CEBU CITY—President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo faces a hectic schedule of activities in this bustling Queen City of the South today, all in the name of governance.

Slated to arrive at 2:00 P.M. at the Mactan Airbase, the President will go directly to the South Reclamation Area for the inaugural drive-through of the P5 billion South Coastal Road project, part of Metro Cebu’s urban and metropolitan development program.

She will then proceed to the Kawit island park for the cornerstone laying of the South reclamation administrative building and the unveiling of the marker of the P10 billion South reclamation project.

The President will be briefed by Public Works and Highways Secretary Florante Soriquez after the welcome remarks by Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeņa.

She will be introduced by Congressman Antonio Cuenco of the city’s South District before her speech.

At 5:00 P.M., the Chief Executive will preside over the Pulong Bayan at the Guadalupe Sports Center where she is slated to address pressing concerns of the constituency here.

At the Marriot Hotel later in the evening, she will witness the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for the reforestation of a 1,000-hectare watershed in Carmen, Cebu.

The MOU will be signed among the Ayala Consortium, Department of Environment and Natural resources, and the City of Cebu.

Acting on behalf of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, who is barnstorming in Cebu, Executive Secretary Alberto Romulo today administered the oath of office to the new Philippine Ambassador to the Holy See, Mrs. Leonida L. Vera, at the Malacanang Guest House.

A recipient of the prestigious Dame of the Pontifical Order of St. Sylvester and St. Gregory in 1994 and 1998, respectively, Mrs. Vera replaced Ambassador Francisco Alba, who retired in November 2003.

In vouching for the businesswoman and church leader, retired Manila Archbishop Jaime Cardinal Sin has said that "Mrs. Vera is an active Church worker. She was also very helpful during the EDSA revolt of 1986. She will be an asset to the nation and for the Church."

Vera had worked for the United Nations Development Fund for Women and several religious organizations, including Caritas Manila, Council of Laity of Manila, Children Rosary Movement, Philippine Foundation for Rehabilitation of the Disabled, and Paraclete Foundation. She was also Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas (KBP) director and secretary in 1977-1978 and 1979-1980, respectively..

"I am happy and proud of the appointment of Ambassador Vera. I am sure she will be able to do her task according to the expectations of our government and people," said Bishop Socrates Villegas, who was present during the oath-taking.

Ambassador Vera said that among other things, she would work hard for the welfare of Filipino migrants and would impart to them the continuing concern, love and care of the government and people for them.

Kidnapping incidents have been reduced to the lowest level in 11 years with President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s creation in October 2003 of the National Anti-Kidnapping Task Force (NAKTF) headed by Secretary Angelo Reyes.

This assessment was made by the officers of Kaisa para sa Kaunlaran during their courtesy call on the President Thursday in Malacaņang. They expressed their satisfaction over the dramatic reduction of the incidence of kidnappings for ransom, of which Chinese- Filipinos are often the victims.

Kaisa para sa Kaunlaran, whose founding president is Teresita Ang See, is a non-governmental organization that works for the integration of Chinese Filipinos into the mainstream Philippine society so that they could be truly active partners in nation building.

According to Ang See, Kaisa is one of the 21 major organizations comprising the Chinese-Filipino Community Peace and Order Coordinating Council, which is at the forefront in the fight against kidnapping.

The group attended the presentation to the President of a rescued 27-year-old kidnap victim, Genevieve Ong Sy, at Malacaņang.

Sy was rescued from her abductors on March 20, 2004 by the combined elements of the NAKTF, Presidential Anti-Crime Emergency Response (PACER), and the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) after two days of captivity in Antipolo City.

Malacaņang today branded as "malicious" press reports that President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo had allegedly approved a casino project in the country, presented by Stanley Ho of Macau, when she made a recent stopover at the Clark Special Economic Zone in the City of San Fernando.

In a radio interview with RMN Networks, Presidential Spokesman Ignacio Bunye said the President went to Clark to rest in-between campaign sorties to the provinces and to meet with some local leaders.

"To my knowledge, there was no meeting between the President and Stanley Ho," Bunye said.

Applications for a legitimate casino project here pass through the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR), he said.

Bunye pointed out that PAGCOR could provide information if there are really existing applications for the opening of casino operation in the country.

A congressional leader today justified the government’s compromise deal with the Lopez-dominated Maynilad Water Inc., saying the arrangement "may not be the most ideal policy, but it is an acceptable and feasible solution given the prevailing conditions."

"Certainly, the compromise is a vast improvement over the status quo," Albay Rep. Joey Salceda, chairman of the House oversight committee, said in a statement.

He pointed out that Maynilad, holder of the water franchise for the western portion of Metro Manila, was forced to go under court receivership after piling up losses totaling P6 billion since 1998.

Salceda said the situation has become so critical that unless the government does something about it, water service to Maynilad’s franchise grid might likely be disrupted, together with payment of salaries to the facility’s 3,000 employees.

Under the situation, Salceda noted that the government had to act "decisively and expeditiously" not just under the terms of the Concession Agreement, but also under the law allowing it to take over public utilities with just compensation to the affected parties, particularly the stockholders and their creditors.

Salceda said the state-run Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) even stands to immediately receive P2.65 billion plus P6.247 billion in equity, for a total value of P8 billion, compared to only P7.1 billion in uncollected concession fees awarded by an international arbitration committee.

"The P939-million difference will cover anticipated concession fees from January to May 2004," the lawmaker said.

Salceda also asserted that the deal resulted in a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.2 to 1 for Maynilad versus the current status of P18 billion debt on an equity of negative P757 million. "This would place Maynilad on a more stable financial platform in delivering water services."

"Admittedly, from a purely MWSS corporate standpoint and assuming no legal problems, the best option would have been to take over and call on the $120 million performance bond," Salceda said.

He added, however, that under this scenario, P4.5 billion of the P6.6 billion would be paid to Maynilad, leaving P2.1 billion for concession fees, while MWSS need not assume the P8.10 billion bank loans.

"But this is now subject of court proceedings which could go on and on. And even if we secure a favorable judgment, the valuation of the early termination assets could be subject of court cases," Salceda said.

Taking exceptions to allegations that the government extended undue advantage and privileges to Maynilad, Salceda said the Benpres Holdings, majority stockholder of Maynilad, would not be a major beneficiary of the transaction.

"In fact, if we analyze the drift of the events more closely, the basic logic of the restructuring is to ease them out of Maynilad without provoking them to pose legal obstacles along the way," Salceda explained.

He added that the Lopez group would even suffer write-offs of P3.8 billion and lose its 60 percent control of the company.

Malacaņang slammed today the opposition camp for employing underhanded tactics just to gain publicity mileage to advance their own political agenda.

Presidential Spokesman Ignacio Bunye was referring to a call by lawyer Calixto Brillantes and other opposition leaders for the ouster of Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chairman Benjamin Abalos Sr.

In a press briefing at Malacaņang, Bunye branded the move of Brillantes’ group as "baseless" and "another gimmick" to gain media exposure.

"We all know that this is another gimmick because the legal process in replacing any officials in the Comelec, especially the chairman and the commissioners, is through impeachment proceedings," Bunye said.

"They know that this is baseless and mere gimmickry because what they wanted is publicity mileage," he added.

CEBU CITY -- The rapidly worsening traffic situation in this historic city down South brought about by rapid growth and urbanization has prompted the government to undertake a series of development projects meant to ease the situation.

No less than President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, who made a beeline here upon arrival at the Mactan Airbase 2 p.m., was on hand to lead the final phase of the development program as she made an inaugural drive-through along the P5-billion South Coastal Road, one of the three components of the Metro Cebu Development Project (MCDP).

Riding on an open-type jeep with Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeņa and Public Works and Highways Secretary Florante Soriquez, the President negotiated the completed portion of the Coastal Road which represents the industrial corridor of Metro Cebu. Also with her in the jeep was running mate Sen. Noli "Kabayan" de Castro.

Other key personalities who witnessed the affair were K-4 senatoriables Mar Roxas III and lawyer Pia Cayetano, Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Elisea Gozun, Presidential Legislative Liaison Office chief Secretary Gabriel Claudio and Presidential Adviser on Overseas Development Assistance and Priority Projects Secretary Marita Jimenez.

Later at the nearby Kawit Island Park, the Chief Executive unveiled a marker for the P10-billion South Reclamation Project after inspecting the administrative building and laying a cornerstone for the Senior Citizens Center.

"This new economic zone will provide 40,000 jobs," the President said in Cebuano. She added that the 300-hectare project would decongest the city.

The project, designed to cope with the increased demand for more industrial and commercial areas for the export processing zone, was also expected to further spur Metro Cebu’s economic growth.

The third component of the MCDP-III, the Circumferential Road, has been deferred due to the already high financial requirements of the entire MDCP-III project especially in proportion to the total Overseas Development Assistance (ODA) ceiling of Japan which is funding the entire package.

Mrs. Macapagal-Arroyo recalled that the entire MDCP was not even 50 percent complete when she took over the presidency in January 2001.

She specified 2005 as the new target for completion.

Osmeņa, a member of the famous Osmeņa clan, openly supported President Macapagal-Arroyo’s bid for a full six-year term. Osmeņa briefed the President on the progress of the South Reclamation Project and the Kawit Sports and Recreation Park, while Soriquez talked about the South Coastal Road project.

President Macapagal-Arroyo also told the crowd that her grandfather, Juanito Macaraeg, who was district engineer at the time, supervised the construction of the South Road from Santander to the waterfront. To the delight of her supporters, the Chief Executive noted that a third generation Macaraeg is about to finish the entire project.

CEBU CITY -- With her hybrid rice program now in full swing, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo turned her focus on coconut farmers here Friday, vowing to help them with the propagation of high yielding coconut seedlings while assuring what is due them from the coconut levy fund.

Speaking at the Pulong Bayan with various sectors at the Guadalupe Sports Center here, the President also promised to continue the health insurance benefits of farmers and the strict enforcement of the law on cutting of coconut trees.

"I’ll do my best to help the manufacturers so that demand for coco oil will increase," she said, claiming that under her watch, she was able to raise the farm gate price of coconut.

The President told the multitude that packed the sports center that she has a P500 million housing program for the city in answer to a querry from a representative of the urban poor.

She also promised the Muslim sector that she will allocate part of the P40 million fund for the United Muslim Federation of Cebu for cemetery lots, one of the main concerns brought to the attention of the Chief Executive.

As to the women sector, the President said a number of cooperatives are now available for micro financing.

In closing, the President appealed to those gathered to help her achieve what she had started, saying they are all part of her efforts to uplift the plight of the Filipinos.