I was prepared to tender my letter of resignation on June 18 in line with a presidential directive which I thought included Cabinet secretaries. However, Secretary Bunye clarified that any news purporting to expand the coverage of the presidential order to include Cabinet members is totally inaccurate.

Nevertheless, if and when the President asks me to do so, I will readily resign. We serve at her pleasure. And we'd like to give her a free hand in reorganizing the government. Thank you.

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Press Secretary and Presidential Spokesman Ignacio R. Bunye reiterated over the weekend that Malacaņang is determined to go after assassins of journalists and put an end to all extra-judicial killings.

No less than President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has emphasized the government’s policy of zero tolerance for extra-judicial killings, Bunye said in his weekly column, "The View from the Palace," that comes out tomorrow (Monday, June 18).

"Certainly, the political will to go after killers of journalists and prevent political killings is not wanting," he said.

In her remarks before representatives of various media organizations, the Philippine National Police (PNP), Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) last week in Malacanang, the President stressed: "First of all, let me once again deplore the killings of journalists."

Deploring the country’s long history of political violence, the President said she intends to "break this cycle of violence once and for all."

Represented at the Malacanang meeting were the National Press Club (NPC), Manila Overseas Press Club (MOPC), Kapisananan ng mga Brodkasters ng Pilipinas (KBP), Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines (FOCAP), Malacanang Press Corps (MPC), Defense Press Corps and the PNP Press Corps.

The President had earlier tapped former Supreme Court Associate Justice Jose Melo to head the commission to investigate the extra-judicial killings.

In its report to the President, the Melo Commission recommended the creation of special courts, the adoption of stronger witness protection measures, and allocation of additional funds for the investigation and prosecution of the cases against the culprits.

The actions taken by the President send a "strong signal that this administration is determined to stop these killings and to prosecute to the fullest extent of the law the perpetrators of such despicable deeds," Bunye said.

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While conceding that early politicking could take place in the Senate in the run-up to the 2019 presidential elections, Malacaņang remains hopeful that all parties would move "forward in a united way to stay on the path of economic reform and fiscal discipline."

"We have barely proclaimed the winners in the last elections but in the Senate, at least, it is an open secret that eyes are already on the presidential elections of 2010," Press Secretary and Presidential Spokesman Ignacio R. Bunye said in his weekly column, The View from the Palace, which comes out tomorrow in the Manila Bulletin.

"But we hope that presidentiables can set aside political ambitions for now and continue to vote for programs that have made our nation a new destination in Asia for business and investment," he added.

Bunye warned that "it would be foolhardy to slide back into the days of finger pointing and mudslinging when what we need to do now is to nurture and advance our national competitive advantages."

"Our competitors in the global market have managed to keep their democratic spirit alive and their economies growing. We must be able to do the same by keeping the people’s best interest as the best common denominator in our policies and actions as public servants," Bunye said.

He pointed out that "embedded in every ballot cast in the May 14 polls was the fervent hope of every Filipino voter for a better future."

He said the country has moved closer to reaching its goal of a better future, "but we need to sustain our momentum. Already, we have moved mountains with our macroeconomic condition, through fiscal discipline, working toward a balanced budget by 2008, paying off our debts and investing billions in human and physical infrastructure."

The Arroyo administration, Bunye said, has so far "delivered 26 consecutive quarters of economic growth." Such fundamentals, he said, are now "paying off in huge increases in foreign direct investments, six million new jobs, a strong peso and a strong stock market."

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