displacement of peaceful families from their area, but sometimes this is the price we have to pay for long-term peace and order."

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today said that Malacanang will facilitate a dialogue between some "doubting" senators and officials of the Paris-based Financial Action Task Force (FATF) so that the impasse on the Anti-Money Laundering Act (AMLA) could be resolved.

In a luncheon meeting with members of the Malacanang Press Corps, the President said that an FATF delegation would be coming to Manila to talk with some of the senators who are opposed the needed amendments to AMLA that would conform to FATF requirements.

"Suffice it to say that we will just facilitate dialogue with FATF and the doubting senators. Then, let’s just proceed from there," the President said.

The President said that with this dialogue, she is hoping that the senators and the FATF people can exchange ideas and come up with a solution that would be good for the Filipino people.

The FATF has given the Philippines up to March 15 of this year to come up with amendments to AMLA that would conform to its requirements.

The President also said that if the amendments to the AMLA can be resolved, she believes the Philippine peso can recover.

She also brushed aside suggestions that Malacanang should now intervene to arrest the plunging of the peso.

Re: Acsa Ramirez:

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is expected to call for expanded cooperation in various regional and global concerns of mutual interest and benefit between and among the Philippines and 113 other member-countries of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) when she attends the XIII NAM Summit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from February 23 to 25.

The President is slated to be the 11^th speaker during the NAM plenary session and general debate at the Putrajaya World Trade Center on February 24 (Monday), when the summit opens.

In a luncheon with the Malacanang Press Corps, she said that she would be having bilateral talks with Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammad.

"Malaysia has been very helpful to us in the peace process in the South. There are many developments taking place, so we will exchange talks," she said.

She referred to government victories in flushing out criminal elements out of and retaking the Buliok complex in Liguasan Marsh, said to be the lair of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) with whom the government is negotiating for peace in formal talks in Kuala Lumpur.

She said she also sent Presidential Adviser on Special Concerns Norberto Gonzales to initiate talks "regarding the peace process" with the MILF peace panel in Kuala Lumpur.

During her working visit, she is expected to join other heads of state in an official dinner hosted by at the Royal Ball Room of the Palace of Golden Horses in Selangor Monday night.

The President will be accompanied by Foreign Affairs Secretary Blas Ople, Presidential Spokesman Ignacio Bunye and some officials. The President will leave on Sunday and will be back early Tuesday.

In Kuala Lumpur, Philippine senior officials are due to attend NAM preparatory meetings scheduled Thursday through Saturday (February 20-22).

At least 83 heads of state are expected to attend the XIII NAM Summit. Also expected are representatives of the observer and guest states and of observer and guest organizations of the movement.

The summit, according to NAM officials, will adopt two main documents: the Final Document that will outline the common position of the movement on various issues on its agenda and the Kuala Lumpur Declaration, that will focus on continuing the revitalization of the NAM.

The NAM was established September 1 to 6, 1961 to ensure the national independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity and security of non-aligned countries in their struggle against imperialism, colonialism, neo-colonialism, apartheid, racism and all forms of foreign aggression, occupation, domination, interference or hegemony as well as against great power and bloc politics.

Its first conference, at which 25 countries were represented, was convened at Belgrade in September 1961, largely through the initiative of the Yugoslavian government.

Succeeding NAM summits were held in Cairo, October 5-10, 1964; Lusaka, September 8-10, 1970; Algiers, September 5-9, 1973; Colombo, August 16-19, 1976; Havana, September 3-9, 1979; New Delhi, March 7-12, 1983; Harare, September 1-6, 1986; Belgrade, September 4-7, 1989; Jakarta, September 1-7, 1992; and Cartagena de Indias, October 18-20, 1995.

NAM member-nations include Afghanistan, Algeria, Angola, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belize, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia, Botswana, Brunei Darussalam, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, Colombia, Comoros, Congo, Cote d'Ivoire, Cuba, Cyprus, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Djibouti, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ecuador, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Jamaica, Jordan, Kenya, Kuwait, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libyan Arab Jamahirya, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Malta, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mongolia, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Philippines, Qatar, Rwanda, Saint Lucia, Sao Tome and Principe, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Somalia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Swaziland, Syrian Arab Republic, Thailand, Togo, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, United Republic of Tanzania, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Vietnam, Yemen, Yugoslavia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

Observer and guest nations and groups include the African National Congress, Afro-Asian Solidarity Organization, Antigua and Barbuda, Arab League, Brazil, China, Costa Rica, Dominica, El Salvador, Organization of Islamic Conference, Kanaka Socialist National Liberation Front (New Caledonia), Mexico, Mongolia, Organization of African Unity, Pan Africanist Congress of Azania, Socialist Party of Puerto Rico, the United Nations and Uruguay.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today assured the nation that there will be an adequate supply of oil from the foreign sources in the event that the crisis in the Middle East would escalate into a full-blown conflict.

In a luncheon meeting with members of the Malacanang Press Corps, the President said, "as far as the supply of oil is concerned, it will be there."

The President also said that the government’s stand on the US-Iraq standoff has not changed.

"The Philippine position is calling on (Iraqi President) Saddam Hussein. He has it in his power right now to avert war. That will be the main message," the President said.

The President said that what the government is watching right now is the price of oil products that could go up because of artificial pressures brought about by the Middle East crisis. But she added that this will only be temporary.

In a separate statement, the President appealed to the transport sector not to press for fare hikes at this stage as she stressed the need for cooperation and fortitude among all sectors in a time of crisis.

"That’s is why we have to really ask the transport sector to continue the patriotism that they have been showing all these past two years," the President said.

To compensate for their expected difficulties, the President unwrapped a package of benefits for those in the transport sector that would be adversely affected by the oil price increases.

On oil supply, the President said that right now, the country has a 70- day supply of crude oil. "That’s a very comfortable inventory," the President said.

The President recalled that as early as September last year, she had asked Speaker Jose de Venecia, Jr. to go to Russia to work out a new supply of oil for the country.

She said that this is significant since Russia’s oil fields are in the Pacific side and would not pass through the Middle East.

According to the President, Saudi Aramco, which has a sizeable investment in Petron, has also assured her that it will continue to supply oil to the Philippines.

In an earlier interview, Energy Secretary Vicente Perez said the Philippines is in a very good shape compared to its neighbors in the region in terms of oil supply inventory in case war erupts in Iraq.

Perez said the Philippines has now 70 days of oil supply inventory while Thailand has 50 days of inventory.

Out of February’s 70 days inventory, 47 days inventory is in-country, to last until end-March 2003. This consists of crude and other finished products.

Perez said there is still an additional seven million barrels loading next week, equivalent to 23 days, the total inventory to last beyond April 2003, while another 11 million barrels, equivalent to 38 days to be loaded in March, to extend inventory until May 2003.

Perez said that this came about when the President signed Executive Order 134 last October, mandating all oil companies to set a minimum oil inventory.

According to Perez, he has been quietly talking to the oil companies, telling them to advance import loadings and schedules this week or next week, rather than at the end February.

Perez also said that oil exporting countries friendly to the Philippines, such as Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iran and other Middle East countries, will provide the Philippines as much oil as the country needs, in case a Middle East war erupts.

Perez likewise enumerated other oil supply security initiatives of the energy sector, among them:

• Maximize national storage capacity for stockpiling of diesel and other products;

• Extension of the Pandacan oil depot business permit;

• Activate the Energy Contingency Task Force to implement contingency plan according to scenario level; and

Malacanang today declared Tuesday, February 25, 2003, as a special national holiday in observance of the 17^th anniversary of the EDSA People Power Revolution.

By order of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, Executive Secretary Alberto G. Romulo issued Proclamation No. 331 declaring a holiday to give the citizens the opportunity to celebrate the first People Power revolution in 1986 with appropriate ceremonies.

In issuing the proclamation, Malacanang stressed the need to commemorate the EDSA People Power Revolution because it restored "our democratic institutions and ushered in meaningful political, social and economic reforms in the country."

During a luncheon conference with members of the Malacanang Press Corps, the President said that upon her return on February 25 from her trip to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, where she will attend the summit conference of the Non-Aligned Movement, she and former President Corazon C. Aquino will be joining the people in attending a Holy Mass on the last day of the celebration of the EDSA revolution.

She also said that after the Mass, she and Mrs. Aquino will go to Fort Magsaysay in Laur, Nueva Ecija where former Senators Benigno Aquino, Jr. and Jose W. Diokno were incarcerated during the martial law years.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today swore in Dr. Amelou Benitez-Reyes as the eighth president of the Philippine Women’s University (PWU) System and its Affiliate Schools for Men and Women.

The President, garbed in academic gown, administered the oath of office to Reyes during simple investiture rites at the Plenary Hall of the Philippine International Convention Center.

Reyes’s academic achievements included masteral and doctoral degrees in Development Education from Stanford University, major in Political Sociology.

Her intensive training in development education, coupled with her socialization of feminist values derived from home and women’s school environment, had a direct bearing on the programs and projects organized for the active participation of women in the Philippine centennial celebration (from 1996-1999).

Reyes is the fourth PWU alumna to assume the post as university president.

In her inaugural speech, Reyes thanked President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo for "according me the singular honor of administering my oath of office."

She said the President’s late mother, Evangeline Macaraeg Macapagal, graduated from the PWU high school and moved on to being the First Lady.

"The University accorded her in 1990 the highest citation: the Francisca Tirona Benitez Medal of Merit for being instrumental in strengthening public trust in the dignity and incorruptibility of the Philippine presidency," Reyes told the President.

"The President’s father, the former President Diosdado Macapagal received the Conrado Benitez Centenary Heritage Award" for "being the shining exemplar of the finest values and the noblest tasks that make a man and president of his people, a truly great Filipino," she added.

Reyes also said that President Macapagal-Arroyo likewise received the highest honor by the PWU when she was conferred the "Hiyas ng Pamantasan."

She also expressed her profound gratitude to former President Fidel V. Ramos, who greeted her on her installation as PWU president.

Reyes vowed to do her best as the new president of the PWU.

"The responsibility of a university president encompasses much more than ensuring quality education, better faculty, good facilities and effective administration," she said.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today unveiled before members of the media and the Management Association of the Philippines her administration’s National Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) Development Plan, which she described as "my No. 1 priority."

In making a new presentation of the SME development plan in Malacanang, the President described small and medium enterprises as a potent force in the war against poverty that will contribute to the equitable distribution of income and disperse economic activities to the countryside.

Earlier the other day at the Metropolis Mall in Alabang, Muntinlupa, the President launched the plan to develop SMEs into a sector that will provide a strong domestic supply base (manufacturing and services) for globally competitive industries.

The President cited the two objectives of the plan:

• expansion of the enterprise by graduating micro and small enterprise to higher levels of business undertakings, and;

• upgrading of their productivity and value-added capabilities.

"We have our short term-goal for six months and our medium- term goal which I hope to bequeath to my successor," the President said.

The six-month objective is to make 12,000 micro firms graduate to small firms by increasing the share of small and medium segments from 8.7 percent to 10 percent, strengthening 20 accessible SME centers nationwide.

"At the end of six months, what I’d like is that people will say in general ‘Maraming pera sa SME ngayon. Maraming tulong sa SME ngayon.’ I’d like to see that strong perception six months from now," the President said.

The President likewise expressed the hope that three years from now, her successor will be able, from the foundation her administration will build, to start from the 40 percent increase in the share of small and medium segment and that they will be able to increase their productivity in terms of gross value added to 40 percent.

The basic strategies of the SME development plan, the President said, will be a comprehensive approach to SME development, seamless access to government services, virtual organization, supply side push through non-government directed projects and localization of the plan.

The elements of the plan include training and human resource development, market development, product development and technology intervention, advocacy for enabling environment and financing.

The President said the training and human resource development will consist of a compendium of training programs of all government training institutes, streamlined training programs and standardized fees, deployment of 50 SME business counselors nationwide, and review of the academic curricula to promote entrepreneurship.

For market development, the President said she wants to promote both domestic and foreign markets (trade fairs and missions), display corner, buyer-supplier matching services, opportunities caravan and the consolidation of production inputs for SMEs.

The President explained that the Barangay Micro Business Enterprise Law exempts firms with an asset of P3 million and below from the minimum wage.

"The President said that P10 billion will be made available in the next 10 months. "And hopefully depending on the absorption capacity, P20 billion to P30 billion will be made available annually," the President.