MANILA, April 4 - President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on Sunday underlined the need for a strong, free and independent media to protect democracy, even as she vowed to go after the killers of Filipino journalists slain in their pursuit of the truth.

Mrs. Arroyo made this call in her keynote address during the opening of the 112th Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) General Assembly at the Cultural Center of the Philippines.

"I want to call special attention to the need for a strong, free and independent media to safeguard our democracies," the President said.

The Chief Executive also underscored the importance of the media in sniffing out and exposing corrupt government officials, and in keeping "political leaders on the straight and narrow."

In the same speech, the President vowed to go after the killers of journalists. A number of Filipino journalists have been killed "in the line of duty."

"Journalists have been slain in pursuit of the truth. I salute these defenders of democracy and declare to those who perpetrate such crimes: your days are numbered," the President said.

Last March 24, Marlene Esperat, a hard-hitting columnist of the weekly community newspaper Midland Review, was shot dead in front of her 10-year-old son inside their house on Ilang-ilang Street, Barangay New Isabela, Tacurong City.

CLARK FIELD, Pampanga -- President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo rang this noon the ceremonial bell signaling the expansion of United Parcel Service's intra-Asia air hub here with the infusion of an additional $1.4 million investment.

The expansion will triple UPS sorting capacity from the current 2,500 packages to 7,500 packages per hour. The expansion program will also ensure greater reliability and faster transit times for customers.

UPS international president David Abney informed the President that the intra-Asia hub is now servicing 90 flights per week, a 50 percent increase over that of April 1, 2002 when the international cargo handler first opened its service here.

The flights cover cargo deliveries to Cologne, Hong Kong, Mumbai, Dubai, Clark, Cebu, Kansai, Narita, Penang, Kuala Lumpur, Shanghai, Singapore, and Taipei.

The President said UPS' expansion plan highlights her administration's program to transform Clark and Subic into the "best logistics and international hub in the region."

UPS' $7 million intra-Asia facility is built on modules which can be expanded three to four times its current size for additional handling capacity.

UPS reported that its 2004 fourth quarter export volume grew by nearly 30 percent, compared to the same quarter in 2003.

In time for the 58^th birthday of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on Tuesday (April 5), First Gentleman Jose Miguel T. Arroyo started today his cataract medical mission for members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), their dependents and the AFP civilian employees.

The "Bagong Mata Para sa May Katarata" or the free cataract surgery project of the First Gentleman for the AFP was held initially at the Fort Bonifacio General Hospital (FBGH) where at least 58 military personnel and retirees, dependents, civilian employes and other indigent patients were operated on.

Many of the mission’s beneficiaries were operated on both eyes by a nine-man team of eye specialists led by Dr. Benjie Abela of the Makati Medical Center (MMC) and Dr. Eric Malubay of the Malacanang Clinic. The other doctors were from the Veterans Memorial Medical Center, V. Luna Medical Center and Presidential Security Group (PSG) Hospital.

In his brief remarks, Mr. Arroyo said the project would cover all the AFP’s different commands and service units, and the next mission would be at the Central Command in Cebu City.

Aside from the free cataract operation, the First Gentleman said the AFP would be provided with free dentures under his "Bagong Ngiti sa Dating Ngebu" project. Those in need of free kidney transplant will also be assisted under the "Bagong Bato, Bagong Buhay" project, he added.

The free dentures project for the AFP started in March.

These service projects for the AFP, he said, are in recognition of the military’s heroic performance of their duties to protect the people.

"These are all by the order of your commander-in-chief (President Arroyo) who wants you to feel special because you are special to the President," the First Gentleman said.

Lt. Gen. Generoso Senga, Philippine Army (PA) commanding general, for his part, thanked Mr. Arroyo for the projects and for generously helping the military meet their medical needs.

Thanking the First Gentleman in behalf of the beneficiaries, retired Army Col. Hilario Bayabos noted that in his 32 years in the military, no past administration offered such free cataract surgery. Bayabos’ two eyes were operated on today. He had cataract since 1995.

Bayabos said he took advantage of the First Gentleman’s free cataract operation because this is a very expensive medical procedure, the cost of which his family could not afford.

"I can’t find words to thank the President and you, Mr. Arroyo. We can’t repay you but God will repay all your and the President’s goodness," he said.

Since 2001, some 7,000 eyes have been operated on under the First Gentleman’s "Bagong Mata Para sa May Katarata" project. The project is being funded by Mr. Arroyo’s private funds through the FG Foundation.

Also today, as a birthday gift to the President, five hydrocephalic infants got help from Mr. Arroyo under his monthly hydrocephalus and meningcoele mission at the Philippine General Hospital.

The five infants were Baby Boy Marcos, one month old, from San Mateo, Rizal; Baby Girl Pastidio, one month old, from San Pedro, Laguna; five month-old Miguel Hagad from Tanauan, Batangas; John Carl delos Santos from Pasig City, and Justin Darjun, five months old, of Tondo, Manila.

Under the project, also funded by the FG Foundation, Mr. Arroyo shoulders the cost of medicines and the expensive VP shunt or tubes used to drain excess water from the head of hydrocephalic patients.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo last night batted for global cooperation in fighting corruption which she hoped would be tackled by delegates to the ongoing 112^th General Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU).

In her speech at the opening of the five-day IPU assembly at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC), the President said corruption undermines basic democratic values and impedes social, economic, and political development for developing and developed countries.

"We have made anti-corruption a central pillar of our government’s fight to grow our economy and create jobs, and that is another challenge for our parliaments all over the world," she said

The President said she welcomes the delegates with open arms to a nation that believes in democracy, in the democratic movement and what the IPU does to help strengthen democracy the world over.

She said that economically, the fiscal situation of the Philippines is stable, adding exports are surging, imports are growing, the economic growth is up, and the stock market is one of the best performing in Asia.

The President said that her program to support entrepreneurs, together with her program to develop new lands for agri-business, is a central organizing principle of her agenda to create six to 10 million jobs in the next six years.

CLARK, Pampanga-- President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo ordered today Cabinet members to make sure that all projects to be funded under the 2005 national budget are contained in the Medium Term Philippine Development Plan (MTPDP) and the Medium Term Public Investment Program (MTPIP) to avoid wastages of much-needed resources.

She pointed out that next year, Cabinet members would be required to personally work on the budget for their respective departments to ensure that "every single budget item is directly connected to our 10-point program and MTPIP so that there will be no wastage of government programs."

The Chief Executive made the announcement at a media interaction shortly after ringing the bell signaling the expansion of the United Parcel Service (UPS’s) intra-Asian facilities here.

Citing her administration’s efforts to cushion the impact of rising prices of commodities, triggered by the continuing increase in oil prices in the world market, the President said she has instructed officials to take steps to cut "wasteful government programs" to generate savings to fund priority development projects.

Drafted by the President’s economic team, the MTPDP spells out her administration’s economic goals from 2004 to 2010, including a sustainable growth in gross domestic product (GDP), a zero budget deficit by 2010, and a significant reduction in the country’s public debt.

The plan also covers programs to help alleviate poverty and create 10 million jobs by growing the economy.

"We will limit expenditure to necessary investments," she said, stressing that only important projects, notably those related to the delivery of basic services, would be funded.

But instead of the government allocating funds for the development of the area, she expects the private sector to undertake the construction of necessary facilities for the meeting of the ASEAN leaders, the President said.

At a media interaction here, the Chief Executive expressed confidence that all the necessary infrastructures would be completed and ready by the time the Philippines takes its turn to host the regional summit.

"When we’re expected to hold the ASEAN plus Three summit 2007, I would like to hold it in Clark," she said, noting that "this would already be a good place to hold such an important international summit."

ASEAN is composed of the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, and Myanmar. ASEAN plus Three includes China, Japan and South Korea.

Apart from the ASEAN plus Three summit, the regional grouping also maintains closer economic relations (CER) with Australia and New Zealand. It also holds discussions with other countries outside the region, including members of the European Union.

Before proceeding to the United Parcel Service (UPS) for the ceremonial ringing of the bell signaling the expansion of the international cargo handler’s facilities here, which also coincided with the third anniversary of UPS’s Philippine operations, the President was given a briefing on the infrastructure development plan of the Clark Development Corp. (CDC).

CDC president Antonio Ng said the development plan is in line with the President‘s vision of transforming Clark into a world-class logistics hub. The plan also covers provisions for airline services and maintenance facilities, low-cost flights and seeks to make Clark the first choice of investors due to its cost competitiveness.

CLARK SPECIAL ECONOMIC ZONE, Pampanga -- The International Energy Agency (IEA) has opted to adopt the move taken by the Philippine government in conserving energy, and ordered its offices around the world to come up with a plan for a compressed workweek patterned after the four-day workweek schedule set by Malacaņang.

In a media interaction after President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo rang the bell signaling the expansion of the operations of United Parcel Service (UPS)’s intra-Asian hub located here, Energy Secretary Raphael Lotilla said IEA plans to follow the Philippine government’s work plan, convinced that it could reduce their energy consumption and help ease demand for oil in the world market.

"We are at the cutting edge of efforts to conserve," Lotilla said, pleased with the move by the IEA, an inter-governmental body committed to advancing security of energy supply, economic growth and environmental sustainability through energy policy cooperation.

Lotilla also noted that other countries, including China, Thailand and even Iran, are likewise cutting down their subsidies on oil.

"Fortunately for us, we are already in a deregulated environment," Lotilla said, noting that the Philippines has been ahead of its neighbors in realizing that the government must allow market forces to set prices.

Despite the reality that market forces have pressured oil prices to go up, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo assured her administration remains committed to take steps to cushion the impact of rising prices.

"The final solution (to rising oil prices) is to make our power sector competitive," the President said, assuring that her administration would continue to pursue reforms in the power sector by privatizing the National Power Corp. (Napocor) and its power generating assets.

President Arroyo and Lotilla reiterated the steps being undertaken by the government to cushion the impact of rising fuel prices, that include the sustained efforts by the Department of Energy to persuade more oil companies to provide a P1 per liter discount on the price of diesel sold to the public transport sector.

While in Clark, President Arroyo visited Wind Tunnel Petrol Depot along the Manuel Roxas Highway, the latest oil company to join the roster of firms extending a discount on diesel to public utility vehicles.