Interior and Local Government Secretary Jose Lina, Jr. announced today the suspension of the licensing of firearms of private individuals and the issuance of permits to carry guns outside residence.

In a press briefing in Malacaņang, Lina said Philippine National Police Chief Hermogenes Ebdane, Jr. is organizing a tracker team to run after those in possession of unlicensed firearms.

Lina said the PNP, which is mandated by law to regulate the licensing of firearms and the issuance of permit to carry, will undertake a thorough review of existing guidelines on gun licenses and permits to reduce the volume of firearms now in the hands of civilians.

According to Lina, there are 328,000 loose firearms in the country. Some 190,000 of these guns were previously registered but for one reason or another, the owners had failed to re-register them or to renew their license.

"We are now running after those individuals because those previously registered firearms are now considered loose firearms," he said.

These individuals will also be included in the list of individuals whose firearms will be confiscated, Lina warned.

Lina, however, said that the so-called loose firearms that have no record in the PNP will be the first target of the tracker team.

"At least those previously registered firearms which were not re-registered already have records in the PNP," Lina said.

There were 7,000 previously registered firearms that were confiscated last year. "Some of them cannot be destroyed because they are still being used as evidence in cases where these firearms were used," Lina said.

"So we are gathering now all the firearms that were confiscated last year and in previous years which are no longer being used as evidence in court," Lina added.

Right now, there are 1,000 firearms that can already be destroyed, Lina said.

The DILG chief said he has asked the Firearms and Explosives Unit of the PNP to gather all these confiscated firearms and have them destroyed next week.

Eighty-five percent of gun-related crimes were committed through the use of unlicensed firearms, he further said.

Malacaņang today called on the general public to file complaints with the Presidential Anti-Graft Commission (PAGC) if they have proof against government officials that they perceived have committed graft and corruption.

"The invitation of the President is for the general public to submit their complaints before the PAGC and other appropriate agencies, if they have direct knowledge of anomalies involving public officials," Presidential Spokesman Ignacio R. Bunye said in his regular press briefing in Malacanang.

Bunye said that since President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has said that fighting graft and corruption is one of her goals during the last 18 months of her administration, the PAGC is expected to be getting a number of complaints in the next few days.

On the PAGC initiated complaint against General Manager Edgardo Manda of the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) and six others, Bunye said that the investigation is still on its initial stage.

As a matter of procedure, Bunye said, Manda and the other respondents would be given the chance to reply to the charges within a specific period of time.

"At this point, it is premature to make any judgment on the complaint filed. I think it’s best to allow General Manager Manda to file his reply first," Bunye said.

Malacaņang today appealed to both houses of Congress to immediately pass the amendment to the Anti-Money Laundering Law (AMLA) in order to help facilitate the remittances of thousands of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).

"We appeal to our legislators that this matter be given immediate attention," Presidential Spokesman Ignacio R. Bunye said in a press briefing this morning in Malacaņang.

Bunye said that a good number OFWs would be adversely affected by the non-passage of the amendment to the AMLA.

"It is on their behalf that I think our legislators should really take immediate action on this proposal. Because you know, two days or may be a one-week delay in the remittances of the overseas Filipino workers to their families will really result in hardship among the Filipino families," Bunye said.

Earlier, Bunye expressed the hope that should there be no major objection to the amendment to AMLA, Congress should be able to pass it before the February 12 deadline set by the Paris-based Financial Action Task Force (FATF).

Reports said that currency traders warned that the peso could depreciate to as much as P60 to $1 if Congress fails to pass the amendment to the AMLA as demanded by the FATF.

The Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) headed by Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Rafael Buenaventura said the sanctions could range from tedious requirements for clearing dollar remittances of OFWs to more drastic measures, such as prohibiting foreign banks from dealing with Philippine banks.

JABONGA, Agusan del Norte -- President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today expressed hope that her successor in 2004 would continue to lead the Filipino people in winning the war against poverty within the decade.

In a message during the launching of the Kabalikat Laban sa Kahirapan (KALAHI) program here, the President said she had obtained the necessary funds that would pave the way for the implementation of an ambitious anti-poverty program nationwide.

She said the KALAHI program was one of the main aims of her visit to Washington, DC in December 2001, when she succeeded in getting the nod of the World Bank to allot P5.1 billion to help bankroll the P9.3-billion social services program in the next five years.

To the applause of her mainly Cebuano-speaking audience, the Chief Executive said the fund aid that would be given to Jabonga would be as comprehensive as possible.

Speaking in Cebuano interspersed with English, she noted that the people of Jabonga would soon see the day when "land will be distributed where possible; more education, public works, health and sanitation services will be made available; more jobs will be encouraged, as we encourage the growth of micro small and medium enterprises."

She said Jabonga, a rice-producing town 59.7 kilometers from Butuan City, stood to get P3.5 million per year for three years for its KALAHI project.

Well-spent KALAHI funds would mean "a positive transformation when the children can be given nourishment, the household will have the sanitary facilities, gravel roads and drainage will make the community less prone to flooding," she added.

Immediately after Jabonga, the KALAHI program would be launched in 10 other towns in 10 other regions. This year alone, the program is expected to cover 70 towns with 1,670 barangays. Next year, it would spread to another 66 towns.

"After that, my successor will take over, but I have already obtained the funding from the World Bank for its continuity," ensuring that the program would "last long beyond my term as president," the Chief Executive said.

"This will be a legacy that I will bequeath to my successor in the hope that he or she will further lead the victory against poverty within the decade," she stressed.

She reiterated her vow not to run in the 2004 presidential elections, but stressed that she would pursue her programs to uplift the quality of life of the people with a vigorous anti-poverty campaign in the remaining 16 months of her administration.

She brushed off insinuations of politicking made by her detractors and critics.

She said her decision not to engage herself in the 2004 presidential polls had given her all the time to lead the Filipino in the collective goal of bringing down, if not eliminating, the incidence of poverty nationwide.

She said the lack of social and economic opportunities in Jabonga also prevailed in so many depressed areas in the country, needing the quick delivery of government services in these areas.

Earlier in her message, the President said her heart belonged to Mindanao and its people, narrating her childhood days in Iligan City.

She said she considered herself a Mindanaon, having imbibed the culture of Mindanao.

But she noted that something must be done quickly to make Mindanao the Land of Fulfillment, as she sought peace and development in the area.

"Peace and development must always go together," she said. "Our work to bring about peace and development in Mindanao must always be founded on constitutionality, national sovereignty, territorial integrity."

The President also enjoined everyone to "institutionalize the accommodation of ethnic traditions" as the Philippine society is a multi-ethnic one founded on social justice for all.

"Let us respect each other’s laws and religion that have become our tradition and culture," she said in Cebuano.

She stressed her commitment to fight terrorism, as she called on the people to join her wage a battle to ward off terrorism in the country, particularly in Mindanao.

Before her speech, the President and Agusan del Norte Governor Ma. Angelica Rosedette Amante witnessed the signing of a memorandum of agreement between Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Regional Director Jim Rebustillo and Jabonga Mayor Glicerio Monton, Jr. to implement the KALAHI program.