Presidential Spokesman Ignacio R. Bunye today exhorted barangay officials and residents to initiate, if not strengthen, information networks that would deter the proliferation of illegal drugs in the country.

In a radio interview, Bunye urged village communities to use the so-called "people power" to put drug lords and drug pushers behind bars.

As front liners in the country’s smallest geographical unit, barangays residents most likely have first-hand information on activities of drug pushers and users, he said.

"They should be civic-minded enough to inform the authorities to stop the operations of illegal drug operators," he added.

Bunye said President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo earlier called on all sectors to work hand-in-hand with government to fight the worsening problem on illegal drugs.

"Alam natin na hindi makakayanan ng pamahalaan lamang ang ganitong kampanya at kailangan dito ay pakikipagtulungan ng ating mamamayan (The government cannot fight the drug menace alone. It needs full cooperation from the public)," he said.

The President is also pleased with the "very unselfish offer" of Senator Robert Barbers to leave the Senate to be fully active in the government’s anti-drug operations, he added.

But Bunye said Barbers does not have to leave the Senate, as the President has instructed the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) to accept "operational directives" from the senator.

He said Barbers also has oversight function over the PDEA, being the chairman of the Senate committee on peace and order and illegal drugs.

Bunye added the recently launched anti-illegal drug campaign is not politically motivated as the authorities have noted a rise in drug-related crimes aside from identifying several drug syndicates operating nationwide.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo will be the principal guest at the 40th anniversary celebration of the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) tomorrow (June 21) at the NIA main office in Quezon City.

With the theme "Apatnapung taong Patubigayan Tungo sa Maunlad na Sambayanan," some 2,500 NIA beneficiaries and members of irrigators associations (IAs), together with central and field office personnel, will present to the President NIA’s accomplishments and record-breaking performance last year.

Earlier, the President commended NIA for effectively implementing various irrigation projects, maintaining and operating irrigation systems, organizing farmers into irrigators’ organizations and providing farmer-training that made 2002 a banner year for NIA.

The late former President Diosdado Macapagal, father of President Arroyo, is actually considered the father of the country’s irrigation program, having signed on June 22, 1963 Republic Act 3601 which created NIA.

"With President Macapagal-Arroyo continuing and even bolstering what her father had started, the realization of her father’s vision is now within our immediate grasp," NIA Administrator Jesus Emmanuel M. Paras said.

Last year, NIA covered some 297,800 hectares of farmlands comprising of newly opened and newly rehabilitated irrigation systems. As a result, the country was able to top palay production records with a harvest of 13.27 million metric tons, ensuring higher buffer stocks for the country’s rice requirement.

After incurring a P121-million loss for the year 2000, NIA posted two successive years of positive operating results, with net incomes exceeding P60 million each for 2001 and 2002.

Today, NIA operates 191 national and 6,600 communal irrigation systems, irrigating an aggregate area of 1.39 million hectares nationwide.

The President, to be assisted by Agriculture Secretary Luis P. Lorenzo, Jr. and Paras will confer and present awards to outstanding NIA employees and to irrigators’ associations (IAs). A total of 74 NIA employees will be cited while 35 IAs will be honored. Six of the individual awardees and one IA will be elevated to the NIA’s Hall of Fame this year, for turning in outstanding performances for three years.

To represent the 40 years of service to the nation, each NIA region will present to the President 40 sacks of rice to be given to the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) for distribution to those in need.

The President will also visit the exhibits put up by each region to showcase NIA’s projects, activities and services, and their impact on rural communities.

For exceeding targets and revenue tax collections from January to May this year, the Bureau of Internal Revenue and the Bureau of Customs got good words from no less than President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo

"To all of you, congratulations and keep up the good work," the President told the BIR regional directors and Customs district collectors before the start of the fifth Revenue Collection Command Conference held this morning at Malacanang’s State Dining Room.

During the conference, both BIR Commissioner Guillermo Parayno and Customs Commissioner Antonio Bernardo reported a relatively good revenue collection performance for the first five months of 2003 compared to the same period last year.

In his report, Parayno said the BIR had a cumulative collection performance of P177.17 billion from January to May 2003 compared to the P17.18 billion collections last year.

From January to March 2003, he said, the BIR collected P89.92 billion as against the P3.30 billion for the same period of 2002.

This, he said, exceeded the Bureau’s target growth by 3.24 percent. The total current growth for the period January to May also marked a 10.74 percent increase while the growth required to reach the target goal was only 67.5 percent.

Parayno reported to the President that the regions that exceeded their target collections for 2003 were the Revenue Region 14 based in Tacloban with P1, 056 million; RR 5 in Valenzuela with P2,231 million; RR 9 in San Pablo P7,703 million; RR 12 in Bacolod with P1,023 million; RR 6 in Manila with P19,471 million; RR 13 in Cebu City with 2,149 million; RR 17 in Butuan City with P444 million; RR 16 in Cagayan De Oro City P1,339 million and RR 1 in Calasiao, Pangasinan with P1,224 million.

He informed the President that the BIR is now implementing three steps to further improve its revenue collection.

The first is better observance of withholding and remittance Responsibilities of the LGUs; second, the better coordination between BIR and the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) and Congress on the definition of refined sugar; and third, the immediate adjustment in the tax brackets of so-called "sin" products, such as tobacco and alcohol.

In his report, Bernardo said the BOC had a total of P43.720 billion cash collection from January to May 2003, exceeding its target collection of P39.241 billion with the deviation of +4.479 billion pesos or equivalent of +11 percent.

Bernardo informed the President that the total cash collection of BOC last January reached to P9.616 billion from its target collection of P7.468 billion; in February P8.096 billion, from P7.243 billion; in March P9.009 billion, from P7.816 billion; in April P8.813 billion, from P8.099 billion; and May P8.186 billion, from P8.615 billion.

He reported to the President that the BOC had five measures or key actions to implement and sustain its cash gains collection.

In the fight against drugs, everyone must be on board.

This, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo emphasized today as she enjoined homes, communities, schools and the civil society to join forces to finally wipe out this menace.

In her speech during the Local Government Units’ Town Hall meeting on Student Safety at the Batasan National High School, the President outlined four specific strategic priorities that she hopes would help achieve this end.

First, she said, drugs should be made more inaccessible and more expensive to users to assure a steady attrition in drug supply lines.

Second, she said, "we must concentrate in the areas of highest drug trafficking intensity to put pressure on points of highest profitability."

Third, she said, "we must concentrate on exposing the big fish at the highest level possible, with police and government patrons a priority."

Lastly, the President said, "we must stop drug abuse before it starts at the most vulnerable age levels."

"This is a fight of the Filipino people. We have the will and the numbers to bring the menace to its knees," the President stressed.

She cited the importance of the barangay tanod in preventing crimes, in apprehending the drug pushers and the rehabilitation of the victims.

"Nanawagan ako sa lahat ng barangay tanod na pagbutihin ang pakikipag-ugnayan sa mga kasam-barangay sa kanilang pagkalap ng impormasyon (I call on all barangay tanods to coordinate well with their constituents in information gathering)," the President said.

"Panatilihin ninyo ang confidentiality of information and source (Keep the confidentiality of your information and source)," she added.

Noting that most of the citizens are afraid to coordinate with the tanods and the police for fear of reprisal, the President urged the people to remove this fear to improve citizen-police coordination.

"Kailangang masugpo natin ang droga upang tahimik na makinabang ang ating mga kabataan sa edukasyon (We should stop this menace so that our youth could study peacefully," the Chief Executive said.

She also called on the parents to coordinate with their barangay tanods and report any suspicious looking persons in their places.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo announced today the allotment of P8 million for the construction of new classrooms for the Batasan Hills National High School in Quezon City, whose student population has ballooned from 500 in 1998 to 9,000 this year.

In a Local Government Unit (LGU) Town Hall Meeting on Student Safety at the Batasan Hills, the President also directed Labor Secretary Patricia Santo Tomas to let the TESDA Multi-Purpose Tourism Center Building located right beside the Batasan Hills National High School to be used as classrooms of the school which is overflowing with students.

"In this way we will address once and for all the serious lack of classrooms in this school," the President said.

"This is the worst case scenario on the lack of classrooms in Quezon City," the President said.

Money is not the problem, the President said, citing the P30-million budget for classrooms of Quezon City Mayor Feliciano Belmonte, Jr. The problem is the location of these classrooms.

The President thanked the Electoral Tribunal, which allowed the use of its four rooms for the classes of the Batasan High School, and TESDA which will be transferring offices somewhere in Quezon City.

The President also thanked the informal settlers – some 100 families squatting in the area – who agreed to talk to Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council Chairman Michael Defensor about their relocation. The area to be vacated by the squatters will then be used for the building of more classrooms.

During the Town Hall Meeting, the President informed the crowd of the launching of a Strong Republic Grade School Distance Learning Program in Iligan City last June 16. Under the program, pupils can continue their studies through television facilities to be put up in remote areas and areas of conflict.

"Our wish is for a progressive community and this can be achieved if we cooperate with each other," the President said.