The highly respected New York Times has cited the Philippine government’s efforts in improving the lives of the people in Mindanao, particularly its micro-financing program that has already benefited thousands of women-borrowers.

In one of its editorials in its July 8, 2003 issue, the NYT focused on the story of Mrs. Melanie Pico who borrowed US$60.00 from the Mindanao Enterprise Development Foundation, a local micro-financing organization, to put up a small business of sewing recycled cement wrapping into market shopping bags.

The editorial said that because of the loan and Mrs. Pico’s hard work, she brings in an average income of P3,000 a week.

The editorial further mentioned that remittances by overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) are fast becoming the source of funding for micro-finance projects.

For last year, it was estimated that the amount of money sent home by migrant workers—some US$ 80 billion—overshadowed for the first time the amount of total aid and credit (both private and public) extended to poor countries.

Because of this trend, the editorial said, international financial institutions, like the Asian Development Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank, see a natural fit between remittances and micro-financing.

The challenge for them now is to find ways to deliver on this promise, both by enabling micro-financing groups to help speed the transfer of funds to remote villages at a lower cost and by providing a pool of working capital for micro-financing, the editorial said.

 Micro-financing, being the cornerstone in the government’s fight against poverty, has greatly enhanced the economic rights of about 600,000 women in the country.

The growth in the micro-finance program reflected the people’s acceptance of the President’s commitment to implement activities that would spur national social growth and economic development.

As of January 31, 2003, the People’s Credit Finance Corporation, through its micro-finance institutions, had served 79 provinces, 113 out of 114 cities and 1,083 out of 1,496 towns, or 72 percent.

The President has earlier directed the National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC) to give priority to remote areas in their innovative micro-finance scheme called "credit plus five."

The "credit plus five" refers to credit plus training, product development, market access, new technologies and social insurance.

The President has also instructed the NAPC to set up a mechanism to serve remote and conflict areas in Mindanao, and the basic sectors such as the elderly, disaster victims, and the disabled.

She has also ordered the continued rationalization of credit programs in geographic coverage and client targeting to help sustain micro-financing institutions and clients.

Magandang umaga sa inyong lahat.

Simula sa Martes, ika-15 ng Hulyo, ay sisimulan ko at ng mga miyembro ng aking Gabinete ang pagbisita sa ilang bayang mahihirap sa Kabisayaan. Ito ay para personal na mabigyan kaagad ng kaukulang aksyon ang kanilang mga problema, maging ito man ay tungkol sa edukasyon, agrikultura, kalakalan, industriya, transportasyon at komunikasyon, enerhiya at patubig, turismo at kapayapaan at kaayusan.

It is the duty of the President to personally see the extent and results of government’s security and development initiatives, especially in poverty-stricken areas. A President cannot be satisfied with merely reading reports from the field. A President must make personal, on-the-spot assessments of the most vital problems facing our people.

Ito ang dahilan kung bakit pumupunta ako sa probinisya. Kamakailan lamang ay namalagi ako ng walong araw sa Mindanao para personal na pamunuan ang pamamalakad ng ibat-ibang peace and development programs natin doon.

It has been regretful that there has been another terrorist attack in Koronadal City. I was there yesterday to condole with the relatives of the victims and to ensure the people of the continuing support and determination to bring the bombers to justice.

Kasabay ng darating kong paglilibot sa Kabisayaan ay paglulunsad at pagpapalakas ng mga ibat-ibang programang pangkaunlaran ng ating pamahalaan tulad ng KALAHI, education by television, livelihood program, agrarian reform communities, copra marketing, elektripikasyon at patubig, micro-financing. Magkakaloob din tayo ng coco levy checks, patents at certificates of ancestral domain titles sa ibat-ibang benepisyaryo. Kung inyong natatandaan ay nasimulan na natin ang pagkakaloob ng halaga mula sa coco levy fund sa iilang benepisyaryo at ang mga magniniyog sa Visayas at Katimugang Luzon ay dapat lamang na maibilang dito. Ang pondo mula sa coco fund ay gagamitin din sa pagkakaloob ng seguro ng mga magniniyog.

The coco levy fund must benefit the coconut farmers. We will continue to take all feasible measures to ensure that this principle is fully implemented.

Isa rin sa aking prayoridad sa pagdalaw ng mga lugar na ito ay ang makita ang kalagayang pang-kapayapaan at pang-kaayusan ng ating mga mamamayan dito. May mga natanggap akong report mula sa aking Gabinete at ilang opisyales na maraming barangay sa mga lugar na ito ang naimpluwensyahan ng mga NPA. Gusto kong malaman kung ano talaga ang problema ng ating mga kababayan doon, kung bakit nahihikayat sila ng mga NPA ng mga grupong ito na nagkukunwaring nakikipaglaban para sa demokrasya pero ang tunay na hangad ay pabagsakin ang gobyerno sa pamamagitan ng dahas.

Alam na niyo marahil na sunod-sunod na naman ang ginagawang pag-atake ng mga NPA nitong mga nakaraang linggo sa ilang bahagi ng ating kapuluan, na kung saan marami sa ating mga magigiting na sundalo at inosenteng sibilyan ang mga namatay at nasugatan. Patuloy pa rin sila sa paninira ng mga pampublikong pasilidad tulad ng mga bus dahil ang mga may-ari ng mga sasakyang ito ay ayaw mag-bayad o hindi nakakabayad sa kanila ng illegal na "revolutionary tax."

Kaya bilang sagot sa mga pang-gugulong ito ng mga NPA ay ilunsad natin ang comprehensive counter measures na kung saan pagsasabayin natin ang aksyong militar, pulitikal at legal sa pagsugpo sa grupong ito.

We are combining all necessary measures to stop this threat and defeat it by the use of force, political action and long-term social reforms.

Kaya sa aking pag-ikot na ito sa Kabisayaan ay hihilingin ko ang suporta ng ating mga kababayan dito, lalo na ang mga local na opisyal tulad ng mga barangay captains para mabuwag na ang rebeldeng grupong ito. Aalalahanin natin na nalalapit na naman ang eleksyon na kung saan nanghihingi ng election permits ang mga rebeldeng ito at kung ikaw ay tatanggi ay may mangyayaring masama sa iyo. Ngayon pa lang ay tiyakin na natin na hindi nila magagawa muli ang masamang gawaing ito ng sa gayon ay patuloy na kikilos ang proseso ng demokrasya at buong laya tayong makakaboto.

My administration has an integrated strategy for security and development in each province, wherever they may be – from infrastructure, to education, to economic growth, to poverty reduction, to law enforcement. We are mobilizing local governments, civil society and the business community to achieve our goals. We need the whole support and participation of the people.

Sa ating pagtutulungan lamang natin makakamit ang tunay na kapayapaan at kasaganaan.

The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) today reported that the intensified anti-drug campaign ordered by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is paying off with the arrest of more suspected drug lords and traffickers and the seizure of prohibited drugs worth billions of pesos.

In a briefing in Malacaņang for the President and parents of drug abuse victims, Assistant Secretary Rodolfo Caisip, PDEA deputy director general for operations, said that for the period from July 30, 2002 to June 18, 2003, law enforcement agencies conducted a total of 11,242 drug operations.

Caisip said that as a result of these operations, the government seized P4.6 billion worth of dangerous drugs, precursors, essential chemicals and clandestine laboratory equipment.

He said that during the period, government prosecutors also filed 10,550 cases in courts against 9,028 drug users, 6,740 pushers, nine cultivators and 28 drug financiers and importers.

Caisip said that after the President issued Executive Order No. 218 on June 18, 2003, law enforcement agencies led by the PDEA stepped up operations, resulting in the arrest of an additional 697 drug users and 975 pushers, mostly in Metro Manila and nearby provinces.

Under EO 218, the President created task forces to support the PDEA in pursuing "a forceful, intensive and unrelenting campaign against drug trafficking and the use of illegal drugs whether syndicated or street level."

The President specifically ordered the PDEA and other law enforcement agencies to produce "strategic and significant" results during the first three months of the implementation of EO 218 "so that the people can perceive and feel that indeed the drug situation in the country has improved."

Caisip said that from June 19, 2003 when the EO was first implemented, law enforcement agencies have seized a total of 4,582.26 grams of shabu, 878 marijuana plants, 1,492 marijuana seedlings, 4.79 kilos of dried marijuana leaves, 3,038 tablets of ecstasy, and 732.54 grams of cocaine.

After the intensified drug campaign was ordered by the President, Caisip said, four out of the 175 drug syndicates in the country have been neutralized, namely the Tubig Group operating in the National Capital Region, the Lingayen Group operating in Region 9, the Mendoza Group operating in Region 3, and the Uclos Group operating in Region 2.

He reported that during the one-year period ending on June 18, 2003, law enforcement agencies have neutralized 35 local drug syndicates and one transnational group, which was involved in trafficking of marijuana from the Philippines to Japan.

As ordered by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, the government is determined to win its unwavering fight against drug abuse and trafficking and attain a drug-free Philippines in 2010, the Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB) said today.

In a report to the President and parents and relatives of drug abuse victims during a meeting this morning in Malacaņang, DDB Executive Director Efren Fernandez said that there is now a "comprehensive, integrated, unified and balanced national drug abuse prevention and control strategy."

"This scheme of action provides a definite long-range direction, continuity and synergy of efforts, as well as blueprint for a well-suited fighting machinery to ensure victory in the anti-drug war," Fernandez said.

Fernandez said that with no less than the President in the frontline, he is optimistic that the government will "prevail and emerge victorious in our fight against the drug menace."

During the briefing, Fernandez expounded on the demand reduction strategy of the DDB. The DDB was revitalized after the passage of Republic Act 9165, also known as Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.

He said that the basic concept now being adopted by the government is to reduce to zero or at least minimize the profits from illicit drug activities through supply and demand reduction, a concept that has proven effective worldwide.

Earlier, the President ordered the DDB, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) and other law enforcement agencies to give top priority to treatment and rehabilitation program for drug users.

For this purpose, the President has earmarked a standby fund of P1 billion for the program, using the acronym PERA, which stands for prevention, enforcement, rehabilitation, and after-care.

During the series of command conferences on the anti-drug campaign held in Malacaņang, Marawi City, and at Clark in Angeles City, the President gave standing instructions to put up rehabilitation centers at least one in every region, in cooperation with the local government units (LGUs) and various stakeholders in the localities concerned.

The President has also ordered the Department of Health to put up extensions in the provincial hospitals to serve as rehabilitation centers and equip them with drug testing capabilities.

In response to heightened terroristic acts of the New People’s Army (NPA) lately, the government will launch comprehensive counter-measures combining military, political and legal action to stop the threat.

In her weekly radio message today, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo said she is determined to crush this threat with the use of force, political action and long-term social reforms.

"My administration has an integrated strategy for security and development in each province, wherever they may be – from infrastructure, to education, to law enforcement," she said.

"We are mobilizing local governments, civil society and the business community to achieve our goals. We need the whole support and participation of the people," the President said.

To this end, the President is embarking on another provincial sortie to several depressed areas in the Visayas next week to personally see the extent and results of the government’s security and development initiatives especially in poverty-stricken areas.

Last month, she stayed in Mindanao for eight days to oversee the administration’s peace and development programs.

"A President must make personal, on the spot assessments of the most vital problems affecting our people," she said.

In her Visayan sojourn, the President is scheduled to launch and strengthen various development programs like the Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan (KALAHI), education by television, livelihood program, agrarian reform communities, copra marketing, electrification, irrigation, and micro-financing.

Aside from these, she also wants to see the peace and order situation in the area following reports that many barangays in the region are now being influenced by the NPA.

"Gusto kong malaman kung ano talaga ang problema ng ating mga kababayan doon. Kung bakit nahihikayat sila ng mga NPA, ng mga grupong ito na nagkukunwaring nakikipaglaban para sa demokrasya pero ang tunay na hangad ay pabagsakin ang gobyerno sa pamamagitan ng dahas (I want to find out what really is the problem of our people there, why they are being influenced by the NPA, by this group masquerading as fighters for democracy when in truth they have no other agenda but to topple the government by force)," the President said.

The President recounted that in the past few weeks, the NPA has stepped up its terroristic activities, killing and wounding innocent civilians and soldiers.

COCO LEVY FUNDS

The case has been pending in the courts for the last 17 years.

The defendants had not been denied due process. They had all the opportunity and the time to present their case during that period.

The Supreme Court, in an en banc decision 18 months ago, ruled that the coco levy funds are prima facie public funds.

PGMA has expressed the view that the funds are public. Incidentally, this view is shared by former Presidents Ramos and Aquino.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today batted for the creation of a foundation for crime prevention that would ensure safer streets and peaceful neighborhoods in the country.

The President said the foundation would handle the government’s critical priorities in the next six months focusing on kidnap-for-ransom, illegal drugs, terrorism, street crimes and scalawags in uniform.

She said an executive director will be the overall head of the foundation which will act in oversight or advisory capacity to all the enforcement agencies of the government.

The President made the announcement during the PNP Command Conference on kidnap-for ransom, illegal drugs, terrorism and street crimes held at the Malacaņang’s State Dining Room.

She reiterated the need to focus on kidnap-for-ransom cases particularly on target hardening which is one of the critical moves of the police authorities.

"Let us focus or stage war on target hardening. We must focus on prime target rather than on strong target. Yan ang dapat na i-focus," the President said.

The Chief Executive ordered the Philippine National Police to create a task group to be called Operations Target Hardening Force. An action officer will be assigned to said task force.

She expressed the need for technical support from the United States and the United Kingdom on anti-money laundering particularly on tracing ransom payments and bringing recipients of ransom money to justice for unexplained wealth.

Philippine National Police Director General Hermogenes Ebdane, Jr. informed the President they have resorted to investigating cyber crimes thru cyber space and this will take effect sometime next month.

Ebdane said pro-active citizen action through organized groups such as the school-based Club 2920 and the opening of a 24-hour access to police service through PNP Text 2920 and text patrol 2910 and Patrol 117 will be established as the frontline measures to bring street crimes down to the minimum.

"Let us start advertising text 2920, text 2910 and patrol number 117 to the public," the President ordered Ebdane.

Donald Dee, head of the Employers Confederation of the Philipines, who was also present, informed the President that the business sector will sign a memorandum of agreement with workers organization all over the country to formulate and conduct seminars on kidnapping, illegal drugs and street crimes.

He said there is a need to strengthen police visibility in some problem areas to deter kidnapping and the spread of illegal drugs.

Stressing the need to go hand in hand or have tie-up with the business sector, the President said the government intends to fund the anti-drug campaign and seek logistic support from the private sector.

She said she does not want this particular case to be affected by the alleged bungling scandal in the level of the criminal justice system.

The Chief Executive ordered the PDEA to move against crooked law enforcers, prosecutors, and judges so that the criminal case filed against the culprits will be strengthened.