President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo attended this morning a Holy Mass for the late National Artist Jose Maceda at the Parish of the Holy Sacrifice at the University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City.

A daughter of the national artist, Madeleine, said, on behalf of her family, "You honor us with your presence, Madame President."

A UP professor and composer of traditional music, Maceda died on May 5, 2004.at age 87.

According to his children, Maceda built up an archive of ethnomusicological research that includes hundreds of hours of field recordings from all over the Philippines, South East Asia and other parts of the world.

To ensure its preservation, the collection of field recordings has to be duplicated digitally, they said. For this reason, the Maceda family expresses its appreciation for donations to the UP College of Music to accomplish the task, they added.

After the Holy Mass, the body was to be cremated in private.

Then a tribute for the late National Artist would be held at the Abelardo Hall Auditorium, UP College of Music.

The exit polls show a resounding mandate for President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and Koalisyon ng Katapatan at Karanasan sa Kinabukasan (K4) but let us wait for the actual results and help make sure the votes are properly counted.

This was the gist of Presidential Campaign Spokesman Mike Defensor’s message in a radio interview this morning over DZMM as the opposition pressed charges of alleged fraud and cheating against the administration coalition.

"We have gone through the day of judgment, we have seen all kinds of smear campaigns, all issues, all talks about the conflicts in the elections. We have seen all these and made the decision. That decision is not yet final. We are still counting and we should all help make sure there is no cheating. I hope we will respect the results. Let us unite in peace," said Defensor.

If there are sectors who would want to muddle up the counting and threaten destabilization, our country will not progress, Defensor added.

But for the exit polls results, it was also the gist of the President’s short comment Tuesday as she hosted a thanksgiving lunch for the journalist who covered her during the campaign.

She also congratulated the Filipino people and thanked the soldiers, police officers, teachers and election workers for the generally peaceful, orderly and clean elections Monday.

The President doesn’t want to talk about what has been coming out concerning the elections. What she said was for us to wait for the official count, Defensor said.

"Let us be responsible and wait for the actual results of the elections. Let us help each other so that the counting will be above board and the election process is upheld until the actual and final Commission on Elections (Comelec) count," Defensor emphasized.

In the exit polls, the respondents were asked who they actually voted for after they had cast their ballots and the results jived with those of the previous results of surveys, said Defensor.

Koalisyon ng Nagkakaisang Pilipino (KNP) standard bearer Fernando Poe, Jr. has charged the administration allegedly manipulated the exit polls.

The Social Weather Stations (SWS) exit poll which covered 4,627 respondents and had a margin of error of two percent, showed Mrs. Macapagal-Arroyo up with 40.84 percent over Poe with only 32.26 percent. It also showed K4’s Sen. Noli "Kabayan" de Castro leading KNP’s Loren Legarda in the vice-presidential race and eight of the 12 K4 senatorial candidates making it to the top 12 in the senatorial derby.

SWS is headed by Prof. Mahar Mangahas, a University of the Philippines graduate with outstanding credentials who is a first cousin of Poe. It has a proven track record in past election surveys and exit polls and will not manipulate its findings for anyone and ruin its reputation, Defensor said.

Other exit polls like that of AMA Computer also had the President winning but Proberz Inc. Research and Consultancy gave Poe a four percent edge over the President, 38 to 34 percent, and Legarda up on de Castro, 51 to 46 percent.

Proberz emerged only a couple of weeks back and checks showed this is a newly established outfit, according to Defensor.

University of Sto. Tomas Faculty Union president Gil Gamilla, M.D, actually debunked a pre-election Proberz survey that gave Poe the lead. Proberz was initially reported as made up of UST faculty members.

The name of the university should not have been included in the news item as the alleged surveyors could not have acted as faculty members of the university, Gamilla said.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has called her first Cabinet meeting since the May 10 elections. It is scheduled for Friday morning, May 14, in Malacaņang.

The meeting will focus on organizing to implement the President’s six priority pledges for the poor; to create one million jobs a year till 2010; to bring clean water to all barangays; to energize 1,500 barangays a year and cut electricity costs to the lowest in Asia; to triple the loans to small business and the self-employed; to build 3,000 schoolhouses, put computers in every school and provide scholarships to every poor family; and to halve the prices of medicines frequently used by the poor.

"With the election over, the President wants to immediately begin work on her governance agenda," said Ricardo Saludo, Secretary of the Cabinet.

Malacanang is set to reach out to political leaders and the ordinary Filipinos to push for the Government of Unity of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and heal the wounds of divisiveness brought about by the elections.

Former Presidential Campaign Spokesman Michael Defensor, now back as chairman of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC) from which he took a leave of absence during the campaign, told this to media in a briefing this morning at the Palace.

If and when the President is officially proclaimed as winner of the election, she would go out of her way to establish rapport with every sector and political camp, Defensor said.

"We’re still waiting for the final result of the canvassing," Defensor clarified.

The HUDCC chairman said it is important to heal immediately the nation’s wounds and close the rifts so the government can start its programs to boost the economy.

Also back to his Cabinet post is Gabriel Claudio who also took leave as Presidential Adviser for Legislative Affairs during the campaign period.

With the likelihood of a new mandate for President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, Malacanang is now eyeing the completion of the poll automation program and the convening of a Constitutional Convention (Concon) as part of its agenda for the next six years.

Presidential Spokesperson Ignacio T. Bunye revealed in a radio interview this morning that the President has already spoken and laid down her preference for a Constitutional Convention (Concon) should she get a fresh mandate from the people, saying she would submit it to the next Congress as a priority measure.

"I think the general public really wants a Constitutional Convention. At kung kinakailangan ay paglaanan na natin, humanap tayo nang sapat na pantustos dito sa pagdaraos ng Constitutional Convention (And if necessary, we have to set aside funding for this now)," he said.

Bunye believes that the present Constitution needs comprehensive amendments thus, it is imperative to select and elect delegates to the Concon. Part of their mandate, he said, is to fast track the review and revision of the present Constitution.

Bunye said that given a longer mandate, the Macapagal-Arroyo administration will have sufficient time to correct some defects in the present governmental system.

"Ito ay panukala na kanyang uungkating muli sa pagbubukas ng Kongreso (This is the proposal she will revive at the opening of Congress)," he said.

Bunye stressed, however, that it will be better to tackle this as soon as possible in the next Congress.

He said the people have stated their preferences for the Concon and the administration will look for funds for convening the Concon.

The Presidential Spokesman said that with the sluggish tabulation of votes, it is important to revive the computerization program.

Four (4) Filipino workers were killed in a mortar attack on Camp Anaconda, Balad, Iraq yesterday. Camp Anaconda is a US military installation that employs more than 1,300 OFWs. The identities of the fatalities are still being confirmed and their next of kin will be informed and provided all assistance necessary for the repatriation of the bodies. I condole with the families affected by this tragedy.

Camp Anaconda was visited by our Team Iraq, headed by Ambassador Roy Cimatu, three times before this incident. Our OFWs there have been registered and their safety ensured by newly-built, protective underground bunkers. It was a stroke of bad luck that they were exposed and unprotected at the time of the attack.

Nevertheless, I have instructed the DFA and Team Iraq to make a clear-cut assessment of the safety of our civilians employed in US military installations in Iraq. If they cannot be adequately secured, they must be transferred or evacuation to safer areas. We cannot allow Filipino lives to be placed at wanton risk in a situation where unpredictable attacks are rife. Our OFWs should be accorded the best protection available in their places of work and residence. This must be made clear to the employers and authorities concerned.

Meanwhile, I am demanding justice for Catherine Bautista, a 22 year old worker who reportedly leaped to her death trying to escape her employer’s apartment in Beirut, Lebanon last May 4. She tied bed sheets together to climb down but did not make it to the ground safely. I am deeply saddened by this event.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today solidified her lead over closest rival Fernando Poe Jr. in the just-concluded presidential election as more poll results come in for tabulation.

Data culled from the national quick count of the ruling Koalisyon sa Katapatan at Karanasan para sa Kinabukasan (K-4) showed the President mustering a total of 3,490,654 votes representing 41.67 percent, against Poe’s 2,932,486 or 35.0 percent as of 3 p.m. today.

This translates into a comfortable margin of 558,168 votes for the President with barely 24 percent of the votes cast for the presidential derby in Monday’s synchronized local and national elections.

The tally so far covered 70,205 precincts out of 293,640 precincts nationwide.

Sen. Panfilo Lacson came in third with 825,321 votes or 9.85 percent, followed by former Sen. Raul Roco who registered 598,216 votes or 7.14 percent.

Bro. Eddie Villanueva picked up the rear with 530,850 votes or 6.34 percent.

The figures also revealed that President Macapagal-Arroyo was dominant in 10 regions of the country, while Poe prevailed in seven regions.

The President was strongest in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao where she got 88.924 votes for a hefty 91 percentage average, compared to Poe’s 8,883 votes or 9 percent.

Mrs. Macapagal-Arroyo was also coming in strong in Regions 7 and 6 where she has so far garnered 526,989 and 395,447 votes, respectively against Poe’s 137,182 and 145,302 votes, respectively.