ILOILO CITY—President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has lauded the Associated Marine Officers and Seamen’s Union of the Philippines (AMOSUP) for its initiative in addressing the health needs of its members and dependents which, she said, complements the health and welfare plank of her 10-point legacy agenda.

The President led the inauguration of AMOSUP’s 50-bed, P42-million Seamen’s Hospital in Manduriao District here yesterday.

The three-story health facility aims to provide quality health and medical care to Ilonggo seafarers and their dependents. It is the third such secondary hospital facility of the union for its about 55,000 members nationwide. The other two are in Intramuros, Manila and Mandaue City, Cebu.

The Chief Executive, together with AMOSUP president, Capt. Gregorio Oca, toured the facility which has already been accredited by the Department of Health. It has a total area of 3,300 square meters.

Oca said medical and surgical services of the hospital will be free of charge to AMOSUP members and their dependents. The hospital will be fully operational before the end of July, he added.

After cutting the ceremonial ribbon and unveiling the marker of the AMOSUP Hospital yesterday, the President announced that the government, through the Overseas Workers’ Welfare Administration (OWWA), will soon launch a mass-scale scholarship program for families of Filipino seamen.

She said the government will now be able to fund the scholarship program because of the estimated P100 billion in additional revenues to be generated from the reforms undertaken in the first phase of her economic reform agenda.

The Guardians International, a fraternal brotherhood organization composed of various national organizations, special groups and allied sectoral groups, expressed today its full support to the leadership of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and called on her to continue and pursue her reform agenda.

In a statement, the group, which counts on a membership of more than a million, said they recognize the strong moral courage of President Arroyo in frontally handling the issue of the so-called wiretapped tapes "and in humbly showing contrite demeanor" in the wake of the crisis.

"We reject the presumptuous calls of some noisy but minority sectors for the President to resign and for snap elections," the statement said. "These are options that are not only adding fuel to the destabilization efforts but are also not consistent with our constitutional processes."

Guardians International head Nestor Gualberto, former chief of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG), noted that the voices of dissent and inflammatory language are unduly magnified only in Metro Manila in sharp contrast to the calm and sobriety that prevails in the countryside.

"We expose and denounce the scheming efforts of the communist party in its destabilization moves and the alliance forged between the CPP/NPA/NDF with some mainstream opposition groups in their goal of bringing down this government to trigger chaos and total breakdown of the government machinery," the statement said.

The organization warned that they would counter, confront and neutralize any illegal and unconstitutional attempt of any group that intends to endanger and harm the duly constituted authorities and the Republic.

"We call on the whole Filipino nation to unite behind our leader, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo," it said.

It will be recalled that former Senator Gregorio "Gringo" Honasan and his group, the Philippine Guardians Brotherhood, Inc. (PGBI), stated recently that they would not support any coup attempt against President Arroyo.

ILOILO CITY—President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s mass education goal in her 10-point legacy agenda will get a big boost with Spain’s commitment to fund the construction of school buildings in this city and two Iloilo towns in the next 18 months.

Spanish Ambassador to the Philippines Ignacio Sagaz said their school building project manifests Spain’s direct support to President Arroyo’s "Education for All" agenda.

Sagaz, whose wife is a native Ilongga, said the school buildings will be constructed in Molo district of this city and in the towns of Barotac Viejo and Lambunao.

The classroom projects, he said, will form part of Spain’s increased foreign assistance to the Philippines which will be hiked to $18 million starting next year from its present $8-million level.

The increase in development assistance was announced here yesterday by Spain’s Foreign Ministry Secretary General Rafael Dezcallar who flew in all the way from Madrid with a special delegation to attend the inaugural program of this year’s Philippines-Spain Friendship Week celebration.

This year’s edition of the annual Fil-Hispanic amity observance is hosted jointly by the Iloilo provincial government and the Iloilo City government.

The Department of Energy (DoE) said by August this year, 35 units of the CNG-fueled buses will be plying the Manila-Batangas route.

The action of her House allies shows their confidence that the President did nothing illegal or impeachable.

As we have often said, her apology will not stop her enemies from continuously seeking ways and means to unseat her.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo honored today the winners of the 2005 Ten Outstanding Students of the Philippines (TOSP) in a simple ceremony at the Rizal Hall of Malacanang.

Awarded plaques of appreciation in recognition for their commitment to leadership, social responsibility and academic/professional excellence were two female and eight male scholars from different universities and educational institutions in the country.

The TOSP awardees were selected from the 30 finalists of the search for this year’s outstanding students. The initial list of candidates for the prestigious scholarship award consisted of 235 nominees from 350 colleges and universities nationwide.

Dr. Carlito S. Puno, acting chairperson of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED); Jose S. Concepcion Jr., chairman of the national executive committee of the TOSP; Jose Ma. A. Concepcion Jr., president and CEO of the RFM Corporation and Presidential Consultant for Entrepreneurship; Marie Concepcion Young, president, RFM Foundation, Inc.; Alberto Ramos, president of the National Book Store, Inc.; and Leonardo O. Tanlu, president of the Rotary Club of Makati Central, assisted the President during the awarding rites.

The 2005 TOSP are Mehlan R. Josol, magna cum laude graduate of BS in Agriculture at University of Southern Mindanao in Panabo City; Jeffrey P. Mora, magna cum laude graduate of BS in Chemistry of the Far Eastern University; Joseph Patrick Echevarria, magna cum laude graduate of BS Physics of Ateneo de Manila University; Kiran Tina M. Vaswani, magna cum laude graduate of BS in Management Information System of Ateneo de Manila University; Bryan M. Ty, summa cum laude graduate of BSC-Industrial Engineering of Ateneo de Davao University in Lanang, Davao City;

Anna Theresa L. Licaros, summa cum laude graduate of BA Broadcast Communication of the University of the Philippines; Butch O. Saulon, summa cum laude graduate of Bachelor in Secondary Education of the University of Nueva Caceres in Naga City; Kip F. Oebanda, graduate of AB Development Economics at San Beda College; Beauregard Grant Cheng, graduate of BS in Manufacturing Engineering Management of the De La Salle University; and Bryan Albert T. Lim, magna cum laude graduate of BS in Biology of the University of the Philippines in Cebu City.

Among the objectives of the annual search for the TOSP is to give due recognition to students who can be held as role models for others, students who exemplify academic excellence, exemplary leadership, good moral values, and determination to serve the country.

The TOSP program was launched on June 19, 1961 on the 100^th birthday of the national hero Dr. Jose P. Rizal. It was held continuously until martial law was declared in 1972. The program resumed in 1991.

Harmonious cooperation among government agencies, the public, oil companies and dealers has paved the way for the smooth transition in the implementation of the expanded value added tax (VAT) law, particularly on petroleum products.

This was the assessment today of Energy Secretary Raphael Lotilla who noted that this was contrary to what critics had predicted.

"We have proven the critics wrong so that we were able to have the transition without people panic buying, without stations closing down," he said.

Lotilla dismissed the possibility of VAT’s negative impact that critics say could weaken the administration of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

He insisted that taxing the petroleum products for the first time has only a minimal effect on the underprivileged sector of society, saying the upper class people are the ones who consume greater amount of petroleum products in the country.

The DOE secretary added that the general public has already acknowledged the need of implementing the VAT in order for the Arroyo administration to increase its revenue collection and finance pro-poor projects included in Phase 2 of the government’s economic reform agenda.

"So, I think this is one thing that we need to stress when we are confronted with challenges – that when we work together, even with the consumer group, we are able to address the issues," Lotilla said.

The last time that excise taxes were raised on petroleum products was in 1996.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) today cited the "tremendous" progress made by the Arroyo administration in its drive to put its fiscal house in order.

In a farewell call on President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo at Malacanang, outgoing IMF resident representative to the Philippines Vikram Haksar also cited the determination of the administration to take even such unpopular steps as the implementation of the expanded value-added tax (VAT) law, to be able to solve the country’s debt problem.

"We’ve seen tremendous progress in the implementation of the fiscal consolidation program of your government," Haksar told the President.

Despite all the political noise and the move by opposition legislators seeking a temporary restraining order (TRO) on the implementation of the new VAT law, the President said her administration is determined to implement it, unless ordered otherwise by the High Tribunal.

"We are determined to continue with our economic and social reforms such as the implementation of expanded VAT law today," the President said.

Haksar practically repeated the recent observation of his boss, IMF deputy managing director Agustin Carstens who even assured President Arroyo that the IMF would echo around the international investment community the strides gained by the Philippine government towards fiscal consolidation.

In a meeting in Malacanang in late May, Carstens noted the fast pace in the enactment of key economic measures aimed at improving the government cash flow, as he recognized the difficulty in democratic countries to have such important bills passed into law.

"I think this is very important and we will communicate this to the rest of the world," Carstens said.

President Arroyo noted that "nowhere in the world has an economic measure projected to raise revenues of about P80 billion passed the legislature in just six months."

The expanded value-added tax (VAT) law is projected to raise an additional P97 billion to P105 billion next year from the increase in VAT rate alone. The measure also provides for the hike in corporate income tax from the current 32 to 35 percent, which is seen generating an additional P28 billion to P31 billion.

ILOILO CITY—Ilonggos of nearby town of Janiuay, Iloilo, through their municipal government, have reaffirmed their unshakeable faith and loyalty to President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

"We are solid behind President Arroyo," Janiuay Mayor Bienvinido P. Margarico said.

Margarico said his municipality, some 32.4 kilometers from Iloilo City, has reiterated its support to President Arroyo through a Resolution of Support their municipal council adopted recently.

The resolution also made an appeal to the Filipino people in general to commit themselves to nation building and avoid destabilization initiatives.

"The municipal officials of the Municipality of Janiuay firmly believe that nation building is a Herculean task which needs strong foundation, firm resolve and sincerity of the majority of the citizenry to commit themselves to it," the resolution said.

Margarico also lauded the President’s confidence in one of their town’s sons, Land Reform Secretary Rene Villa, whose appointment, he said, made Janiuay a recipient of several projects.

The rehabilitation of the Jibolo-Tuburan farm-to-market road worth P3 million is the latest project Janiuay received.

The project, when completed, is expected to further encourage farmers to become more productive as it would be easier to transport their produce to the town proper.