We are satisfied with the survey results and we shall continue to build a national constituency for performance, good governance and policy excellence.

The administration is always handicapped in these matters because it has to bear the burden of governance and all the issues that are borne by it, while others can simply find fault, criticize and raise illusions and promises—as well as heap hatred, contempt and disrespect upon the Presidency.

The real world is one where the leader takes the arrows and struggles with the people to fight crisis and to build a nation.

President Arroyo has immersed herself in the fountain of the people and has shown the way through hard work, sacrifice and leadership by example.

Malacaņang today allayed fears of cheating in the elections next year and urged the people to give the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) a chance to prove itself.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo had said that she wants clean, honest and orderly elections in 2004 to be one of her legacies to the nation, Press Secretary Milton Alingod said this morning in a radio interview.

The President has pushed vigorously for the computerization of the elections to achieve this goal, Alingod said.

"Computerization is needed to strengthen our democracy by ensuring that the votes are counted accurately and on time. This is essential to good governance and national stability and we must give it a chance as a means to protect the ballot," the President said in an official statement issued Thursday.

"Automated counting machines are there solely for this purpose and definitely not for cheating, so let us give this process a chance," the President added.

"I think we should give the COMELEC a chance," Alingod said, adding that everything will be done to make the elections "clean, transparent and peaceful."

"To say now that the elections will be dirty and that there will be cheating is unfair. I believe that the Filipino at heart has a very good soul," Alingod said.

In another radio interview, Presidential Spokesman Ignacio Bunye said that when the campaign period starts, the President would be campaigning on the basis of her achievements, and not by leveling negative issues against her opponents or delving on personalities.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today appointed Professor Carolina G. Hernandez as Presidential Adviser in the newly-created office that will implement the recommendations of the Feliciano Commission.

In an Executive Order, the President created the new office, which will be directly under the Office of the President, in line with the government’s program of good governance.

It aims to maintain honesty and integrity in the public service and take positive and effective measures against graft and corruption.

The Feliciano Commission, formed in the aftermath of the failed Oakwood mutiny last July, recommended that the government address the root causes of the military unrest.

The Commission was headed by retired Supreme Court Justice Florentino P. Feliciano with Professor Hernandez, retired Supreme Court Justice Minerva Gonzaga Reyes, Fr. Joaquin Bernas, retired Commodore Rex C. Robles and Capt. Rex Banjo Q. Bumanlag, of the Philippine Army, as members.

As presidential adviser, Professor Hernandez will see to it that these causes requiring administrative action and even new legislations will be addressed in pursuit of economic and political reforms.

She will also see through the vigorous implementation of the policies, reforms and programs to address the problem.

Hernandez is a professor of political science at the University of the Philippines and is the holder of the university’s Carlos P. Romulo Professional Chair in International Relations.

She is founder and president of the Institute for Strategic and Development Studies, an independent, non-profit think-tank on foreign policy, domestic politics and security concerns and development issues.

In 1990, she served as a member of the Commission that investigated the failed coup of 1989, a body appointed by then President Corazon Aquino that produced the Final Report that is seen as a critically important document in the country’s march to re-democratization.

Dr. Hernandez is widely published in international, regional and Philippine academic journals in the fields of regional security and foreign relations, military politics, democracy and development, and Philippine domestic politics and foreign policy.

She holds a B.S. in Foreign Service, cum laude from UP, and M.A. in International Relations from the University of Karachi.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today lauded the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), Bureau of Customs (BOC) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) for excellent intelligence networking that resulted in thwarting an attempt to smuggle in some P2.2 billion worth of ephedrine in one of the country’s premier ports.

"Very good work, very good detective work," the President said while inspecting the more than 40 drums of ephedrine weighing some 1.1 tons at the International Container Terminal Services, Inc. (ICTSI) compound at the North Harbor in Tondo, Manila.

Ephedrine is the precursor of metamphetamine hydrochloride, popularly known as shabu.

Interior and Local Government Secretary Jose Lina Jr. said two Taiwanese were involved in the shipment of the banned ephedrine that was included along with the 301 drums of supposed bleaching powder that arrived last November 12 from India.

He said these two Taiwanese are now under investigation and facing charges for violating the Tariff and Customs Code, the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act, and the country’s immigration laws.

"As soon as the case is filed in court, we will ask the judge to conduct the ocular inspection within 72 hours. And within 24 hours from ocular inspection, we will ask the judge to order the destruction of this ephedrine," Lina said.

PNP Deputy Director Gen. Edgardo Aglipay, who heads the PNP Anti-Illegal Drugs Special Operations Task Force (AID-SOTF), said also facing charges is a certain Mr. Laurente from Bataan, the broker and consignee of the shipment.

In her speech this morning at the 29^th Philippine Business Conference at the Fiesta Pavilion of the Manila Hotel, the President also thanked the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) for its unrelenting efforts to bolster business activities in the country.

"I thank the leaders of PCCI for helping the government in bolstering economic activities in the country, which resulted in the 4.4 percent growth rate of our gross national product and 5.9 percent growth of 5.9 percent, which was beyond the government’s expectations," the President said.

She recalled that the PCCI was among the first to heed her administration’s call for national unity and reconciliation.

"Our economic growth rate under my administration is the highest since the Asian financial crisis of 1997. Under my term, we have outperformed 15 out of 21 Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) member-countries," she said, adding that in GDP and GNP growth rates, the Philippines has outperformed Taiwan, Indonesia, Singapore and South Korea.

The President said the country’s robust growth rate was brought about by the government’s aggressive agricultural modernization and world-class human resources.

"My administration has spent P20 billion annually for agriculture modernization, the highest in the history of the Philippines," she said.

The President said with agricultural modernization, farmers, who are beneficiaries of the government’s land reform program, would be able to transform their assets into credit and become economically independent of their former landlords.

She said that rice productivity has reached new heights, particularly with the propagation of hybrid rice, which doubled the yields of farmers.

"While the economy continues to grow steadily, there is an urgent need for more structural reforms to promote a business-friendly environment based on good governance," she said.

The President also said that she has outlined five fundamental reforms that would lead the country to economic stability.

"We must reform the market, agriculture, social assets, bureaucracy and our protective institutions," she said.

The President underscored the need to reform the market by making it a market that creates jobs and opportunities.

She said that while she is proud of the country’s market successes on the macro-economic front, like the above target growth rate, the inflation and interest rates which remained low due to a controlled budget deficit, we still must build the long term underpinnings of infrastructure, telecommunications, electric power, and expanded credit.

On reforming the nation’s social assets, which include land, credit and the minimum basic needs, among others, President Macapagal-Arroyo said that while her administration has provided these to an unprecedented number of people, more deep-seated reforms are needed.

Regarding the reforms on bureaucracy, the President said that in her two-and-a-half years in office, she has learned the complexities of the bureaucracy.

During her speech, the President also said that Filipinos should not be distracted from its vision of reconciliation, and that the whole country must be relentless in the pursuit of reconciliation.

"We must continue to be relentless in the pursuit of reconciliation no matter how hard it looks. We should start healing the deep division besetting the country if it is to move forward," the President said, commending the PCCI for its efforts to help the government in its reconciliation efforts.

"Thank you, PCCI for being the first to heed this government’s call for national unity and reconciliation," the President said.

A total of P300 million awaits those who could provide any information leading to the arrest and neutralization of kidnappers and kidnapping syndicates operating in the country.

This was revealed today by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo as she bared a reward system to neutralize lawless elements during the 29^th Philippine Business Conference organized by the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) at the Fiesta Pavilion of the Manila Hotel.

The President said pictures of known kidnappers would be published in newspapers and posted in strategic places such as bus terminals, public and private schools, markets, and target communities.

"We have included kidnap-for-ransom personalities in the list of most wanted persons. I am making available P300 million for this reward system," the President said." These are what we are doing in the immediate term."

The Chief Executive noted that the problem of kidnapping straddles a broad spectrum of activities ranging from deterrence to neutralization, prosecution and final conviction of kidnappers.

In the short and medium terms, she said she would certify a bill that would add more teeth to laws dealing with kidnapping.

"I have instructed the Department of Justice (DOJ) to make the Witness Protection Program (WPP) more responsive to kidnap victims. I also seek the implementation of the National ID System," she said, which was applauded by the country’s top businessmen.

For the long term, she said the government has done fundamental reforms in its protective institutions during her administration, such as increasing the salaries of policemen and military personnel to the level of teachers.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo awarded 309 Certificates of Lot Ownership Award (CLOAs) and 150 Certificates of Entitlement for Lot Allocations (CELAs) to agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) in the provinces of Quezon and Batangas.

In her visit to Lucena City on Thursday, the President distributed 150 CELAs to some 800 member-families of the United Landing Urban Poor Association, Inc. residing in a 17.6-hectare property of the Air Transportation Office (ATO) in the city.

Another 157 CLOAs were also distributed by the President to the ARBs from the municipalities of Mauban, Pagbilao, Sariaya, Tayabas, Patnanungan, Polillo and Real, all in Quezon province.

In her keynote address during the workshop and dialogue with the farmers of Quezon held at Sentro Pastoral Auditorium in Barangay Isabang, Lucena City, the President congratulated all the beneficiaries for being no longer "squatters" in the land that they have occupied and tilled for many years.

Aside from the CELAs and CLOAs, the President also distributed four boxes of assorted medicines for Lucena City, 90 bags of open pollinated varieties of corn seeds, 110 sacks of hybrid corn seeds and 140 packs of assorted vegetable seeds.

he President also awarded 16 checks from the President’s Social Fund (PSF) worth P1.6 million to the different barangays and cooperative organizations of the province, and 11 certificates of scholarships to 11 deserving students of agrarian reform beneficiaries.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today bestowed the citations to first ever recipients of the Benigno S. Aquino for Nationalism Awards, which are bestowed to individuals who embody the strong spirit of nationalism just like that of the national hero.

The awarding, organized by the Federation of Catholic Schools’ Alumni/Alumnae Associations (FeCaSAA), was held at the Ceremonial Hall in Malacanang this afternoon.

The recipients were alumni/alumnae Jose S. Concepcion Jr. (De La Salle University), Cecilia Guidote-Alvarez (St. Paul College), Teresita Baltazar (Assumption College) and students St. Anthony Tiu (De La Salle University) and Rommel Rico (San Beda College).

Concepcion, according to FeCaSAA, was cited for leading the growth of the opposition movement after the assassination of Sen. Aquino and for leading the poll watchdog, National Citizens’ Movement for Free Elections (NAMFREL).

Mrs. Alvarez, meanwhile, was noted for her contribution to the promotion of the country’s theater arts.

Baltazar, on the other hand, was cited for her advocacy and contribution to the August Twenty One Movement (ATOM), among other socio-civic groups. The two students were cited principally for being consistently ahead in the academic field.

During the ceremony, the President also granted autonomy and deregulated status to 32 colleges and universities.

Among the benefits provided by the grant are: the schools will be free from monitoring and evaluation activities of the Commission on Higher Education, and that the institutions will have the privilege to determine and prescribe their curricular programs to achieve global competence.

In very brief remarks, former President Corazon Aquino noted that Ninoy had always put God first in everything, the country second and his family third.

She also noted the need for more leaders to inspire the young today.

Concepcion, speaking on behalf of the awardees, stressed the coming May 10 elections as very crucial. He said the outcome of the elections must truly reflect the will of the people.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today said that the government spends at least P20 billion a year for agricultural modernization to increase the productivity and income of poor farmers in the countryside.

The President made the announcement during the 29^th Philippine Business Conference organized by the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) at the Fiesta Pavilion Ballroom of the Manila Hotel.

"My administration spends at least P20 billion a year on agricultural modernization, the highest annual allocation in our history. The great part of this is for irrigation, we have also irrigated the biggest number of hectares in history," she said.

The President said her administration has focused on agricultural modernization because most of the poor live in the countryside and the program is aimed at providing food for every table.

The President said that the harvest of farmers, who have adopted the rice hybrid from China, have doubled.

"Some 100,000 hectares are now planted to these rice hybrid and we can attribute that massive growth of agriculture in the third quarter to the 20 percent growth in rice production, because of hybrid rice," she said.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today requested the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) to work with the Manila Electric Company (Meralco) and the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) to formulate a plan that would speed up the ongoing consumer refund program, particularly those for the poor consumers.

"I am requesting the Energy Regulatory Commission to work with Meralco and PCCI to formulate a program to speed up the ongoing consumer refund program so that the industry can benefit from the refunds as well," she told the country’s top businessmen during the 29^th Philippine Business Conference organized by the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) at the Fiesta Pavilion Ballroom of the Manila Hotel.

Earlier, the President assured small power users that the government would seek a full refund of the P28 billion overcharged by Meralco on its consumers since 1994.

The President said Meralco should comply with the final decision of the Supreme Court to refund the 16.7-centavo per kilowatt-hour excess charge that the power company collected from the public.