For once, Malacaņang and administration critic, Senator Panfilo "Ping" Lacson, are in agreement.

Presidential Spokesman Ignacio Bunye said today that he was "pleasantly surprised" over Lacson’s call on his supporters to refrain from joining protest actions and instead focus on monitoring the canvassing of votes cast in Monday’s elections.

In an interview with Radyo ng Bayan this morning, Bunye said that Lacson did the right thing since at this time what is crucial is to keep watch on the actual canvassing of the votes.

Bunye also agreed with Senate President Franklin Drillon and Senator Aquilino Pimental, an opposition Koalisyon ng Nagkakaisang Pilipino (KNP) bet for reelection, who had cautioned on airing charges of election fraud and cheating.

"Dapat huwag na muna silang magsalita at kumuha na lang ng ebidensiya at kung mayroon saka ito pag-usapan at iprisenta sa tamang venue (Before the opposition talks, they should first gather evidence (on fraud or cheating), and if there is any, they should present it to the proper forum)," he said.

Bunye likewise lauded Mayor Joey Marquez of Paranaque City and Mayor Bernardo Vergara of Baguio City, who conceded defeat once it became mathematically impossible for them to surmount the lead of their respective opponents. Marquez sought a congressional seat against former National Security Adviser Roilo Golez, while Vergara ran for reelection.

The Presidential Spokesman stressed that, with the synchronized national and local elections over, there is an urgent need for Filipinos of all political persuasions to be united and reconciled.

Funding for the priority six-point pro-poor program of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo will be part of the agenda the Cabinet will tackle in its first post-election meeting tomorrow, Malacanang said today.

"The government has to earmark sufficient funds for these priority projects so it will be part of what the Cabinet will take up in the meeting," Presidential Spokesman Ignacio Bunye said this morning in a radio interview aired over DZRB.

Cabinet Secretary Ricardo Saludo announced Wednesday the President called the meeting of her official family, the first after Monday’s polls.

The government will not resort to borrowing to find the necessary funds to implement these six top priorities of government in the next six years, Bunye said.

The people really need these basic services in health, education, electricity, water and other basic needs and the Cabinet and other government officials down to the local governments will work towards the realization of these objectives, Bunye said.

During the campaign period, the President defined the priorities in her next administration, given the mandate, as the creation of one million jobs yearly, increasing three-fold loans to small and medium enterprises, providing clean water to every barangay, bringing electricity to 1,500 barangays per year and reducing its cost, building 3,000 new school houses, providing a scholarship for every poor family and providing each school with a computer, and reducing by half the cost of medicines the poor normally use.

Bunye cited the President’s track record in having generated more than three million jobs in her first three years at the helm of government. About a third of these were realized in the agricultural sector with the vigorous implementation of the Agriculture and Fisheries Modernization Act with a budget of P20 billion a year.

Job generation goes hand in hand with the loans extended to small and medium enterprises, Bunye noted. According to studies by the Department of Trade and Industry, a loan of P50,000 normally creates two jobs, Bunye explained.

Thus, to create jobs attention must be focused on small and medium enterprises, Bunye said, adding that jobs can also be generated by stimulating housing construction.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today expressed her appreciation of foreign observers who monitored the synchronized national and local elections Monday.

"I thank the foreign observers who devoted their time and effort in support of our democratic process. Their findings will be of great help in the continuing assessment of how we can effectively modernize all stages of the polls to further prevent fraud and violence," the President said in an official statement issued by Malacaņang.

The President noted there is a need to continue modernizing the electoral processes to speed up the count and remove the tensions that contribute to the problems of peace and order.

The President lamented that "many of our people and their leaders have not learned from the lessons of the past and have engaged in the use of force to get their way."

But the President said that election violence has been relatively isolated and has not affected the generally peaceful and credible character of the polls.

International observers said the election was generally peaceful and credible, according to Foreign Affairs Secretary Delia Albert.

The Australian observers, led by the commissioner of the Center for Philippine Concerns in Australia, noted instances of violence but considered the elections as generally peaceful.

The American observers are preparing a report which they said will be presented to all stakeholders in a workshop.

The Department of Education (DepEd) today hailed the schoolteachers who rendered poll duties on Monday for doing a "splendid job" in ensuring smooth conduct of the political exercise.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has earlier also extended commendation for the teachers for the successful holding of the synchronized local and national elections.

Education Secretary Edilberto de Jesus said the 475,000 public school teachers who served in the elections did a splendid job.

"The department is proud of the efforts of the teachers manifested in the election process," de Jesus said.

He noted that the efficiency and hard work of the teachers helped in attaining orderly and credible elections the results of which are now being keenly awaited by the people.

The President, in a statement issued following the May 10 elections, also cited other electoral workers, soldiers and police officers for a job well done.

"While there were isolated cases of election violence, the men and women in uniform held the line against fraud and lawlessness, while our teachers and election workers ensured an uninterrupted process from day till night," Mrs. Macapagal-Arroyo said.

In what could be a fitting follow-up to its successful campaign last year, government anti-drug efforts yielded yet another bountiful catch as the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) reported to President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo the seizure of an estimated P1.2 million worth of controlled precursors and essential chemicals needed in the manufacture of shabu.

The haul was taken from raids conducted by joint elements of PDEA Special Enforcement Services and the National Bureau of Investigation in Grace Park, Caloocan and Marikina last May 4, and in Valenzuela City May 5.

PDEA Director General Anselmo Avenido said follow up operations are being conducted to locate the owner of the confiscated controlled precursors and essential chemicals.

He reported that documents are also being prepared for the immediate filing of cases in court for violation of RA 9165.

In the PDEA 2003 year-end report, a total of 11 clandestine shabu laboratories were dismantled and P38,868,152,297 worth of illegal drugs, controlled precursors and essential chemicals and laboratory equipment were seized.

Nine chemical warehouses were similarly discovered where some P7,218,770,000 worth of illegal drugs were seized.

Other highlights of the PDEA accomplishments:

-- The interdiction of a shipment containing l,064 kilograms of ephedrine at the Manila International Container Port on Nov. 28, 2003.

-- The arrest of 33,150 personalities and the filing of 22,069 cases in court. Of the total personalities arrested, 152 are considered big fishes in the drug trade.

-- The neutralization of eight transnational drug groups representing 61.5 percent of the total transnational drug groups identified during the year. Most of these transnational drug groups were operating the clandestine drug laboratories and chemical warehouses dismantled by law enforcement authorities in 2003.

-- The neutralization of a total of 164 local drug groups representing 57.6 percent of the 285 local drug groups identified during the year. Of the total number of neutralized drug groups, 87 or 53 percent were neutralized through the concerted efforts of the PDEA, the Philippine National Police (PNP) and other law enforcement agencies. The remaining 77 or 47 percent were found inactive due to relentless anti-drug operations, and

Malacaņang indicated today that overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in Iraq would be immediately evacuated if the security situation in the country deteriorates further.

Presidential Spokesman Ignacio Bunye clarified, however, that President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is still awaiting the formal recommendation of the Iraq Team headed by Ambassador Roy Cimatu which is continually assessing the OFW’s situation in the war-torn country.

In a press briefing at the Palace, Bunye said there has been no change in the President’s policy to evacuate or repatriate the OFWs if the need arises.

Although several of the OFWs have reportedly expressed their desire to get out of Iraq, Bunye said government decision on the matter would depend on the Iraq Team’s recommendation.

Bunye told reporters that Cimatu, together with ambassadors of Iraq’s neighboring countries, visited Camp Anaconda this morning to look into the actual security situation of the American military facility.

"We expect the recommendation from the Iraq Team to be submitted to the President anytime," Bunye said.

He gave assurance that the Macapagal-Arroyo administration would provide all possible assistance to the OFWs desiring to be evacuated or repatriated. If the situation worsens, members of the Philippine humanitarian team in Iraq would be the last to leave.

"This is already a continuing plan. This is part of the contingency planning that we have adapted ever since the start of the Iraq war. And there are several alternatives that are being considered. So whatever alternative is finally decided on, full assistance will be given by the government to the affected OFWs," Bunye said.

The Department of Foreign Affairs clarified that only one OFW—not four as reported earlier—died in the mortar attack on Camp Anaconda.

The Cabinet meeting tomorrow, May 14, will discuss projects and activities to implement or accelerate the President’s priority program for the poor. The action measures shall build on achievements of the past three years in the President’s targets, including:

1. Barangay energization and reduce electricity cost. The government has provided electricity to 4,236 far flung barangays compared with an average of 3,000 under each of the previous three presidents.

The Arroyo administration has successfully worked for the passage and implementation of the Power Sector Reform Law which reduced electricity rates from 2^nd highest in Asia to 7^th place. The government also condoned P900 million in debts of rehabilitated electric cooperatives and renegotiated contracts with independent power producers to save over P150 billion in future PPA charges.

2. Halve the prices of medicines frequently used by the poor. The government sells 42 frequently used medicines by the poor at discounts of as much as 75 percent on retail process. The low-cost medicines are sold in 76 DOH hospitals, 118 LGU hospitals and health centers and 559 Botika ng Barangay. Now, Unilab and GlaxoSmithKline have developed cheap medicines too.

3. Construct school buildings and provide scholarships for the poor. The Arroyo administration has already constructed 1,000 schoolhouses in barangays unserved by nearby schools, against about 500 under the previous administration. Under President Arroyo, 19,000 units of personal computers were distributed to 996 high schools in 363 cities and municipalities.

The government has also implemented "Isang Iskolar Bawat Pamilya Program" for 5 million poor families to send one child each to college or vocational school. For the Students Assistance Fund for a Strong Republic (SAFE 4 SR), the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) has released a total of P200 million to 822 institutions benefiting 23,500 3^rd year and graduating students.

4. Triple the loans to small business and the self-employed. The government has provided nearly P6 billion microcredit to 1.5 million mostly poor women borrowers. This assistance more than doubled the loan releases and more than triple the beneficiaries under the previous administration.

Under the SME Unified Lending Opportunities for National Growth (SULONG), a total of P28.85 billion was lent to small businesses benefiting 315,569 accounts.

5. Create 1 million jobs a year till 2010. The government has facilitated the employment of 3.175 million workers in local jobs more than a million a year. In addition, some 855,000 workers were given vocational and technical ratings every year, more than triple the annual average in the past. The P72 billion spent on agriculture and fisheries modernization boosted rural jobs by 800,000.

6. Bring clean water to all barangays. The government has implemented the Patubig ni GMA Project on December 30, 2003, which provided potable water to a total of 937,842 poor households in Metro Manila and nearby provinces.