It is predictable for the opposition to claim, as former Senator Francisco Tatad has done, that government resources are being used for electioneering. But when Cabinet measures to enhance governance are willfully misconstrued to make unfounded charges of election law violations, politicking undermines the national good.

We call on our people to dismiss such attacks on programs and policies needed to ensure the steady delivery of crucial public services, while strictly adhering to election rules and regulations. In our fight for change, we shall not allow self-serving imputations to derail our drive to build a better future for the nation.

Malacaņang called on the people today to dismiss attacks on government "programs and policies needed to ensure the steady delivery of crucial public services while strictly adhering to election rules and regulations."

Secretary Ricardo Saludo, deputy presidential spokesman and Cabinet secretary, also asserted in a statement, that "self-serving imputations" will not deter President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in her relentless drive "to build a better future for the nation."

In an earlier radio interview, Saludo denounced as "unfounded" opposition charges that President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo should be disqualified from the May 10, 2004 elections for allegedly harnessing her Cabinet and government resources in the election campaign.

He said, "Wala pong basehan ‘yan, sapagka’t sabi ko nga, dito naman sa mga pulong ng Gabinete ay maliwanag na tinitiyak kung ano ang dapat o di dapat, sumasangguni po tayo sa Kagawaran ng Katarungan at sa Civil Service Commission. At bukod pa roon, niliwanag ko pong mabuti na hindi dapat lumabag sa anumang mga panukala ng COMELEC hinggil sa halalan. (This charge is without basis. As I’d said, the Cabinet consults the Department of Justice and the Civil Service Commission on its decisions. Furthermore, I make it certain that Cabinet decisions do not violate any rule and regulation of the Commission on Elections)."

In his statement, Saludo said that "it is predictable for the opposition to claim, as former Senator Francisco Tatad has done, that government resources are being used for electioneering."

"But when Cabinet measures to enhance governance are willfully misconstrued to make unfounded charges of election law violations," he added, "politicking undermines the national good."

Saludo said that, "As the Cabinet secretary, I can unequivocally state that there have been no instructions or decisions issued at Cabinet meetings calling for the use of government personnel and resources for election campaign."

Once more, we must be alert yet calm. The government is on the job to prevent the entry of bird flu-infected poultry products and strict quarantine measures are now being implemented on possible entry points.

We uphold a policy of social equity balanced with the viability of the whole power industry. This has been a difficult balancing process and the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) has been doing a commendable job.

Presidential Adviser on Official Development Assistance and Priority Projects Marita Jimenez denied today published reports that Malacaņang has a hand in the paid advertisements questioning the citizenship of actor and opposition presidential candidate Fernando Poe Jr.

In a radio interview, Jimenez clarified that her office placed reservation for paid ads on the Gloria Rice program either for January 19 (Monday) or January 26 (also Monday).

Jimenez pointed out that the anti-FPJ ads came out on Jan. 20, Tuesday.

"Iyong aming received copy noong aming filing for reservation -- hindi pa ito reservation ha -- nakalagay doon malaking-malaki, na either Monday or Jan. 26, another Monday (Our received copy of the filing of reservation – this is not even reservation yet – it states there in bold print that it’s either for Monday, January 19 or January 26)," she said.

"At itong hindi naming pag-pupush through ng aming reservation ay maaga pang nalaman, Sabado pa. So iyon ay very clear. (And when we did not push through with the ads, we let them know as early as Saturday. That’s very clear)," Jimenez said.

She said she doesn’t know what the media used as basis in insinuating that the pullout was meant to give way to the FPJ ads.

Jimenez claimed that she has a list of those who received the rice program ad materials (soft and hard copies). "It’s just unfortunate that it did not push through because the launching was postponed," she said,

"Kaya doon sa dalawang puntos na iyon ay napaka-clear, napaka-glaring na hindi ito ginawang reserbasyon or filing for a reservation doon para sa isang bagay na hindi naman (So on those two counts, its very clear, very glaring that it was not a reservation for something that is not)," she said, referring to the controversial ad.

The ad questioned the citizenship of FPJ and urged the citizenry to vote wisely in the coming May polls.

The Gloria Rice ads, according to Jimenez, were meant to drumbeat the success of the administration’s rice program, which was able to increase palay yield from 60 to 90 cavans per hectare to 150 to 240 cavans.

Jimenez lamented that even the President had been dragged into the controversy, although the government has nothing to do with it.

Jimenez urged her detractors to validate their allegations with the media entities concerned. She also challenged those who placed the FPJ ads to come out and set the record straight.

She also appealed to the Philippine Daily Inquirer to conduct its own inquiry "because media ethics dictate it so."

Market and economic analysts have made it clear that the fate of the peso largely depends on the mode of the campaign and the kind of elections that we will have.

We are committed to a decent and civil campaign and to clean, honest and orderly polls. We have had enough of dirty politics and elections for the past years and history would tell us that this is one of the setbacks to our economic stability and growth.

This is the time to do away with traditional politics and electioneering and turn our focus instead on how we could alleviate poverty through a sound platform of government.

The Office of the President has never placed any negative ads in the media and will never do so.

We are not responsible for any perceived acts of premature campaigning among supporters of the President and we ask them to contain their enthusiasm and follow Comelec rules.

As for former Senator Tatad’s bid to disqualify the President, this is a gimmick destined for the waste bin.

Malacanang today welcomed the order of the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) to the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) to lower the electricity rates it is charging some four million customers in Metro Manila and neighboring provinces.

No less than President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo said national interest is served "when we have stable public utilities delivering affordable services to the Filipino people."

"We uphold a policy of social equity balanced with the viability of the whole power industry," the President said in a statement. "This has been a difficult process and the ERC has been doing a commendable job," she said.

Presidential Spokesman Ignacio Bunye said in a radio interview this morning that the ERC order " is a welcome development, specially to electric consumers like us."

"This means the ERC heeded the call of the public for a lower electricity rates," Bunye said.

Petitioning the ERC for a lower electricity rates last January 14, Meralco cited the lower generation costs from its independent power producers (IPPs) and the deferment of an increase in the purchased power adjustments.

Responding to a call by the Macapagal-Arroyo administration for the lowering of the cost of medicines to affordable levels, a research-based pharmaceutical company launched today a program designed to bring down prices of their essential medicines by as much as 34 percent.

World-renowned GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), which claims leadership in four major therapeutic areas – anti-infectives, central nervous system, respiratory and gastro-intestinal/metabolic—dubbed its program as "Value Health."

During a courtesy call at Malacanang, GlaxoSmithKline president for pharmaceutical international Dr. Russel Greig told President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo that prices of his company’s essential antibiotics such as "Amoxil" (amoxicillin) and "Septrin" (co-trimoxazole) would be cut down by as much as 34 percent.

The two antibiotics have been recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) to cure acute respiratory tract infections (ARI), a common ailment among Filipinos, especially children.

Value Health also covers medicines for asthma, gout and tuberculosis.

Greig told the President that they viewed the country’s health issues as a primary concern of his company.

He said the Value Health program is GSK’s response to government’s call for low-priced medicines as a key component of efficient healthcare delivery to the people.

He added that GSK plans to invest more in research and development as part of their renewed commitment to discover new medicines that could be sold at affordable prices.

The President gladly acknowledged GSK’s commitment to help push her healthcare delivery program.

Greig is a cancer biologist and scientist who has been with GSK since 1980.

President Gloria Macapagal-arroyo today unwrapped a students assistance fund worth P500 million that would grant interest-free loans to graduating but cash-strapped students to allow them to finish college and become professionals.

During the launching this afternoon of the Students' Assistance Fund for Education for a Strong Republic, or SAFE 4 SR, at the Araneta Coliseum in Cubao, Quezon City, the President turned over a check worth P200 million as initial fund of the program to Chairman Rolando Dizon of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED).

The President said that the initial outlay of P200 million would be used to implement the program in Metro Manila. The remainder of P300 million will be used for students in other parts of the country.

"In my going around the country I have found that many students and their families spend time and money for three or four years of college only to run out of resources in the final lap," the President said in her speech.

The President told some 15,000 students from various schools and universities in Metro Manila that this is the same ordeal his father, the late President Diosdado Macapagal, suffered when he was still in college.

The President said her father, the son of a laundry woman, was a working student in a law school when he suffered tuberculosis.

The President said her father was devastated after being advised to either stop working or stop studying at the time.

She said that her father was lucky then when Don Honorio Ventura shouldered his school expenses.

The President said this is one strong reason she decided to help solve the financial problem of many students of today through the grant of interest-free loans to them.

The President said she also found out that the 400,000 government scholarship programs in the country are not enough and only reach about 20 percent of students in private schools.

"Now the 2004 budget will provide the biggest funding support for education and scholarship in our history," the President said.

Through this program, the Macapagal-Arroyo administration reinforced its commitment to uplift the lives of people, particularly those in the lower-income bracket, by investing in education.

SAFE 4 SR will be managed by CHED’s Office of Students Services in collaboration with the Office of the Presidential Assistant for Youth Affairs.

SAFE 4 SR encourages Filipino students to get a college degree to improve their lives and to join the country’s top-caliber workforce.

The program caters to college students in their 3^rd, 4^th and final year in CHED-recognized institutions.

Depending on the assessment of the Student Financial Assistance (SFA) unit of CHED, the applicant may borrow as much as P8,000 per semester to cover the expenses for tuition fees, books, school projects, thesis papers, board and lodging bills and graduation fees.

Loans must be paid not later than two years after graduation.

Payments can be made in fortnightly or monthly installments and should be deposited in the program’s bank account.

SAFE 4 SR also intends to address the growing number of students who dropped out of college due to financial difficulties.