I have to set aside my personal feelings for the good of the country, for the good of the average Filipino who benefits from law and order and effective control of heinous crimes such as kidnapping and drugs.

We are striking down these two crimes with effectiveness and consistency and these executions will bolster the overall campaign so I will let them run their course as mandated by the courts.

The average Filipino must feel safe in the streets and in their homes because this is important for justice and the economy.

We are turning the economy around, bringing in investments and creating more jobs and improving wages, but we must keep on fighting crimes to sustain our gains.

There is no cause for alarm as the DENR, the Department of Agriculture, NIA and other concerned agencies have already teamed up to map out plans to help the farmers and have built extensive irrigation systems over the past two years and these will serve us in good stead.

This also gives us more reason to continue to deliver clean water to the urban poor areas that need it most, but we must urge conservation in the face of the threatened water crisis.

We have to see through the impact of this problem on the average Filipino and insure that our communities are prepared.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo joined thousands of Black Nazarene devotees who flocked to the Minor Basilica of St. John the Baptist Parish today for the Quiapo fiesta.

The President, clad in white, striped shirt, attended a one-hour holy mass celebrated in honor of the Black Nazarene whose image is believed miraculous.

Mrs. Macapagal-Arroyo shook hands with her admirers and well-wishers as she wedged her way through a thick crowd at the entrance and inside the church. She arrived at Quiapo Church at 9:25 A.M.

Mrs. Macapagal-Arroyo heard the mass, which, by tradition, is one of the highlights of the Feast of the Black Nazarene that is observed every January 9 of the year. Friday is the day of devotion to the Black Nazarene.

The 300-year-old, life-size statue of the Black Nazarene was believed brought to Manila by a Spanish priest in 1606. Since 1787, it has been under the care of the Quiapo Parish Church.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today said that the year 2004 would bring both challenges and opportunities to the Philippines but stressed that the Filipino people will face these challenges with confidence and enthusiasm.

In her remarks at the traditional Vin d’Honneur held this morning at the Rizal Hall of Malacanang, the President said the challenges that the Philippines, as well as the other community of nations, faces are mass poverty, terrorism, environmental degradation and social injustice.

"Our resolve to stay the course of reform and reconciliation will be put to test. But this is a test we will face with confidence and enthusiasm," the President said.

The President said that the Philippines has no way to go but to carry on the revolution began by its ancestors to uplift the life of the Filipino and establish his rightful and proper place in the world.

"We have no choice but to move forward on this path to growth. Like many of your countries, the Philippines is caught between the claims of its feudal past and the imperatives of the global future. We must complete the revolution that our forbears began, more than a century ago, and take the mission to uplift the life of every Filipino to the global stage," the President said.

She said that in the short time she has been President, she has fought on behalf of the Filipino people to make the Philippines "strong, secure and respected."

"I have been fighting to improve the image, respect and clout of the Philippines abroad and in order to aid our quality of life here at home," the President said.

She said she has been fighting to secure the rights and privileges of overseas Filipino workers and their families at home, for peace in Mindanao with allies abroad to bring stability, unity and prosperity to the Muslims and Christians in the Philippines.

"No longer is the Philippines an isolated nation from the modern world. We thank Divine Providence and you, the members of the diplomatic corps, for helping us to restore the luster of the nation and respect of the world," the President said.

The President particularly thanked the representatives of foreign governments for their support in the fight against terrorism and for the country’s bid as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council.

"We thank Divine Providence and your governments that for the first time in a generation, we are Asia’s representative in the Security Council at the United Nations," she said.

The President said that the Philippines has aligned its foreign policy to gain the respect of the nations in the world stage "to champion the common man at home."

"I have harnessed the goodwill of allies to lift up the poor at home as a result of our pursuit of economic justice and our rightful role abroad," the President added.

The Vin d’Honneur was attended by some 300 guests that included members of the Diplomatic Corps headed by its dean, Archbishop Antonio Franco, Apostolic Nuncio to the Philippines, heads of specialized agencies of the United Nations and other international organizations, Cabinet members, leaders of both houses of Congress and other government officials.

Three of the country’s dominant political parties today bonded themselves officially into a coalition in what was described as a historic alliance in Philippine democracy.

Leaders of the ruling Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats (Lakas-CMD), Liberal Party (LP) and People’s Reform Party (PRP) signed a covenant at the Anabelle’s Restaurant in Quezon City this afternoon to put together what Speaker Jose de Venecia, Jr., chairman of Lakas-CMD, described as "the largest, strongest and most enlightened of political parties in the Philippines."

"We have by this covenant occupied a high political ground. We have by this covenant occupied a high moral ground," said De Venecia after the signing.

"We espouse a course of action and a course of government awaited by our people in order that we can finally achieve our arduous struggle to lift the Philippines from a Third World society to a Second World society under the leadership of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo," De Venecia said.

LP President Franklin Drilon said he was pleased that the coalition agreement has been finalized, saying that it contains all the principles that the LP has been fighting for.

Drilon said that LP leaders have, for the past several weeks, sat down with each of the presidential candidates in their efforts to select a candidate to support based on platform.

"After so much debate, we have decided that the principles espoused by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo are consistent with that of the party and we fully support this," he said. "We have committed our full support to the entire ticket."

The President, along with all the K-4 senatorial bets except Sen. Robert Jaworski, was present during the signing of the covenant. Jaworski was represented by son, Dudut.

The administration coalition, called the Koalisyon ng Katapatan at Karanasan para sa Kinabukasan, or K-4 for short, is led by President Macapagal-Arroyo and vice presidential bet, Senator "Kabayan" Noli de Castro.

PRP President Miriam Defensor-Santiago, the12th and last candidate to join the administration’s senatorial slate, reserved the best remarks for the President whom she described as "a woman of destiny."

Santiago said that destiny has decreed that the President presents to the Filipino people, when she asked for her own presidential mandate, "nothing less than the full and rich experience of three years on-the-job training, and performance and achievements in the presidency itself."

"Could anyone have done better in the light of development in the global and international economy? No one could have done better than President Arroyo in the last three years," she said.

She then dared the Filipino people with the question: "Are we banking for political stability for our economy to take off? Or are voting simply for novelty?"

Members of the diplomatic community today lauded President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo for her efforts to attain peace, both at the home front and in the regional and global levels.

Speaking on behalf of the diplomatic corps during the traditional Vin d’Honneur at the Rizal Hall of Malacanang, Apostolic Nuncio Archbishop Antonio Franco, said "one of the more urgent tasks and challenges we have today is the quest for peace."

"It (peace) is a necessary condition and supreme objective that demands greater individual, national, regional and worldwide commitment in order to achieve the common good of the humankind," Franco said.

He pointed out that it takes only one man to create a conflict, but attaining peace is the responsibility of everyone.

"So our mere presence in this gathering eloquently expresses our shared desire and the need to join our hands for better international collaboration in ensuring a brighter tomorrow for all humanity by building today a more peaceful fellowship among the peoples of all cultures, beliefs and regions," Bishop Franco said.

He also said the diplomatic corps has keenly followed the events of the past year, notably the efforts of the Macapagal-Arroyo administration to weed out corruption, prohibited drugs and illegal gambling.

"We recognize your struggle for alleviating the poverty and improving the living conditions of the masses," Franco told the President. "We consider your efforts for promoting peace, national unity and reconciliation, and for trying to forge agreement with disaffected groups."

Franco, dean of the diplomatic corps, cited President Macapagal-Arroyo’s hard-line stance against terrorism and other threats to the national security, as well as her commitment to help strengthen international ties, solidarity and cooperation among members of the community of nations.

"Your active participation in regional and global forums, as well as your dynamic involvement in deepening bilateral relationships are a clear expression and eloquent proof of your aspiration to make the Philippines a strong Republic recognized and respected in the community truly committed to contribute to regional and the global peace, security and well-being," Franco added.

He also paid tribute to the late Foreign Affairs Secretary Blas Ople whom he described as a "friendly, wise and outstanding statesman dedicated to his country and to the great ideals of the international community."

In her address to the diplomatic corps, President Macapagal-Arroyo said the common challenges that the Philippines and other countries face are mass poverty, terrorism, environmental degradation and social injustice.

A tripartite coalition forged today a "Covenant of Unity" embodying the platform of governance envisioned by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in her quest for a full-year term in the May 10 elections.

The covenant was formalized during a convenors’ meeting of the coalesced ruling party dubbed K-4 Coalition at the Annabels Restaurant in Quezon City.

Those who signed the document were Speaker Jose de Venecia, Jr., in his capacity as president of the Lakas-Christian Democrats, Senate President Franklin Drilon as chairman of the Liberal Party, and former Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago representing her own People’s Reform Party.

President Macapagal-Arroyo also inked the pact as a witness, along with Sen. Noli de Castro, her running mate under the K-4 banner represented by Atty. Jesse Andres, and senatorial bets Senator Robert Jaworski represented by son Dudut, Senator Rodolfo Biazon, former Defense Secretary Orlando Mercado, actor Ramon "Bong" Revilla Jr., Tourism Secretary Richard Gordon, former Trade Secretary Manuel Roxas II, Pampanga Governor Lito Lapid, lawyer Pia Cayetano and Gov. Parouk Hussin of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

The covenant enunciated the ideals of the K-4 candidates, some of which were declared by President Macapagal-Arroyo following their simultaneous filing of candidacy on Monday at the Commission of Elections head office in Intramuros, Manila.

"We are fighting for change for the good of the average Filipino. We vow to put food on every table, shelter over every family, health and a sound education for every citizen," the covenant stated.

It said the country has made a "strong start in a short time," and that the people have turned the economy around. It also cited "unprecedented gains in national reform and reconciliation."

"We shall push these gains forward behind reforms in the market, in agriculture, in social equity, in governance and in our protective institutions," the covenant added.

Reiterating the President’s earlier pronouncements, the document stated, "We have made the down payment for a strong Republic. We will continue to pay the installments through our leadership and partnership for change."

The ruling coalition also asserted its resolve to fight for constitutional reforms, eradicate the culture of corruption, weed out illegal drugs, kidnapping and terrorism, and struggle to provide the people clean water and good governance.

Defying destabilization efforts, the coalition declared, "It will take time and resolve to overcome the strong forces trying to divide us."

In line with the administration’s continuing efforts to provide potable water to waterless barangays in Metro Manila, some 19,000 households in Barangay Commonwealth in Quezon City have been provided with water connection and supply.

This is the fifth straight day in a week when President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo visited different waterless barangays in Metro Manila and provided them with potable water under her "Patubig" project that she launched last December in Payatas, also in Quezon City.

The President motored here from her previous engagements in Annabels Restaurant and University of the Philippines to personally open the three public faucets that would provide potable water to some 19,000 households.

In her brief remarks, the President said that the "Patubig" project is "the administration’s priority and continuing program to provide and deliver clean water" to barangays in Metro Manila.

Ram Agoncillo, representative of the state-run Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation, reported to the President that almost 50 percent of the targeted 160,000 families in Metro Manila are now enjoying clean water supply.

Residents of Barangay Commonwealth, led by barangay chairman Jose M. Gaviola, thanked the President when she visited and inspected the water tank for potable water in this barangay this afternoon.

"Taos pusong pasasalamat mahal naming Pangulong Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo sa libreng malinis na tubig (Thank you, Madam President, for the clean and potable water)," Gaviola said.

Gaviola told the President that because of the "Patubig" project, 19,000 households out of the total 187,000 population living in the area have benefited from the project. He said Commonwealth is the biggest barangay in Quezon City.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today vowed to fight for changes in the system that would lead to economic and political stability including constitutional reform leading to a change in the countrys’ form of government.

The President made the pledge as she presented her vision and program of government during a tripartite forum with the Kilosbayan, the University of the Philippines (UP) College of Law, and the UP Department of Political Science at the NISMED Auditorium in UP Diliman, Quezon City.

Kilosbayan, headed by former Senate president Jovito Salonga, is an ethics-oriented people's organization that pursue and protect, within the "democratic framework, legitimate and collective interests and aspirations through peaceful and lawful means."

"We must change the system and usher in deep reforms that will lead to political and social stability and sustained economic development including constitutional reform leading to a parliamentary and federal form of government," the President said.

The President added that nothing beats experience in solving fundamental problems and instituting reforms.

"Nothing beats experience, that's what we need," the President said.

The President said "historic economic problems" cannot be blamed on any single president because these problems are fundamentally caused by the economic and political systems.

The President said although Salonga was able to institute several reforms during his term, there is so much more that still need to be changed in the present system.

The President said she would continue fighting for the unprecedented reforms to make the Filipinos more safe, have a stronger family, and to eliminate corruption.

"We need to reform our protective institutions because of the imperatives of peace and order," she said.

That's why, the President said, she increased the salaries of military and police personnel equal to the salary of teachers.

"We need to reform the military and the police towards a graft-free and dedicated organization with the tools to enforce peace and order and to be true protectors of the citizenry," she said.

The President said the government also increased the salaries of the judges.

"Now we need to increase the salaries of the prosecutors to meet the shortage of prosecutors," she said.

Strengthening the Filipino family, the President said, include the provision of food, education, health, and housing.

Under her administration, the President said three million jobs were created compared to only one million opened in the last three years before she assumed the presidency.

The President said the government must also broaden education to sharpen the intellectual competitiveness of the country.

She said she modernized agriculture because "no family in the country must be deprived of a decent meal."

"Pagkain sa bawat mesa (Food for every table) is a duty to every Filipino," she said.