I can understand the feelings of Gen. Esperon in view of the reported atrocities of  the left but since the repeal of the Anti-Subversion Law no one can be arrested for simple  adherence to, or advocacy of communism.

We take note of the interest shown by the US Senate and other international bodies in the Philippine human rights situation and we share a consensus with the world that unjust killings must be resolved whoever the perpetrators are, whether rebels or wayward soldiers.

Evidence against suspects is being beefed up, special courts are being opened for speedy and fair trial, special investigators and prosecutors are comparing notes to move forward on indictments.

The Philippines has a strong commitment to right these wrongs and enforce criminal justice in the same degree that we are committed to social justice under a vibrant free market.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo reiterated today her determination to remain focused on strengthening the economy and creating more jobs to lift the Filipino family "from abject poverty."

"I shall remain unswerving in the task of jobs creation, topping the five million jobs we generated in six years with even more as we push economic growth and social justice to the limit," the Chief Executive said.

She issued the statement as the National Statistics Office (NSO) reported the results of its January 2007 Labor Force Survey showing that the country’s employment rate rose to 92.2 percent this year from 91.9 percent a year ago.

The NSO said the total number of employed Filipinos reached 33.5 million in January this year, compared with 32 million in the previous year.

National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Director-General and Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Romulo Neri said the employment generation in January 2007 went up to 1.52 million from the 754,000 net jobs creation in the previous year.

According to Neri, employment in all key sectors improved this year.

Neri attributed the improvement in the employment rate to the recovery of industry and the continuing brisk performance of the services sector.

Expressing elation over the declining jobless rate, President Arroyo said: "This administration has been attacked on various fronts and issues, but let it not be said that we failed to give Juan de la Cruz a chance to land a good job and bring home the bacon to a healthy and adequately schooled family."

According to her, every tough decision made and every policy laid down by her administration "to strengthen the economy is geared towards the foremost aim of creating jobs."

"The social payback of economic reforms consists of a double boost on jobs and basic services, so that the Filipino family is not only lifted from abject poverty but insulated from disease and ignorance," she said.

"As more and more investors lay their premiums on the Philippine economy, the window of opportunity will open wider to accommodate the excellence and productivity of the Filipino," she added.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo led the launching Thursday night of a book highlighting the rich cultural exchanges between the Philippines and other nations.

At a brief launching rites held at the Shangri-La Makati Hotel, the President pulled off a light fabric material covering the book entitled "Between East and West: Giving Meaning to the Times We Live on" written by Marie Annette "Tonette" P. Martel.

The President signed the first book handed to her by Martel in the presence of Ambeth Ocampo, chairperson of the National Historical Institute; Doris Magsaysay-Ho, president and chief executive officer of Magsaysay Group of Companies; columnist Millet Mananquil, F. Sionil Jose, Arturo Luz, and publisher Karina Bolasco.

Martel, a Philippine Star columnist and a former speechwriter of President Arroyo, welcomed and thanked the Chief Executive for her support.

"It is an honor and privilege to welcome you, Madam President. Thank you for giving importance to this book particularly on my main objective, which is to focus on cultural exchanges. Thank you for sharing these treasured moments with us," she told the President.

The book "Between East and West" is a collection of essays on the places, themes and ideas that give meaning to the times we live in, and to a world that is brought closer by the forces of globalization and information technology.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo reiterated today her administration’s commitment to develop the country’s capability for basic drug research that will ultimately redound to the benefit of Filipinos.

In her address keynoting the 25th anniversary of the Philippine Council for Health Research and Development (PCHRD) this afternoon at the Crowne Plaza Galleria Manila along Ortigas and ADB Avenues in Quezon City, the President also vowed to lower the cost of medicines while increasing the reach of health insurance to 85 percent of the population.

"This administration has been attacked on various fronts and issues, but let it not be said that we failed to give Juan de la Cruz a chance to land a good job and bring home the bacon to a healthy and adequately schooled family," she said.

The President noted that in its 25 years of existence, the PCHRD has been tasked to help bring down the cost of medicines bought by the poor.

"That is why the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) is pushing research and development on herbal-based pharmaceuticals. The Department of Health (DOH) has already identified the 10 medicinal plants on top of the list such as lagundi, acapulco, sambong, yerbabuena and ampalaya tablet, among others," she said.

One of the five sectoral councils of the DOST, the PCHRD is a forward-looking partnership-based national body responsible for coordinating and monitoring health research activities in the country.

During her speech, the President directed Commission on Higher Education (CHED) Chairman Carlito S. Puno to strengthen the curriculum especially for the graduate level and provide continuing training to health researchers and personnel.

"We must continue to fill the gap in the meantime of developing world class health researchers and personnel by strengthening the curriculum," she pointed out.

The President assured that with the government’s new found budget and new found resources coming from tax reforms, "we hope that in the next 25 years health research will be more vigorous and truly part of the mainstream of Philippine society."

Press Secretary and Presidential Spokesperson Ignacio R. Bunye has asked the Publishers Association of the Philippines Inc. (PAPI) headed by Juan P. Dayang to develop a program of interactive collaboration for government public information officers (PIOs), especially those without backgrounds in news media work.

Bunye made his suggestion during the PAPI testimonial dinner and officers’ induction program at the Manila Hotel Wednesday evening where he was asked to deliver an inspirational message.

He was referring to previous initiatives by PAPI which organized an strategic communication seminar for local government’s public information officers in Metro Manila, Mindanao and the Visayas last year.

"We in government," he said, recognize that "our role is to provide information not as a favor to any media company (or journalists) but as a service and a duty to the Filipino people."

The Press Secretary said the task of public information officers is not always easy. For one, he said, the fast pace of the news cycle "requires that the government communication machinery be just as fast in responding to the headlines."

"It requires a bureaucracy that is as nimble and light on its feet and information officers who know how to perform their jobs well. It does not help that some PIOs are often intimidated by the media; not all know first hand how a newspaper works or what a broadcast reporter needs," he said.

Bunye asked PAPI to help acquaint PIOs with the "human side of journalists, that you (journalists) also make mistakes, that you also get tired of having to chase down a story only to meet a bureaucratic roadblock " at the end of the chase.

A former journalist himself, who even covered the Vietnam war for his Manila-based publication, Bunye recalled how he also used to chase stories, write them and see how his editor went through them with a red pen.

"My days as a reporter were among the happiest and most challenging days of my life. It’s not just the daily adventure of reporting the news; it was also the privilege of knowing the people got to know events as they happened through my eyes," he recalled with apparent nostalgia.

"It was a position of trust and a classroom of life," he described in poetic verse his experience as a reporter.

Today, as Press Secretary and Presidential Spokesperson, he said he has to deal with reporters—local and international—who ask him questions about the President and the presidency.

Because of his personal background, he said, "I appreciate the job of today’s working journalists and I do my best to give them what they need" he said, even as the news cycle is now 24/7 which makes journalism practice more demanding and complicated.

Secretary Bunye recalled that when was a reporter, there were only four major morning broadsheets, two afternoon dailies, two radio stations and one major television news station.

Press Secretary Ignacio R. Bunye has asked journalists, through the Publishers Association of the Philippines Inc. (PAPI), to join and cooperate with government in preventing the violent and senseless killings of more journalists.

Bunye, who is also the Presidential Spokesperson, issued his call in an inspirational message delivered during the PAPI officers’ induction and testimonial dinner at the Manila Hotel Wednesday evening.

Cooperation, he pointed out, works better than just laying the blame on the doorsteps of the military or the Philippine National Police (PNP). "Cooperation means actually saving lives, while ensuring that justice is promptly delivered," he stressed.

There is a need, he said, for the government and journalists "to learn to trust each other enough to know that when one of you (media practitioner) is threatened, we (government) are there to offer protection."

The Press Secretary told the journalists and the general public that the senseless and violent killings of media practitioners appall and affect government as much as they do the media community.

"We are appalled and affected because such loss diminishes the humanity of our society,…because we do respect press freedom and value it as a hallmark of our democracy,…(and) because we share the grief of the families and we want justice delivered to the victim and his or her loved ones," he emphasized.

He said "government is just as pained as you when a journalist dies (or is killed senselessly) and we are committed to do what we can to make sure these killings stop."

This is the reason, he added, why President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo created the Melo Commission to get to the bottom of political killings and deaths of journalists that have plagued the nation for many generations.

"The Melo Report, while admittedly incomplete, nonetheless represents a milestone in our quest for real and hard answers (to these senseless killings). For the first time in a generation, we have begun to lift the veil on the violence that has stalked our country for too long," he noted.

Bunye reiterated that Task Force Usig and Task Force Newsman which were created to investigate extrajudicial executions are just as committed as the media community in solving these crimes.

The newly enacted Anti-Terrorism Law, he added, is another positive step towards bringing an end to groups bent on destroying the county’s democratic institutions and processes.

The Press Secretary said the government’s agenda is to put an end to the senseless killings. He noted, however, that "there may be other groups out there that have a different agenda: to sow mayhem; to make government look bad in the eyes of the people; to dominate, not with ideas but by wielding violence."

Earlier on Wednesday, Bunye said President Arroyo, who hosted the PAPI officers and delegations from the regions to lunch at the Heroes’ Hall in Malacanang, asked the media group, headed by Juan P. Dayang, to serve as government’s media partners in its "Project Whistleblower."

The project seeks to strengthen and render more effective the government initiatives to address graft and corruption.

PAPI promptly responded to the President’s call. Its officers met with the Presidential Anti-Graft Commission (PAGC) chaired by Constancia de Guzman to explore ways of helping push the drive against corruption in both the government and private sectors.

PAPI and PAGC officials agreed to meet again shortly to hammer out a working agreement on how best to jointly carry out the anti-corruption drive.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo issued today Proclamation No. 1253 ordering the display of the Philippine flag at half-mast on Saturday, March 17, in all government buildings and installations nationwide and overseas in observance of the 50th death anniversary of President Ramon Magsaysay.

In signing the proclamation, the Chief Executive noted that President Magsaysay "was a great leader and Filipino of outstanding principle, integrity, conviction and devotion, whose life and public career represent an inspiration to all."

Magsaysay died in a plane crash on Mt. Manunggal in Cebu on March 17, 1957.

"His tragic, sudden and untimely death by an airplane crash near Cebu City was a great loss to our people and was met with grief and shock throughout the Philippines and around the world," President Arroyo said.