President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has not encountered any serious problem in her dual role as President and as a candidate, Presidential Spokesman Ignacio Bunye said today.

In an interview with Radyo ng Bayan this morning, Bunye said, however, that Malacaņang is preparing a work schedule that will reflect the actual division of her functions.

He noted that this marks the first in a long time in the country that a sitting President is running in an election. "’Yan ay nasa katauhan ng Pangulong Gloria (That is in the person of President Gloria)," he said.

"Ayaw naman niyang makalimutan iyong governance aspect at patuloy niya itong gagampanan kahit panahon ng kampanya (She can’t forget the governance aspect of her job, and she will continue to do it even during the campaign)," he said.

When she goes out to campaign, Bunye said that the Executive Secretary assumes the role of "Little President." Executive Secretary Alberto Romulo presides over Cabinet meetings, he said.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s Patubig program showcases what a hard working President can do to alleviate the hardship of ordinary Filipinos.

In a span of just one and a half months, the Patubig ni Pangulong Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo program has provided potable water to 638,232 families – or 3,829,392 persons – in Metro Manila and the nearby provinces of Rizal and Cavite.

The President launched her Patubig program in Barangay Payatas, Quezon City, on December 31, 2003. Its main source of funding is the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor), which is under the Office of the President.

Mrs. Macapagal-Arroyo chose Pagcor on purpose, so that "I can closely monitor the implementation (of Patubig)."

Pagcor has harnessed the expertise and the equipment of the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) in the implementation of Patubig. The Manila Water Co. and the Maynilad Water Co. are cooperating in the program.

A status report submitted to Malacanang by the project area managers shows that, as of February l5, 2004, the Patubig ni Pangulong Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo program has been serving 466,642 households in Metro Manila, 164,675 households in Rizal, and 6,915 households in Cavite.

The Patubig program has transformed the lives of many of the beneficiaries. Daisy Alcural, a young mother of the FTI Compound in Barangay Western Bicutan, Taguig, Metro Manila, said, "Simula’t sapul pa ay wala na kaming tubig dito (We have no water supply ever since)."

Daisy said she used to buy water at P2.50 per pail. As her family consumed an average of 10 pails a day, she said, that meant shelling out P750.00 per month for water for washing, bathing and drinking. "Napakalaking tulong ito ni Pangulong Gloria sa amin (This is a great help from the President)," she said after a communal water tank had been installed in their depressed community.

While inaugurating a water project in Barangay San Andres, Cainta, Rizal, the President noted that the villagers had been requesting for a water connection in their area since the l980"s. "Your water is finally here," she said.

As of February 15, 2004, 275 barangays in Manila, Quezon City, Makati City, Paranaque City, Las Pinas City, Muntinlupa City, Pasig City, Caloocan City, Malabon City, Valenzuela City, Taguig, and Navotas, Metro Manila; Antipolo City, Pililia, Cainta, Taytay, Binangonan, San Mateo, Morong, Montalban and Angono, Rizal; and Bacoor and Noveleta, Cavite, have benefited from the President’s water project.

The largest number of household beneficiaries of the Patubig program in Manila with 143,200 households, followed by Quezon City, 95,200 households; the Camanava area, 86,403 households.

Residents of the beneficiary barangays were thankful to the President for her efforts in providing them access to clean and safe water, pointing out that they used to have a hard time just to obtain any water for their daily needs.

They said that they used to stay up late at night waiting, in long lines, to get water. The tedious work of getting water had affected not only their health but also their wallet, they said.

President Macapagal-Arroyo said that the program evolved from consultations last year with the concerned communities. The combined elements of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), the Manila Water Co. and Maynilad helped identify the intended recipient barangays and in determining the kind of water distribution facilities for them.

The President said that 20 out of 40 communities surveyed complained about their lack of water supply.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today gave assurances that her administration remained focused on helping the farmers through stronger government support to increase their harvest translating into higher incomes.

In a press briefing in Malacanang, the President also underscored the government’s thrust to attain food sufficiency for every Filipino family.

The Chief Executive elaborated on the government’s program to build more irrigation projects and propagate the use of certified seeds of high-yield rice variety such as the Gloria Rice that enables the farmers to even triple their harvest.

Mrs. Macapagal-Arroyo also cited her move to increase the palay and corn procurement budget of the National Food Authority (NFA) from P1 billion to P4 billion to cope with the expected bumper harvest of rice this year.

With the additional funds, the NFA was expected to increase its grains procurement from 210,000 metric tons to 295,000 metric tons. Corollary to this, rice importation was also seen to be slashed by 50 percent, or from one million metric tons in 2001 to only 500,000 metric tons this year.

"It is the policy of my administration to give full support to the economic empowerment of all our farmers and give full meaning to food security," the President said.

She revealed that the NFA’s buying rate was also adjusted from P9 to P10 per kilo at the farm gate, resulting in a projected increase of the farmers’ income by about P25,000 per hectare.

"This rice and corn revolution in the countryside has resulted in stable prices, sufficiency in corn and rice, as well as more income for our farmers," the President said.

Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Teresita Deles has called on the media to go beyond the issue of terrorist listing of the CPP-NPA and instead pay attention to the other things that have been agreed on between the government and the National Democratic Front (NDF) at the resumption of formal peace talks in Oslo, Norway recently.

Deles made the appeal during her arrival from the Norwegian capital with the government panel that sat down with their NDF counterparts led by Luis Jalandoni and chief political consultant Jose Ma. Sison.

The terrorist-listing issue took up most of the discussion in the four-day talks and the impasse it brought to the negotiations threatened to scuttle the peace process. Backroom dealings by both parties with the help of the Norwegian government facilitators prevented the scheduled four-day talks from collapsing.

"I hope this will be the last time we will clarify this, I think it’s time for media and all of us to move beyond this now and pay attention to other things that we had agreed on," Deles said in a radio interview Monday.

Contrary to what was claimed, Deles said the agreement was for the government and the NDF to jointly and separately call upon the United States government, the Council of European Union and other concerned foreign states and governments to support the efforts of the parties in resolving the issues.

"When we agreed during the exploratory talks to undertake effective measures to resolve the issues, it has always been in our mind that this could not be unilateral on our part," she said. "As has been explained by our Department of Foreign Affairs, it is their actions that had brought them into the list and it is their own actions also that in the end will be the most effective measure for getting them out."

At the same time, Deles said the government will continue to call on all countries to support the peace talks, citing that in other countries like Sri Lanka, the Tamil Tigers were also put on the terrorist list by other countries but that the talks were able to proceed without delisting.

"It is our position that this is really beyond our control. These are acts of sovereign states having made their own assessments and doing their continuing assessments," Deles said.

She added that even with a peace agreement, it is not still guaranteed that the CPP-NPA would be removed from the list.

"But I think that there would be a better chance to make a request if the peace process is well on its way. As what we’ve emphasized during the discussions, what we needed was moral and legal justification to make such a request," she said.

In the same interview, she acknowledged the support of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo who she said backed up the government panel every step of the way.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s anti-crime drive has notched another success.

The No. 8 kidnapper listed in the Top 20 priority list of the National Anti-Kidnapping Task Force (NAKTAF), Teddy Padre, fell in a police dragnet Monday and was presented to the President this afternoon at the Presidential Security Guard (PSG) Conference Room.

NAKTAF Chief Gen. Angelo Reyes made the presentation to the President. Padre was the ninth kidnapper neutralized by NAKTAF after the Chief Executive had ordered an all-out war against the Kidnap for Ransom (KFR) syndicates operating in the country.

At a press conference at the PSG Conference Room this afternoon, President Macapagal-Arroyo commended Reyes for another success in her administration’s intensified campaign against criminality.

President Arroyo noted that of the 71 kidnappers neutralized by government operatives, 56 were arrested, nine were killed in an encounter, and six surrendered to the authorities.

She also pointed to the difference in solving kidnapping cases under her watch and during the term of deposed President Joseph Estrada.

She said that in the past, ransom was paid to the kidnappers in exchange for the freedom of victims. Under her administration, she said, the law enforcement agencies are on orders to launch massive manhunts to track down all kidnappers, including the top 20 in the order of battle of NAKTAF.

"During the term of Estrada, the government’s thrust was paying ransom money, while under my administration, I ordered a total cracked down against these kidnappers through nationwide manhunt operations," the President said.

The President also praised the people for helping in the anti-crime campaign.

Padre was arrested in Don Mariano Marcos Avenue, Quezon City, by joint operatives of NAKTAF Intelligence Group, Philippine National Police (PNP) and Central Police District (CPD).

He was the prime suspect in the kidnapping of Marriane dela Rosa on March 27, 2003 along A. Bonifacio ST., Canlalay, Binan, Laguna.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo will formally open this year’s Balikatan joint military training exercise to be held in Palawan starting Monday.

The President herself made the announcement during a press conference held this afternoon at the Presidential Security Guard Conference Room in Malacanang Park.

"The Balikatan will be held in Palawan upon the request of the people of Palawan," she said. "So we will go there on the 23^rd to open the Balikatan."

As in past Balikatan exercises held in Central Luzon, Basilan and Zamboanga City, the exercise will form part of the Philippines’ overall and ongoing defense and security cooperation activities with the United States, which continue to focus on increasing the country’s ability to protect itself against terrorist threats.

It will be conducted in accordance with the Constitution and laws of the Philippines.

Likewise, consultations will be held with local government officials with the end in view of ensuring the safety and welfare of civilians during the exercise.

As in previous Balikatans, the introduction of civic humanitarian projects especially in the field of basic health services, will be a significant component of the exercise.

It is widely acknowledged that the training, advice, and assistance the Armed Forces got in Basilan were critical factors that led to the defeat of the Abu Sayyaf in Basilan and the restoration of order and the full reestablishment of government services in the province.