PARIS (via PLDT) – Where there is a Philippine project requiring assistance from the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco), there is a Filipino staff who can push for our interest.

This was stressed Monday by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in her tribute to the 27 Filipinos occupying professional positions at the Unesco Headquarters here.

Meeting with the Filipino staff right after delivering her address before the Unesco General Conference, the President cited the importance of their professional services that allow Unesco to provide much needed technical assistance to developing countries, like the Philippines.

Unesco has made valuable contribution to Philippine peace progress, she said, adding "I am happy to hear about the work of some of you."

Proud of the Filipinos working in the UN body, the President said, "I can see that in many areas where we need the support of Unesco, there is a Filipino executive or technical person there, so we can count on you to be our advocate as well."

The President also cited the sacrifices and risks taken by the Filipinos employed in the UN system, particularly those who gave up their lives as a result of terrorist attacks.

She said "even if you are right here in the Secretariat, you are keeping the wheels of the organization efficient" and that work can be done to meet the need of developing countries like the Philippines for education, scientific progress, and cultural preservation."

After her meeting with the Filipino staff, the President witnessed the designation of the Earthsavers Dreams Ensemble as Unesco artists for peace.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today reported that her five-day trip to the United States and Europe had broadened international support for her administration’s efforts in promoting peace and development in Mindanao.

In her arrival statement, the President said when she and her delegation visited New York, Rome and Paris "we brought the cost of peace, security and development" that gained significant support from various foreign leaders.

The President and her official delegation arrived this morning at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) from Paris where she addressed the 32^nd General Conference of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

Aside from the decades-old Mindanao problem, the President said the Philippines also projected its firmed partnership with other nations in the fight against terrorism and transnational crimes.

The President said that she had received the full support of United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan and Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad on her peace program for Mindanao.

"Malaysia will continue to spearhead the facilitation of the peace talks. The OIC (Organization of Islamic Conference) countries are keenly awaiting developments with growing commitments of aid and investment," the President said.

She also said the US Institute for Peace will work with Washington to put in concrete support for the resolution of conflict in the South.

The President revealed the establishment of a multi-donor trust fund that will be set up once a peace accord with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) is forged.

Organized by the World Bank and the United States Assistance for International Development (USAID), the fund has commitments of support from the Islamic Development Bank, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), and the governments of Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.

The President said that her administration would unleash massive public resources and Official Development Assistance (ODA) funds for infrastructure, socio-economic programs and autonomous capacity building measures in Mindanao.

"Things are falling into place. Peace in Mindanao is within our grasp. Buoyed not only by the Pope’s blessing but by a confluence of positive circumstances and events," the President.

She also said that her meeting with Pope John Paul II "renews and strengthens my resolve to wage the peace and to help the poor, uplift them and empower them."

During her meeting with Mahathir, she was assured of Malaysia’s support for the Philippines’ bid for official observer status in the OIC.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has cited education as the major component of her administration’s comprehensive approach in the fight against poverty in the Philippines.

In her keynote speech Monday at the 32^nd General Conference of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in Paris, the President said that in winning the battle against poverty, there is a need to empower individuals.

"Education, culture and sciences are indispensable tools for empowerment," the President said.

She said that her government has adopted a comprehensive approach in its anti-poverty program composed of market environment to create jobs, strong institutions of governance, social safety nets, and agricultural modernization founded on social equity.

"Education is the key to all these components of our war against poverty," the President told the UNESCO meeting.

The President lauded the UNESCO for its wholistic approach to development and in the eradication of poverty, particularly in promoting international cooperation in education.

The Philippine government, the President said, is pursuing greater access to education by closing the classroom gap and maintaining distance learning.

Because of its being a multi-ethnic society, the Philippines also support UNESCO’s drawing up of an international instrument of cultural diversity, the President said.

Along this line, President said, the Philippine government has adopted a policy of institutional accommodation of the country’s various cultural tradition that includes the empowerment of madrasah schools in the Muslim communities in Mindanao and its inclusion in the formal education system in the Philippines.

The President also supported UNESCO’s thrust to form knowledge societies instead of information societies, saying that in the former the concept of digital divide is widened to include issues of content, language, education, literacy for community and social resources.

According to the President, in information societies the concept of digital divide attaches overriding importance to the availability of computers and connectivity.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today said that the Philippines will play a role in "global peace-making" with its imminent election to a non-permanent seat in the United Nations Security Council.

Speaking upon her arrival at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport after a five-day working trip to the US and Europe, the President said that "our involvement in global peace-making is just as important as our participation in the global coalition against terrorism."

The President, who addressed the 58^th regular session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, said that "our quest for domestic security will also be enforced by our imminent seat in the UN Security Council."

As a non-permanent member of the Security Council for a two-year term, Mrs. Macapagal-Arroyo said that the Philippines will "push the principles of collective security, multilateral approach and the rule of law" in dealing with international problems.

She also disclosed that the Philippines is ready to participate in the law enforcement and humanitarian efforts of the United Nations in Liberia, an African country which is undergoing reconstruction after a prolonged civil war.

"The restoration of strong democratic institutions is indispensable to our bid to marginalize and defeat terror everywhere," the President pointed out.

In her speech, the President also paid tribute to overseas Filipino workers whom she described as "the best citizens of the world and the best citizens of the Philippines."

She noted that overseas remittances in the first half of the year had already overtaken the record of last year. "We’re having a boom in the deployment of caregivers, teachers and medical personnel. They are sending more resources homeward as we’re extending to them broader political rights and welfare programs," she said.

She also cited the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) for its support in the restoration of the Ifugao rice terraces, the preservation of the Tubbataha Reef, and the documentation of the 1986 EDSA People Power Revolution in the World’s Register of Memory.

President Macapagal-Arroyo thanked Vice President Teofisto Guingona, Jr. for successfully taking care of the government while she was out of the country.

Guingona led the Cabinet secretaries and other government officials in welcoming the President from her "very productive trip" to the US and Europe that boosted the cause of peace, security and development in the country, especially to Mindanao.

The President also lauded her small delegation that included seven members of Congress – Sens. Aquilino Pimentel and Manuel Villar and Reps. Prospero Nograles, Antonio Eduardo Nachura, Abraham Khalil Mitra, Rodolfo Bacani and Cynthia Villar.

She said that her administration looked forward to "continuing close partnership with the legislature in mapping out and undertaking Philippine foreign policy."

The visit of US President George W. Bush here next month is very important that the government will not allow any untoward incident to happen that would cause a "black mark" for the Philippines.

This was stressed today by Cabinet Secretary and Deputy Presidential Spokesman Ricardo Saludo as he explained the special security measures being worked out by US Secret Service personnel and local police and military authorities.

Preparations for Bush’s eight-hour visit on October 18 was one of the topics discussed during the regular Cabinet meeting held in Malacanang shortly after President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo arrived from Paris this morning.

Saludo said the matter of security for the American President is something that both the United States and the Philippine governments are concerned about.

"This is a paramount concern of the country at this point regarding the Bush visit," Saludo said. "Certainly, it would be a black mark for the country if there should be any kind of security incident that might happen during the visit."

Saludo stressed that Philippine National Police (PNP) and military officials are coordinating with the US Secret Service, which is responsible for the security of the US President.

During the Cabinet meeting, Saludo also said that there were several issues discussed in connection with the forthcoming visit of President Bush.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has approved in principle the implementation of preferential tariffs on motor vehicles under the automotive export program to help sustain economic development.

Trade and Industry Secretary Manuel Roxas II said that the new tariff scheme would help the country in its bid to be the hub of some of the world’s major auto manufacturers.

The government earlier issued Executive Order No. 156, establishing a Comprehensive Industrial Policy and Directions for the Motor Vehicle Development Program, to develop the Philippines as the manufacturing hub in Association of Southeast Asian Nation (ASEAN) for certain motor vehicles, parts and components.

Roxas said that an integral component of the Comprehensive Motor Vehicle Development Program under E.O. 156 is the provision of special export incentives to the automotive sector.

He said that the temporary export incentives would compensate for certain structural deficiencies that inhibit the automotive industry’s attainment of global competitiveness.

The benefits derived from the development of the automotive industry’s global competitiveness will outweigh the tariff revenues to be foregone from the grant of preferential tariffs on imports, Roxas said.

The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), in consultation with the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) and the Department of Finance (DoF), shall issue the appropriate guidelines to implement the preferential tariff privilege on certain motor vehicles, parts and components.

Motor vehicle parts and components, which will be classified under the "preferential rates" scheme, shall be subject to the Most Favored Nation (MFN) rate of import duty in accordance with the schedule indicated under the MFN column.