The President or the National Cabinet Cluster did not make any decisions on the substantive issues of the GRP-MILF Peace Talks in our meeting of April 24, 2007.

Several scenarios in the negotiation were discussed and noted.

The Peace Panel of the Government was instructed to conduct more studies and consultations.

In a move to ensure that there is enough supply of food for the Filipino family’s table, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo visited this morning the country’s biggest consolidator of fruits and vegetables at the Food Terminal Inc. (FTI) Complex in Taguig City.

The President made a tour of the Dizon Farm facilities and inspected the farm produce from the company’s plantations in Davao, Bukidnon, Pampanga and Mindoro Occidental.

The agricultural crops include pomelos, yellow and green mangoes, melon and golden cantalope, watermelon, bananas, pineapples, durian, asparagus, lettuce, sugar beets, Chinese beans and eggplant, among a wide variety of fruits and vegetables.

The company, which started as one of the pioneers in growing sweet pomelos and eventually expanded to produce a wide variety of fruits and vegetables, supplies 93 supermarkets nationwide with their quality and fresh produce.

Dizon Farm general manager Catherine Dizon-Posas said the company is capable of supplying these stores efficiently because of their "close link to growers and traders in the entire country."

At present, Dizon Farm has a fleet of more than 50 delivery trucks and employs around 1,000 people.

The company has established aggressive quality controls, refrigerated and non-refrigerated storage facilities and a well-trained labor force, Posas said.

The escalating violence is a real cause for concern and the President has ordered the Philippine National Police (PNP) to keep a tight watch on potential trouble spots.

Political tensions are never a justification for the use of force or arms.

Unscrupulous persons who are taking advantage of the political atmosphere are even more condemnable…as they are the scourges of a democratic society.

Malacanang expressed confidence today that the stalled exploratory peace talks with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) will resume immediately after the mid-term elections next month.

Press Secretary and Presidential Spokesman Ignacio R. Bunye said the government’s confidence stems from the interest of all parties concerned, including the United States, Japan, and members of the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) to end the conflict.

"I believe those parties really want to have an end into this pestering conflicts and there are international participants who have a great stake on this," he stressed.

Bunye said that during the Cabinet Cluster meeting last Tuesday, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo instructed the government peace panel to conduct more studies and consultations anent a new MILF demand to include the entire Sultan Kudarat province as part of a new Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

He said that several scenarios in the negotiation were discussed and noted, but he clarified that "no specific decision" was made on the substantive issues during the April 24 meeting.

Due to the deluge of applications for travel clearance for minors traveling abroad this summer, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has advised applicants to submit complete documents to ensure timely release of their travel clearances.

"A travel clearance may be obtained within three working days from the DSWD field office where the application is submitted provided all requirements have been fulfilled," DSWD Officer-in-Charge Luwalhati Pablo said..

A travel clearance is a document issued by the DSWD to a minor who is below 18 years of age travelling abroad alone or with someone other than his or her parents. The travel clearance is issued as a measure to prevent child trafficking.

Requirements for application of travel clearance are: duly accomplished application form; photocopy of the birth certificate or passport of the minor; a written consent of both parents, the solo parent, or the legal guardian permitting the minor to travel alone to a foreign country; photocopy of the marriage certificate of the minor’s parents, or certificates establishing solo parenthood; two colored passport size photos of the minors taken within the last six months.

For subsequent travels, the requirements are duly-accomplished application form, written consent of both parents, the solo parent, or the legal guardian permitting the minor to travel alone to a foreign country, a photocopy of the previous travel clearance; and two colored passport size photos.

The travel clearance shall be valid for multiple travels within the one year validity period, provided that the conditions under which the travel clearance was issued have not changed. If a change in condition occurs, like change of travelling companion, a new travel clearance must be obtained.

Those who do not need a travel clearance are: 1. A minor travelling abroad whose parents are in foreign service or are living abroad provided, the child is holding a valid pass such as a dependent’s visa, permanent resident visa or card which can prove that the child is living with parents abroad; and 2. A minor travelling abroad with either parent or with his or her solo parent or legal guardian.

Parents, legal guardians or a duly authorized representative may file the application at any DSWD field office. Application forms maybe obtained from any DSWD field office or downloaded from the DSWD website (www.dswd.gov.ph).

We thank Congresswoman (Ellen) Tauscher for her concern and we will communicate to her the fact that this Administration deplores the killings, be they from left or right, against journalists or against activists, and is committed to breaking this cycle of violence that has long plagued the Philippine political environment once and for all.

Under the direction of President Arroyo, the Melo Commission was established as an independent commission to investigate these killings and to submit policy recommendations, which the Government has followed.

These recommendations included the creation of special courts, implementation of stronger witness protection measures, and allocation of more resources for prosecutors and investigations of left and right to bring the perpetrators of these crimes to justice.

The President has also ordered the Department of Justice and the Department of National Defense to coordinate with the Commission on Human Rights to create a Joint Fact-Finding body to delve deeper into allegations, and to file charges against and prosecute the culpable parties, if they do indeed exist.

According to the Presidential Human Rights Committee, at least 60 cases of unlawful killings have been brought to court or are with prosecuting authorities as of April this year. Four cases have resulted in convictions of the accused.

On behalf of my family—my husband, Mike, and my children, Mikey and his wife Angela, Luli and Dato and his wife Kakai, I would like to extend our deepest condolences to the family and friends of the late Rizal Yuyitung—his beloved wife Veronica, who co-founded with me and other friends the Association for Philippines-China Understanding, his children and their spouses, his grandchildren, his sisters and his other relatives and friends.

Rizal Yuyitung is one of those rare individuals whose personal and professional integrity had thrust him into the centerstage of politics.     Like the hero he was named after, Rizal used pen rather than sword to fight for truth to prevail; and, like the hero, he was persecuted for upholding the ideals of his profession.

As a journalist during the dark days leading to Martial Law and as an editor in the newspaper his father founded—the Chinese Commercial News or CCN, Rizal published what others dared not publish, thus transforming CCN, the country's oldest Chinese language newspaper, from a business paper to one that awakened and expanded political thought.   He and his paper obtained the ire of a dictator who was afraid of the truth.

However, Rizal would be proud to know the paper that was once shut down is thriving and has a new purpose now.   Today, CCN contributes to the metamorphosis of the local Chinese community into an integral part of our multi-ethnic society, reflecting a new truth—the need for unity.

Rizal serves as an excellent example to a new generation of journalists, as well as advocates of democracy.   Instead of sowing division, let us nurture the seeds of unity that they may bear fruit and put an end to poverty, the source of many of our social ills.  

I assume many of us here who have been fortunate to have met him or his family have a lot of fond memories of Rizal as husband, father, grandfather, brother, uncle or friend but to the nation he left behind with his death, he would be remembered as a very principled man who gave voice to the truth even under threat of death.   Filipinos throughout the ages would remember that, through responsible journalism, he helped maintain democracy.