| .. |
19 JUNE 2003 |
| Statement of the President Re anti-drug campaign |
I acknowledge the sincere offer of Senator Barbers and this is being seriously considered. Indeed, a deep sense of sacrifice and statesmanship is needed among all our leaders to help us surmount this pervasive threat which cuts across almost all sectors and age levels. In the end, our own sense of complacency and indifference will be our greatest enemy. I ask every citizen to help in this campaign by adding a voice against drug abuse and drug dealers. The entire citizenry must rise against this threat by advocating drug-free communities, by exposing drug syndicates and pushers, and by supporting the rehabilitation of users. Our crackdown against the illegal drug trade must have a strategic force behind it—this is the will, cooperation and action of the people. Let us harness the motive force of people power to defeat this enemy just as we are defeating terrorism. |
| Statement of the President Re peace talks |
Peace talks will resume only under conditions where the safety and security of our communities against terrorism and crime are permanently assured. The burden of this assurance lies in the MILF. If it can convincingly cut clean from terrorists and criminals, the Government is ready to engage in principled negotiations with the assistance of third-party facilitators. |
| Statement of the President Re Erap demonstrators |
The Government shall not tolerate any attempt to bring this case from the purview of the court, where it rightfully belongs, to the courtroom of the streets. I am forsworn to uphold the Constitution and I must warn those who are destabilizing it that they will face the full force of law. I shall preserve the institutional integrity of the Supreme Court and the Constitutional separation of powers. I shall not allow anarchy to override the pursuit of justice, or erode the foundations of our democratic system. |
| Statement of the President Re anti-terrorist threat |
I commend the PNP for a job well done. We are now working with the Indonesian government to trace the underground contacts of the suspects and get a clear picture of the transnational web of conspiracy. We are now tying up various testimonies to expose the entire terrorist network that is ranged against the political and economic security of the region, especially in our immediate neighborhood with Indonesia and Malaysia. To beat this threat, we will continue to harness diplomacy at the highest levels, and community vigilance on the ground. |
| GMA orders DPWH to speed up dredging of Guagua River to solve flooding in area |
GUAGUA, Pampanga – President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo ordered the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Wednesday to speed up the dredging of the Guagua River and the construction of the Pinatubo mitigation flood control projects in order to solve the perennial floods in the towns of Sasmuan and Guagua during the rainy season. The President issued the instruction to DPWH Assistant Secretary Rafael Yabut and DPWH Region III Director Josefino Rigor during her visit to Barangay Bancal here. Despite her hectic schedule in Malacaņang and a heavy downpour, the President personally inspected the ongoing dredging operations conducted by the DPWH and the local government of Pampanga at the Guagua River. Upon her arrival, the President was briefed by Yabut and Rigor on the developments of the P120-million flood control projects. Rigor informed the President that the dredging operation is now almost complete, with two dredging machines digging lahar from the river. The President ordered the DPWH to finish the dredging operation of Guagua River within four months and make sure that the dredging machines will work round-the-clock. Both Yabut and Rigor assured the President that the project would be completed ahead of time. On hand to welcome the President during her visit here were Pampanga Governor Lito Lapid, presidential son and Pampanga Vice Governor Juan Miguel "Mikey" Arroyo, Guagua Mayor Paterno Magcalas and other local officials. |
| GMA taps Senator Barbers in anti-drug war |
CABUYAO, Laguna – President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today agreed to tap the services of Sen. Robert Barbers, an erstwhile police colonel, in the administration’s intensified war against illegal drugs. Acknowledging the offer of Barbers, who is chairman of the Senate committee on illegal drugs and public order, to help solve the country’s illegal drugs problem, the President directed the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) to get detailed operational direction from the former officer of the Manila Police Department, forerunner of the Western Police District. Barbers had actually expressed his willingness to give up his Senate seat to take charge of the President’s directive to hunt drug lords and drug dealers like common criminals and neutralize them and their patrons in government, including those in uniform. The President, however, told media representatives who accompanied her here for the celebration of the 142nd birth anniversary of National Hero Dr. Jose Rizal that Barbers need not resign from the Senate. She said the PDEA can get very close direction from him "because he is the chairman of the Senate oversight committee on drugs." The President said that in that capacity, Barbers could give a lot of operational advice to the PDEA, which is the lead agency in the nation’s campaign against illegal drugs. "So that would be the way by which he can co-lead the anti-drug drive without losing his Senate position," the President said. "But we are really very happy, and I think it was very unselfish to say that if he has to, he will be willing to leave the Senate," the President said of Senator Barbers, reputed to be a fearless and feared member of Manila’s Finest before he entered politics. In her speech at the celebration of Rizal’s birth anniversary, the President reiterated her appeal to every citizen to help in the campaign by adding their voices against drug abuse and drug dealers. "The entire citizenry must rise against this threat by advocating drug-free communities, by exposing drug syndicates and pushers, and by supporting the rehabilitation of users," she said. The President emphasized that the crackdown against illegal drug trade must have a strategic force behind it – the will, cooperation and action of the people. "Let us harness the motive force of people power to defeat this enemy just as we are defeating terrorism," she said. Yesterday, the President gave the PDEA and other law-enforcement agencies, including the Philippine National Police (PNP), 90 days to dismantle drug cartels and eliminate the narcotics trade in the country. Alarmed by reports of rising drug abuse, she likewise ordered the PDEA to immobilize at least 10 large drug syndicates within the given period. She said she will personally monitor the campaign and told law enforcers she wants immediate strategic results. Official figures released this week noted a sharp increase in the number of drug users in the Philippines, which now stands at 3.4 million, from only 20,000 in 1972. The PDEA also said that about 70 percent of those behind bars were jailed on drug-related offenses. |
| GMA confident Philippines can overcome challenges and win war against poverty |
CALAMBA, Laguna – President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today expressed confidence that the country can confront and overcome any challenge to its national security, and win the war against poverty. Speaking at a program commemorating the 142 birth anniversary of Dr. Jose Rizal, the President said the war against poverty is not done in the usual battlefields but in the factories where workers should be skilled enough to produce goods for the world markets, in the schools where students can be geared for worldwide competition, and in the government agencies where employees are expected to serve the public well. Echoing Rizal’s words, the President said if the people want security, they should work for it, as she urged them to follow the rule of law, pay their taxes, and help in enhancing the overall safety and security of the citizenry, especially in the fight against terrorism and criminality. "We need to act now. We should not pass to the next generation what we can do now. If we do not do it now, who will?" the President said. The President noted the good result of cooperation among national and local government agencies and local executives, adding that despite difficulties in the last few months, there was an improvement in the economy. She said the unemployment rate went down from 13.9 percent in April last year to 12.2 percent this April. "Thanks to the factories of Calamba which helped increase the employment rate," she said. The President, who arrived at the Calamba City Town Plaza at 10:05 this morning, walked to the Rizal Shrine for the floral offering after delivering her speech. She then motored to Barangay Botong, St. Joseph Village VI in Cabuyao to unveil a marker inaugurating a National Housing Authority (NHA) Housing Project where she joined local government officials for lunch. After lunch, the President motored to Barangay Banay-Banay, also in Cabuyao, to inspect a housing project for relocated residents along a railway track there. During this Laguna trip, the President was accompanied by Interior and Local Government Secretary Jose Lina, Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC) Chairman Michael Defensor and Press Secretary Milton Alingod. |
| GMA lauds Cabuyao officials for support in resettling former railroad track dwellers |
CABUYAO, Laguna—President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today lauded Cabuyao local officials for their initiative in accepting the resettlement project of the National Housing Authority (NHA) for affected families living along the railroad tracks of the Philippine National Railways (PNR). The President made the remarks during her surprise inspection of the NHA-Cabuyao Resettlement Housing Project in Barangay Marinig here. She said she was "very happy" that the residents along the PNR railway tracks have accepted the resettlement program of the government. The President noted that the relocation site, once completed, would benefit some 100 who are living along the railroad tracks. The completion of the project would also send a signal that a smooth and safe operation of the PNR could now be implemented to help ease the traffic congestion in and outside Metro Manila. "I strongly believe that once we resolve the problem in traffic, we can immediately feel the development of our economy," the President said. In her visit to the resettlement site and later to the St. Joseph Village, the President was accompanied by Chairman Michael Defensor of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC), and local officials led by Laguna Governor Teresita Lazaro, Cabuyao Mayor Proceso Aguillo, and Pelagio Alvarez, chairman of the P.A. Alvarez Properties and Development Corp., the developer of the site. Before she visited St. Joseph Village, the President inspected a model housing unit and was briefed by Defensor and Alvarez on the low-cost housing project intended for low-income employees working in the industrial companies within the vicinity of the town. The President also handed over a check for P20 million check to Alvarez corresponding to the loan proceeds from the Pag-IBIG. The President also visited the newly-built Pamantasan ng Cabuyao at Barangay Banay-Banay, some 20 minutes away from the resettlement site and St. Joseph Village. |
