CAMP AGUINALDO--President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today said that for the peace process with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) to prosper would depend on the sincerity of the MILF as she deplored the separatist group for continuing to harbor terrorist intentions and plans.

"Whether the peace process will move forward or lag behind is largely in the hands of the MILF," the President said in a statement after inspecting a large cache of C-4 explosives and other materials used for the manufacture of bombs displayed at the grandstand of Camp Aguinaldo.

The C-4 explosives were seized Tuesday by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) during a raid at Barangay Payan, Kabuntalan, Maguindanao, believed to be a major MILF facility for the manufacture of explosives, rocket propelled grenade launchers and other ammunition.

The President said that while the government is preparing for the resumption of the peace talks with the MILF, this does not mean "we are being practically blind to events."

She said that it is unfortunate that this incident comes in the middle of the preparations for the peace talks brokered by the Malaysian government.

"The response of the MILF in ferreting out the truth will largely determine our reciprocal attitude and actions. Nevertheless, we shall pursue all leads from here," the President said.

The President, however, added that the discovery of this ammunition facility in Maguindanao is proof of the MILF’s continuing plan to sow terror and violence in Mindanao.

"Cases such as the discovery of bombs believed to be part of the MILF arsenal only sets back the peace process," the President said as she urged the MILF leadership to explain why such ordnance is apparently being harbored by its members.

She said that MILF denials or the absurd claim that these explosives were planted by the military are not acceptable. "I think you have seen how big it is," the President said.

The President said that somebody is responsible for procuring and hoarding of such destructive war materiel in quantities that are even larger than the entire C-4 inventory of the AFP.

The President also lauded the AFP for intercepting the huge and deadly explosives cache that could have been used to kill and maim more innocent civilians.

"I commend the AFP for its vigilance and I urge the SouthCom to team up with the PNP to get to the root of this case," she said.

In the meantime, the President said, the government will continue to stabilize the situation on the ground, effect the speedy return of evacuees and explore all principled avenues to peace.

"I urge the MILF to cut clean from these developments by helping us ferret out the truth," the President said. "The MILF leadership has just renounced terrorism, and I am happy about that," she added.

The President called on the MILF leadership for a complete disclosure of information regarding this cache of explosives, its sources, the identity of its owners, the intended targets and involvement, if any, of any transnational terrorist, in the smuggling and hoarding of this dearly materiel.

Recovered at the MILF facility by elements of the 37^th Infantry Battalion under Lt. Col. Lopito Aceres were three sacks of black gunpowder, 200 blasting caps, a portable engine, two sacks of rocket propelled grenade (RPG) propellants, 25 pieces of RPG launchers, one Kubota engine, one generator set, one dynamo and other tools and paraphernalia for the manufacture of war materiel.

Composition 4, or C-4 is a favored terrorist weapon because it is relatively safe to handle, transport and hide until ready to use. As a versatile weapon, C-4 is often used to clear booby traps. One bar of C-4, a blasting cap, and a length of fuse would destroy anything.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today swore into office former Finance Secretary Edgardo Espiritu as the Philippines’ new Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Espiritu will have concurrent jurisdiction over Iceland and Ireland.

He will replace Ambassador Cesar Bautista who was appointed envoy to the Court of St. James’s during the administration of former President Fidel V. Ramos.

Before his appointment as ambassador, Espiritu was the Secretary of the Department of Finance during the Estrada administration. He also served as chairman of the Land Bank of the Philippines and member of the board of trustees of the University of the Philippines Board of Regents and Philippine Institute for Development Studies.

Espiritu is a former banker and served as president/chief executive officer and vice chairman of the Westmont Bank; president and vice chairman of the Philippine National Bank; president of the Metropolitan Bank and Trust Company and International Bank of California; and director of the Century Bank, also in California.

Espiritu also served as chairman of the National Power Corporation and director of the First Philippine Fund and the Philippine News, a weekly newspaper based in San Francisco, California.

Net satisfaction with President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s performance recovered to +14 in the second quarter of the year, according to the latest survey of the Social Weather Stations.

This was in stark contrast to the –14 rating she registered in the first quarter of 2003 and the +6 rating she got in the last quarter of 2002.

The survey, conducted from May 28 to June 14, found 46 per cent satisfied and 32 per cent dissatisfied with the President’s performance, or a marked contrast from the 34 per cent satisfied and 48 per cent dissatisfied in the previous SWS survey of March 10-25. Her new rating of +14 is about average for the period since she took office in early 2001.

Malacanang today dismissed the latest ratings, saying the President is not distracted at all by the developments.

"You know the stand of the President on surveys," explained Presidential Spokesman Ignacio Bunye. "The President says popularity comes and goes. These favorable things come and go. So she would rather concentrate on doing her work."

Bunye also took exception to criticisms that the latest anti-drugs campaign of the President is aimed at bolstering her ratings anew in the next three-months, the same timetable earmarked by the Chief Executive for the drive.

"Well, the projects of the President, these honest-to-goodness drives of the President, especially those aimed at what are perceived to be serious problems of the country, are not survey driven," said Bunye.

"These are serious drives, and the President wants everybody to pitch in and she does not want the ningas-cogon syndrome. This is something that we should all be participating in."

The survey revealed that SARS or the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome was the most followed news and caused more worries than terrorism with 72 percent, followed by the War in Iraq 64 percent and fighting against Muslim rebels 55 percent. Terrorist acts in the Philippines registered 52 percent and the Estrada plunder trial 52 percent.

The new SWS survey found a large 69 percent majority satisfied with the administration’s performance in fighting SARS with only 12 percent dissatisfied for a net satisfaction of +58.

Regarding general performance, the June 2003 survey found 50 percent satisfied and 27 percent dissatisfied with the national administration or a net +23.This was a strong rebound from March 2003 when only 38 percent were satisfied while 41 percent were dissatisfied or a net –3 rating.

Secretary Renato de Villa today said the different agencies of the government, principally the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP), have been directed to prepare the ground for the formal resumption of the peace talks with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

"We have laid out the President’s (Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo) peace initiative in Mindanao a process that would involve five phases," De Villa, the Presidential Adviser on Strategic Concerns, said after coming out of the meeting in Malacanang of the Cabinet Oversight Committee on Internal Security (COCIS).

De Villa said the five phases of the peace initiative include the preparatory phase, the period of cessation of hostilities or general ceasefire, the formal negotiations, conclusion of the formal negotiations, and the signing of the final peace agreement.

"We have laid this out in the Cabinet and all participants involved including the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) have been alerted to work on their respective areas of concern," he said.

During the meeting, De Villa said President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo emphasized her earlier instructions to all the officials involved in the peace efforts in Mindanao to concentrate on three areas.

These are the stabilization of the security situation which is for the purpose of assuring the people in Mindanao that they will be safe from terrorist attacks and lawlessness; to expedite the return of the remaining 35,000 evacuees or families of evacuees; and to fast-track the peace process under the responsibility of Secretary for the Peace Process Eduardo Ermita.

On the first instruction, De Villa said the Armed Forces reported they have achieved their objective with respect to the punitive actions that were launched early May in basically two areas in the Zamboanga Peninsula and Lanao provinces.

"They also reported they are now engaged in operations against suspected Abu Sayyaf groups that have been reported to have been in the Zamboanga Peninsula area, principally in the vicinity of the Sibuco-Sirawai complex," he said.

Secretary Renato de Villa today said there has been no formal agreement signed in Kuala Lumpur between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

Earlier, MILF spokesperson Eid Kabalu claimed that the two sides signed on Monday an agreement that calls for the withdrawal of government troops in MILF-controlled areas and the quashing of arrest warrants for top MILF leaders.

"I would like to categorically state that there has been no formal agreement made or crafted in Kuala Lumpur. What transpired there is an informal exploratory exchange between representatives of the government and representatives of the MILF," de Villa, the Presidential Adviser on Strategic Concerns, said after coming out of the Cabinet Oversight Committee on Internal Security (COCIS) meeting in Malacanang.

He said Kabalu might have misinterpreted the exchanges in Kuala Lumpur with Presidential Adviser for Special Concerns Norberto Gonzales more than a week ago to be a formal arrangement of some kind.

"I would like to say here that no such formal arrangement has been arrived at in the exchanges that happened in Kuala Lumpur more than a week ago. I think Kabalu is referring to that conversation and exchange," de Villa said.

De Villa said President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has repeatedly instructed everybody involved in the peace process that she does not want any agreement or documents signed unless and until it is the final peace agreement.

"So it is true they had exchange, they had conversations, and they have discussed issues but we do not consider this as a formal agreement. It takes more than that to arrive and conclude a formal agreement," de Villa said.

The informal exchange that transpired in Kuala Lumpur is not considered by the government as in the nature of a formal agreement, he said.

"The group went there for informal, back-channel exploratory discussions. And therefore in the very first instance there was no expectation that they will arrive at a formal agreement," de Villa said.

During the informal talks, De Villa admitted the Philippine government has requested the Malaysian government through Prime Minister Mohamad Mahathir "to assist us by way of deploying a peace monitoring team to the Philippines."