The resurrection of Jesus shows us time and again that we could always rise after every fall, stronger and more inspired to live anew – assured as we are of the redemption from our sins.

The same goes with our national aspiration of bringing back to our people the benefits of this growing economy in a nurturing environment of peace and security for the Filipino people…

May this Holy Week invigorate the Filipino family so that we could be more united, and filled with faith and strong determination as we endeavor to achieve the dream of a brighter tomorrow, believing that we can achieve a better and more meaningful life for the Filipino people.

May the joy of Easter resurrect and further raise our collective spirits to greater heights so that, together, we could exult in the expertise and talent of the global Filipino.

And may the good Lord guide us in our journey towards a modern and progressive Philippines.

Ang muling pagkabuhay ni Kristo ay matibay na patunay ng ginhawa pagkatapos ng paghihirap at panibagong lakas pagtubos sa kasalanan.

Ganyan din ang ating pambansang hangarin, and maibalik sa tao ang mga biyaya ng isang lumalagong ekonomiya, mas higit na kaligtasan, kapayapaan at pagkalinga.

Nawa’y bigyang-sigla ng linggo ng pagkabuhay ang pamilyang Pilipno upang magsama na puno ng pagsamba at tibay ng loob, nagsisikap makamit ang pangarap ng magandang bukas, sumasabay sa agos ng pag-asa at paniniwalang magiging mabuti ang lahat, nagtataguyod ng makabuluhang pagbabago sa ating pamumuhay.

Nawa’y itaas ng saya ng pasko ng pagkabuhay ang ating diwa upang ipagbunyi ang kahusayan ng Pilipino sa lahat ng sulok ng mundo.

At nawa’y patnubayan tayo ng Poong Maykapal sa maluwalhati nating paglalakbay tungo sa isang makabago at maunlad na Pilipinas.

BAGUIO CITY--- President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo likened today the resurrection of Jesus to the eventual redemption of the Filipino who stands to benefit from the government’s successful implementation of fiscal and economic reforms.

In her Easter Sunday message, the President said the government through the "8 by 08" national agenda, would bring to the people the benefits of a growing economy that include the availability of food, pro-poor education, healthcare and housing; more investments, strong peso, better cost of living, more new jobs created, a green Philippines and a safer and secured community now that funds are available for socio-economic projects.

"The resurrection of Jesus shows us time and again that we could always rise after every fall—stronger and more inspired to live anew, assured as we are of the redemption from our sins, " the President said in the vernacular.

"The same goes with our national aspiration of bringing back to our people the benefits of this growing economy in a nurturing environment of peace and security for the Filipino people," she added.

The President expressed hopes that the spirit of Easter would unite the Filipino people to work together in achieving peace and in propelling the Philippine economy to the level of First World nations in the next two decades.

"May this Holy Week invigorate the Filipino family so that we could be more united, and filled with faith and strong determination as we endeavor to achieve the dream of a brighter tomorrow, believing that we can achieve a better and more meaningful life for the Filipino people," she said.

"May the joy of Easter resurrect and further raise our collective spirits to greater heights so that, together, we could exult in the expertise and talent of the global Filipino," the President added.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has created an Anti-Hunger Task Force that will work closely with faith-based organizations to widen the reach of the Accelerated Hunger-Mitigation Program (AHMP) among the poor in Metro Manila and identified provinces in the country.

Under Executive Order 616 she signed last Tuesday, Apr. 3, the President ordered the National Nutrition Council of the Department of Health to lead the Task Force which will also be composed of national government agencies implementing the component programs of the AHMP.

They include the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR), Department of Agriculture (DA), Department of Budget and Management (DBM), Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Department of Education (Doped), department of Health, Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD);

Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC), National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), Office of the President, People’s Credit Finance Corp. (PCFC), Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Catholics Bishops Conference of the Philippines/National Social Action Center.

The department secretaries and heads of the concerned agencies will serve as the Anti-Hunger Focal Person of his or her department to fast track the implementation of the AHMP. He or she will also ensure the timely disbursement of funds for the implementation of the program and monitor the same.

The DOH-National Nutrition Council will serve as the oversight agency for the full implementation of the AHMP. It will also report to the President and the Cabinet the progress of the program.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has created an inter-agency Task Force to assess and resolve land disputes in North Cotabato and address similar issues in conflict-prone areas in the country.

Under Administrative Order 174 which she signed last Mar. 27, the President said the Task Force will prioritize the resolution of land disputes that complicate, trigger and cause armed clashes and incidents of violence which spill over into full blown armed encounters.

The Task Force will initially be composed of the Department of Agriculture (DA), Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR), Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), the Joint Coordinating Committee on the Cessation of Hostilities (GRP and MILF CCCH), the International Monitoring Team, and the local government unit of Kidapawan.

Membership in the Task Force may include other agencies and groups as may be deemed necessary in the course of the inquiry, assessment and resolution of identified land disputes and issues.

The JCCCH recommended the issuance of the AO to resolve the land disputes in the area and to avoid possible occurrence of localized armed skirmishes in the future.

A total of 732 families with 2,479 dependents in seven barangays were affected by the armed clashes between the military and the Muslim separatist elements in Barangay Mudseng and Rangeban in Midsayap North Cotabato last Jan. 25-27.

BAGUIO CITY – President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo took time out Saturday to meet the top notcher of the 2006 Bar Examinations, congratulating and wishing him luck while giving him a gift daintily wrapped in white paper.

"Somebody from the Cordilleras has topped the bar for the second time from the same school and really represents the future of our country, the future of your region…" the President enthused during the courtesy call of the University of the Cordilleras (UC) delegation which included Noel Neil Malimban, the 2006 bar top notcher.

To the top officers of the UC which produced a second bar top notcher in eight years, President Arroyo said: "I wish you more and more success."

The President then recalled that her father, the late President Diosdado Macapagal, was the first bar top notcher of the University of Sto. Tomas, so she understands how jubilant the UC is with its second feat.

"I remember when my father topped the bar, he shifted from a faculty to a professional life and I hope you will be as successful or even more successful."

Asked what her gift for Noel contained, she said: "It is just something to start his life with."

The President met the UC delegation at the main hall of the Mansion in this summer capital, staying on for close to an hour as she chatted with the officials of the new university that was formerly called the Baguio Colleges Foundation (BCF).

Asked if there’s any government job awaiting the soft-spoken Malimban, the President replied, "Usually, they (bar top notchers) are pirated by the private sector right away… I don’t want to deprive him also of the wonderful opportunities the private sector could offer him… But anytime that he wants to joint the government, he is very welcome to join the government."

A Louisian from elementary to college, having studied at the Saint Louis University (SLU), Malimban took up Law at the UC where he intends to teach Law "if time permits."

In an earlier press conference at the offices of the Philippine Information Agency (PIA) just before the group crossed over to the Presidential Mansion, Malimban said, "I plan to experience (working in ) a law firm in Manila preferably…"

Malimban reportedly got a grade of "94 or 96" in Taxation. His taxation professor, Atty. Virginia Lim, a PhD holder in Educational Management, is a taxation expert who has authored six books on taxation.

Malimban, who scored 87.6 in the bar --a mere 0.02 point above that of the second placer -- said he believes he also did well in Remedial Law even as he still has to find out his official scores in the different subject areas. He took his Remedial Law under the UC’s College of Law Dean Atty. Reynaldo Aggranzamendez, UC’s concurrent acting president.

Aggranzamendez told the media that Malimban was a "very studious" student who "set his own goal." He also shared the UC’s formula for producing bar top notchers: No student is accepted if he has failed any Law subject from any other law school.

Asked what questions were asked in the 2006 bar exams, Malimban said there were "a lot of weird questions," including a question asking who the president is of the International Court of Justice…"

Malimban’s advice to future bar exam takers? "They should understand what they read. They should not only read in volume, but read in essence."

UC Board Chairman Jesus Salvosa said the university’s feat is "so sensational," considering that top private law schools charge tuition fees of up to P50,000 per semester, while the UC’s semestral fee totals only about P13,000.