Last Friday I assured the nation and the world that we are not in the midst of a constitutional crisis. As Chief Executive of the Philippines, I have been working to execute that assurance according to my best lights.

There must be peace among our great institutions if there is to be peace in our democratic society.

Without going into the crisis of the impeachment case, I consulted with the Chief Justice, the Speaker of the House and Mr. Eduardo Cojuangco about the impeachment controversy.

While the executive may not interfere in an issue involving co-equal branches of government, it is not out of line for the presidency to seek a principled solution. This does not involve deals with anyone or any vested interest. I do this with pure and patriotic intentions. I have only the interest of national unity and reconciliation at heart.

I do not know where my overtures will lead, but I do know that representatives of the three parties – the Supreme Court, the Speaker, and the NPC – have sat down over the weekend to try to find common ground.

The Executive branch recognizes the constitutional separation of powers. All I want is for our people to be freed from the anxieties that could adversely affect their work and livelihood, and for our economic and political stability to be sure in the eyes of the domestic and international audience.

I believe that when the supreme welfare of the people is involved, the three great powers of our republican democracy must have a congruence of faith and action.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo said today that she has consulted with Supreme Court Chief Justice Hilario Davide, Jr., Speaker Jose de Venecia, Jr. and Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC) founder Eduardo Cojuangco in an effort to seek a swift, "principled" solution of the impeachment complaint against the Chief Justice.

"While the executive may not interfere in an issue involving co-equal branches of government, it is not out of line for the presidency to seek a principled solution," President Macapagal-Arroyo said in a statement she read at the Quezon City office of the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB).

The President conducted a surprise inspection of the LTFRB after attending an 8:00 A.M. mass at the Supreme Court upon the invitation of the SC Employees Association.

The President started her statement by recalling the assurance she gave the nation Friday that we are not in the midst of a constitutional crisis. "As Chief Executive of the Philippines, I have been working to execute that assurance according to my best lights," she said.

"This does not involve deals with anyone or any vested interest. I do this with pure and patriotic intentions. I have only the interest of national unity and reconciliation at heart," she said.

Representatives of the Supreme Court, the NPC and the Speaker had sat down over the weekend trying to find a common ground, according to the President. The impeachment complaint was signed mostly by NPC members.

"The Executive branch recognizes the constitutional separation of powers. All I want is for our people to be freed from the anxieties that could adversely affect their work and livelihood, and for our economic and political stability to be secure in the eyes of the domestic and international audience," the President explained.

She closed it with the belief that "the three great powers of our republican democracy must have a congruence of faith and action" when the supreme welfare of the people is involved, and a prayer that all ends well.

On the President’s attendance in the mass, Presidential Spokesman Ignacio Bunye said she did it to express her "personal opinion of the Chief Justice."

Bunye said the President has "a very high regard for his (Davide’s) integrity and for his competence." Her attendance in the mass, he added, should not be taken to mean that she is interfering with the House of Representatives favoring the Chief Justice.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today prayed for wisdom and for immediate resolution of the impeachment complaint in Congress against Supreme Court Chief Justice Hilario Davide, Jr.

The President attended a holy mass organized by the Supreme Court Employees Association. She joined Chief Justice Davide and members of the SC bench, along with employees, in the mass celebrated by Fr. Robert Reyes.

"I went to mass at the Supreme Court today to pray that all will end well. I am praying that God will give us the wisdom to be constructively fair and ever loyal to the flag," Mrs. Macapagal-Arroyo said.

In his homily, Fr. Reyes said that he offered the mass for the high tribunal’s integrity and credibility, adding that he believes in the honesty and innocence of Chief Justice Davide.

Many of the more than 1,000 SC workers, who attended the mass and the preceding flag ceremony, wore black armbands to show their support for the embattled Chief Justice.

Several members of the Cabinet were also present at the mass. Among them were Executive Secretary Alberto Romulo, Social Welfare and Development Secretary Corazon Juliano-Soliman, Interior and Local Government Secretary Joey Lina, National Security Adviser Roilo Golez, Presidential Spokesman Ignacio Bunye, and Presidential Adviser for Religious and Media Affairs Dodie Limcaoco.

President Gloria Macapagal- Arroyo today approved the Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC) Aksyon Agad Land Transportation Response Scheme of "zero accident" under its "Oplan Kaluluwa 2003" for All Saints and All Souls Days.

In the 77^th Cabinet Meeting and 20^th National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Board meeting at the Land Transportation Office (LTO), East Avenue, Quezon City, Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) Chairman Maria Elena Bautista said that one of their response strategies is the deployment of help desks in all bus terminals and stations, in coordination with local government units and civic groups.

Another scheme is the deployment of response teams to coordinate medical and rescue operations during emergency situations, Bautista said.

The DOTC Aksyon Agad scheme also includes the provision of "Libreng Tawag" booths for public assistance in strategic population convergence areas.

The DOTC will also activate all regional monitoring centers nationwide.

Bautista reported other schemes that are being considered for the safe observance of All Saints Day this year, among them:

• Checking and ensuring roadworthiness of public utilities vehicles (PUVs) and ensuring that drivers and conductors are physically and mentally fit;

• Checking and ensuring safety equipment on board the PUVs;

• ensuring that there is no overloading; and

• apprehending "colorum" PUV operators.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today conferred the Order of Sikatuna, rank of Lakan, on Dr. Terrel Hill, Country Representative of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), for his valuable contribution to the improvement of the lives of Filipino children and women.

The Order of Sikatuna is the highest honor given to foreign dignitaries who have made exemplary contributions to the country during their tour of duty here.

Hill, who has headed UNICEF Manila since 1996, was received by the President at the Music Room of Malacaņang.

Since heading the promotion of the Child-Friendly Movement in the Philippines, 68 provinces and 51 cities have given their "four gifts for Filipino children," that include a development and investment plan and regular monitoring and reporting about the situation of children.

"It’s an honor not just to myself but UNICEF," said Hill who has devoted 25 years to the UN agency. "It is also a reflection of the high priority of national government and civil society to meet children’s rights."

During Hill’s term, the Philippines received WHO certification as being polio-free, the number of measles cases and deaths among children significantly declined, and over 3,500 public schools became child-friendly schools.

Moreover, reforms in the juvenile justice system have been initiated, making the procedures more appropriate and sensitive to the psychosocial make-up of children. They have also expanded the network of non-government organizations (NGOs) and religious communities for child protection.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today stressed that the presidency is called upon to mediate in efforts to seek a principled solution in the ongoing impeachment controversy against Supreme Court Chief Justice Hilario Davide, Jr.

"A political threshold has been reached in which the presidency is called upon for the extraordinary duty to mediate a controversy that may invite opportunistic destabilization attempts perpetrated by parties outside the dispute,’ the President said in her speech before the oath-taking and awarding ceremonies of the Concerned Women of the Philippines at the Ceremonial Hall in Malacaņang.

The President, who said that she consulted with Davide, Speaker Jose de Venecia, Jr. and Mr. Eduardo Cojuangco about the controversy, noted that it was not her intention until now to interfere in the substance of the constitutional process put in motion in the Congress much less to intervene in behalf of any parties involved.

"But what I want is for our people to be freed from the anxieties that could adversely affect their work and livelihood and for our economic and political stability to be secure in the eyes of our people and in the eyes of our international audience," she said.

Looking for a solution, the President said, does not involve any deals with anyone or any vested interest. "I do this with pure and patriotic intentions with only national unity and reconciliation at heart. I believe that even in the face of the constitutional separation of powers when the supreme welfare of the people is involved all the institutions of our republican democracy must have a congruence of faith and action," she said.

The President noted that she had had great difficulty during the past two-and-a-half years of her administration because she came into the position amid great turmoil in the world and in the country – the 1997 Asian financial crisis, the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States and the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) scare this year.

She further noted that the people knew too well the trauma of an impeachment trial. "We cannot go through another trauma again because that trial left our country divided. We cannot afford to divide it again, already divided as it is," she said.

The President, who attended a mass at the Supreme Court along with Chief Justice Davide and the other SC justices, said she prays that all ends well in the Davide impeachment controversy and that God give us the wisdom to be constructive, fair and ever loyal to the flag.

"I believe that there must be peace among our great institutions if there is to be peace in our democratic society," she said.

Mrs. Macapagal-Arroyo said a woman is at the center of the governance of the nation today and it’s her job as chief executive to execute the assurance that she made last Friday to the people that "we are not in the midst of a constitutional crisis."

"It is my job as chief executive to make that assurance stay a reality and to avert a constitutional crisis," she said.

She also noted that the upturn in the Philippine economy on the second half of the year is due to recovery taking place in the United States, Japan and Europe.

But she likewise stressed, that the country’s economic prospects would largely depend not on the growth in those countries but on the course of our way of doing politics.

She said "already we can see the mudslinging, the libelous air, the recriminations, the raw posturing in the horizon and even on center stage."

The President said she wants to concentrate on the economy, on getting jobs back, on healing divisions, on clean elections. "And these are difficult things to do in the last several years of internal and external crises. But the other countries are beginning to recover and we cannot afford to be left behind. We cannot afford for our country to go into the way of destruction because of greater divisions," she added.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today extended her warm greetings to the Muslim community on its observance of the first day of fasting of the month of Ramadhan.

Saying Ramadhan instills discipline, the President said this year’s observance augurs well in the government efforts to strengthen the bureaucracy through moral recovery and spiritual enhancement.

"Indeed among the adherents of Islam, Ramadhan instills discipline," she said. "It teaches Muslims moral restraints to avoid what is forbidden and encourages the pursuit of what the Creator has commanded."

She expressed the hope that the sacred month would give the Filipinos strength to exercise the virtues of honesty, patience and understanding.

This, she said, "would enable us to face the challenges confronting our nation and allow us to continue with our quest for peace, development and stability.

The full text of the President’s message:

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today cited the other awardees of the Concerned Women of the Philippines (CWP) as "women who have championed change and having been able to achieve much change."

"Women are also the champions of peace and reconciliation," the President said during the 25^th anniversary celebration of CWP at the Malacaņang Ceremonial Hall which cited her as the "most distinguished member of the CWP" for her most exemplary work and dedication to public service.

CWP honorary chair Ma. Teresa Nieva and Evelyn L. Kilayko presented the special recognition plaque to the President.

The President said that the women awardees have quietly nurtured a culture of peace by helping address not only the immediate causes of conflict but its roots, such as inequity, injustice, and economic exclusion.

"Poverty reduction is the highest agenda of my administration and women have helped me in that struggle," the President said.

Given special recognition like the President were founding members Zeneida Quezon Avancena, Mary Conception Bautista (posthumous), Paz Policarpio Mendez (posthumous), Maria Feria Nieva, Cecilia Munoz Palma, Ma. Teresa Escoda Roxas (posthumous) and Mita Pardo de Tavera.

"Today, the woman is at the center of governance, not merely because the president is a woman, but because we have fielded women of all ages and persuasions in key positions in the public service. But more than that, the woman is at the center of changing things in our society where change needs to be done," the President said.

Before her speech, the President administered the mass oath taking of the three Sandiganbayan Justices, one Regional Trial Court Judge, six ambassadors, eight newly promoted generals, six government officials and the officers and members from the private sector organizations.

The three associate justices of the Sandiganbayan who took their oath were Teresita Diaz Baldos, Efren Dela Cruz, and Roland Bautista Jurado. The President also swore into office Judge Noli Diaz of Branch 39 of the Muntinlupa City Regional Trial Court.

The President also swore in Cristina Ortega as Philippine Ambassador to Australia, Libran Cabactulan as Philippine Ambassador to United Arab Emirates, Blesilda Cabrera as Consul General to Chicago, Corazon Belmonte Jover as Consul General to Hong Kong, Cecilia B. Rebong as Consul General to New York and Olivia Palala as Consul General to Manado, Indonesia.

The newly promoted police generals (from one star to two stars) were Police Directors Enrique Galang, Jr., Rolando Garcia and Robert Delfin. Those promoted to one-star general were Police Chief Superintendents Jefferson Soriano, Servando Hizon, Restituto Mosqueda, Oscar Valenzuela and Wilfredo Garcia.