The decision on Charter Change lies in the hands of the sovereign people.

We should not see this as a battle between political institutions but rather as a reasonable debate involving the country’s future.

It is time we heed the growing clamor for change and calls to empower the countryside.

Malacanang said today the proposal to amend the Constitution should not be "a battle between political institutions but rather as a reasonable debate involving the country’s future."

"The decision on Charter Change lies in the hands of the sovereign people. It is time we heed the growing clamor for change and calls to empower the countryside," Press Secretary Ignacio R. Bunye said in a statement.

"Let us give this Charter Change a chance for the sake of our political and economic stability," Bunye, who is also the Presidential Spokesman, added.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, in her State-of-the-Nation Address (SONA) before the joint opening of the second regular session of the 13^th Congress last July 25, proposed a shift from the presidential form of government to the parliamentary system with a federal structure.

In calling for changes in the Charter, possibly through a constituent assembly, the Chief Executive noted that the time has come to take the power from the so-called Imperial Manila to the "countryside that feeds it."

She stressed, however, that the "mode of Charter change is the exclusive prerogative of Congress."

The President has expressed optimism that the proposed constitutional changes, particularly the shift from the presidential form to parliamentary, would work for the good of the Filipino people.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today proclaimed August 1 – 7 of every year as National Breastfeeding Week to underscore the importance of breastfeeding on the nutritional status, growth and development of infants and young children.

The National Breastfeeding Week coincides with the World Breastfeeding Week, which is celebrated every year in 120 countries, consistent with the Innocent Declaration on the Protection, Promotion and Support of Breastfeeding, International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes, Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative and World Health Assembly resolutions.

"I am pleased as President and mother to proclaim August 1-7 as National Breastfeeding Week," the President said in her keynote address during the launch of the National Action Plan for Infant and Young Child Feeding in the Philippines at Malacanang’s Rizal Hall this morning.

In advocating breastfeeding, the Chief Executive also directed the Department of Health (DOH) and related agencies, Local Government Units (LGUs), Department of Education (DepEd), Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Department of Interior and Local Governments (DILG) and the Philippine Information Agency (PIA) to coordinate their actions in fostering the success of the program.

The President said latest scientific findings showed that "breastfeeding infants provides protection against major illnesses in children such as respiratory infections, diarrhea and malnutrition and reduces risk of degenerative diseases well into adulthood, and ensures material health by protecting against hemorrhage, anemia, certain cancers as well as facilitating the recovery of mothers from rigors of pregnancy and birth and helping prevent closely spaced pregnancies."

She pointed out that "breastfeeding is the most far-reaching and least costly Poverty Alleviation Strategy of developing countries, especially in the Philippines where breastfeeding culture is being diminished beyond all reason, even as it addresses the issues of not only economy, but also national health, ecology, empowerment of women, bonding between mother and child, love and faith."

The President said breastfeeding will also contribute to the country’s economy, pointing out that 99 percent of milk formula sold in the market is imported. "If all lactating mothers at any given time exclusively breastfeed their infant up to six months, we would save $57 million worth of milk formula per week."

"It’s time to actively promote mother’s milk for the good of the child, for the good of the mother, the good of the nation," she said.

The nationwide breastfeeding program is also part of the "Bright Child Program" launched by the President last week. The program calls on mothers to breastfeed their children for up to two years of age, followed by a health start program providing nutritious breakfast in the pre-school up to grade 1.

"The bright child program includes education, health, nutrition and giving special attention to children of the less fortunate," the President said.

Duque said breastfeeding will continue to be a priority program of the DOH under the Arroyo administration. "We should concentrate our efforts on disease prevention and wellness, like the promotion of breastfeeding rather than treatment of preventable and infectious diseases and deaths that result from bottle-feedings."

According to the 2003 National Demographic Health Survey (NDHS), only 54 percent of infants were initiated to breastfeeding within an hour after birth, while 33.5 percent of infants under six months old were exclusively breastfed.

The survey also showed that on the average, infants are breastfed exclusively only for less than a month. It was also revealed that the practice of breastfeeding a young child lasted for 14 months only.

Duque added that by exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of a child’s life, appropriate complementary feedings at six months, and continued breastfeeding for at least two years, many infant deaths could have been avoided.

"We have a big job ahead of us. We look forward to working with all sectors of society in this and other areas of public health in restoring the Breastfeeding Culture in the Philippines," the DOH Chief stated.

"I don’t even know the guy," fumed the usually unflappable Romulo.

Earlier, President Arroyo lamented that some unscrupulous parties were exploiting and manipulating certain people "especially those who are angry, those who are in need of money and whose testimonies are for sale."

The Filipino people join me in expressing our deepest sympathies to the Royal family, and the government and people of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on the passing of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, His Royal Highness King Fahd bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud.

His Royal Highness King Fahd was a compassionate and kind leader who touched the lives of many around the world with his benevolence and humanity. His Royal Highness was a stalwart of peace, a beacon of hope and tolerance, and a leader who stood his ground on the war against terror.

His Royal Highness oversaw the transformation of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia into a progressive society, a society that does not allow extremism to take a foothold, and a society that has provided livelihood and gainful employment to overseas workers from around the world including hundreds of thousands of Filipinos.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today chided her detractors who, she said, do not seem to tire in maligning her with baseless accusations and black propaganda, to take her to the proper forum so she could defend herself properly.

Speaking at the launching of the National Plan of Action for Infant and Young Child Feeding at the Rizal Hall of Malacanang this morning, President Arroyo decried her detractors’ tactics of maligning her in press conferences and congressional hearings in aid of trial by publicity.

She also lashed out at new opposition witness Michael Angelo Zuce, an erstwhile minor employee at the office of former Lakas executive director Joey Rufino, who has surfaced as the latest witness against her.

The President said certain witnesses of the opposition were obviously for sale, and hard cash is behind her detractors’ black propaganda and the allegations hurled against her.

"Maraming nagtatapon ng black propaganda sa akin, maraming nagsasabi na ganito, ganyan, lalo na iyong mga galit, lalo na iyong mga nangangailangan na parating kailangan ng pera, madaling ibenta ang kanilang testigo," (Many hurl black propaganda against me especially those who are angry, and those who are in need of money and whose testimonies are for sale), President Arroyo lamented.

The Chief Executive appealed to all the mothers who attended the ceremony this morning not to believe in the black propaganda of her critics.

She urged her critics not to resort to trial by publicity and instead go to the proper courts and formalize their accusations so she could also defend herself properly.

"Sana huwag muna kayong maniwala sa mga black propaganda na pinapahayag sa labas ng tunay na korte at sana ay tulungan ninyo ako na maunawaan ang pagbabago na kailangan sa ating sistema," (I earnestly hope you will not easily believe these black propaganda aired outside courts and may you also understand the urgent need to reform our system), the President added.