Filipinos deserve nothing less than a new budget this year in return for their hard work which has triggered our economic bull run.

The spirit of a sharing and caring community is undiminished as the ASEAN and East Asian summits get underway under great anticipation of broader regional trade and security.

The agreements that are expected to be forged will be a collective harbinger of greater stability, cooperation and people-to-people efforts to achieve greater freedom from fear and from want in the fastest developing region in the world.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo vowed today to complete the modernization of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) by 2010, saying that in contrast to previous years the government is now in a financial position to pursue the program to its logical conclusion.

In her message at the Joint Department of National Defense (DND)-AFP New Year’s Call 2007 at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City this morning, the President said the government has generated enough savings to implement much-needed development projects.

A part of these savings will be spent in the continuing effort to build up the AFP capabilities and further upgrade its ability to protect the country from external aggression while maintaining internal peace and order.

"We were able to save enough funds for the delivery of enhanced basic services and infrastructure, including the AFP Modernization Program…it may have been implemented late due to the lack of funds but now we have enough funds," the President said in Filipino dialect.

She recalled that while the AFP Modernization Program was passed by Congress when she was still senator in 1995, it could not be fully implemented because of the perennial lack of funds.

But the funding constraints have been overcome, she added.

"We were able to successfully implement economic reforms that resulted to the country’s growing economy, partly because of the role you played in maintaining peace and security," she said.

The President conducted a Pre-Procurement Conference for the first P10 billion allotted for the modernization program after the New Year’s Call 2007 event.

"The Pre-Procurement Conference will be the first step in the process of procuring P10 billion worth of equipment for the (AFP) modernization," she said.

The President, who is also the acting secretary of defense, also expressed hopes that the AFP would "continue treading the path that I have outlined as your acting secretary of national defense."

Part of the goals of the AFP Modernization Program is for the country to secure the strategic defeat of the communist terrorist movement by 2010, the crushing of the Abu Sayaff and other terrorists groups, and the containment of the secessionist groups in order to establish a secure environment conducive to national development.

"With your dedication to the service of our country and people, our administration shall continue to implement programs that would propel growth and its social payback of jobs, food, health and education," the President said.

The AFP Modernization Act or RA 7898, which was signed into law on Feb. 23, 1995, states that it is the policy of the state to raise the AFP capability to a level where it can fully and effectively perform its constitutional mandate to uphold the sovereignty and patrimony of the Republic.

CEBU CITY—The National Organizing Committee (NOC) of the 12^th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit today expressed the hope that the problem of erratic internet connections in the country would be solved before the start of the summit on Jan. 10.

But Ambassador Marciano Paynor Jr., NOC secretary general, said that journalists covering the Cebu summits should be advised about the internet access problem.

Paynor said that the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT), Smart and Globe, the main internet providers, have been doing everything they could to put back in harness the internet connection in the country.

A magnitude 7.1 earthquake that hit Taiwan last Dec. 26 snapped portions of underwater communication cables, disrupting internet and phone connections not only in Taiwan and the Philippines but in other countries as well.

Sixty percent of Globe’s fiber optics submarine cables have been affected by the earthquake.

Ten days after the strong tremor, internet users in the Philippines have still difficulty accessing the internet; if at all, it is an off-and-on situation.

Some 1,700 foreign and local journalists covering the Cebu summits from Jan. 10 to 15 would have difficulty transmitting their stories to their home offices if the internet disruption would remain.

But they have been advised to use other means, preferably the wireless high fidelity (wifi) technology, to transmit their stories if the internet problem is not fully solved.

Sixteen world leaders have confirmed attendance in the summit—10 from the ASEAN and six from the association’s dialogue partners.

An exuberant President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo described today as a "moment of pride for all Filipinos," the Philippines’ hosting of the 12^th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit in Cebu on Jan. 10-15.

In her message at the Joint DND-AFP New Year’s Call 2007 at Camp Aguinaldo’s Tejeros Hall this morning, the President said Filipinos are known worldwide for their excellence and the ASEAN Summit is another venue to showcase their best.

The President chairs this year’s ASEAN Summit among the leaders of Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei Darussalam, Vietnam, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and the Philippines.

"This is a moment of pride for all Filipinos who have shown excellence worldwide and who are called upon, once more, to put their best foot forward at this historic moment," the President said.

"This is the new Philippines hosting a vibrant ASEAN and East Asia and we should mark this event as our contribution to a safer and more prosperous world," she added.

The President said the ASEAN leaders and their dialogue partners -- China, Japan, India, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand -- will tackle regional trade, security and other major issues of common interest to their countries.

"The spirit of a sharing and caring community is undiminished as the ASEAN Summit gets underway under great anticipation of broader regional trade and security," she said.

She added that the agreements expected to be signed in Cebu "will be a collective harbinger of greater stability, cooperation and people to people efforts reaching out to achieve greater freedom from fear and freedom from want in the fastest growing economy in the world."

Malacaņang reiterated today its call on the lawmakers to pass the proposed P1.126 trillion national budget, saying "a reenacted budget will fall short of providing full social payback to the people in terms of jobs and social services."

"Filipinos deserve nothing less than a new budget this year in return for their hard work which has triggered our economic bull run," Press Secretary and Presidential Spokesman Ignacio R. Bunye said in a statement.

He urged the bicameral conference committee of Congress to show the highest degree of statesmanship to resolve the impasse in the national budget negotiations and save particularly the food-for-school program of the government.

Bunye expressed optimism that the senators and congressmen will find a common ground to break the stalemate in the appropriation measure for the sake of the people.

Earlier, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo expressed her firm stand to retain the food subsidy scheme for malnourished schoolchildren included in the proposed budget for 2007.

With the once-postponed 12^th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit finally pushing through in Cebu City next week, Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary Luis T. Cruz wants it to be remembered as the one that contributed to the establishment of a borderless community in the region.

In a press conference at the Department of Foreign Affairs this afternoon, Cruz said the need for expanding cooperation and networking among the ASEAN members is nowhere more important than now in the wake of efforts to counter terrorism in the region.

"On the regional level, I would want it to be remembered as one wherein we made efforts for accomplishing our goals of community building and addressing socio-cultural issues," he said.

Cruz, who heads the DFA ASEAN Secretariat, said that among the possible issues to be taken up in the convention on counterterrorism is the extradition of terrorists and criminals among member countries.

The ASEAN convention on counterterrorism is but one of six documents endorsed by senior officials to the ASEAN foreign ministers meeting, which will precede the summit proper. These were among the results of the December 2006 preparatory meetings.

The others are the Cebu Declarations on the Blueprint for the ASEAN Charter, Towards One Caring and Sharing Community, on the Acceleration of the Establishment of an ASEAN Community by 2015, on the East Asian Energy Security and on the Protection and Promotion of Rights of Migrant Workers.

The summit, originally scheduled Dec. 11-14 in Cebu City last year, has been reset to Jan. 10-15 this year.

Cruz expressed optimism that neither the weather nor the threat of terrorist attacks could deter the country from successfully hosting the summit.