Malacanang assured the people today that the government would not assume any obligation of the Maynilad Water Services, Inc. under a proposed takeover of the financially-troubled company owned by the Lopez family.

Speaking at the inauguration of another project under her Patubig project in Barangay Gulod, Novaliches, Quezon City, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo said that Maynilad would not get any money under the rehabilitation plan.

"Whatever money is involved in the deal, it will not go to just one shareholder. It will go to the MWSS (Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System) and Maynilad and they will be the ones who will invest in the water distribution lines that the public needs," the President said.

In an interview with Radyo ng Bayan this morning, Deputy Presidential Spokesman Ricardo Saludo said that President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s primary intention in such a takeover is to ensure uninterrupted water services to the people.

Saludo said that the takeover, which is still subject to approval of the court and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), would enable the government to acquire a substantial shareholding, "more than 61 percent" of Maynilad.

He said that, with the takeover, the government could collect the P6 billion concession fees that have not yet been paid by Maynilad.

"Ang pagkakautang nito ay hindi naman aakuin ng gobyerno, sa halip ay makakukuha pa tayo ng $50 million doon sa bond na inilagay ng mga shareholders ng Maynilad (The government will not assume the debts of Maynilad. Instead, it will acquire the $50 million bond deposited by the Maynilad shareholders)," he said.

"Sa pamamagitan ng $50 million ay mababayaran natin ‘yong pagkakautang na dapat binayaran nitong Maynilad (The $50 million will be used to pay the debts of Maynilad)," he added.

State personnel can look forward to a package of benefits, including a 10 percent salary increase, with the signing of an agreement between the government and the unions of various government offices designed to improve public service.

The accord was signed at the Heroes Hall of Malacanang Monday on the occasion of the 107^th anniversary of the Office of the President.

Deputy Presidential Spokesman Ricardo Saludo told a radio interview today that the agreement was forged in long and serious discussions between the unions and the Public Sector Labor Management Council whose membership includes the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) and the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) .

Saludo said that the agreement calls on the President to push in Congress the enactment of an urgent administration bill that would increase by at least 10 percent the salary of government workers.

The government, he said, would also adjust upward the per diem of each employee travelling on official business within the country from P300.00 to P800.00.

Saludo said that there would be an inventory of government properties with a view to identifying some buildings that could be converted into hostels where traveling government employees could be billeted.

The agreement also provides for the establishment of government commissaries where state personnel could buy cheap basic goods, he said.

Speaking at a Pulong Bayan held this morning at Barangay Dona Feliza Mejia district here, the President told the residents of this coconut-growing region that P700 million has been earmarked under the coco levy funds for loans to individual coconut farmers, groups of coconut farmers, and their family members.

She said that they should inquire from the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) on how to avail of the loans, particularly those for livelihood projects.

As part of her program on copra price support, President Macapagal-Arroyo said that she has signed an executive order requiring trucks, jeepneys and government vehicles to use coconut diesel, or coco-diesel, as fuel.

She said that vehicles powered by coco-diesel fuel do not only travel 10 percent to 15 percent more mileage, but also emit 40 percent less pollution.

Senator Noli "Kabayan" de Castro, Mrs. Macapagal-Arroyo’s vice presidential running mate in the May 10 elections, acted as Pulong Bayan moderator.

He said that the use of coco-diesel to run vehicles contributes to the improvement of both the environment and the economy.

Coco-diesel would reduce the country’s importation of crude oil, and thus, save on foreign exchange reserves, de Castro said, adding that it would at the same time increase the demand for local coconut oil.

CARIGARA, Leyte—President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today scored the main political opposition for resorting to innuendoes and unfounded charges against her administration even as she reiterated her earlier statement that the public has now a choice between a leadership with experience or one that is bereft of a clear platform of government.

In a press conference at the municipal hall here, the President enumerated the steps taken by the government to improve the lot of the country’s coconut farmers, saying that now the price of copra is P21 per kilo, from the low P2.50 per kilo when she assumed the presidency in 2001.

Leyte, and the most of Region 8, is a coconut-producing province.

The President said that all the efforts of the government in improving the lot of the coconut farmers are the result of foresight and detailed program of government that her administration has conceived and implemented.

"Klarong-klaro ang pagpipilian ng taumbayan, iyong may karanasan, iyong nakasimula ng pagbago ng buhay mula sa kaguluhang namana o iyong walang karanasan, walang program at ayaw magdebate (The choice of our people is clear, whether they are for a leadership with experience and that has changed their lives for the better or one with no experience, no program of government and who refuses to debate," the President said, referring to opposition bet, Fernando Poe, Jr.

The President said that the financial market has also reacted negatively to the current political uncertainty in the country, including the plunge of the peso.

"Talagang nininerbiyos and ating financial market sa prospect na baka iyong uupo ay baka walang karanasan na mag-alok ng tamang investment dito sa bayan natin (The financial market is truly nervous about the possibility that someone without experience in attracting foreign investments might sit in Malacanang)," the President said.

The President said that the foreign investors are wary that the Filipino people might be swayed in electing someone without even a clear idea of how to run the government.

"Because the first time around was a mistake. The second time around would be a disaster," the President stressed, adding that during the term of former President Joseph Estrada, only half a million jobs have been created.

She said that if a neophyte leader is elected, one who can be easily manipulated by old-time politicians, chances are less than 500,000 jobs could be created during his term.

When asked about the report that opposition vice presidential bet Loren Legarda has criticized the so-called government bailout of the Maynilad Water Services, Inc., a Lopez family firm, the President said that she should have proposed how to solve the water problem instead of just attacking the deal.

"Sana imbes na mag-aatake ng ganon ipaliwanag kung paano nila pinaplano na ayusin ang problema ng tubig dahil ang dami-daming lugar na walang malinis na tubig (Instead of just criticizing, they should have proposed how to solve the water problem since there are a lot of areas without potable water)," the President said.

As the May elections draw nearer, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is aggressively getting into a fight mood.

In her recent speeches during the "Pulong-Bayan," one of the regular activities in the K-4 Coalition’s campaign sorties where she and her running-mate Sen. Noli "Kabayan" de Castro talk to the masses, Mrs. Macapagal-Arroyo criticized opposition camps for their inability to present concrete platform of government to the public.

"Kasi sa kabila (Opposition camps), hindi natin alam kung ano ang balak nila eh. Hindi nagsasabi ng mga plataporma (In the opposition camps, we don’t know their plans. They don’t declare their platforms)," the President said during a Pulong-Bayan held at the Sto. Nino College Gymnasium in Ormoc City.

The Chief Executive said up to this time, other presidential bets, particularly the camp of actor Fernando Poe Jr., have yet to lay down their plans in government precisely because they lack experience in terms of governance.

"Ni hindi man lang maipaliwanag ang experience, ‘yung magpatakbo ng pamahalaan. Ni ayaw pumasok sa debate (They cannot even explain experience, how to run the government or join in a debate)," she told her audience.

But unlike her poll rivals, Mrs. Macapagl-Arroyo emphasized the importance of allowing her administration to continue its programs and projects, by re-electing the entire candidates of K-4 Coalition.

ORMOC CITY--Here’s good news for rice farmers.

The government now sells commercial fertilizer at half the price to encourage more rice farmers to shift to the high-yielding Gloria Rice hybrid.

This was announced today by a Department of Agriculture official during an interaction between President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and farmers in Ormoc City during a break in the political campaign of the administration K-4 Coalition in Leyte province.

Under a subsidy program of the government, the farmers would also pay only 50 percent of the cost of "Gloria Rice" seeds which normally sell at P2,400 per bag. If the buyer would pay in cash, the price is further reduced to only P1,000 or an additional discount of P200.

The government would shoulder the remaining 50 percent of the cost of both the fertilizers and the hybrid seeds.

The incentives were designed to encourage more farmers to shift to the "Gloria Rice" variety which would enable them to double their harvest, or even more.

Malacanang today welcomed the filing of graft charges against President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on the government takeover of the Maynilad Water Inc., saying it would give them the chance to clarify issues at the proper forum.

In a press briefing this afternoon at the Palace, Deputy Presidential Spokesman Ricardo Saludo said the government would prefer to face its accuser before the court rather than be dragged into muckraking by the political opposition.

Saludo said haling the government to the court is better than making public accusations through the media without any proof or evidence to back them up.

Opposition senatorial candidate lawyer Melanio Mauricio, who filed the suit before the Office of the Ombudsman, also cited Justice Undersecretary Manuel Antonio Teehankee as a respondent in the case.

Saludo told reporters that Malacanang still has to await a copy of the complaint from the Ombudsman before a legal team could be assigned to represent the President in the legal proceedings.

Despite the filing of the case, Saludo said President Macapagal-Arroyo stands by her decision to complete the government takeover of Maynilad as recommended by an international panel of arbitrators.

Mrs. Macapagal-Arroyo brushed aside as "baseless rumor" allegations that the public would be made to shoulder Maynilad’s indebtedness.

With the traditional upsurge in passenger traffic during the Holy Week, the government is set to launch a comprehensive project designed to make travel easier and enhance commuter protection and welfare.

Deputy Presidential Spokesman Ricardo Saludo, in a press briefing at Malacanang, said the project, called "Lakbay Alalay," would be implemented through government-private sector cooperation.

Saludo disclosed that "Lakbay Alalay," which was conceptualized during a Cabinet meeting at the Palace, would involve the participation of pertinent government agencies such as the Department of Public Works and Highways and the Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC), the private operators of the North and South Luzon expressways, and the roll-on roll-off (RO-RO) ferry services nationwide.

The DOTC is also expected to launch its own "Operations Kalakbay" meant to ensure that no accidents would befall land and sea travelers during the Lenten season.

"Airline and sea transport response is being coordinated and they (transport operators) have various auctions that they are undertaking," Saludo said.

To further ease travel, ongoing road repairs at the North Luzon Expressway would either be fast-tracked or temporarily suspended during the Holy Week.

For the convenience of the passengers, public assistance phone booths offering free calls would be set up in strategic population convergence centers.

In addition, the oil companies would have their own "Lakbay Alalay" projects to assist motorists.

The DOTC regional monitoring centers would be reactivated to watch out for problems that the travelers might encounter.

The government would also issue special permits to enable bus operators to increase bus dispatches to cope with the passenger demand.

Additional ferry boats would likewise be deployed, particularly in the Roxas-Caticlan RO-RO service route.

Apart from the free telephone call service, public assistance health desks would also be put up in bus terminals, sea ports and airports, with quick response teams on standby to conduct emergency medical and rescue operations.

TACLOBAN CITY – President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today promoted four policemen of San Jose de Buan town in Leyte who were wounded while fighting off some 100 communist guerrillas who tried to overrun their station last March 17.

After presiding at the closing ceremonies of the Eastern Visayas Regional Athletic Association meet at the Benjamin Romualdez Sports Center here, the President personally visited the wounded policemen who were confined at the Remedios T. Romualdez Medical Center here.

The President also told the four policemen that they would be conferred the Wounded Medal Award.

The newly promoted policemen are Senior Inspector Ranulfo Geronilla, police chief in the remote town of San Jose de Buan in Western Samar; PO3 Artemio Rebato; PO1 Noel Capales and PO1 Aris Advincula.

Aside from the promotion, the President also gave P50,000 financial assistance to each of the four policemen.

Earlier in the day, the President led the groundbreaking ceremony for the P160-million Tacloban City Astrodome in Barangay Sagkahan, Tacloban City.