This government will not allow the rising trend of poll violence to put down Philippine democracy.

On the operational side, I have ordered the law enforcement authorities to solve high profile cases with dispatch, mobilize barangay based intelligence efforts to check violence before it erupts, mount a stronger drive on loose firearms and recommend early Commission on Elections (Comelec) control for the most notorious hotspots.

At the same time, there is a clear trend of insurgent activity riding on the trend of poll violence; and I would like to see greater synergy in police and counterinsurgency operations so that law and order can be enforced in a comprehensive way to protect the integrity of the polls and ease public apprehensions.

I ask for the full cooperation of our communities in a tripartite operation involving the local government units (LGUs), the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to curb violence under the ambit of Comelec supervision where warranted.

Let us protect suffrage, freedom of choice and democracy with the full collective will and resources we can muster.

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The World Bank’s recognition of the country's potential for growth is a silver lining in the horizon despite the increasing political noise.

After having made the tough decisions to grow the economy, President Arroyo is even more determined to fuse growth with political stability. 

Her  "8 by ‘08" social payback agenda will guarantee greater momentum for economic takeoff as we push Philippine democracy and social justice forward, ensure clean polls, contain terror and insurgency and push the frontiers of regional trade and integration.

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BAGUIO CITY – First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo was discharged from the Saint Louis University’s Hospital of the Sacred Heart here this morning after an overnight stay for chronic gastritis.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo stayed overnight with her husband, who was taken to the hospital Sunday evening.

The Presidential couple left the hospital at midmorning today.

The First Gentleman’s heart condition is "okay" and his blood pressure "stable," according to Press Secretary and Presidential Spokesman Ignacio R. Bunye who quoted the attending physician, Dr. Rene Manalo.

The First Gentleman received his "discharge order" at around 9:30 a.m. from Dr. Manalo who confirmed the earlier diagnosis of gastritis.

The doctor advised Atty. Arroyo to just continue his "gastro work-up" with the latter’s regular physician, Dr. Juliet Gopez Cervantes, at the Saint Luke’s Medical Center in Quezon City.

The President joined her husband at the hospital last night after an Easter Sunday dinner at The Mansion Guesthouse with members of the local media who covered her family’s and Cabinet’s Lenten retreat in this summer capital city.

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PILAR, Bataan -- President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo ordered today the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) to release P1.8 billion to cover government arrears in the pension payments of Filipino war
veterans.

The President issued the directive in her speech read by Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita during the 65^th Araw ng Kagitingan (Day of Valor) rites on Mt. Samat Shrine here.

She said that since 2006, the government has already released a total of P19.57 billion for the regular pension and P1.6 billion in pension arrears of the war veterans for the remaining months of this year.

With her latest instruction, the government expects to settle all pension arrears by next year.

"I am instructing the Secretary of Budget to release another P1.8 billion for pension arrears. By 2008, we will be up-to-date in our pension payments," the President said.

"For the veterans who are still with us today, I shall continue to serve you and your loved ones with full understanding and a deep sympathy for your needs," the President stressed.

At the same time, the President expressed hope that the United States lawmakers would support the possible passage of the long-awaited Veterans' Equity Bill that would grant Filipino war veterans equal benefits with their American counterparts.

She noted that the US Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs is scheduled to conduct a hearing on the pending Veterans Equity Bill on April 11.

"We hope that all the US officials will support this effort to pass legislation that would allow our Filipino veterans to obtain the benefits they have long sought and truly deserve," the President said.

Earlier, Ermita led the wreath-laying ceremonies at the Colonnade, located 448 steps below the foot of the 92-meter cross on Mt. Samat, together with US Ambassador to the Philippines Kristie Kenney and Japanese Ambassador Ryuichiro Yamazaki.

In her message, Ambassador Kenney cited the war veterans’ contribution to world peace, adding that the Philippines, Japan, and the US have now become partners for peace and progress.

On the other hand, Ambassador Yamazaki apologized for the atrocities committed by the Japanese Imperial forces during World War II, saying the bitter lessons from that war would not be forgotten.

Yamazaki said Japan is now an active contributor to the promotion of world peace without waging war and has now become the Philippines biggest contributor of official development assistance.

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President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo ordered today an intensified cooperation between law enforcement agencies, the citizenry and the Commission on Elections (Comelec) in stemming the increasing incidence of poll-related violence in the country.

In a statement, the President vowed, "This government will not allow the rising trend of poll violence to put down Philippine democracy."

"I ask for the full cooperation of our communities in a tripartite operation involving the local government units (LGUs), the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to curb violence under the ambit of Comelec supervision where warranted," she said.

The President issued the directive after the PNP’s National Election Monitoring and Action Center (NEMAC) recorded 46 election-related violent incidences and 1,479 arrests of persons found violating the Comelec-imposed gun ban since the campaign period started on Jan. 14.

Among the most notable of the 46 election-related cases are the recent killings of Quezon province congressional candidate Vicente Rabaya Jr. and Kalinga Vice Governor Romel Diasen.

Rabaya was found slumped inside a Toyota vehicle along Katipunan Avenue in Quezon City last March 31 while Diasen was shot dead while giving a speech in Kalinga last April 7 (Black Saturday).

The President ordered the authorities "to solve high profile cases with dispatch, mobilize barangay based intelligence efforts to check violence before it erupts, mount a stronger drive on loose firearms and recommend early Comelec control for the most notorious hot spots."

She also wants to see "greater synergy" between authorities and counterinsurgency operations so that left-leaning groups planning to take advantage of poll-related violence will not succeed in their schemes.

"At the same time, there is a clear trend of insurgent activity riding on the trend of poll violence; and I would like to see greater synergy in police and counterinsurgency operations so that law and order can be enforced in a comprehensive way to protect the integrity of polls and ease public apprehensions," the President said.

"Let us protect suffrage, freedom of choice and democracy with the full collective will and resources we can muster," she added.

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Press Secretary and Presidential Spokesperson Ignacio R. Bunye described today the recent World Bank (WB) study that looked favorably on the country’s potential economic growth in the next two years as "a silver lining in the horizon" in the midst of all the political noise.

"The World Bank’s recognition of the country’s potential for growth is a silver lining in the horizon despite the increasing political noise," he said in a statement.

In its East Asia and Pacific economic update dated April 5, the WB said the Philippines, together with four of its neighboring nations most affected by the financial crisis that gripped the region in 1997 -- Korea, Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand -- had all returned to positive growth quite quickly and were now much less vulnerable to capital market and financial crises.

The WB also said that it projected the Philippines’ growth to hit 5.6 percent this year and 5.7 percent for 2008 due largely to the recent economic gains.

Bunye said the President’s implementation of "tough decisions" that include the Expanded Value Added Tax (E-VAT) Law and the National Attrition Law have been primary in the move to grow the economy and the President is "even more determined to fuse growth with political stability."

"Her ‘8 by ‘08’ social payback agenda will guarantee greater momentum for economic takeoff as we push Philippine democracy and social justice forward, ensure clean polls, contain terror and insurgency and push the frontiers of regional trade and integration," Bunye said.

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