President Gloria Macapagal will officially open on Monday (March 31) the Strong Republic Nautical Highway to serve as an efficient and shorter way to Mindanao, as an agri-tourism area and as a grains highway.

Together with members of the Cabinet and heads of government agencies and members of media, the President will lead the caravan that will kick off at the Freedom Park in Malacaņang then on to the Calapan City Roro (Roll On-Roll Off) port terminal in Oriental Mindoro and end at the Dapitan City port, Zamboanga del Norte.

In a briefing in Malacaņang, Presidential Adviser on Official Development Assistance Absorption and CORD for MIMAROPA Marita Jimenez said the caravan will traverse Batangas in the Calabarzon, Oriental Mindoro in MIMAROPA, Aklan, Capiz and Iloilo, Negros Occidental in Region 6; Negros Oriental in Region 7 and Zamboanga del Norte in Region 9.

The Manila to Dapitan caravan will cover a total of 703 kilometers of road travel and 137 nautical miles of sea travel.

Roro terminals are located in Batangas City, Calapan; Roxas, Oriental Mindoro; Caticlan, Malay, Aklan; Iloilo City; Bacolod City; Dumaguete City and Dapitan City.

In Oriental Mindoro, the President will inaugurate the Roxas Port Terminal. She will also be presented with rebel returnees and will have lunch with the local government officials and participating agencies of the roro caravan.

At Caticlan, the President will likewise open the Jetty Port and Terminal Building.

The President will also have a meeting with Boracay Resort Owners, Tour and Hotel Operators and will be discussing security measures in the area.

On April 1, the President will have breakfast with local officials and fishermen at the Baybay Beach in Roxas City, Capiz, and after arriving at Iloilo City, will have lunch with rice farmers, members of the irrigators association, traders and the agribusiness sector.

At Bacolod City, the President will meet with the Rotary Club and Negros Press Club at the L’Fisher Hotel.

A respected international news agency has called on American investors to look into the investment opportunities in the Philippines, citing President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo as a tough leader in the likes of Margaret Thatcher and her effective economic policies resulting in continued growth and stable currency.

Gregory Fossedal of the Business and Economics Desk of the United Press International (UPI) who wrote a special article entitled "The Bottom Line: Manila’s Maggie," said America’s early success against the ruling regime in Iraq has helped lift stock markets throughout the region, from Israel to Kuwait.

But according to him, another country that should benefit from further progress against the global terror network has so far been overlooked by investors.

"That country is the Philippines, where one of the toughest leaders this side of Margaret Thatcher, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, is working hard to crush an insurgency of separatist Muslim and communist rebels," Fossedal said.

He noted that the local market has not moved much yet as the Philippine index is up 3 percent from its level at the end of February through the successful start of the Iraq campaign in the last 10 days.

This, he said, compares to a rise of nearly 10 percent in Israel over the same period.

By contrast to the aftermath of the last major leg of the war on terror, the rout of the Taliban in Afghanistan, the Philippine stock market was one of the top performers in the world, Fossedal said.

He said that viewing the political and economic landscape of the Philippines today, there’s a good chance that the United States’ assured win in Iraq will have a positive impact on the country.

"Economic policy in the Philippines is characterized by a stable currency, which is essentially linked to the US dollar, a stabilizing factor, but allowed to slide by 1 percent or so per month to provide flexibility," the article said.

Fossedal further noted that President Macapagal-Arroyo has cut tax rates twice, to a top rate of tax on personal income of 26 percent, down from 33 percent when she took office. The tax rate is also relatively flat, with corporations paying a rate of 22 percent, only slightly below the rates on human labor.

He added that despite economic growth rates of 4 to 6 percent, the Philippine government has suffered revenue shortfalls, with tax receipts and other government income declining 15 percent from their highs in 2000.

The President, the article noted, has responded by slashing spending by 10 percent, sticking with her tax cuts and insisting that strong growth is needed to close the deficit in future years

The article noted that despite the residue of crony capitalism, ongoing insurgency, corruption and local terrorism, Macapagal-Arroyo "has fought back with Thatcheresque resolve."

She "has firmly aligned herself, unlike say the new government in Korea, with the US war on terror."

"The bottom line is, her resolve and resourcefulness are probably under-discounted. That makes Philippine equities a good buy," it said.

The article noted that Philippine Long Distance Co. posted a 9.3 percent profit growth in results posted in late March, mostly on the strength of 40-percent plus growth in mobile telephone services.

As well, the First Philippine Fund, which can be bought and sold on the New York Stock Exchange, provides a well-managed basket of Philippines stocks.

The Philippine Government Panel for the Exploratory Talks with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) met with the representatives of the MILF Peace Panel on March 27-28, 2003 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and agreed on the following:

1. Both parties reiterate their commitment to achieve a comprehensive just and lasting political settlement of the conflict in Mindanao and resolve to undertake appropriate steps to pave the way for the resumption of the formal GRP-MILF peace negotiations;
2. Both parties reaffirm to implement effectively on the ground all past and existing GRP-MILF agreements. Details of implementation shall be discussed by the panels;
3. Both parties agree to exercise mutual restraint to minimize if not put an end to violence in Mindanao;
4. To normalize the situation and facilitate the early return of evacuees to their places of origin and allow rehabilitation to proceed, a new arrangement on the ground will be forged by both parties;
5. The Philippine Government takes note of the activation of the Bangsamoro Development Agency;
6. Both parties agree to direct their respective Technical Committees to work on the Implementing Guidelines of the Joint Communique signed on May 6, 2002 to ensure that the peace process is not adversely affected by the presence of criminal groups in Mindanao. The Technical Committees will meet within two (2) weeks from today;
7. The parties agree to improve the existing mechanism for monitoring of the cessation of hostilities including the composition of an observer/monitoring group as provided for in the Implementing Guidelines on the Security Aspect of the Tripoli Agreement on Peace of 2001;
8. The parties reaffirm the provision on the grant of Safety and Security Guarantees to MILF leaders and members who are directly and principally involved in the GRP-MILF peace talks; and
9. Both parties expressed their gratitude for the gracious hospitality of the Government of Malaysia in hosting and facilitating the exploratory talks and for continuing its support to the peace process.

Done in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia this 28^th day of March 2003.

For the GRP For the MILF

PA JESUS G. DUREZA ATTY. LANANG ALI

Members of Delegation Members of Delegation

SEC. NORBERTO GONZALES

ATTY. MICHAEL O. MASTURA

SEC. CORAZON JULIANO-SOLIMAN

ATTY. MUSIB M. BUAT

USEC. ANTONIO C. SANTOS

MOHAJIRIN T. ALI

The path to peace has become clearer as both government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front have reiterated their commitment to achieve a comprehensive, just and lasting political settlement of the conflict in Mindanao.

Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Eduardo Ermita and Government Peace Panel chairman and Presidential Adviser Jesus Dureza presented today at Sulu Hotel a joint statement of the two parties following the success of the two-day exploratory talks in Kuala Lumpur that ended Thursday.

Both parties, according to Ermita and Dureza, have resolved to undertake the appropriate steps to pave the way for the resumption of the formal peace negotiations

He said both parties likewise reaffirmed their commitment to implement effectively on the ground all past and existing GRP-MILF agreements and exercise mutual restraint to minimize, if not put an end, to the violence in Mindanao.

According to Ermita and Dureza, both parties also agreed to normalize the situation in Mindanao and facilitate the early return of evacuees to their places of origin. The two parties also agreed to allow the evacuees' rehabilitation to proceed after a new arrangement on the ground is set to be forged.

The government representatives noted the activation of the Bangsamoro Development Agency, the "body that would funnel development funds for the improvement of the lives of the displaced persons."

Both parties likewise agreed to direct their respective technical committees to work on their implementing guidelines of the joint communique signed on May 6, 2002 to ensure that the peace process is not adversely affected by the presence of criminals in Mindanao.

On the issue of ceasefire, the two parties agreed to improve the existing mechanism for monitoring of the cessation of hostilities, including the composition of an observer or monitoring group.

The ceasefire observer team has been provided for in the implementing guidelines on the security aspect of the Tripoli agreement on peace of 2001.

The two parties also reaffirmed the provision on the grant of safety and security guarantees to MILF leaders and members who are directly and principally involved in the GRP-MILF peace talks.

Both parties also expressed their gratitude for the gracious hospitality of the Malaysian government in hosting and facilitating the exploratory talks and for continuing its support to the peace process.

Aside from Dureza, those who attended the exploratory talks representing the government were Presidential Adviser on Special Concerns Norberto Gonzales, Social Welfare and Development Secretary Corazon Juliano Soliman and Undersecretary Antonio Santos. Representing the MILF were Atty. Lanang S. Ali, Atty. Michael O. Mastura, Atty. Musib M. Buat and Mohajarin T. Ali.

The holding of exploratory talks was a result of the back-channeling initiatives from both parties.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has listed down a 16-point counter-terrorism program that would assure that the global threat "does not become a reality in our country."

In the command conference in Cebu City last March 27, the President stressed that everyone "must act together" to carry out the checklist in the face of a renewed alert against terrorism worldwide.

The 16-point counter-terrorism program:

• Cleaning the government of terrorist and criminal coddlers

• Holding accountable all private groups abetting or aiding terrorism;

• Synchronization of internal efforts with the global outlook to be spearheaded by the Department of Foreign Affairs;

• Combining a policy of tactical counterforce with the sect of strategic legal measures. This enjoined the Department of Justice to set up a special team to serve the special requirements of the war on terrorism including the speedy prosecution, deportation and extradition of suspects;

• Strengthening of the peace process to isolate terrorist groups from the moderates;

• Pursuit of broader inter-faith dialogues to promote Christian and Muslim solidarity;

• Recognition of the political, social and economic underpinnings of terrorism. Under this, the President urged the initiation of special community development projects in areas where extreme poverty make its residents vulnerable to the courtship of terrorist groups;

• Exercise of the strictest vigilance among all law enforcement agencies and local government units, particularly against the movements of suspected persons, firearms, explosives, raw materials of explosives, toxic materials and biological materials;

• Close coordination of preparations and actions in the event of catastrophic terrorist attacks, even if they should be remote;

• Comprehensive security plan for critical infrastructure including power plants, power transmission and distribution facilities, oil and gas depots, key public works infrastructures, vital communications facilities, public and private buildings and facilities in the nerve center of commerce and industry;

• Protection of the security, welfare and interests of overseas Filipino workers;