The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) has completed two bridges in Compostela Valley, as the agency is set to build a road that would ease mobility in the Garden Island of Samal.

Compostela Valley and Samal are both in Southeastern Mindanao.

In a report, DPWH Acting Secretary Florante Soriquez cited Undersecretary Bashir Rasuman for the completion of the P3.4-million 44-lineal meter Ogao Bridge that effectively linked Barangays Ogao and Sta. Cruz and sped up the flow of goods from the barangays to the market.

Rasuman said the reinforced concrete girder bridge is a major part of the circumferential road leading to Maragusan, a growing eco-tourism spot that hosts a national park and waterfall resorts.

He also disclosed the completion of the 26-lineal meter Linumbaan Bridge in Barangay Langtud that connected the Macopa-Langtud roads.

He said the Linumbaan Bridge benefited residents of at least three adjoining villages and assured the safety and welfare of schoolchildren in the area who used to cross and wade through river waters to go to school.

The bridge also facilitated the quick transport of corn and soybeans, prime products in Compostela Valley, to nearby markets.

Rasuman lauded the commitment shown by the DPWH regional office under Director Dimas Soguilon in the completion of the two bridge projects.

He added that the projects were realized with the help and support of Compostela Valley 2^nd District Rep. Prospero Amatong and officials of the Department of Agrarian Reform.

Meanwhile, Director Soguilon said the construction of the Barangay Cawag-Del Monte-Anonang section of the Babak-Samal-Kaputian trunkline road in Samal would soon commence.

Soguilon said the P47-million 4.1-kilometer road project is under detailed engineering stage.

The project is part of the P298-million road development plan intended to propel economic growth in Samal.

The funds would come from the DPWH 2003 regular infrastructure program.

Secretary Manuel Roxas II of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has ordered a crackdown on unscrupulous traders jacking up the prices of medicines and tools that are being used in the fight against the dreaded severe acute respiratory syndrome or SARS.

In a report to Malacaņang, Roxas said that the DTI has mobilized the local price coordinating councils to field its monitoring teams nationwide to check prices of these medical commodities and apprehend businessmen found profiteering.

"We are coordinating with local government units, especially the city and municipal mayors, to ensure that access to these anti-SARS medicines and tools are available to the public," Roxas said.

"The government will implement the full force of the law to prevent overpricing and hoarding of these medical commodities," he said.

The DTI met with representatives of drug stores and pharmaceutical companies to check if there is sufficient supply of medicines and medical tools even in case of an upsurge in demand due to SARS.

Roxas, who is chairman of the National Price Coordinating Council, has also instructed the DTI and the Department of Health to embark on a nationwide information campaign on SARS relative to the price and supply situation of anti-SARS medicine commodities like Vitamin C, rubbing alcohol and protective masks.

Roxas has already instructed the Philippine International Trading Corp (PITC) to explore potential sources of surgical masks for possible importation to beef up the local supply of this protective tool.

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) today reported that it has added the hundreds of displaced civilians in Siocon, Zamboanga del Norte to the number of displaced persons it has assisted as a result of the continued atrocities conducted by the secessionist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in Mindanao.

In a report, the DSWD said that some 559 families have been affected by the attack of MILF rebels in Siocon shortly after midnight of May 4.

The DSWD report said the MILF attackers burned three public market buildings worth P14.7 million and six other houses. Pawnshops and grocery stores were also looted by the rebels before they were driven by the military.

According to the DSWD, they have sent an initial augmentation of 200 family packs consisting of five kilos of rice, three pieces of noodles, a kilo of sugar and a 250 grams coffee packs for the victims.

The DSWD’s Region IX office will also extend financial assistance to the 18 wounded civilians, at P2,000 each for the slightly injured and P3,000 for the severely injured.

As of today, the DSWD said it has already served a total of 323,504 people, or 63,870 families, in various areas in Mindanao affected by the armed attacks of the MILF.

According to the DSWD, the most number of evacuees, about 2,223 families, are inside the 17 evacuations centers in Pikit, North Cotabato while some 3,917 family-evacuees are outside the evacuation centers.

In Lanao del Norte, the DSWD said, there are still 1,751 families, or 8,051 people, housed in 12 evacuation centers.

Since the start of the hostilities in Central Mindanao early this year, the government has already released a total of P44,567,305.31 for its relief and rehabilitation efforts in the affected areas.

Out of this total, P35,088,241.01 came from the DSWD; P4,654,255.30 from local government units; and P4,824,809.00 from non-government organizations, and other government organizations.

The Department of Education (DepEd) announced today the launching of a week-long Anti-SARS campaign in all schools nationwide from May 19 to 25.

Education Secretary Edilberto C. de Jesus said the anti-SARS campaign will coincide with the "Brigada Eskuwela" project of the department.

De Jesus said the DepEd is also closely coordinating with the Department of Health (DOH) and the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Task Forces on the implementation of the National Anti-SARS Action Plan, including the mapping out of contingency plans in case a probable or suspected SARS victim is identified in an area.

De Jesus reiterated that classes will open as scheduled on June 9 in most schools and the DOH has promised that it will advice the DepEd in the event that any SARS case is identified in a specific area.

"As the DOH adviced us, there is no need to delay the opening of classes on June 9," De Jesus stressed.

Dr. Consorcia Lim-Quizon, Head Executive Assistant of the Department of Health, said that since there is no community spread of SARS documented in the Philippines to date, there is no basis to delay the opening of classes.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today ordered the government peace negotiators to inform the Malaysian government of her wish to postpone the exploratory talks with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) slated in Kuala Lumpur this weekend until the government can establish more auspicious circumstances to move the peace process forward.

The President’s decision came in the wake of the unprovoked attack of the MILF on the town of Siocon in Zamboanga del Norte on Sunday, killing at least 34 people and taking other 30 other people hostage, mostly innocent civilians.

In a statement during a Cabinet meeting in Malacanang, the President said she will deploy all the lawful instruments of the state to end this conflict and bring peace to the homes of the people in Mindanao.

The President said she will pursue an all-out legal offensive against the leaders of the separatist movement, while conducting punitive action against the direct perpetrators of terrorist acts.

"The government will not stand aside as innocent communities are subjected to such inhuman depredations," she said.

The President said she will not stand for terrorism in the guise of a fight for freedom, adding that she will pursue peace only under the rule of law and constitutional order.

The President said that she had a chance to talk with Malaysian Acting Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi during the SARS summit in Bangkok regarding terrorism in the region.

In a separate press briefing in Malacanang, Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Eduardo Ermita said the Cabinet Oversight Committee on Internal Security (COCIS) came up with a recommendation to defer the exploratory talks as well as a decision to offer a reward for the immediate neutralization of the top MILF leadership.

Ermita said the decision to suspend the talks was reached after MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu admitted that what happened in Siocon was the continuation of their efforts to undertake attacks against government troops and police forces in Mindanao.

A P5-million bounty now hangs on the heads of each of the five top MILF leaders including its chairman, Hashim Salamat.

Ermita said the perpetrators of the Siocon attack belong either to the Third or Fourth Battalion of the MILF Brigade.

He said that the Siocon incident was not the first time the MILF resorted to an armed attack. A few days back, Ermita said, the MILF attacked the town of Maigo in Lanao del Norte, held some civilians hostage, occupied the main highway, and even stopped the traffic in the thoroughfare in Lanao del Norte.

Before this, Ermita said, there have been several violent activities even during the first exploratory talks held in Kuala Lumpur on March 28 when a joint statement was signed where both parties committed to exercise restraint in the conduct of violence in the field, especially when it involves civilians.

"And yet just as soon as that statement was issued, you will recall, on April 2, a bombing occurred at the Sasa Wharf in Davao City, as result of which the police and intelligence arrested five perpetrators in Cotabato City. Two of them (perpetrators) issued sworn statements about how this bombing has been planned," Ermita said.

Ermita said this shows that the MILF, while they signed the agreement during the first exploratory talks, seemed not to honor what they signed and continued their violent activities -- not only against government forces also against innocent civilians.

"Therefore it was thought that maybe it is proper to defer the conduct of the ongoing talks, the initial exploratory talks, and wait for the moment when we feel the environment would be good for the resumption of the peace process in Southern Philippines," Ermita said.

Ermita said the military has already deployed several battalions to undertake punitive actions against the perpetrators in the recent incidents in Siocon and Maigo towns.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today said that the Supreme Court’s nullification of the government contracts of the consortium that built the new Terminal 3 of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport is a major victory for good governance.

In a statement, the President said the Supreme Court decision lays the moral basis under which commercial contracts should be pursued with due adherence to the rule of law and the public interest.

"The crucial need to generate foreign investment must always be weighed against these high standards" the President said.

She said that the imperatives of economic progress must be balanced against the imperatives of institutional integrity without which a strong Republic cannot stand.

"We have to show that we are a country that upholds high standards of integrity. And in the long run that will make us more attractive to investments," the President said.

According to Transportation and Communications Secretary Leandro Mendoza, once the decision of the Supreme Court becomes final and executory, those who have been involved in the litigation will have to comply with this decision, including the government, particularly the Department of Transportation and Communications.

Secretary Mendoza said that with the Supreme Court decision, the opening of the NAIA 3 terminal will be hastened.

"The decision of the Supreme Court will bring about the takeover of government of the NAIA 3 facility, and the operation of the terminal consequently," Mendoza said.

Voting 10-3, the Supreme Court ruled that the Philippine International Air Terminals Co. (Piatco) was not qualified to participate in the 1997 bidding for the construction and operation of NAIA 3.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today she is thankful that despite the difficult times facing the people, the latest Pulse Asia Survey reflected a sustained level of trust in the Presidency and approval of the performance of the government.

In a statement, the President said she is especially glad that the people of Metro Manila have given her their solid support and encouragement.

The President was rather surprised that Metro Manila which always judges her "very badly," is the one where she has an increase in her approval rating.

"Maybe they appreciate the fact that I knowingly sacrificed my popularity during the Iraq war for something that I believe was right," she said.

"And maybe they began to see that it was the right decision after all here in Metro Manila," she added

The President said she shared the anxieties and concern of the people over the economy, peace and order, public health, education and jobs.

"These concerns are driven by domestic and external challenges that we have tried to contain to the best we can," she said.