Despite the absence of high-tech gadgets and equipment in the prevention of SARS or Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo said today she is satisfied with the way the country has responded to the threat of the dreaded killer disease.

In her weekly television program, The Working President, the Chief Executive cited a World Health Organization report congratulating the Philippines for its good response to the SARS problem.

"Kaya nga isa tayo sa mga bansa na kahit na pumasok na ang SARS—kasi hindi natin maiiwasan dahil mayroon tayong overseas Filipinos – ay kontrolado pa rin (That is why we are one of the few countries, which despite few SARS cases—have managed to control the spread of the disease)," the President said.

She said that it is important for the people to know the truth "for them to stay alert but calm."

She told program host Jolina Magdangal when the disease was just starting to spread, Hong Kong and Singapore were touted as the best prepared and the Philippines among the least countries to be able to contain the disease.

But according to her, events of the past weeks showed otherwise, that "we are the least hit by the killer pneumonia while Hong Kong and Singapore were among those with a sizable number of SARS cases."

She attributed this to the Filipinos’ hygienic ways.

"’Yan ang pinakamagaling na paraan kung paano makakaiwas ng SARS. Hindi yung mga maskara, maskara (That’s the most effective way of preventing the spread of the disease. Not masks)," she said.

The President took pride in the fact that the Philippines is not among those listed by WHO as SARS countries.

"Kasi ‘yung Pilipinas pitong kaso, sampung kaso at yung sa sampung kaso,dalawa ang namatay. Pero yung pito, gumaling na at saka yung isa, kasalukuyang gumagaling. So hindi laganap. (This is because the Philippines has only seven cases, 10 cases. And in these 10 cases, two died, but the seven others were able to recover and get well. The other one is already recovering. So it’s not widespread), the President said.

The Working President features the different activities of the President and other documentaries on government agencies, projects and programs.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today congratulated eight TOWER (The Outstanding Workers of the Republic) awardees and thanked the Rotary Club of Manila for its annual search for outstanding "blue collar" workers of the country.

The TOWER awardees, who were presented to the President at the State Dining Room of Malacaņang this morning, were recognized as among those legions of skilled workers who constitute the backbone of the country’s industrial capacity.

According to TOWER Awards 2003 Chairman Bienvenido Laguesma, the awards program transcended the confines of the Rotary Club’s concern because of its nationwide significance in uplifting the Filipino workers’ morale and social status leading to greater prestige at the workplace while enhancing individual career opportunities and industrial peace.

The TOWER 2003 Awardees, who were each given trophies and a cash prize of P50,000 during an awarding ceremonies held at the Centennial Hall of the Manila Hotel on May 8, 2003, were the following:

• Mark Andrada, Senior Assembly Technician in the Moog Controls Corporation, Baguio City;

• Pablo Davis, Plant Electrician in the Pagadian City Water District;

• Jerry Lapara, Mechanic in the Del Monte Philippines, Bukidnon;

• Roberto Nabo Non Revenue Water Operative 2 in the Manila Water Company, Inc.;

• Roberto Pangan, winding/twisting head mechanic autoconer in the Indo/Phil Acrylic Manufacturing Corporation;

• Romeo Pascua, machinist in the Mobile Equipment Department of the Philex Mining Corporation in Benguet;

• Enrico Sapitan, electrician Class B in the Indo/Phil Textile Mills, Inc.; and

• Alfredo Surigao, mechanic in the Philippine Phosphate Fertilizer Corporation, Isabel, Leyte.

Founded in 1975, the TOWER Awards were suspended for ten years but was revived in 1996 in response to the call to revitalize excellence and productivity at the workplace and energize collective skills of our workers for global competition.

The White House today announced that President George W. Bush would welcome President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo for a state visit to Washington, D.C. on May 19, saying that it is an expression of gratitude to the country’s support to the US in the global fight against terrorism.

In a press briefing at the White House, Press Secretary Ari Fleischer said that President Bush and First Lady Laura Bush would host a state dinner at the White House in honor of the visiting President.

During the visit, the two leaders would also hold bilateral talks at the Oval Office.

The President’s state visit to the United States was originally scheduled last April but this was postponed due to the outbreak of the war in Iraq.

"The Philippines is a close friend and stalwart ally in the war on terror, and the President and the First Lady will host the (Philippine) President for a state visit and a state dinner later that evening," Fleischer said.

Fleischer said that by hosting the state visit, President Bush just wanted to express the gratitude and appreciation of the American people and himself to President Arroyo and to the Filipino people.

According to Fleischer, the President’s state visit is only the third that President Bush has hosted since he assumed office in 2001. Bush earlier received as state visitors only the leaders of Mexico and Poland.

When asked why the Philippine President is being given this "rare honor" of being welcomed for a state visit, Fleischer said: "This is the President’s way of saying, thank you, to the government of the Philippines, to President Arroyo and to the people of the Philippines for their stalwart efforts in fighting the war on terror, for being such a good and reliable ally to the United States."

The President was one of the first world leaders who supported the US-led global campaign against terrorism launched after the September 11, 2001 attacks.

The Philippines was also a member of the US-led "coalition of the willing" in the war in Iraq although it did not send combat troops.

Fleischer said the Philippines is an area of the world that has not received much notice in the fight against terrorism because the focus was on Afghanistan or Iraq or other places.

"The Philippines have suffered mightily at the hands of terrorists, and the Philippine government and President Arroyo have shown great courage in taking on the terrorists inside the Philippines, and particularly on some of the more remote islands in the Philippines," Fleischer said, referring to the terrorist Abu Sayyaf in Mindanao.

Last year, the US sent about 1,000 special forces to help train Philippine police and military authorities in fighting the Abu Sayyaf in Basilan and Zamboanga under the Balikatan 02-1.

The Balikatan 03-1, also to be participated in by US special forces, is scheduled to be held sometime this year in Jolo.

The President’s state visit to the US has a four-fold objective, namely: to further enhance RP-US cooperation in security and counter-terrorism; to expand trade and investment cooperation; to highlight importance of the Philippines to US political and business leaders; and to advance the welfare of Filipinos and Filipino-Americans in the US.

This will be the second time that the President would meet with President Bush at the White House.

On Nov. 20, 2001, President Bush also received the President at the White House during a working visit to the US.

Apart from the two weeks of intensive military training, the Balikatan 03 exercise that officially ended today produced socio-civic projects by US servicemen and AFP troops that benefited thousands of Filipinos living in remote areas.

"Together with the AFP, we have renovated some buildings, working together to exchange procedures and doctrines that will lead to the betterment of us both. It’s important for us to stress that this has been a cooperative effort aimed at helping the people of the Philippines. The goal is to show the people that both forces care and will help when we can," said US Army Lt. Col. Stephen Mortimer, Engineer Civic Action Project officer-in- charge.

As in previous Balikatan training exercises, the two forces have developed a variety of civil affairs projects which advanced the quality of life of Filipinos living in remote places, showing that the military exercise between the US and the Philippines is not purely military in nature but also involves humanitarian projects.

Among the civic projects undertaken by both forces during the Balikatan 03 exercises are:

On the military aspect of the exercise, Balikatan 03 was designed to better train Philippine and US air, ground and naval forces to handle any contingencies, emergencies or disasters which may arise throughout the Asia- Pacific region.

Balikatan 03, according to Marine Capt. Burrell Parmer, Exercise Balikatan 2003 Public Affairs Officer, is not related to the on-going counter-terrorism training in the southern Philippines. The exercise is participated in by 2,900 Philippine troops and 1,300 US military personnel.

"This is a regular scheduled event. The armed forces of both countries need to conduct joint military exercises to ensure interoperability. This exercise will ensure a well-coordinated response when the need arises," Parmer said.

The first phase of Balikatan 03 involved the training of a combined/joint task force headquarters staff and personnel on crisis planning and execution on an operational level that focused on peace enforcement operations.

The second phase consisted of cross-training, field training and humanitarian civil assistance exercises aimed to enhance interoperability between the AFP and US forces.

Training exercises such as live fire exercises, sniper training, reconnaissance, artillery and first-aid training, are expected to improve the fighting capability of the AFP against terrorist cells operating in the Philippines.

The Balikatan joint training exercise is a continuing process aimed to help better train troops against the threat of lawlessness and terrorism and is part of the Philippines’ long-term security cooperation with the US. The recently concluded Balikatan 03 did not only bring benefits to the country in terms of national security, but economic and social benefits as well.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today formally accepted the resignation of Jesus Dureza as chairman of the government peace panel negotiating with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

The President said Dureza would now concentrate on his role as Presidential Assistant for Mindanao and concurrent chairman of the Mindanao Economic Development Council (MEDCO).

"In fact, he was so identified with the peace panel that people didn’t know he was my Presidential Assistant for Mindanao and my chairman of the Mindanao Development Council," the President said.

The President said Dureza has to give more emphasis now on his role as chairman of MEDCO and Presidential Assistant for Mindanao.

"Everybody has been asking me to put a Mindanao czar, I do have a Mindanao czar, that’s Jess Dureza," the President said.

The President said there is no rush to look for the appropriate replacement for Dureza because the exploratory talks with the MILF scheduled to start today in Malaysia have been deferred.

" What we have to rush is the economic development of Mindanao," the President stressed.

Presidential Chief of Staff Rigoberto Tiglao said that what the President would want now is to exert all efforts in stabilizing security and in speeding up completion of development projects and other initiatives in Mindanao.

"Secretary Dureza has lots of experience on this and the President actually asked him to start focusing on that," Tiglao said.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today urged the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) to order the Manila Electric Company (Meralco) to immediately release the lump-sum refund to small power consumers.

"I urged the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) to order a lump-sum refund for Meralco’s more residential consumers," the President said during a briefing in Malacanang.

In her Labor Day message last May 1, the President assured the nation that there would be full compliance and implementation of the Supreme Court’s final ruling that Meralco should refund the amount of P28.1-billion that the company had overcharged its consumers.

"The refund justifies the long wait for justice by our people," the President said.

The President said the ERC should find the best formula to give back to the poor consumers the financial relief given them by the Supreme Court.

"But we must do this at the soonest possible time. Justice has been served and we must not let our people wait," the President stressed.

Presidential Chief of Staff Rigoberto Tiglao said the refund would be made likely within the month primarily to those consuming zero to 100 kilowatts per month.

"The President wouldn’t want any delays here. She would want the checks issued for the refund as soon as possible. If the technical aspects are resolved, Meralco could very well issue a check and put it in the bills by next week or maybe in the next two weeks," Tiglao added.