SUBIC BAY FREEPORT – President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo will lead the inauguration on Thursday of the first phase of the $215-million Subic Port Modernization project, a flagship infrastructure project of her administration.

The completion of the New Container Terminal-1 (NCT-1) marks an important step in the implementation of President Arroyo’s 10-point agenda which include the development of Subic Bay and Clark Freeport Zones as the most competitive international service and logistics centers in the Asia-Pacific region. This is intended to spur economic growth in the area and promotes these growth corridors as the most viable regional logistics hubs.

While the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (DMIA) in Clark is being prepared to accommodate more local and international flights, the Subic port will be developed into a world-class seaport facility.

The construction of the entire port modernization project is being implemented under the auspices of the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC). It is designed to make the Subic seaport a major container port in the country.

"With the completion of NCT-1, our port facility can now accommodate Panamax vessels augmenting the cargo volume and handling capacity of the Subic Bay Freeport," SBMA Chairman Feliciano G. Salonga said.

He added that the alliance between Subic Bay and Clark is part of the long-term master plan that would be linked through the construction of the $425-million Subic-Clark toll road, and the $215-million port modernization program both funded by the Special Loan Package of JBIC.

"Both major infrastructure project will lead to increased economic activities in the hinterlands and generate additional employment opportunities throughout Central Luzon," Salonga said.

The construction of the port modernization project was started in 2004 by Penta Ocean Corp. and its joint venture partners Shimizu Corp. and TOA Corp. It entailed the installation of four gantry cranes from Japan, two of which were installed in May 2006, and the two others in March 2007. This will eventually position the Subic port as a world class maritime hub.

The newly acquired goose neck-type quay gantry cranes, with a capacity of 40.6 tons rated load each, is also part of a bigger plan of the Arroyo government for the Subic port to enhance its capacity from the present 100,000 TEUs to at least 600,000 TEUs.

Each of the container terminals has been provided with two gantry cranes. Also included in the package is the construction of the modern container terminals, and the two berths measuring 280 meters long with a depth of 13 meters.

Meanwhile, SBMA Administrator Armand C. Arreza said that the completion of the first phase of the port modernization project will also accelerate the construction of other projects being implemented in the Subic Bay Freeport such as the $1.684-billion Hanjin shipbuilding facility.

"The completion of NCT-1 boosts our confidence that the Subic Bay Freeport will soon become a key player in the containerized and non-containerized cargo handling business in the entire Asia-Pacific region. This will attract more shipping companies worldwide to use the Subic port, while helping decongest the traffic in the Port of Manila," Arreza said.

The operation of NCT-1 will be awarded to global port operator Subic Bay International Terminal Corp. (SBITC) upon the approval and concurrence of the SBMA Board of Directors and JBIC, respectively.

SBITC, a joint venture company, is 15 percent owned by SBMA and 85 percent by the Subic Bay International Terminal Holdings Inc. (SBITHI).

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo announced today the appointment of former Justice Secretary Silvestre Bello III as the new Presidential Adviser for New Government Centers.

"I would like to announce the appointment of Secretary Bello as the new Presidential Adviser for New Government Centers with a Cabinet rank. Congratulations!," the President said during the full Cabinet meeting held this afternoon at Malacanang’s State Dining Room.

The Office of the Presidential Adviser for New Government Centers (OPANGC) was created under Executive Order No. 352.

As prelude to his appointment, the President, clad in a peach blouse and black pants, requested Bello to lead the opening prayer before the start of the Cabinet meeting.

As head of the OPANGC, Bello’s primary responsibility is to advise the President on matters pertaining to policies, programs and projects geared towards the promotion of regional development through the transfer of selected government agencies to specific regions or areas where they are needed the most.

Its other main powers and functions cover the identification of ideal sites for proposed national government centers (NGCs) outside Metro Manila with emphasis on unutilized government-owned buildings and facilities that will house the departments and other national government agencies whose central offices have been previously decided to be transferred or relocated outside Metro Manila.

Prior to his new appointment, Bello was the general manager and chief executive officer of the Philippine Reclamation Authority from January-December 2006 and president and chief executive officer of Philippine National Oil Co. (PNOC)-Development and Management Corp.

He was also the chairman of the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) panel for talks with the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army-National Democratic Front (CPP-NPA-NDF) from 2001-2004.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo directed today the National Housing Authority (NHA) to take immediate steps to relocate the thousands of informal settlers in Barangay Tatalon, Quezon City to government housing sites outside Metro Manila and put closure to the decades-old problem of the burgeoning squatter colonies in the area.

The President issued the directive during her visit to Tatalon this morning for an informal meeting and dialogue with barangay officials and residents.

Expressing impatience over the delay in the resolution of the squatter problem in Tatalon, the President recalled that she was still single when proposals to relocate the informal settlers were first discussed.

"Ang tagal na niyan, ah. Pamilya ng asawa ko ang may-ari niyan… Dalaga pa ako, problema na yan," she said.

The squatters area is part of the sprawling Tuason Estate owned by the family of First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo.

She also recalled that squatters in Tatalon numbered only about 10-20 families in various areas. This number has risen to more than 3,000, she added.

The President warned that some areas in the barangay, particularly along the Tatalon creek, could collapse because of the heavy concentration of squatter’s shanties.

It’s now a "danger zone," she said, referring to the banks of the Tatalon creek, a tributary of the San Juan river.

She told NHA officials, headed by General Manager Federico Laxa, to consider San Jose del Monte City in Bulacan and Montalban, Rizal as possible relocation sites.

The President said NHA should set up a one-stop shop to speed up the documentation and processing of the housing papers of the informal settlers.

Quezon City Mayor Feliciano Belmonte, who joined the President and other officials in the one-hour dialogue-interaction with Tatalon residents at the Barangay Hall, said he would put up the one-stop shop immediately.

He recalled that the President had previously ordered the setting up of a one-stop shop for the relocation of informal settlers in Payatas, Quezon City.

Aside from Belmonte and Laxa, also present during the Tatalon dialogue were Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chairman Bayani Fernando, Quezon City Congresswoman Nanette Daza (4^th Dist.), Presidential Commission on the Urban Poor (PCU) Chairman Percival Chavez and Land Registration Authority chief Benedicto B. Ulep.

Daza seconded the President’s order for the setting up of the one-stop shop, saying it would not only hasten the on-site processing of housing documents, but more importantly the relocation of squatters themselves.

NHA officials told the Chief Executive that on top of the 140 land titles that have yet to be reconstituted, 1,000 "offspring" titles are hampering the processing of the titles.

The delay in the documentation process is compounded by the court’s regulation that NHA can only submit 10 titles for reconstitution at any one time, the NHA officials added.

Wearing a pink and yellow striped blouse, brown pants and brown espadrille heels, the President partook of hotdog buns and bottled iced tea during snacks with local officials.

The President was informed that the people’s cooperative in one of the areas in the barangay had saved P5 million from its operations which the residents intended to pay for the lots they have been occupying, but the landowner would not sell his property for less than P19 million.

The barangay officials informed the President about the residents’ request that they be allowed to pay only the principal, minus the interest, of the loan granted to them to purchase the lots awarded to them.

The President explained, however, that this is not allowed by law, although she would be amenable to the proposal that "simple interest, instead of compounded interest" would be charged on the principal of their loans.

Belmonte told the President that the Quezon City government has removed the "queer requirement" that landowners pay all their realty taxes before their titles could be reconstituted. The city government would collect taxes only when real estate properties are sold, he added.

The President also asked to be shown a map of Quezon City where the structure connecting Mindanao Avenue and the North Expressway (NLEX) would be constructed. "I have to see the map so I could visualize it (the connection)," she said.

Aside from awarding a Tindahan ng Bayan in Barangay Tatalon through Brgy. Chair Rowena Fernandez, and 100 scholarship vouchers for the PGMA Training for Work Scholarship Program, the President also brought with her a glass-encased glass tree sculpture for the barangay youths.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has given the Maritime Industry Authority (Marina) and the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) until mid-august to wrap up and submit the result of their joint investigation into the sinking of M/V Blue Water Princess last week.

Press Secretary Ignacio R. Bunye said the President issued her directive during the Cabinet meeting today in Malacanang.

"The President wants formal investigations completed within the month of August," Bunye said at a media briefing this afternoon in Malacanang.

Marina and Coast Guard authorities told the Cabinet that they could finish the investigation by September, but the President said they should wrap up the probe and submit their findings by mid-August or about three weeks from now, Bunye said.

At least 14 people died when the M/V Blue Water Princess bound for Masbate sank off the coast of Quezon province after encountering bad weather less than an hour after leaving Dalahican Port in Lucena City last Thursday.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo will submit a "report card" when she delivers her seventh State-of-the-Nation Address (SONA) on July 23 at the Batasang Pambansa in Quezon City.

At a media briefing this afternoon, Press Secretary Ignacio R. Bunye said the President rehearsed her 45-minute SONA during today’s Cabinet meeting in Malacanang.

During the rehearsal, Bunye said the President made a good accounting of the government programs she spelled out in her SONA last year wherein "targets have been substantially met."

Also included in the SONA, Bunye said, is the President’s vision and strategies to make the Philippines more competitive and attain First World status in 20 years.

"The President described her vision and the steps she would take to move the country closer to the attainment of that vision which is making the Philippines a First World country," Bunye said.

With President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo at the forefront, individual volunteers and representatives from dozens of public and private organizations will turn out Wednesday at the La Mesa Watershed in Quezon City to affirm their commitment to protect the endangered environment through the Trees for Life (TFL) project.

A brainchild of Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Angelo T. Reyes, the project will initially involve the planting of 20million seedlings in the next six months. Trees for Life is the lead forestry initiative under the President’s Green Philippines Program (GPP).

A four-point campaign, GPP consists of reforestation, preservation of reefs and waterways, cleansing the land and air of toxic pollutants, and energy independence.

The President will plant a four-foot sapling of kalantas (Toona calantas), considered a critically endangered species, on a 500-square meter grassland open area in the La Mesa watershed. Aside from kalantas, also to be planted in La Mesa are balitbitan and dao, both rare indigenous trees.

During the activity, TFL participating organizations will present to the President "adoption papers" signifying their commitment to plant and to nurture their adopted trees up to full maturity, in partnership with local communities. Some companies have pledged to plant and steward as many as a million seedlings in a specific area under the project.

The planting sites have been divided into four thematic areas: 1) protected areas, critical watersheds and open lands; 2) mangrove and coastal areas; 3) agro-forestry and fruit tree areas; 4) urban parks, green campuses, camps, and subdivisions. Included in these areas are roadsides, parking lots, shopping malls, offices, mining rehabilitation areas, and riverbanks.