AGUSAN DEL SUR—President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo will distribute land titles to landless farmers and inaugurate priority development projects of her administration when she visits this province and Butuan City tomorrow.

The President will award 271 free patents and 306 Certificates of Land Ownership and Acquisition (CLOA) to 577 farmer beneficiaries in the two Caraga provinces under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP).

The free patents cover alienable and disposable lands of the public domain released by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) for private ownership. On the other hand, CLOAs cover landed estates acquired and parcelled out by the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR).

From San Luis town, the President will proceed to Northern Mindanao State Institute of Science and Technology (NMSICT) in Butuan City, where she will inaugurate a Greenhouse Seedling Facility. She will also distribute land titles to landless farmers in the area during the program.

The greenhouse facility is a joint undertaking of the Department of Agriculture (DA), DENR, Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), and the NMSICT. The project can produce 200,000 seedlings of abaca plantlets, forest trees for reforestation and vegetable crops a month.

The President will also witness the signing of an agreement between the Spanish and Philippine governments on a 1,308,624 Euro PRO community project for implementation in the Caraga region, Aurora in Central Luzon, and Albay in Bicol.

Under the accord, the Spanish government, through the Agencia Espanola De Cooperacion International (AECI), will provide a grant of 1,308, 624 Euros (roughly P94 million) for the project, to be matched by a 65,440 Euro (about P14.7 million) equity by the Philippine government through the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).

The project will adopt the KALAHI-CIDSS technology and will cover 165 barangays in nine municipalities in the five provinces of Agusan del Sur, Agusan del Norte, Surigao del Sur, Aurora and Albay.

From Agusan del Sur, the President will fly to Davao City on Tuesday (March 8) where she will preside over the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA)-Cabinet meeting at Marco Polo Hotel on Tuesday (March 8).

She will also inaugurate the Korean-Philippines Vocational Training Center in Tibungco, Davao City on the same day.

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President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has ordered that the price of government rice sold by the National Food Authority (NFA) should remain at P16 per kilogram for ordinary/regular milled rice, and P18 per kilogram for special/well milled rice for the first semester of 2005.

Likewise, the President directed NFA to ensure that government rice is accessible to the public at all times in all its accredited outlets nationwide, and at a uniform price.

Rice is the most essential part of the Filipino family's survival. As a matter of national policy, all available means must be explored to keep it within reach of the poor, she said. If necessary, part of the funds generated by new tax measures will be used to subsidize the price of rice, she added.

The Chief Executive pointed out that new taxes will help the government fight poverty by uplifting the poor, and protecting them from socioeconomic pressures.

"This goes hand-in-hand with cutting corruption and growing the economy to create jobs and deliver basic needs. Our goal is lasting progress for the benefit of all Filipinos," she said.

"Our partnership with Congress in the implementation of fiscal reforms will assure enough and affordable food for our people in the long term. It will also lead to a palpable turnaround in our economy that is necessary for prosperity to be cast wide across all sectors," the President added.

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Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said today the leadership of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) breakaway group and the Abu Sayyaf bandits fighting government troops in Sulu has to be dismantled to stop an open-ended insurgency, and pave the way for a lasting peace in that island province.

In a radio interview this morning, Ermita said the ongoing military "hot pursuit operation" against the combined forces of MNLF renegades and Abu Sayyaf terrorists could lead to the breakup of the insurgents’ leadership.

"If possible, the military should be able to identify the leaders of the outlaw forces. Unless the core leadership of the outlaws fighting the military in Sulu is dismantled, new members will be recruited. The insurgents will regroup and create an open-ended trouble for the government," he said.

He pointed out that as anti-government forces are pushed farther and farther into the hinterlands of Sulu in the current clashes, collateral damage on the civilian population is greatly diminished.

Ermita also defended the decision of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to continue the punitive campaign against the outlaws, saying even in Sulu peace-loving people support the government’s position.

"Many people are saying that the peace and order problem in Sulu should be solved once and for all, and the leaders of the insurgency should be accounted for. People in Sulu are anxious to return to their normal lives," he said.

The Malacaņang official lamented that the insurgents’ attack on a military outpost triggered the ongoing violence. He said, however, that the nearly 10-year-old truce between the government and the mainstream MNLF continues to hold.

The government will continue to honor the 1996 ceasefire agreement with the MNLF as it tries to limit the scope of the current armed conflict, he said.

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Malacaņang asked the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) over the weekend to track down the suspects behind the forgery of the signatures of Senior Deputy Executive Secretary Waldo Q. Flores and the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) Chairman Bernardino R. Abes.

The NBI was asked to step into the forgery cases to serve a stern warning to name-droppers and extortionists that their activities will not be tolerated.

In separate letters, the two officials "recommended" to Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NIA) General Manager Augusto Cusi the hiring of two private security outfits to provide security services to NAIA.

The letter, which bore Abes’ forged signature, stated that following President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s order for the government takeover of NAIA Terminal 3, the "Oversight Committee of the Airport Management Office, thru the Task Force for Security of Critical Infrastructure (TFSCI) hereby recommends G. Wizard Security and Investigation Services, Inc." to provide security services to the airport terminal.

Abes was listed in the letter as "Chairman, Oversight Committee."

On the other hand, the letter with Flores’ forged signature informed Cusi that the "Office of the President, thru the Oversight Committee on Airport Management for NAIA Terminal 3, has accepted the offer of Volks Investigation and Protection Services Inc." to provide the security service "requirements at Terminal 3 and its premises as well as the infrastructures surrounding the government property."

Volks’ business address was listed as FMS Building, 1769 Dapitan St., Sampaloc, Manila.

The letter directed Cusi to coordinate with the "Oversight Committee Secretariat" through a certain Director Ronald P. Pelagio of "Malacaņang."

Flores said he was informed that "Pelagio" had tried to extort P1.3 million from security agencies by posing as a Malacaņang official. The bogus Malacaņang employe reportedly bragged to his would-be victims that he could facilitate the award of government projects to interested parties.

"My primary concern here is to warn the public against the activities of the syndicate behind these forgeries," Flores said.

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Malacaņang remains confident that Congress will approve the Value Added Tax (VAT) bill before the current session winds up on March 18.

The furor over the 1005 national budget has raised fears that the Senate-House spat might lead to a deadlock between the two chambers on the VAT measure.

But in a radio interview this morning, Press Secretary and Presidential Spokesman Ignacio R. Bunye said "we are fully confident that Congress will pass the VAT bill before the current session ends."

"I think there is enough time for the Senate to pass its version of the VAT," Bunye said.

The House has already approved two separate VAT measures – one increasing the existing 10 percent rate to 12 percent, and the other lifting the exemptions from VAT the coverage.

The VAT is expected to raise the bulk of the P82 billion that the government urgently needs to put its finances in order.

Earlier, Bunye appealed to both houses of Congress to "bury the hatchet on the budget squabble and focus our attention on the measures to fix our fiscal house."

In the same interview this morning, Bunye said Malacanang is moving speedily to come up with recommendations on the Oil Deregulation Law in the face of the frequent increases in oil prices.

He said a five-man committee, headed by outgoing Energy Secretary Vince, has been formed to undertake the review. While no deadline was given to the Perez committee to finish its assignment, it’s understood that this task should be treated with great urgency, he added.

The Perez committee report will be submitted to Congress, which is also expected to act on the recommendation as a priority measure.

What’s important is that all possible options are being considered to ease the burden people are experiencing from the frequent increases of oil prices, including amending the Oil Deregulation Law, Bunye said.

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