BALER, Aurora – President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today led the nation in celebrating the Philippine-Spanish Friendship Day here by acknowledging the magnanimity of the Filipinos in victory as well as the courage of the Spaniards who put up their last stand here at the end of the Philippine revolution.

The President said the Philippines takes pride in remembering the famous decree of President Emilio Aguinaldo on June 30, 1899 when he proclaimed as friends instead of prisoners of war the Spanish soldiers who garrisoned themselves inside the Baler Church for almost a year.

"The historic proclamation demonstrated to the whole world the magnanimity of the Filipino heart and the brotherly appreciation he had for the bravery and heroism shown by a Hispanic brother, in defense of a universal code of honor," the President said in her message at the Quezon Park here.

On June 27, 1898, four Spanish officers and 50 men, including a priest and a doctor, garrisoned themselves inside the church here besieged by Filipino revolutionaries until their surrender on June 2, 1899. They earlier refused for five times the demands for their surrender and were only convinced of Spain’s defeat when they read a copy of the Spanish newspaper El Imparcial. Only one officer, the doctor, and 31 soldiers came out alive from the church. On July 29, 1899, the survivors sailed to Barcelona where they were welcomed as heroes. The event was considered as the last stand of the Spaniards in Southeast Asia at that time.

The President said that while most protagonists and antagonists in world history may not adhere to the tenets of peace and camaraderie, the Filipinos are proud of this unique demonstration of friendship that took place at the turn of the century.

"In that historic event, the Philippines extended to its Iberian brother and patriot a firm handshake of friendship, understanding, assistance, cooperation and goodwill –without doubts or reservation," she said.

The magnanimity of the Filipinos, she said, has transformed into an "Amistad Duradera" – an enduring friendship, when Spain reciprocated it by supporting the development plans of the country.

Today, she said Spain assists the Philippines in meeting its socio-economic, medical and agricultural needs. Spain is also providing technical expertise and financial assistance to local museums, archives and libraries as well as scholarships for Filipinos to study in the Spanish universities for their chosen fields of specialization.

In diplomacy, she said Spain supports the Philippines in economic and political matters sponsored by the European Community.

"She (Spain) is also our principal link with our Hispanic brothers in Latin-American countries, especially Mexico," she said.

As our partners in democracy and international relations, the President said Spain also opens the door for the Philippines to gain more economic and political advantages with the European countries.

"She is not only our historical ‘Madre Patria,’ but contemporarily our friend and partner in our constant march towards progress, development, peace and prosperity," she concluded.

The President arrived here around 10:00 o’clock this morning accompanied by Presidential Adviser for North Luzon Renato Diaz, Foreign Affairs Secretary Blas Ople, Agriculture Secretary Luis Lorenzo, Tourism Secretary Richard Gordon, and Press Secretary Milton Alingod.

The President was welcomed at the historic Baler Church by Transportation and Communications Secretary Leandro Mendoza, NEDA Director General Romulo Neri, Senators Edgardo Angara, Tito Sotto, Senator Loren Legarda and John Osmena, Aurora Governor Ramoncita Ong, Aurora lone district Rep. Bellaflor Angara-Castillo, Mayor Emilio Etcubanez, and Nini Quezon-Avancena, daughter of President Manuel Luis Quezon who was born here.

Also present were delegates from Spain, including the relatives of the Spanish soldiers who gallantly fought with Filipino revolutionaries from inside the Baler church.

The 7^th Infantry Division band played the national anthems of both countries shortly before the President and Rafael Dominguez-Ponga, secretary general of the Agencia Espanola Cooperacion International, laid wreaths at a cross in front of the church.

The President and her party then walked to the nearby Quezon Park where she viewed the replica of a hut wherein President Quezon was born.

National Historical Institute (NHI) Executive Director Ludovico Badoy then presented the commemorative stamp to the President and Ponga.

Getting to Paradise need not be hectic, complicated and strenuous.

Paradise – in this case Boracay, that butterfly-shaped island at the northwestern tip of Panay which has been enchanting tourists from all over the world with its white, talcum-fine beach and warm, crystalline waters – will thus be made more easily accessible to local and foreign travelers.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has issued Memorandum Order (MO) No. 104 directing the refurbishing of the Caticlan Airport to bring it up to international standards.

Not only that. A roll-on, roll-off port will be built on Boracay to allow more local and foreign tourists to reach the island-paradise by sea. Other infrastructure and equipment needed to complement the air and sea transport system in the area will also be set up and provided.

The President’s memorandum order actually establishes the Boracay Multi-Modal Integrated Transport Program (BMITP) to ensure and sustain the competitiveness and marketability of Boracay as a premier and world-class tourist destination.

Under the MO, the secretary of tourism will exercise primary oversight functions over the BMITP to ensure the effective and efficient implementation of the program.

The secretary of tourism will be assisted by a BMITP Project Office – to will be established under the Philippine Tourism Authority (PTA) as a special program management unit – in carrying out his functions under the MO.

The Project Office will be composed of a program director, representing the PTA, and a deputy program director representing the Department of Transportation and Communications.

The Secretary of Tourism and the BMITP Project Office may call upon the DOTC, the Department of Finance, the Department of Budget and Management, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, the National Economic and Development Authority, the Air Transportation Office, the Philippine Ports Authority, and any other agency of the government for such assistance as may be necessary in the performance of their functions.

All heads of departments, agencies bureaus, offices, including government-owned or controlled corporations, were also enjoined to render full assistance and cooperation to the Secretary of Tourism and the BMITP Project Office.

When foreign ministers of the Organization of Islamic Conference’s (OIC) Committee of Eight (C8) visit Mindanao late July or early August, they will be glad to note that President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has carried out provisions of a 1996 peace pact that assures security and stability in Southern Philippines.

In fact, at least five ambassadors from OIC member-nations have had a reassuring preview of the President’s commitment to reducing and eliminating the main conditions that might continue to breed conflicts in Mindanao in the future.

The envoys, who went with the President to visit war-torn areas in Maguindanao and Cotabato City last June 13, included Charge d’ Affaires Alexander Laturiw of Indonesia, Ambassadors Mohd Taufiq Mohd Noor of Malaysia, Maimunah Dato Paduka Elias of Brunei Darussalam, Salem Adam of Libya and Munir-Uz-Zaman of Bangladesh.

The OIC C8 include the Philippines’ Southeast Asian peers Indonesia, which heads the grouping, Malaysia and Brunei Darussalam and friends Libya, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Bangladesh, Senegal and Somalia.

The five, by now, must have reported positively on the visits, highlighted by a number of announcements the President made at the Sharif Kabunsuan Cultural Complex in Cotabato City, which hosts the main office of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

During the visit, the President announced the activation of the ARMM’s Regional Unified Command under the Armed Forces’ Southern Command, accorded full recognition of the Shariah (Islamic law) and batted for the establishment of more Shariah courts in Mindanao, and gave ARMM Regional Governor Parouk Hussin the chance to sit in all Cabinet meetings.

Futher, she designated Maguindanao-born Justice Secretary Simeon Datumanong and Hussin to head a search committee that would look for capable Shariah judges and lawyers to man the courts.

These firmed up her desire to see through the 1996 Government of the Republic of the Philippines-Moro National Liberation Front (GRP-MNLF) peace agreement.

She also reported on the completion of the integration of 5,750 MNLF nominees into the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and another 1,750 to the Philippine National Police.

While in Marawi City, she earmarked some P40 million to build more classrooms, including the strengthening of the madrasah (Islamic school), in the ARMM.

She also ordered the dispatch of technovans to institute Distance Learning programs for Muslim Filipinos in areas still bereft of schools and not reached by teachers.

Another act the President made to address social injustice is the activation of a one-stop land titling shop at the ARMM complex in Cotabato City.

In her Mindanao sojourn, the President gave credit to the Islamic community for helping out in promoting peace initiatives and in putting up impact infrastructure projects in the country’s second island.

Indonesia, at one time, hosted the peace talks between the GRP and the MNLF that led to the 1996 peace pact.

Malaysia continues to support the ongoing peace initiatives of the government with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front by offering its facilities in Kuala Lumpur.

Among the major financial donors for infrastructure projects were the Kuwaiti Fund for Arab Economic Development and the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries that funded major road projects in the region.

Libya has also continued to provide financial assistance for various social programs and possible agricultural endeavors that would boost the economy of Mindanao.

In a recent pronouncement, the President stressed: "We will continue to work with the OIC in the fight against terrorism and in the pursuit of a just, durable and comprehensive peace in Southern Philippines under our national sovereignty and Constitution."

She said the government would go on reaching out to the Islamic world through the OIC "to press our principled stand against a common enemy, while seeking consensus for the security of Muslim Filipinos."

Earlier, Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Eduardo Ermita reported gains Foreign Affairs Secretary Blas Ople made during his meetings with OIC officials during the 30^th Islamic Conference in Tehran, Iran from May 28 to 31, this year.

This was the first time the Philippine government was invited and sent a delegation to an OIC meeting.

"It is significant to note that 29 years from 1974, since the OIC took note of the plight of our Muslim brothers in the south and the MNLF became an agenda in the OIC, the Philippine government merited an invitation from host Iran," Ermita said.

He said that prior to the en banc meeting of the C8 on May 29, Ople submitted an official letter to the OIC Secretary General mentioning the Philippines’ official application for an observer status in the influential Islamic body.

He added the visit of the foreign ministers to the Philippines could bolster government chances of getting the observer status before the OIC summit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in October, 2003.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today thanked the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for supporting the government’s peace and development initiatives in Mindanao.

The President cited the ADB for accepting the responsibility of being chief adviser of the Brunei Darussalam-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East Asean Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA).

She proposed the post for the ADB during the 2001 Asean (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Summit.

The President said "I hope that the regional and international cooperation against poverty in the BIMP-EAGA will be just as unrelenting now that the ADB is involved."

In a speech during the 36^th Annual Meeting of the ADB Board of Governors at the EDSA Shangri-la Hotel in Mandaluyong City, she noted that the ADB’s involvement in the BIMP-EAGA encompassed a wide area where peace and development "are twin concerns."

"The BIMP-EAGA includes Mindanao and other major island regions of our neighboring countries which share common seas," she said.

But across these common seas, terrorist networks have been operating "to establish a radical enclave," she added.

"Small clandestine training activities have shifted among the island regions of these common seas as the circumstances would allow, and this has happened in isolated parts of Mindanao," she said.

The President said the Philippine government has worked closely with Indonesia in checking and intercepting terrorists.

Similarly, the government is working with Malaysia in promoting peace initiatives in Mindanao, she said.

Further, the joint RP-US Balikatan (shoulder-to-shoulder) military training exercises and socio-civic programs "have also helped overall towards (deterring terrorism in Mindanao)," she added.

The President pointed out that the regional and international cooperation being displayed to fight terrorist networks have become "very strong and unrelenting."

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today proposed a five-point agenda that would contribute to the continued advocacy of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to eradicate poverty in the Asian region.

"The Asian Development Bank can continue to do much for the future of Asia," the President said in a speech during the 36^th Annual Meeting of the ADB Board of Governors at the EDSA Shangri-La Hotel, Mandaluyong City.

She said the ADB should first address the plight of the poorest of the poor who live on the edge of famine, disease, illiteracy and despair.

Secondly, the ADB should promote greater trade between developed and developing countries, that must then be used for poverty reduction and development.

"Trade liberalization can mean billions of dollars to poor countries. Yet up to today, developed countries continue to exercise protectionism," the President said.

She noted that Tadao Chino, ADB President, has mentioned about the Doha Round that could promote trade and serve development.

"Let us implement that," the President stressed.

Thirdly, she said the agenda must encourage the flow of greater private capital from the developed to the developing countries.

"Foreign companies and capital should get more engaged in developing countries that upgrade their policies and standards. It’s a two- way street," she added.

Fourthly, the Chief Executive noted that the ADB should supplement debt structuring and an increased financial aid to ADB member-nations.

" And I might add to what Secretary of Agriculture Luis Lorenzo said, hopefully, with a lower cost of capital," she said.

Lastly, the ADB should actively support institutional capacity building in the developing countries to improve governance, empower civil society, increase transparency and increase openness and pluralism.

"Because today, weak administrative capacity still hobbles many poor countries," she said.

For the Philippines, she said she would seek to lay the foundations of a strong Republic by strengthening the bureaucracy and the institutions needed to execute good governance policy and provide essential services to the people.

With this, she cited and commended the Bureau of Internal Revenue for its house cleaning efforts and also noted the increased collections of the Land Transportation Office.

"We hope all government offices continue to become more efficient and effective in their respective duties. ADB can do much in supporting this kind of institutional capacity building," the President said.

She reiterated that in order for the 21^st century to succeed, developed and developing countries alike should accept new responsibilities to go with new opportunities for the future of Asia.

The President added that debtor-countries should meet the challenge of adopting standards of transparency and accountability and in turn developed countries should recognize their duty to open markets, transfer resources and reform international institutions.