The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has already provided a total of P121 million worth of assistance to the families affected by the armed conflict in Mindanao since February this year.

DSWD Secretary Corazon Juliano-Soliman said that of this amount, a total of P87 million was spent on relief assistance to augment the resources of the local government units (LGUs) in conflict areas.

She said that a total of P34 million was spent for core shelter assistance to families whose houses were either partially or totally damaged.

Another P80,000 was spent to repair day-care centers damaged during armed encounters between government and combatants of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), Soliman said.

Soliman said that about 33,454 families, or 162,033 persons, are still affected by the armed conflict in 37 municipalities of Zamboanga del Norte (Region IX); Bukidnon and Lanao del Norte (Regin X); North Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, and South Cotabato (Region XII); and Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), particularly Maguindanao, Sulu and Lanao del Sur.

According to Soliman, more families are going back to their places of origin as peace and order situation becomes stable in most areas in Mindanao.

Soliman said that to date, only about 12,098 families, or 59,931 persons, remain inside 17 evacuation centers while 21,356 families, or 102,102 persons, are staying with their relatives and friends outside the evacuation centers.

Anti-Corruption

The President is determined to use all possible means consistent with due process to rid government of thieves posing as civil servants.

Travel Advisories

Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Elisea Gozun today said fuel companies would reduce by 75 percent the sulfur contents on their diesel products as early as November this year, two months ahead of the deadline set under the Clean Air Act.

In a briefing in Malacaņang, Gozun said oil companies were required under the Clean Air Act to reduce the sulfur content on their diesel products by 75 percent not later than January 1, 2004.

Gozun said she and Energy Secretary Vicente S. Perez, Jr. were able to convince the oil companies to accelerate the reduction of the sulfur contents by not later than November of this year.

Gozun said this would be implemented initially in Metro Manila and eventually nationwide.

She said this would mean a reduction of the sulfur content in diesel from 2,000 parts per million (ppm) to 500 ppm.

"One key problem which is really in our mandate is to protect public health and encourage investments by making sure that we have a clean and healthy environment. One way of doing that is to make sure that we clean our air of the poisonous gases that we have," she said.

To improve air quality, Gozun said the government has required emission testing for motorized vehicles prior to registration with the Land Transportation Office (LTO).

She said the DENR is also coordinating roadside enforcement with the different groups already deputized by the LTO such as the Bantay Kalikasan, Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) and the different local government units (LGUs).

"And then, of course, we do continue to provide technical seminars. We need to enable especially our public utility drivers and owners to know how they can properly maintain their vehicles while providing service to the public without necessarily causing pollution," she said.

She added the government is also promoting the use of renewable energy such as the that compressed natural gas (CNG), liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) as well as the coco diesel or bio-diesel.

"Hopefully before the end of this year, we will actually have buses running on CNG already servicing Metro Manila," she said.

With all of these efforts, Gozun said she is hoping the government could further improve air quality by reducing the level of total suspended particulates by at least 25 percent by next year.

From January to June this year, Gozun reported that the DENR was able to distribute a total of 67,397 hectares of public land to 49,496 families. This first semester accomplishment represent 53 percent of their total target of 127,250 hectares for land distribution this year.

She said 21,686 households were also given renewable tenurial rights to some 180,179 that hectares of forests under the Community-Based Forest Management Agreement (CBFMA) that would ensure the security of tenure of upland dwellers.

"Giving them tenure over these land, we hope to encourage more agro-forestry. And by allowing the people to benefit from this forest land, we also are able to harness them as partners of government in forest protection," she said.

Gozun said 6,343 hectares of coastal areas were also issued to 4,942 coastal dwellers under the CBFMA. She said this is a partial report that would be completed soon.

All of these land distributions, she said, were mainly to address injustice and poverty.

Some 10 million copies of textbooks have already been distributed by the Department of Education (DepEd) in 19,000 public elementary and secondary schools nationwide, easing the textbook backlog.

This was the report given by Education Undersecretary for Operations Ramon Bacani DepEd during a press briefing in Malacaņang this afternoon.

In his report, Bacani said the 10 million textbooks distributed is part of the 35 million textbooks and manuals the DepEd is set to deliver this year.

Bacani said with these deliveries, the past textbook-pupil ratios ranging from 1:4 to 1:8 for the core subjects of English, Science, Math, and Filipino in priority Grades 1-4 and Years I-II, will now improve to 1:1 to 1:4 in all subjects and grade/year levels, except Grade 3, Year III and Year IV.

He explained that the latter deficiency is due to the failure of bidding last year for these Grade/Year levels. He added that there will be a re-bidding next September for the additional 7.8-million textbooks.

Bacani also reported that 1,608 barangays without access to elementary education have already been identified.

Of this number, he said, a total of 564 barangays now have access to elementary education and 519 schools have been provided with teacher items. Moreover, 43 sites will have their school buildings by the end of next August, he added.

He also said that the revised Basic Education Curriculum has been implemented since June 2002 and now focuses on the five learning areas of English, Science, Math, Filipino and Makabayan from the previous eight per Grade/Year level.

Since the classes were opened this year, he added, the teaching of science has been given an extended time allotment from 300 minutes to 400 minutes each week to promote the culture of science among students.

The use of English as the medium of instruction in Science, Math and English is also being reiterated to improve the competitive edge of the Filipino students with other countries in the world, particularly in Southeast Asia.

STA. CRUZ, Laguna – "Crime cannot wait. Let’s defeat crime in the streets and in the communities."

With this as the underlying theme, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo set into action here today some 6,000 Barangay Tanods who have been tasked to help in the fight against criminality and drugs.

In a consolidated graduation ceremony at the packed New San Luis Recreational, Educational, Cultural and Sports Village, the President swore in the new batch of Barangay Tanods who completed the first part of the government’s Barangay Tanod Professionalization Program.

The three-part program hopes to train and update some 6,000 Barangay Tanods all over the country on crime prevention and control, then mobilize them into action.

"Sana itong pagsasanay na dinaanan ninyo ay magdadagdag ng kagalingan at kompiyansa sa inyong mga gawain, kaya congratulations sa inyo (I hope this exercise that you went through would add to your skill and confidence in your work, so congratulations)," the President told the newly graduated tanods.

She likened the quiet preemptive strike being done by the tanods in their respective areas to the efforts of the Customs officials who recently intercepted a shipment of imported explosives.

"I commend the efforts of our customs officials in the campaign against terrorism. This is another quiet preemptive strike but they contribute to the safety and security of our people," the President said.

She took the occasion to direct Interior and Local Governments Secretary Jose Lina, Jr. to make sure that all witnesses in the escape of Indonesian terrorist Fathur Roman al-Ghozi would be given protection and all pieces of evidence preserved for presentation to the Presidential Fact-Finding Commission.

"Itong imbestigasyon ay dapat masinsinan ang trabaho at kompleto dahil may kinalaman sa seguridad ng ating bansa (This investigation should be thorough and complete because it concerns national security)," she said.

The Chief Executive said that if there’s any collusion between those involved, they should be tried and jailed.

She said the government will leave no stone unturned in getting to the bottom of the case because "it is all about the safety of our communities, the integrity of the police and law enforcement."

The President then cited the role of the tanods in the dismantling of several shabu laboratories in the government’s ongoing campaign against illegal drugs, saying it is the result of their vigilance and concerted efforts.

Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency chief Anselmo Avenido reported that after only one month since the intensified campaign started, three shabu laboratories have been dismantled, already meeting their target for three months.

He said the agency has also neutralized six of the 175 drug syndicates and caught 25 "big fishes."