To my resigned former colleagues: Let us get our facts straight. Charter Change is not a new initiative to stymie constitutional processes addressing current issues.

As you should know, Cha-Cha figures prominently in the Medium Term Philippine Development Plan, the 2004 State of the Nation Address, and the President’s campaign platform for the May 2004 elections.

Most congressmen wanted it a year ago, but the President urged the enactment of fiscal measures first. More than P120 billion in tax legislation has been passed, so the President has now agreed to Cha-Cha.

Constitutional amendments toward federalism and parliamentary government will increase the state power and resources going to the regions. Is it right to tell these tens of millions of Filipinos and their elected leaders and representatives to wait another year?

Secretary of the Cabinet Ricardo Saludo today urged his resigned Cabinet colleagues to stick to the truth and get their facts straight on current issues, particularly on the Charter Change (Cha-Cha) issue.

"Let us get our facts straight. Charter Change is not a new initiative to stymie constitutional processes addressing current issues," Saludo said in a statement directly addressed to his resigned Cabinet colleagues.

"As you should know, Cha-Cha figures prominently in the Medium Term Philippine Development Plan, the 2004 State of the Nation Address, and the President’s campaign platform for the May 2004 elections," he added.

Saludo reminded his former colleagues that most congressmen wanted to pursue Cha-Cha a year ago, but the President urged the enactment of fiscal measures first.

More than P120 billion in tax legislation has been passed, so the President has now agreed to Cha-Cha, he noted.

The Cabinet Secretary also pointed out that constitutional amendments toward federalism and parliamentary government would increase state power and resources going to the regions.

"Is it right to tell these tens of millions of Filipinos and their elected leaders and representatives to wait another year?" he asked his estranged colleagues that include former Secretaries Cesar Purisima of Finance, Juan Santos of Trade and Industry and Corazon "Dinky" Soliman of Social Welfare.

As for processes to ferret out the truth behind the allegations of wrongdoings against the President, Saludo pointed out that the Chief Executive has declared her willingness to face impeachment by Congress and has responded to the complaint against her.

TAGAYTAY CITY -- President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today led the groundbreaking and the capsule-laying rites for the first 100 percent Filipino culture-inspired resort here worth P10 billion.

Filipiniana Tagaytay Vacation Resort Complex, a 20-hectare estate along the Tagaytay National Highway, is committed to please both domestic and foreign tourists.

The facility, which actually stands on a real estate that forms part of Laurel, Batangas, will showcase Filipino culture, heritage and tradition.

Featuring distinctly unique Filipino concepts and motifs, the project is certain to encourage tourists, retirees and travelers to visit the Philippines. Its all-Filipino building design blends with and integrates modern amenities including a hotel, condotel, eco-parks and theaters.

Conceived as its ultimate tourism lure, however, will be its timely rendition of various Philippine festivities such as the Sinulog of Cebu, Ati-atihan of Aklan, Moriones of Marinduque, Masskara of Negros and the Panabenga Flower Festival of Baguio, among others.

"Promotion of such events doubly makes Filipiniana Tagaytay project a business and leisure home, and a major tourist attraction for the country," said Oriental Mindoro Rep. Rodolfo Valencia, owner of the Filipiniana Resorts Development Corp. Inc., the developer of the resort.

The project, which features three representational phases -- Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao – basks in the cool climate of Tagaytay and further boosts its surrounding landscape.

It also affords visitors a commanding view of the area’s green mountain ridge, the picturesque Taal Lake on which seemingly floats the majestic Taal Volcano.

Valencia said the total project cost will reach P10 billion including the P2 billion that will go to land development alone. Fifty percent of the total cost, he added, will be funded by a Singaporean firm partner, the City State Holdings Pte, Ltd.

The Luzon wing of the complex will include a hotel and world-class restaurants,144 condotel units, four- to six-storey low-rise condotel and a six-storey Bellview hotel-condotel.

The project’s Visayas wing will consist of four-storey condominiums, two-storey garden apartments, 17 units of typical villas clustered together, two-storey quadruplexes and other quadruplex structures.

The design of the Mindanao wing is still in the drawing board.

Valencia said majority of the buildings to be built will face Taal Lake with most of the units having an awesome view of the Taal landscape. The project, he added, is in support of President Arroyo's tourism program.

The President has tapped the tourism sector in her goal to create 10 million jobs before her term expires in 2010.

This project will also beef up the much-needed tourism infrastructure in the country.

Assisting the President in laying the time capsule were Valencia, Laurel Mayor John Benedict Panganiban, Ambassador Antonio Cabangon-Chua who is also an investor in the project, Tourism Secretary Joseph Ace Durano, Batangas third district Rep. Vicky Reyes, Manila Mayor Lito Atienza and Leow Siak Fah of the Citystate Holdings of Singapore.

In an effort to arrest the unemployment rate in Metro Manila, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is set to bring to the urban areas her micro-finance program which proved to be a big success in the countryside.

In a radio interview this morning, the President said there is now a need to expand the implementation of the micro-finance program to benefit the urban masses.

"Napakaganda po itong ating micro-finance program. Ito ang isa sa mga success stories sa ating administrasyon na sayang nga hindi lumilitaw (We have a very good micro-finance program. This is one of the success stories of our administration which, sad to say, has not been given much attention)," she said.

To date, some one million women have directly benefited from the program with roughly P11 billion already borrowed by beneficiaries.

In her State of the Nation Address (SONA) last Monday, the President vowed to triple the numbers of the micro-finance program beneficiaries in the next six years.

The President noted that the micro-finance program has P700 million in fresh funds that could be used to improve the plight of the poor.

She said she had ordered the conduit organizations of the micro-finance program to start borrowing money from People’s Credit and Finance Corporation, Land Bank of the Philippines, Quedancor and National Livelihood Support Fund.

Among the top micro-finance institutions that have successful stories in the implementation of the program are the Taytay and Uswagan founded in Binangonan, Rizal; Center for Agriculture and Rural Development or CARD in San Pablo City; Center for Community Transformation in Pasay City; Negros Women for Tomorrow Foundation in Negros Occidental; Producer’s Rural Banking Corporation in San Jose City; the Cooperative Bank and Rural Bank of Bulacan; CARD Rural Bank Incorporated; Kabalikat Para sa Maunlad na Buhay; and the Opportunity Micro-Finance Bank. 

During the radio interview, the President directed Presidential Management Staff Chief Rigoberto Tiglao and Press Secretary and Presidential Spokesman Ignacio R. Bunye to advertise the success of the micro-finance programs to all government channels and radio stations so that the people will know where to borrow money from the conduit institutions.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo remains among the Top 10 of Forbes’ latest rankings of the 100 Most Powerful Women, a feat Malacanang said speaks well of the President’s qualities as a leader.

The President was listed No. 4 behind the United States’ Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Chinese Vice Premier Wu Yi and Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko who occupy the top three places.

"This is a recognition of the President’s qualities as a leader and her achievements, particularly in driving our economic growth up to 6.1 percent, even in the face of adversities," Press Secretary and Presidential Spokesman Ignacio R. Bunye said.

The rest of the Top 10 are Margaret Whitman, Anne Mulcahy, Sally Krawcheck, Brenda Barnes, Oprah Winfrey and Melinda Gates, in that order.

Forbes said its second ranking of the World’s Most Powerful Women illustrates how fleeting power is, citing former Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri, who dropped off the rankings after losing her reelection bid.

Also dropping off was Carlton Fiorina, who got booted out of Hewlett Packard. Timoshenko, ranked third, is a newcomer in the list.

Forbes said its power rankings are based on a composite of visibility (measured by press citations) and economic impact.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo said another eight million children would be enrolled in the Philippine Health (PhilHealth) Insurance Program to ensure the coverage of more poor families by the government’s insurance program.

The President announced the expanded PhilHealth coverage during the launching of the second phase of the Council for the Welfare of Children’s (CWC) Bright Child campaign in Malacanang this afternoon.

The Bright Child is a package of interventions on health and nutrition, early education and psycho-social programs designed to ensure the optimum growth and development of Filipino children aged 0-17 years.

The program was launched in February 2004 when the President signed Executive Order No. 286, directing government agencies to actively support and implement the Bright Child program.

The President said the enrollment of eight million more children in the insurance program would increase the access by poor families, particularly those in depressed communities, to PhilHealth services.

"Eight million indigenous children are already enrolled under PhilHealth and we are still to enroll another eight million in the coming months," the President said.

She said she has directed that the health insurance program be patterned after that of Thailand’s wherein workers pay 30 bahts whenever they or their beneficiaries are hospitalized, while the balance is paid by the insurance facility.

The President said the sustainability of the government’s health insurance program would be ensured if those covered by PhilHealth would also pay P30 whenever they avail themselves of similar hospital services.

Under the President’s administration, 69 million Filipinos, two-thirds of them children belonging to the 0-17 years age bracket, were enrolled in the PhilHealth program.

She said the program seeks to raise and develop bright children, who would eventually produce bright adults and leaders who, hopefully, would help solve the country’ problems and perform competitively with the rest of the world.

The President also presented to Bernard Joecel "BJ" Forbes, more popularly known as "Tolits" in the series of detergent commercials, the CWC’s Junior Ambassador of Goodwill.

Among the witnesses were Health Secretary Francisco Duque III, Agriculture Secretary Domingo Panganiban, CWC Executive Director Lina Laigo, and UNICEF Country Representative Dr. Nick Alipui.