President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo remains focused in completing her Super Regions development project despite the coming midterm elections in May and its accompanying "political noise and economic disturbances," according to Press Secretary and Presidential Spokesperson Ignacio R. Bunye.

"The President is very focused on the Super Regions development and she will not allow any distractions attendant to the forthcoming political season to stand in the way of the economy," Bunye said in his weekly column, "The View from the Palace" which comes out tomorrow (Monday).

This dedication, Bunye said, was evident during the second day of the New Year when the President flew to Nueva Vizcaya and Nueva Ecija to inaugurate "very vital infrastructure projects" in the two provinces.

In Nueva Vizcaya, the President formally opened the Pingkian Bridge in Kayapa town which has been touted to reduce by half the 10-hour travel time between Ifugao and Manila.

This reduction in travel time will greatly ease the delivery of basic goods to and from the northern provinces of the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) and Manila, thereby reducing travel costs and obsolescence of food products.

The President also inaugurated the multimillion-peso Aritao-Kayapa-Pangawan Road which is part of the Cordillera Road improvement project. The new road will serve as an alternative route from Aritao, Nueva Vizcaya to Baguio City.

In Nueva Ecija, on the other hand, the President inaugurated the Lateral-A Irrigation Canal of the Casecnan Multi-Purpose Irrigation and Power Project (CMPIPP) located at Barangay Magtanggol in Muņoz City.

The project is expected to irrigate almost 27,000 hectares of farmlands in Nueva Ecija and in Victoria town in neighboring Tarlac province, and benefit 15,000 farmers.

Bunye said these projects, "coupled with others still in the pipeline," will spur economic activities and development in the North Luzon Agribusiness Quadrangle composed of Regions 1, 2, the Cordillera Administrative Region, and the northern part of Region 3 or Central Luzon.

"The momentum is strong and our people can be assured that the fruits of growth will be delivered right to their doorstep every single day moving up and forward," he added.

He called on the Filipino people to set aside political differences and unite because "we need sustained unity, productivity and excellence combined with strong leadership to pull the train of Philippine stability and prosperity forward."

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Press Secretary and Presidential Spokesperson Ignacio R. Bunye is confident that the 12^th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit, which will be held in Cebu City from Jan. 10 to 15, will be a banner year for the 10-country alliance and its dialogue partners.

He said the summit, originally scheduled to be held last December but was postponed due to a strong typhoon, will firm up the commitment among the ASEAN member countries and their dialogue partners to make this year a moment of glory for regional stability and security.

"True to the theme of ‘One Caring, One Sharing Community,’ all countries of Southeast and East Asia are prepared to unite and to act as one in addressing imbalances in trade, poverty, environmental degradation, conflict and insecurity, terrorism, transnational crime and other issues that affect a region that spans half the world," Bunye said in his weekly column, "The View from the Palace" which comes out on Monday.

"This year’s Summit will be a banner year towards a greater sense of community among nations, and a deeper commitment to expand and liberalize trade, tourism and technical cooperation for the benefit of all our peoples, including all Filipinos wherever they live and work," Bunye added.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo chairs the 12^th ASEAN Summit among the leaders of Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

The six dialogue partners of ASEAN are Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea.

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