President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has appointed former National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Director and Cavite Governor Epimaco A. Velasco as acting member of the Board of Directors of the Philippine Reclamation Authority (PRA).

Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita announced the appointment of Velasco and four others to various government posts during his weekly press conference this morning at Malacaņang’s New Executive Building.

It’s all systems go for the 12^th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit in Cebu City on Jan. 11-15, Malacaņang said today.

Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said at his weekly conference in Malacaņang this morning that all preparations for the Summit were already in place.

"All preparations, all systems are go," Ermita said, adding that only minor finishing touches in the preparation of the Summit venues such as landscaping, have yet to be completed.

He added, however, that ASEAN organizers see no hitches in the preparation of the Summit venues.

Ermita said that all aspects of the forthcoming ASEAN Summit, ranging from security matters to weather conditions during the high-level gathering, were discussed during the National Security Council (NSC)-Cabinet group meeting on Tuesday.

He assured that the Philippine National Police (PNP), the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Anti-Terrorism Task Force (ATTF) were fully prepared to ensure the safety of the leaders of the participating countries, members of the various delegations, other Philippine visitors and the general public.

The threat of terrorism is always present, Summit or no Summit, but the government agencies like the PNP, AFP and the ATTF are ready and prepared to counter any threat to disrupt the Summit, he said.

Ermita also revealed that starting Jan. 9 some officials and delegates from ASEAN member-nations would be arriving in the country, particularly in Cebu.

He said that the ASEAN senior ministers will meet on Jan.10 while the ASEAN foreign ministers will arrive the next day for the foreign ministerial meeting.

Greater opportunities await the Filipino nurses with the adoption of an agreement liberalizing the entry and practice of professional nurses within the member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

The Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA) on nursing services came into force when it was signed by economic ministers of the 10 ASEAN member countries last Dec. 8 in Cebu City and would be affirmed when the ASEAN leaders meet for their 12^th Summit from Jan. 10-15.

Ramon Kabigting, director of the Bureau of International Trade Regulation (BITR) of the Department of Trade and Industry, said Filipino nurses stand to benefit from the agreement as it would finally allow the Philippines to be more aggressive in entering the ASEAN market.

ASEAN, with a combined population of 479 million, groups Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. The regional grouping has been fast-tracking efforts to open its economies to free trade in services and goods.

Under the MRA, rules were liberalized to allow free exchange of nursing services within the region.

First, the individual must be registered and/or licensed as a professional nurse by the nursing regulatory authority in their country of origin.

Nurses seeking jobs within the ASEAN member-countries may then apply for registration or license in a host country to be recognized and allowed to practice nursing in accordance with the laws and regulations of the host country concerned.

"This means our nurses do not have to take the national nurse licensure examinations of other ASEAN members to be able to practice in those countries," Kabigting said.

A minimum practical experience of not less than three continuous years in the practice of nursing prior to the application is also required.

The MRA also provides for the establishment of the ASEAN joint coordinating committee on nursing services to facilitate greater understanding of existing policies, procedures and practices and develop and promote strategies to manage the implementation of the MRA.

"The Philippines will be the MRA’s biggest beneficiary, since we are now the world’s biggest exporter of nurses," Kabigting said.

Upholding our treaty obligations is important to keep the respect of the international community.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is grateful to all the sectors and to the Filipino people themselves who have worked hard to keep the economy humming.

The strength of the peso will cut our debt payments and import costs, thus freeing up funds for social services.

We hope the Senate and the House will find common ground to break the budget deadlock for the sake of the people.

Vital pro-poor programs will be prejudiced by the undue delay.

After fiscal reforms, government life-saving schemes such as health insurance through the Philhealth cards and half-priced medicines are among the top 10 programs of the administration that are working for the poor.

These were among the highlights of the roundtable discussion on poverty alleviation presided no less by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in Malacanang this morning

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III told the President that latest surveys show that 45 percent of Filipinos agree that prices of medicines have considerably gone down since the government implemented the Botika ng Barangay program compared to the 11 percent of previous polls.

The Botika ng Barangay offers medicines at half the cost, forcing the pharmaceutical industry to sell low-cost brands and saving consumers an estimated P1.4 billion.

Duque said the low-cost medicines are 35 to 40 percent cheaper and available in nearly 10,000 outlets nationwide.

"Very good. That is a big help to the people and a success story for the administration" the President said by way of congratulating the Health Secretary for the implementation of the program.

The President also commended the health insurance scheme such as the Philhealth card for having benefited 21 million indigent Filipinos, up from 1.5 million in 2000.

She noted that health insurance has removed the nightmare of every Filipino family such as a life threatening illness or injury and lack of money to pay for the treatment.

Other topics discussed during the same occasion included the administration’s microfinance and self-employment and livelihood programs.

Malacanang said today that President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s strong resolve to live up to the country’s international commitments and treaty obligations in the controversy over the custody of US Lance Cpl. Daniel Smith has gained for the Philippines the respect of the international community.

Ermita was referring to the dispute over the transfer of Smith from the Makati City Jail, where he was detained after he was convicted of raping a 22-year-old Filipina, to the custody of the American embassy.

Philippines and US authorities invoked the two countries’ Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA), which states that the US shall exercise custody of an accused American serviceman pending final judgment of guilt.

Smith’s conviction for the rape case is on appeal.

In his regularly weekly press conference in Malacanang today, Ermita pointed out that by approving Smith’s transfer to US custody, the President served notice to the "world that the Philippine government has the political will to live by its treaty commitments."

He said that the issue of whether or not Smith’s custody would cast a negative effect on the administration in the forthcoming elections did not figure in the President’s approval of Smith’s transfer to US custody.

Press Secretary and Presidential Spokesman Ignacio R. Bunye echoed Ermita’s pronouncement, saying that "upholding our treaty obligations is important to keep the respect of the international community."

"The government’s action should be viewed in this wider perspective," Bunye said.

Ermita said the action taken by the President had nothing to do with the 2007 elections. "The important thing is we gained respect as a sovereign nation that lives by our international commitments and agreements such as the VFA."

He said the Philippine and the US governments also discussed extensively the fate of the annual Balikatan military exercises, which were cancelled by the US over the Smith custody controversy. Yesterday, the US declared that Balikatan would push through as scheduled in March following the turnover of Smith to US custody.

Ermita cited the strategic value of the joint military exercises to the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), saying that through Balikatan the AFP is able to improve its fighting and operational capabilities and exchange expertise on military technical know-how and intelligence information.

Through Balikatan, the US also extends assistance to the AFP’s campaign against the communist insurgency, the hostilities in southern Philippines, and terrorism.