It must be emphasized that this is a report on perceptions of corruption that does not take into consideration hard evidentiary cases, or positive actions by governments. We may not have breached the level of perceptions on corruption in our country but we are surely doing something about it, which is not reflected in the report.

Malacaņang has nothing to do with the latest ruling by the Supreme Court on the controversial Kuratong Baleleng case.

"The High Court has spoken and must be unconditionally obeyed," President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo said in a statement.

The President is winding up her working trip to Bali, Indonesia, where she is attending the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit. The Supreme Court issued its decision on the Kuratong Baleleng Tuesday.

"My office has never pressured the Court in any of its decisions and has unhesitatingly complied with these as a matter of public duty," the President said.

"Every Filipino must be bound by the rule of law," she added.

In a 31-page decision, the high tribunal dismissed with finality the motion for reconsideration of Senator Panfilo Lacson on an earlier decision of the court to reopen the case.

Penned by Associate Justice Romeo Callejo Sr., eight of the Justices concurred while four dissented and two abstained. Justice Renato Corona is on leave.

Cabinet Secretary and Deputy Presidential Spokesman Ricardo Saludo also dismissed the claim of Lacson that Malacaņang had influenced the ruling of the high court.

BALI, Indonesia (via PLDT) – Premier Wen Jiabao of the People’s Republic of China has assured President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo that the Chinese government is determined to continue its close bilateral ties with the Philippines.

The assurance was given by Wen during his meeting with the President at the Bali International Convention Center right after the ASEAN + 3 Summit Tuesday afternoon.

"The new China leadership is really determined to continue our close relationship with your country. We want to strengthen our political, agricultural and fisheries ties because the Philippines is very near from China," Wen said.

Wen said he is very willing to help the Manila government by encouraging Chinese investors to put up businesses in the Philippines.

He also said that the new China leadership will continue to provide assistance to the Philippines and support its development in the field of politics, economic and livelihood for the Filipino people.

In response to the good gesture of the Chinese leader, President Macapagal-Arroyo thanked him for the support, particularly the development assistance the Chinese government has extended for the modernization and extension of the railroad project in North Luzon and the improvement of the fishing ports in Mindanao.

The President urged China to also invest in mining, specifically in Mindanao because there are sizeable deposits of copper in the Southern Philippines.

"Also, I want to thank you for buying our Philippine products, for the Chinese tourists who visited our country, and for the hybrid rice that benefits a lot of small farmers because their harvest and income now have been doubled," the President said.

BALI, Indonesia (via PLDT) – The governments of the Philippines and Thailand have reiterated their commitment to cooperate in ensuring the two countries’ energy and food security.

This commitment was made by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra of Thailand during their bilateral meeting at the sidelines of the 9th ASEAN Summit here.

In that meeting, both the President and Thaksin welcomed the idea of concluding a bilateral agreement (in the forthcoming APEC summit this month) to establish a regional petroleum hub at the Subic Freeport and in Thailand.

The President added that she and Thaksin instructed their respective energy ministers to immediately begin discussions on this matter.

"Hopefully, the Philippines and Thailand will be able to sign an agreement regarding that matter," the President said during an informal press conference held Tuesday night.

During the meeting, Energy Secretary Vince Perez discussed with Prime Minister Thaksin the areas where the Philippines and Thailand could cooperate, particularly on the setting up of a regional fuel storage.

Secretary Perez pointed out that setting up of effective mechanisms to provide a better guarantee of uninterrupted access to petroleum supplies at reasonable prices would benefit both countries as well as the other members of ASEAN.

On food security, Trade and Industry Secretary Manuel Roxas II briefed the Thai Prime Minister on possible areas of cooperation in food security. Thaksin agreed to continue to strengthen its ties with the Philippines in the field of agriculture.

Thaksin also agreed to exercise more flexibility in addressing some of the concerns of the Philippines in the areas of sugar and rice.

BALI, Indonesia ((via PLDT) – The government of Singapore today assured President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo that they will strongly support the privatization and liberalization policies of her administration, saying that this is an indication of a good path toward economic success in the Philippines.

The President received this assurance from Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong during their bilateral meeting at the sidelines of the 9th ASEAN Summit at Bali International Convention Center.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Blas Ople said that during the meeting, the President briefed Prime Minister Goh on the economic reforms being undertaken by the Philippine government, particularly in the field of energy.

"Prime Minister Goh expressed strong support and interests in our energy sector. The Prime Minister told the President that he will encourage Singaporean investors to invest in the Philippine energy sector," Ople said.

Ople said the two leaders shared their experience in liberalization policies. "The Prime Minister said that privatization and liberalization is the right path to take. He attributed much of Singapore’s economic success to this policy," Ople added.

Trade and Industry Secretary Manuel Roxas II also briefed the Prime Minister on the latest trade developments between the Philippines and Singapore.

"Our trade relations have been dynamic and robust and we have encountered very few problems but that some minor problems had been resolved," Roxas told the Prime Minister.

The President also thanked Prime Minister Goh in accepting her proposal that Secretary Roxas should work on for the liberalization of the petro-chemical industry by changing its tariff regime without reversing the ASEAN direction.

"So we thank Singapore because they agreed to the proposal," the President said during an informal press briefing with the Philippine media delegation Tuesday night.

BALI, Indonesia (via PLDT) – Delegates to the 9th summit of the heads of state of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) here, believe that the decision of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to run in the 2004 elections "is good" for the regional grouping.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Blas Ople said fellow delegates he had talked with during the three-day meeting generally thought that "this (Mrs. Macapagal-Arroyo’s decision) is good for continuity and stability, not only in the Philippines, but in ASEAN as a whole."

Ople noted that the President is held in very high esteem by her fellow leaders in the ASEAN summit. "She (President) is admired for her intelligence and steadiness of purpose," he said.

At the ASEAN Business and Investment Summit that she addressed at the Bali International Convention Center immediately upon her arrival from Manila on Monday, President Macapagal-Arroyo received a standing ovation.

"With the prospect of President Macapagal-Arroyo seeking a full term of six years, the foreign investment community is warming up to the idea of investing once again in the Philippines with its unmatched potential for economic growth," Ople said.

He also said that now that President Macapagal-Arroyo had announced her intention to participate the electoral process in 2004, he would help in her presidential campaign.

Ople said that after working for the President as secretary of foreign affairs for over a year, "all my skepticism about her ability to lead the country in dangerous times has vanished." "I’m willing to fully support her," he added.

BALI, Indonesia – At today’s final session of the 9^th summit of the heads of state of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and other ASEAN delegation leaders are to confer with their counterparts from China, Japan and India and witness the signing of several agreements.

After the three-day summit meet ends late this afternoon, President Macapagal-Arroyo will motor to the Ngurah Rai International Aiport at Denpasar, Bali, for her journey back home. Her plane is expected to leave for the Philippines at 7:00 p.m. today.

The President and her official delegation are expected to arrive at the Mactan International Airport shortly before midnight tonight.

Following their meeting at Nusantara Room of the Bali International Convention Center, President Macapagal-Arroyo was escorted this morning, along with the other ASEAN heads of state and Prime Minister Wen Jiabao of the People’s Republic of China, to the BICC Auditorium for the signing ceremony.

The foreign ministers of China and the ASEAN nations signed China’s accession to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation with the ASEAN. They also signed the Joint Declaration of the Heads of State/Government of the People’s Republic of China and the ASEAN member states on Strategic Partnership for Peace and Prosperity.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Blas Ople signed the two documents for the Philippines.

In another morning activity of the 9^th ASEAN summit meeting, the ASEAN heads of state/government met with the Japanese delegation and then witnessed the signing by the foreign ministers of the ASEAN-Japan Framework for Comprehensive Economic Partnership.

At noon today, President Macapagal-Arroyo and her fellow leaders of the ASEAN countries had a working lunch with Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee of India. In the afternoon, they were scheduled to witness the signing of two documents: India’s accession to the Treaty on Amity and Cooperation of Southeast Asia and the Framework Agreement for Comprehensive Partnership between ASEAN and the Republic of China.

He further added that the country will benefit more than the US from this newly strengthened alliance between the two countries.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is scheduled to distribute land titles to some 1,500 urban poor families in Cebu City tomorrow, barely 12 hours after her arrival from Bali, Indonesia where she attended the 9^th summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

The President and her party are expected to arrive shortly before midnight tonight at the Mactan International Airport, where she will be welcomed by government officials and local residents.

The President and her group would then motor to the Waterfront Hotel in Cebu City where she is billeted for an overnight stay. Valenzuela Rep. Sherwin Gatchalian and hotel manager, Marco Protacio, would formally welcome the President at the hotel.

Recipients of land titles to be distributed by the President tomorrow at the Cebu City Sports Complex are longtime residents of Barangay Sambag 2 and Central Compound in Lahug, Cebu City.

The President is also expected to award securities of tenure to some 120 families from Mandaue City.

Francisco Fernandez, Cebu City Hall consultant for poverty reduction, said Thursday’s activity is only a follow-up to the land title distribution in Cebu City that the President started last year.

The President’s visit to Cebu City is her first out-of-town trip after announcing last October 4 at Clark Field, Pampanga that she would run in the 2004 elections.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo said that Thailand is planning to set up a petroleum hub in the Philippines.

"We are encouraging Thailand to set up a petroleum hub in the Philippines since it wants to set up one petroleum storage facility in the Southeast Asian region," the President said in a press briefing in Bali, Indonesia Tuesday night.

The President said that Thailand has two coastlines: one coastline facing the Middle East while the other coastline faces the South China Sea.

She said that the Philippines offered Thailand the possible investment opportunity and hopefully, both countries will be able to sign an agreement regarding the possible investment at the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit scheduled in Bangkok later this month.

Energy Secretary Vince Perez has already discussed the proposal with Thailand Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra on the setting up of a regional fuel storage in the Philippines.

Secretary Perez said that the setting up of effective mechanisms to provide a better guarantee of uninterrupted access to petroleum supplies at reasonable prices would benefit both countries as well as other ASEAN member countries.

The President also met with Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee to discuss the two countries’ bilateral economic relationship. The President said that the Philippines’ economic relationship with India is important because of its being a huge potential export market for Philippine products.

"India continues to enjoy a positive growth rate of six percent, with a population of more than a billion people. Of the one billion people, 200 are billionaires, which makes it an important economy," the President said.

The President also said that India is the chief source of cheap medicines being imported by the Philippines.

Both leaders witnessed the signing of two documents: India’s accession to the Treaty on Amity and Cooperation of Southeast Asian and the Framework Agreement for Comprehensive Partnership between ASEAN and the Republic of China.

The President also met with officials of the Chinese government on the expansion of China’s trade agreement with ASEAN member countries.

China and ASEAN have strengthened contacts and exchanges for mutually complementary and beneficial cooperation.

In 2002, the two sides signed the Framework Agreement on Comprehensive Economic Cooperation between ASEAN and China, launched the process towards and ASEAN-China Free Trade Area and moved bilateral economic cooperation towards greater scope and depth.

BALI, Indonesia (via PLDT) – President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee today agreed to forge closer ties and to work on possible trade agreements that would benefit both countries.

The agreement was the result of the bilateral meeting of the two leaders on the sidelines of the 9th ASEAN Summit here.

"The Philippines had no contact with India for a long time that’s why I asked for a meeting with their Prime Minister to renew our communication and a possible trade and investment relations with them," the President said in an informal press briefing last night.

The President pointed out that "there is a large Indian community in the Philippines and that this could be a basis for enhancing relations between the two countries."

To ensure greater people-to-people exchanges, the President told Prime Minister Vajpayee that the Philippines will rationalize its visa rules to make it easier for legitimate Indian businessmen and investors to travel to the Philippines.

Prime Minister Vajpayee expressed his appreciation for the President’s decision to rationalize the country’s visa rules, saying that this was a positive move that would encourage greater contact and exchanges between businessmen and investors of both countries.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Blas Ople said that during the meeting, the President and Vajpayee agreed that the Philippines and India share many basic values, including the adherence to democracy and peaceful change.

"The President told Prime Minister Vajpayee that the peaceful revolutions in the Philippines, namely EDSA 1 and II, were inspired by the peaceful and non-violent struggles of Mahatma Gandhi," Ople said in an interview.