The fighting faith of Manny Pacquiao is the fighting faith of the Filipino – the dream of victory after victory in the firmament of world competition.

We must keep up the fight and win in all fronts – in physical prowess, in the excellence of our skills, and the will to overcome the foes of poverty and injustice.

Manny stands for the dream of every Filipino in the ring of life and the arena of the future.

I thank God for the blessings of life and victory dawning upon us each passing day in our struggle to overcome all odds.

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A day after he was weaned yesterday from ventilator support at the St. Luke’s Medical Center, First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo’s condition "is continuously improving" with his kidneys and other vital organs functioning well and stable, his medical team said today.

In a medical bulletin issued at 9:30 a.m. today, Dr. Juliet Gopez-Cervantes, the First Gentleman’s main attending physician, said his "kidneys are already functioning (with significant amount of urine) and he needs less and less support from the renal replacement therapy."

Dr. Cervantes, a gastroenterology and hematology expert, added that Atty. Arroyo’s "heart is doing well and his blood pressure is adequately controlled with acceptable heart rate."

According to her, the gastrointestinal tract, liver and pancreas of the President’s husband "are stable although still closely monitored for any possible complications’"

Cervantes said the First Gentleman was "still a bit sleepy" and the medical team’s assessment was "this is still the effect of the anesthesia" given him during the 10-hour major heart surgery he underwent last Monday.

"The risk of infection is still a possibility especially catheter-related IV infection, hence adequate antibiotics are being given, besides puling out catheter and IV lines as early as possible," she explained.

"He (the President’s husband) is still on bedside rehabilitation, with the plan of gradually mobilizing him," Dr. Cervantes said.

"Overall, the First Gentleman’s medical team, the President and the First Family are happy with the developments," she added.

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Presidential Peace Adviser Jesus Dureza has described as "unfortunate" the recent renewed skirmishes in Sulu between the military and some elements of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) headed by renegade Ustadz Habier Malik.

Dureza said the military action was not directed at the MNLF as a whole but only against the group of Malik, who was responsible for a series of attacks on Panamao town where there were several civilian casualties and private properties destroyed.

The peace adviser said he is confident most MNLF elements in other parts of Mindanao, who now live peaceful and productive lives, will not condone the violent acts of Malik.

He disclosed that a few days prior to the attack by Malik, some channels were opened hoping to convince Malik not to pursue his announced plans of launching an attack. Even the military forces in Sulu were asked to take only defensive action at that time, he stressed.

Dureza urged Malik and his group to stop the violence. At the same time, he called on the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to exercise "due restraint" and be mindful of the adverse effects on the civilians whenever military operations take place.

He likewise called on the local goverments and the national agencies to immediately respond to the plight of the evacuees and the affected families.

The government signed a final peace agreement with the MNLF in 1996 and has since worked with various organizations, including the donor community to improve the lives of the former combatants in areas affected by conflicts.

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President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo lauded today the "fighting faith" of Filipino boxing idol Manny "Pacman" Pacquiao, saying Pacquiao’s fighting faith "is the fighting faith of the Filipino – the dream of victory after victory in the firmament of world competition."

Pacquiao outclassed and knocked out the formerly undefeated Mexican Jorge Solis on the eighth round of their scheduled 12-round bout at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas Saturday night (Sunday noon in Manila).

In a statement, the President rallied her countrymen around the heady victory of Pacquiao to keep up this fighting faith and win the battle against poverty and injustice in all fronts.

"We must keep up the fight and win in all fronts – in physical prowess, in the excellence of our skills, in the will to overcome the foes of poverty and injustice," the President said.

"Manny stands for the dream of every Filipino in the ring of life and the arena of the future," she added.

"I thank God for the blessings of life and victory dawning upon us each passing day in our struggle to overcome all odds," the President said.

In his weekly column "The View from the Palace" which comes out tomorrow (Monday), Press Secretary and Presidential Spokesperson Ignacio R. Bunye paid his own tribute to Pacquiao, who is now billed as "The Mexicutioner," saying:

"Once again, Manny Pacquiao has done us proud. His every victory is a cause for celebration as it brings our nation together. Even for a moment, political, social and economic differences are forgotten as Manny Pacquiao has a place in every Filipino’s heart."

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President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo motored this morning to the Risen Christ Chapel right beside the Smokey Mountain in Tondo to attend a novena whose final day today was dedicated to the quick recovery of First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo.

Dressed in a simple long barong skirt and blouse and with open sandals, the President arrived at 9:45 a.m. and prayed the 15-minute Novena of St. Faustina to the Divine Mercy with the barangay residents who came in full force, including the youth in their dark blue shirts emblazoned with "Kabataang Sambayanang Kristiyano" and who led in the singing of the mass songs. The chorale of the said youth group will have an Environment Concert Tour in the United States from May 2-25 as the President’s ambassadors of goodwill.

The hour-long mass that followed was officiated by Parish Priest Rev. Fr. Benigno Beltran who thanked the President for visiting the barangay once again, the 16^th time that she had come for a visit.

The priest also expressed the barangay’s gratitude to the President for the administration’s projects in the Smokey Mountain area which is home to some 3,000 families. The projects include the establishment of a potable water source under the Patubig ni Gloria, a part of the Serbisyo Muna program for depressed areas and barangays all over the country. The administration also continues to build medium-rise tenement homes for the residents who had once earned a living out of garbage.

The parish priest also thanked the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) for donating a one-hectare lot nearby for barangay projects, plus 5,000 seedlings to plant around the area. Trees have so far grown tall atop the former mountain of garbage which has since been compacted.

The mass was also attended by DENR Secretary Angelo Reyes, and the senatorial candidates of Team Unity led by early-bird former Senate President Edgardo Angara, followed by Prospero Pichay, a limping Chavit Singson, Tito Sotto, Cesar Montano and wife, Vic Magsaysay, and the representatives of Michael Defensor, Miguel Zubiri and Sultan Kiram.

The parish priest called on the residents to vote for candidates who could get the Smokey Mountain finally flattened, and those who could give them more potable water and more residential buildings so that all families in the area could leave their lean-to homes under the bridge.

Fr. Beltran also revealed that he had called on concerned groups to give the youth scholarship grants.

Fifteen units of computers for the Tondo youth were donated by Team Unity whose members escorted the President to the building where the computers were set up.

The President then returned to St. Luke’s Medical Center in Quezon City where her husband has been recuperating for a week now following a major heart operation last Monday.

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