I condemn the ferry bombing in Basilan as a crime against peace and humanity that will not go unpunished.

I have directed our security forces to pinpoint and hunt down the perpetrators who have shown a total disregard for the law and human life.

The authorities shall also ensure the treatment of the victims with whom I deeply sympathize.

Terrorism will always strive to frustrate our efforts at peace and development and disrupt the day-to-day enterprise of ordinary citizens but we shall not be cowed.

We shall fight terror as strongly as we embrace peace and development, global alliances and interfaith solidarity among decent and law-abiding Filipinos.

We shall continue to comb all the known lairs of terrorist cells in the cities and countryside, and cripple if not decimate them.

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We have heard this before but the fact that nothing has been proven till now clearly indicates that this issue was merely lifted from the wastebasket and revived.

Records of government disbursements would attest to the fact that not a single centavo from the government coffers went to the President’s campaign fund.

The President won fair and square in last year’s election right before the very eyes of more than a hundred foreign observers.

She won on the basis of an effective campaign platform and strategy while her opponents lost because they could not get their act together.

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Malacanang branded today as a recycled fiction allegations that funds for agricultural programs of the government were diverted to the 2004 election campaign of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo

"We have heard this before but the fact that nothing has been proven till now clearly indicates that this issue was merely lifted from the wastebasket and revived," Press Secretary and Presidential Spokesman Ignacio R. Bunye said in a statement.

Bunye was reacting to a published report claiming that the funds for the Ginintuang Masaganang Ani project of the Department of Agriculture (DA) were diverted to the presidential campaign.

"Records of government disbursements would attest to the fact that not a single centavo from the government coffers went to the President’s campaign fund," Bunye said.

He pointed out that the President "won fair and square in last year’s election right before the very eyes of more than a hundred foreign observers."

Bunye attributed the President’s victory to her effective campaign platform and strategy "while her opponents lost because they could not get their act together."

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President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today ordered the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to hunt down the suspects in the ferry bombing in Basilan Sunday that left at least 30 people, including several children, wounded.

In a statement released this morning, the President condemned the latest terrorist attack and vowed that this "crime against peace and humanity will not go unpunished."

"I have directed our security forces to pinpoint and hunt down the perpetrators who have shown a total disregard for the law and human life," she said.

"We shall continue to comb all the known lairs of terrorist cells in the cities and countryside, and cripple if not decimate them," she added.

The President also directed the authorities, particularly the Department of Health (DoH) and the local government unit of Basilan, to "ensure the treatment of the victims with whom I deeply sympathize."

The Chief Executive noted that the terrorists will always strive to frustrate the government’s efforts to achieve lasting peace and development "and the day-to-day enterprise of ordinary citizens but we shall not be cowed."

"We shall fight terror as strongly as we embrace peace and development, global alliances and interfaith solidarity among decent and law-abiding Filipinos," she said.

The military reported that a bomb exploded at around 7 a.m. Sunday while passengers were boarding the Doņa Ramona ferry bound for Zamboanga City at the Basilan port of Lamitan.

Believed to be the handiwork of the terrorist Abu Sayyaf Group, the attack happened days after Defense Secretary Avelino Cruz Jr., quoting intelligence reports, announced that the Philippines had been targeted for renewed attacks by the terrorist Al Qaida network.

Earlier Saturday, Malacanang called on Congress anew to pass the long-pending Anti-Terrorism bill to give more teeth to the government’s campaign against terrorism.

Press Secretary and Presidential Spokesman Ignacio R. Bunye said he is hoping that the members of Congress would "rise above the situation," and find time to tackle the anti-terrorism measure which has been pending in the House of representatives.

In her State-of-the-Nation Address (SONA) last July 25, President Arroyo also prodded Congress to act on the Proposed Anti-Terrorism Law as a priority administration measure.

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Saying the days of cheap oil are over, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo batted today for the wider use by motorists of ethanol-blended gasoline, the "fuel of the future," to reduce consumption of imported oil.

The President made the call during the launching of the E-10 Program (10 percent ethanol-blended gasoline) in Malacanang this afternoon.

In a 30-minute televised roundtable discussion of the government’s ethanol program with Energy Secretary Raphael Lotilla, Bukidnon Rep. Juan Miguel Zubiri and Seaoil’s Glen Yu, the President noted that oil prices in the global market vaulted today to record $70 a barrel.

"The bad news is that the days of cheap oil is over. The good news is we will not allow ourselves to be held hostage of the surging oil prices. We will not allow the situation to immobilize us," she said.

Zubiri, the principal author of the House version of the National Fuel Ethanol Program, explained that ethanol is an alternative energy source produced from crops such as sugar, corn, grain, sorghum, wheat and other agricultural crops.

Since ethanol is indigenous, it will reduce the country’s dependence on imported oil, he said.

To speed up congressional approval of the proposal, the President certified the measure as urgent during the roundtable discussion. She also ordered that the certification be transmitted immediately to the House and the Senate.

Zubiri thanked the President for certifying the bill, saying this would help in the immediate passage of the proposal.

Yu, Seaoil president, said that for motorists, the immediate effect of using E10 is better car performance. He pointed out that when mixed with unleaded gas, ethanol raises the octane rating from 95 to 97.

This means better combustion and more efficiently burned fuel to prevent engine "knocking" and provides better, smoother, and cleaner engine, he said.

E10 is also environment-friendly. Ethanol, which is inherently high in oxygen content (35 percent), results in cleaner and complete combustion when blended with unleaded gasoline, thereby reducing harmful tailpipe emissions.

Ethanol also reduces carbon monoxide and other toxic emissions by 30 percent and 22 percent, respectively.

According to Yu, the national economy will be the biggest benefactor of the government’s drive to make ethanol-blended gasoline available to the motoring public.

He pointed out that Seaoil’s unleaded ethanol-blend gasoline is 65 centavos cheaper than the price of its closest rival while the premium unleaded variant (G-5 Xtreme) is 71 centavos cheaper.

"We can save close to P100 million a year with these projected savings," Yu said. "If all industry players adopt ethanol-blended gasoline in their shops, the industry could collectively save P12 billion a year," he added.

Yu also said that the demand for ethanol-producing facilities would attract investments and thereby generate employment.

At present, E10 is available in 13 Seaoil outlets in Quezon City. The company hopes to expand the availability of its ethanol-blended gasoline to its 105 outlets in the country soon.

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Government efforts to improve public access to low-cost, high-quality medicines get a big boost tomorrow morning when President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo inaugurates the Department of Health’s Botika ng Barangay at the Batasan Hills in Quezon City.

The President, herself the foremost exponent of the pro-poor agenda which the DOH is supporting, will cut the ceremonial ribbon launching the project at the Batasan Hills Tricycle Operators and Drivers Association (BATODA) terminal along Commonwealth Ave.

She will be assisted by DOH Undersecretary Jade del Mundo, Congresswoman Annie Rosa Susano of the second district of Quezon City, Mayor Feliciano Belmonte Jr., and Barangay Bureau Director Berna Romulo, among others.

An estimated crowd of 3,000, composed of BATODA members, barangay captains, senior citizens and non-government organizations and residents of Batasan Hills, is expected to attend the rites.

A media briefing as well as photo opportunities for the recipients of the Botika ng Barangay and officers of the Bangon Batasan Hills Development Council of Leaders Foundation will follow the President’s inspection of the project.

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