04 MAY 2004

Today we begin our final campaign run with great faith in our people.

The last six days of the campaign will carry our determination to unify the country behind the fight for change.

We are taking no voter for granted and we will strive to shake hands with everyone we meet.

Unity, clean and peaceful elections and hope are the messages we bring.

Together with the people, we shall rise above the din of negativism and despair, and end this campaign in an air of optimism and a better tomorrow for our people.

We pray to God for the triumph of peace and democracy, for healing and reconciliation.

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President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has paid tribute to Amable R. Aguiluz V, chairman emeritus of the AMA Education System, for pioneering the information technology education in the country that helps mould the "Filipinos of the future."

In her commencement speech before some 10,000 AMA graduates heard simultaneously Monday in four different venues – Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City, World Trade Center in Pasay City, Cebu Waterfront Hotel in Cebu City, and Davao Convention Center in Davao City – the President likened Aguiluz to Bill Gates of the United States whose IT programs popularized the use of personal computers.

The President narrated that her father, the late President Diosdado Macapagal, and Aguiluz’ father were the best of friends. "The late (Amable) Aguiluz headed the Commission on Audit and held many other sensitive positions in the administration of my father," she said.

She said that she has high regards for Aguiluz V, also known as "King" who is her administration’s special envoy to the Middle East. "Wala pa tayo sa information age, twenty-four years ago, 1980, nag-specialize na si King sa computer education (Even before the Information Age, 24 years ago, in 1980, King began to special in computer education)," she said.

"Ngayon twenty-four years later, parang propeta si King, tayo ay nasa information technology age na. Siguro, puwede nating sabihin na si King Aguiluz ay ang "Bill Gates" ng Pilipinas (Now, we are in the age of information technology, and King maybe considered a prophet. Perhaps, we can call him Bill Gates of the Philippines)," she added.

The President also lauded Aguiluz for his many contributions to the Arroyo administration, particularly in the area of foreign relations. She noted that he has helped nurture good relations with Saudi Arabia and other Middle East countries, where more than one million Filipinos are employed.

After the graduation ceremonies, she said that Aguiluz would proceed to Oman for talks with Omani officials on lifting the ban on hiring of Filipino workers.

"It is no wonder that back here in the Philippines, AMA is the first and only computer school to have been granted university status by the Commissioner on Higher Education and the first computer school to receive the ISO certification of excellence," she said.

The President said that the graduates of AMA symbolize the coming generations in the age of information technology. As the class valedictorian, Ma. Teresa A. Barsaga, has aptly put it in her address, she said, the AMA graduates reflect the life of the new Filipino.

"Edukasyon talaga ang susi para sa magandang kinabukasan, susi sa trabaho (Education is really the key to a bright future, the key to employment)," she said, adding that many AMA 2004 graduates now have the chance to work at Convergys, the local leader in business outsourcing, which is offering some 6,000 jobs in its call centers.

Convergys, she said, is one of the foreign investors that entered the country last year. Foreign investments for that year went up to 25 percent, she added.

"Biruin ninyo sa 60,000 na trabaho sa taong ito, ten percent ay manggagaling sa computer university system. Ganoon kagaling ang computer university system at ganoon kasuwerte kayong gra-graduate dito sa taong ito (Of the 60,000 jobs created so far this year, 10 percent will be filled by graduates of the computer university system. That’s how good our computer university system is and that’s how lucky the 2004 graduates are)," she said.

The AMA Education System is a recognized leader in the information and communications technology (ITC) education and training in the country. Its system continually supports the Arroyo administration in uplifting the ICT literacy of Filipinos and in turning out graduates who can compete globally.

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LEGAZPI CITY – Presidential Campaign Spokesman Michael Defensor today branded Senator Panfilo Lacson’s latest allegation on the Jose Pidal issue as "an act of desperation" and challenged the opposition presidential candidate to file a case in court against First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo.

In a chance interview upon arrival at the Legazpi City airport, Defensor said that the administration party expected this kind of black propaganda against the President due to her comfortable lead as the campaign nears the homestretch.

"We are expecting more black propaganda and mudslinging from the opposition. I am challenging him (Lacson) just to file a case in court to prove his so-called new evidence and witnesses," said Defensor.

Defensor said that Lacson had failed to substantiate his allegations against the Koalisyon ng Katapatan at Karanasan para sa Kinabukasan (K4) standard bearer in his so-called expose in his Senate privilege speeches last year.

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President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo holds the people in high regard, thus she continues to go to them and make clear her programs even if the surveys show that she has a significant lead with the May 10 elections only a few days away.

So explained Malacaņang of the President’s continued sorties with running mate Sen. Noli "Kabayan" de Castro to the provinces in the homestretch.

"We are not taking our countrymen for granted. Each vote is important. We give importance to our countrymen and our President still wants to explain her programs to as many of them as possible," Presidential Spokesman Ignacio Bunye said this morning in a radio interview over DZRB.

The President wants to meet the people themselves and get to know about their problems and sentiments first hand, thus she adopted the Pulong Bayan in her campaign format and does not merely go out to shake their hands.

In the Pulong Bayan, the people get the opportunity to talk directly to the President about their primary problems. They hold free dialogues with her and de Castro on their local problems because our concerns in Metro Manila are different from those of the people in the provinces, Bunye explained.

The people know their problems and often propose solutions to them, which the President acts readily, according to Bunye.

Bunye agreed with the interviewer that in this way, the people feel an immediate relief and frustrations about their hopes and aspirations do not build up within them when the President gives them direct answers.

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President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has accepted the invitation of Manila Archbishop Gaudencio Rosales to attend a holy mass at the San Agustin Church in Intramuros, Manila on May 9, 2004, eve of the synchronized national and local polls.

Former President Corazon C. Aquino extended the invitation to the President on behalf of the Manila Archbishop.

The mass is intended to seek the Lord’s guidance so that the May 10 elections will be clean, peaceful and credible.

According to Mrs. Aquino, who attended, along with Mrs. Macapagal-Arroyo, the gathering of mothers for clean and honest election at the Miriam College in Quezon City Monday, she had invited all five presidential aspirants to attend the mass.

The President, in a statement released this morning by Malacaņang, said that the last six days of the campaign will carry "our determination to unify the country behind the fight for change."

"We are taking no voter for granted and we will strive to shake hands with everyone we meet," she said, adding that "unity, clean and peaceful elections are the message we bring" to the people.

"Together with the people, we shall rise above the din of negativism and despair and end this campaign in an air of optimism and a better tomorrow for our people," she said.

"We pray to God for the triumph of peace and democracy for healing and reconciliation," she added.

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LEGASPI CITY, Albay -- The price of copra has soared during her short three-year stay at the helm of government because of the efforts of her administration, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo emphasized today.

"Not double, or treble, or quadruple but 10-fold has the price of copra risen under my term," the President said in a speech at the Albay Astrodome here as she wooed the support of Bicolanos in the elections come May 10.

The current price of copra is P22.00 per kilo compared to P3.00 per kilo when she took over from deposed president Joseph Estrada, the President noted.

She feels she can ask them to vote for Koalisyon ng Katapatan at Karanasan para sa Kinabukasan (K-4) because it is responsible for the increase in the price of copra and the earnings of coconut growers, the President said.

"Kabayan Noli (de Castro) and I are here to ask your help," she said, notwithstanding the support earlier pledged to her by six governors in the region, namely Al Francis Bicharra (Albay), Jesus Ong Typoco (Camarines Norte), Luis Villafuerte (Camarines Sur), Raul Lee (Sorsogon), Antonio Kho (Masbate) and Leandro Verceles, Jr. (Catanduanes).

The President said that if given a new mandate, her administration would look for new markets for copra, and use the coconut levy to rehabilitate old oil mills and build new ones.

Given a new term, the President promised to continue giving emphasis to develop other coconut products.

Last month before coconut farmers in Davao, the President vowed to boost and improve the coconut industry and do her best to make the Philippines the top coconut oil exporter in Asia.

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Presidential Spokesman Ignacio Bunye said today that the "desperate" opposition was trying to mislead the people into believing that superstar actress Nora Aunor had received a P6.2 million check from the government.

"Mukhang desperado na itong oposisyon (It seems that the opposition is desperate already)," said Bunye in a radio interview.

Bunye said the latest move by the opposition shows a knack for presenting doctored documents. "Makikita natin yong kapasidad ng oposisyon na magsumite ng mga doctored documents," he said.

Bunye noted that it was clear from documents shown by the actress that she had received only P620,000 for services rendered in advocating pro-poor projects under the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) for a period of one year.

"Makikita natin na iyong ipinapakita nilang document is a doctored document dahil hawak ng Tanggapan ng Pangulo iyong returned check at ito ay available for examination (We can see that it is a doctored document because the Office of the President has the returned check and this is available for examination)," said Bunye.

"To foist this forgery upon the unwitting public shows the depths of despair now being encountered by the political opponents of President Arroyo," he added.

Bunye said Malacaņang, just like Ms. Aunor, is contemplating of filing a case against these forgers. "What is important, is that we have exposed this big forgery perpetrated by the opposition," he said.

The supposed check for P6,200,000 was actually only for P620,000 and was issued to Ms. Nora C. Villamayor (Nora Aunor) on September 4, 2003, not March 4 as shown in the forged check.

Ms. Aunor also denied receiving such amount for endorsing the President, saying that even in the past, she did not take money for endorsing candidates she believed in.

She said she received a smaller amount of P620,000 from the government while being involved in an outreach program of the DSWD.

Earlier, Bunye had said the amount was reasonable for such professional services and that the transaction was transparent and above board.

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President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has ordered the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) to temporarily suspend the deployment of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) to Iraq.

In a press briefing this afternoon, Presidential Spokesman Ignacio R. Bunye said that the President issued the order in the midst of the continued terror threats and unstable conditions in Iraq.

"The President has made a statement that, in the meantime, we are suspending the deployment of workers in Iraq," Bunye said.

The President’s decision came in the wake of last week’s death of a Filipino truck driver, Rodrigo Reyes, in Iraq.

Bunye also said OFWs already in Iraq are now being urged to coordinate with the Iraq Team headed by Special Envoy Roy Cimatu "so that they could be briefed on security precautions and any possible evacuation if warranted by the situation."

Cimatu, chief of the Middle East Preparedness Team (MEPT), is set to leave tomorrow for the Middle East to hold a series of meetings with officials of countries bordering Iraq to locate undocumented OFWs now working in the region.

He said that part of the security preparations his team has undertaken is aimed at preventing the undocumented Filipino workers, mostly drivers, from sneaking into Iraq to avoid a repetition of what happened to Reyes, who was killed in an ambush.

Cimatu also assured OFW families that the Filipinos in Iraq have been restricted in their movements outside of their jobsites to ensure their safety.

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LEGASPI CITY—Undaunted by security threats, the "Caravan for Unity" of the ruling Koalisyon ng Katapatan at Karanasan para sa Kinabukasan (K-4) formally kicked off here this morning for the final phase of its stump in the runoff to the May 10 elections.

The presidential plane touched down here at exactly 10 a.m. From the airport, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and her official entourage led, by running mate Sen. Noli "Kabayan" de Castro and Albay Gov. Al Francis Bichara, motored to the Albay Astrodome where she graced the 3^rd Albay Senior Citizens Congress.

The K-4 motorcade then proceeded to the Aquinas College Gymnasium also in Legaspi City where the President addressed the 1st Coconut Farmers Convention attended by some 15,000 delegates.

The caravan, also called "Unity Run," had for its theme "For the Spirit of Unifying the Country and Fighting for Change".

The caravan had whistle stops in the towns of Daraga, Ligao, Polangui, Nabua and Baao, as well as Iriga City, ending in Naga City.

President Macapagal-Arroyo and De Castro were warmly greeted by their Bicolano supporters who virtually mobbed them as they toured public markets along the route in a bid to personally reach out to the electorate. 

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NAGA City—Presidential Campaign Spokesman Michael Defensor denied here today allegations by the political opposition that the administration is plotting election frauds to ensure the victory of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in the May 10 elections.

In a late afternoon press conference at the Regent Hotel here, Defensor tossed back the accusation to the opposition camps pertaining to the alleged theft of 2,500 official ballots at the National Printing Office (NPO).

Defensor said it was the opposition that could have a motive to commit illegal acts in a bid to overcome the edge being enjoyed by the administration candidates, especially President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

"If there are any motivations or potential cheaters, it would come from the opposition, sorry to say. I’m not saying that they will cheat us, but we have no motivation to do so," said Defensor.

He cited the increasing lead of President Macapagal-Arroyo and running mate Senator Noli "Kabayan" de Castro in various poll surveys.

He even called on the opposition to help the government in attaining a clean, honest and orderly election next week and assured the Filipino voters about government’s action in ensuring the protection of every vote to be cast on Monday’s presidential election.

At the same time, Defensor also took exceptions to charges that the government procured five helicopters to be used in committing electoral frauds.

"I thought it (aircraft) was for the monitoring of the Comelec (Commission on Elections). I’m not aware that the Comelec has purchased helicopters," Defensor stressed.

He said Malacanang has not purchased choppers in the past three years, adding that the issue was apparently being used by the opposition to undermine the President’s candidacy.

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NAGA City—Malacanang announced here today that President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo will step up her provincial sorties during the remaining days of the campaign period in a bid to attain majority votes in the May 10 presidential election.

"There will be more provincial sorties for the President during the last few days of campaigning so as to attain victory for the administration and to have a majority President," Presidential Campaign Spokesman Michael Defensor told reporters here.

In a press briefing at the Regent Hotel here, Defensor said it would not be impossible for President Arroyo to match or even surpass the record 39 percent of votes garnered by deposed President Joseph Estrada in the 1998 elections.

Defensor pointed out that the 36 percent share being enjoyed by President Macapagal-Arroyo in the surveys could still grow as popular support for her quest for a fresh mandate continues to snowball.

"Now, we are expecting that President Arroyo will match this (Estrada’s 39 percent) or even surpass it to have a clear mandate for the President and to have stability in the next years to come," Defensor stated.

He also said support of the Iglesia Ni Cristo to President Arroyo would ultimately seal her victory at the polls, but declined to elaborate on the certaintyof securing an INC endorsement for the Koalisyon ng Katapatan at Karanasan para sa Kinabukasan (K-4) standard bearer.

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