The government scored anew in its campaign against smuggling as elements of the Anti-Smuggling Task Force intercepted four refrigerated vans containing some P5 million worth of frozen chicken and garlic as well as garments.

Brig. Gen. Hermogenes Esperon, Deputy Chief of Staff of Operations, said the confiscated goods lacked the necessary documents and will be condemned by burying as specified in their memorandum of agreement with the Bureau of Customs and the Department of Agriculture.

"This is a continuation of what we are doing," said Esperon during a press briefing yesterday. "Even if I have moved to GHQ, I still head the Task Force Blue Collar directed by the President."

Esperon said he has the permission of Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief of Staff Gen. Dionisio Santiago to deploy forces to join the anti-smuggling elements from the Customs, the police and other agencies that are involved in the Anti-Smuggling Task Force.

He added that the possibility of donating the goods has been explored, but cautioned on the chances of their being shifted or ending up in the hands of other recipients.

"We don’t want to see a repeat of previous instances where smuggled goods ended up in the ‘ukay-ukay’ or commercial stalls," Esperon said.

The President ordered Esperon last December to intensify the monitoring and subsequent confiscation of illegally imported products.

The President also gave Esperon and the task force full authority to inspect all incoming refrigerated vans in all ports of entry in the country.

The task force operations were aimed at arresting the smuggling of imported meat and vegetable products which has been hurting local farmers and growers.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is monitoring developments in the Persian Gulf in a bid to consolidate all efforts to ensure the safety and welfare of Filipino expatriates in the area.

Presidential Spokesman Ignacio R. Bunye today said the President wants all concerned government operatives to be ready in carrying out well laid out preparations for Filipinos in the Middle East in case war breaks out in Iraq.

Besides her concern on Filipinos expatriates, the President has been reminding government agencies to come up with viable programs that would help mitigate the negative effects of a US-Iraq conflict on the socio-economic growth of the country, Bunye said.

In a radio interview, he said the President has been in close contact with Philippine embassy officials in Iraq and the Middle East.

He added that the Chief Executive has "real time information" on developments in the Gulf and regular reports are being relayed to her by the Department of Foreign Affairs.

She also gets information from other sources, like foreign governments, Bunye said.

He added that while everyone is praying for a peaceful solution to the US-Iraq crisis so that war will be averted, the President intends to call a meeting of the National Security Council (NSC) as soon as the United Nations Security Council issues its final resolution on the Iraq case.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today restated the four major components of the government’s Mindanao policy in the midst of renewed threats to the island’s peace and stability.

In an interview with Radio Veritas this morning, the President said on top of this policy is to ensure both peace and development in the region because, according to her, the two should go hand in hand if Mindanao is to progress.

Secondly, the President said, any peace and stability in Mindanao should be based on the principle of territorial integrity and on the Philippine Constitution.

The President said that the third component is to realize that the Philippines has various cultural and ethnic groups that should be respected and given due recognition.

She said that even before the September 11, 2001 terror attacks in the United States, the Philippines already had a fourth component to its Mindanao policy, and that is the fight against local terrorists, notably the Abu Sayyaf.

The President also explained that the "active defense" posture that she has ordered the military to observe in Mindanao needs the cooperation of the community and not just police or military vigilance.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today warned economic saboteurs that they will risk the wrath of the government if they don’t stop their currency speculations.

Three foreign banks are reportedly being investigated by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) for allegedly engaging in illegal currency speculations involving $640 million that may have led to the sharp fall of the peso against the dollar.

In a radio interview, the President underscored the need to return as soon as possible to what is called "financial normalcy."

The President also stressed that the holistic approach to peace should be widely communicated so that the nervousness being experienced can be reduced.

While everything is being done until a semblance of normalcy is returned, the interests and well being of the of the citizenry is uppermost in our minds and hearts, the President said.

The sooner normalcy returns to Liguasan Marsh and the surrounding areas, the better it would be for the people affected by the recent skirmishes between the military and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

This, in a way, summed up President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s determined efforts to rehabilitate Liguasan and the people who evacuated the nearby Buliok Complex at the height of renewed fighting between government soldiers and the MILF.

In an early morning radio interview with Radio Veritas today, the President bared government plans to put up programs, in coordination with the non-government organizations (NGOs), that would restore normalcy to the affected areas and attain sustainable peace and development.

"Nais nang ating pamahalaan na makabalik sila doon sa tinitirhan nila dati, at yung lugar na iyon na kasama na rin nila sa pagpaplano ay maglalagay tayo nang mga program na nakabatay sa kanilang mga sariling pamayanan (The government wants the people there to go back to their respective homes and in these places, we’ll put up programs based on their respective communities)," she said.

The Chief Executive congratulated the men and women in uniform involved in the fight against terrorism, saying their vigilance has contributed a lot to the ongoing peace operations.

"Dahil sa kanilang vigilance ay nahuli nila yung ilang merong balak magtanim ng terorismo dito sa Metro Manila, (Because of their vigilance, we were able to catch those who have tried to sow terrorism in Metro Manila)" the President said. "At laban sa mga krimen sa lansangan ay naging matagumpay rin sila (And against street crimes, they were also successful)," she added.

The President took the occasion to explain that the government’s active defense posture with regard to armed threats is in answer to the public’s request for peace.

Along with a vigilant police, an alert citizenry and a pre-emptive diplomacy, the President said she sees no reason why the peace efforts would fail.

She said that the military’s active defense posture would continue until the MILF is forced to go back to the negotiating table.

In the same interview, the President cited the support expressed by the Association of Generals and Flag Officers (AGFO), urging the people, cause oriented groups, civic leaders and members of Congress including the Commission on Human Rights to rally behind the government and the AFP in the fight against terrorism.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today accepted the resignation Dante Liban as Director General of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA).

In a press briefing this afternoon with the members of the Malacanang Press Corps, the President said she will be selecting soon Liban’s replacement from a short list of nominees submitted to her.

"I have a short list, so I will announce it (replacement) soon," the President said.

The President confirmed that Liban has submitted his resignation letter through Executive Secretary Alberto Romulo.

Liban, a former congressman from Quezon City, has been at odds with the TESDA board in connection with the issuance of artist record books (ARBs).

Malacanang fully supports Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) in its hard-line campaign to run after dollar speculators and hoarders as President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo branded them as economic saboteurs.

In an impromptu press briefing this afternoon at the State Dining Room in Malacanang, the President noted that what some banks and their officers are doing is tantamount to economic sabotage.

She said the full force of the law should be meted out against them.

"In this type of crisis and public anxiety, we can’t afford to allow unscrupulous institutions or persons to run roughshod over the public interest," the President said.

The President noted that when BSP cracked down on dollar speculation, the exchange rate improved.

She noted that in times like these, every citizen must ask himself what he could do to improve the situation, not what he could take advantage of.

"Everybody should be thinking what can one do so that things could go back to normalcy instead of what one could profit from the crisis," the President said.

In a related development, former Central Bank Governor and now Philamlife Insurance Company president and CEO Jose L. Cuisia, Jr. has expressed optimism on the peso’s eventual recovery.

"I don’t think that the peso breach of P55 to a dollar level is a scary thing," Mr. Cuisia said. "I believe that once the impending war with Iraq is over, the peso will recover quickly. Our economic fundamentals are sound and we have over $16 billion in gross international reserves."

Cuisia added that measures must be taken to curb speculation on the local currency.

"I believe what we are seeing now is an undue depreciation of the peso. The problem is not just the impending war with Iraq. If you look at the other Asian currencies, they have not been as affected as much as the peso. In our case, there has been an unusually high demand for dollars, particularly from corporations who are purchasing dollars now to cover their requirements for the whole year."

Now that the amendments to the Anti-Money Laundering Act (AMLA) have been accepted by the Financial Action Task Force, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today said she expects the United States to provide technical assistance to the Philippines on how to fully implement the law.

In a press conference at the State Dining Room in Malacanang, the President said she is glad to hear the news that the Philippines would not receive sanctions in its international financial transactions.

"The law is already good as it is," the President said of the amended AMLA.

The Chief Executive noted that the US has been the most concerned about money-laundering issues. As such, the President said, she expects the US to provide technical assistance to the Philippines.

"Dapat magbigay sila ngayon ng technical assistance sa pag-implement ng batas na ito (They should provide technical assistance to us in the implementation of the law)," the President said.

The President earlier said the enactment of Republic Act No. 9194, or amendments to AMLA, is about reform and the strengthening of democracy "and getting hard-earned money seamlessly into the hands of Filipino families at home."