I am deeply saddened by this tragedy and I condole with the families affected as well as with the people of Bohol.

I pray to God that this will never happen again.

Let us gather our energies together to cope with the loss, and assist the survivors as well as the bereaved families.

Let us get at the root cause of this tragedy and inform ourselves well so that we can protect our young ones from harm.

DUMAGUETE CITY- President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today declared the town of Mabini in Bohol under a state of calamity following the death of 27 elementary school pupils of food poisoning.

The President made the announcement during the media interaction at the Foundation University cafeteria here.

Before coming to Dumaguete City, the President made a side trip to the towns of Ubay and Mabini in Bohol to personally condole with the families and victims of the food poisoning.

During the media interaction, the President ordered police and health authorities to investigate the root cause of the tragedy.

She said the government, through the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO), has released P5,000 as financial and burial assistance to each of the victims.

The PCSO will also shoulder the medical and hospital expenses of the survivors.

The President likewise ordered the Philippine Air Force (PAF) to provide helicopters to the University of the Philippines-Philippine General Hospital (UP-PGH) Poison Team in Tagbilaran to transport biological specimens on the food poisoning to Manila for proper laboratory examination and analysis.

The government will accept unsolicited bids from investors willing to put out more than $300 million to acquire Terminal III of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).

In today’s press briefing, Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said the government would use the money to compensate the Philippine International Air Terminal Co. Inc. (PIATCO) and its foreign partner, the German firm Fraport AG, for building the terminal.

"We are expecting in two weeks, at the latest, somebody to offer an unsolicited bid to acquire the airport," Ermita said.

He refused to give details on the unsolicited bid, saying the matter is being handled by Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima. He hinted, however, that two or three investors are likely to come up with unsolicited bids.

"But our plan is to have the airport operated by the government and then as it is operating…those who submit unsolicited bids will be entertained and out of the proceeds will come the full compensation for the builders of NAIA 3," he said.

Ermita said Transportation and Communications Secretary Leandro Mendoza confirmed to him that "the DOTC, thru MIAA (Manila International Airport Authority), is determined to open Terminal 3 in June 21," "in compliance with President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s order last December 21 that the new terminal starts operating in six months.

Although he admitted that the arbitration case involving the airport still pends and legal issues have yet to be resolved, "the fact that we’re in actual possession of the airport (has allowed the government to undertake) the preparations."

"I understand that there are already airlines ready to transfer to the new international airport when it opens," he told reporters.

DUMAGUETE CITY -- President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo lauded today the top executives of SPI Technologies, Inc., an international journal and book publishing services company, for their continued confidence and decision to expand their investment in Central Visayas.

The President made the commendation after Ian Bellord, executive vice president of SPI Technologies, Inc. informed her the company is now aggressively pursuing its P3-billion expansion program in the Philippines.

The Chief Executive flew here from her an unscheduled side trip to Bohol where she visited the families of the victims of the food poisoning tragedy at the San Jose Elementary School in Mabini town this morning.

Her visit to Dumaguete is part of her 3-day sortie in Central Visayas to inspect and inaugurate priority digital and transportation infrastructure projects by the government.

Upon her arrival here, the President was briefed by Bellord on the operations of the company.

Bellord told the President that with the government’s active support of the information and communication technology (ICT) industry, SPI is confident of competing in the global scholarly, scientific, technical and medical (SSTM) journal and book publishing market.

"We are looking forward to the rest of 2005 as we build on our customer service, production, and project management capabilities around the world," Ernest Cu, president and CEO of SPI Technologies said in a statement.

He said the Metro Dumaguete facility is SPI's newest delivery center for publisher services and considered one of the first business process outsourcing (BPO) firms in Central Visayas.

Cu informed the President that SPI is growing rapidly across all of its target markets.

He added that the additional 450 seats in Metro Dumaguete would boost SPI's copy editing capacity, which currently supports the production of over 550 journal titles for some SSTM publishers.

Cu disclosed that last week, SPI signed an agreement to buy the medical transcription business of India-based KG Information Services Private Limited (KGMT).

The KGMT acquisition, he said, will enable SPI to quickly expand its delivery capacity to meet the increasing demand of US healthcare providers for medical transcription services.

The KGMT facility is located in Coimbatore, the second largest city in South India, and the education center of the region.

In addition to the India facility, SPI will launch its second major medical transcription center in the Philippines located at the Asiatown IT Park in Lahug, Cebu with a capacity of some 500 employes.

Founded in 1980, SPI Technologies provides IT-enabled outsourcing solutions that support customers in the management of large-scale, complex content and data requirements.

SPI specializes in providing content outsourcing solutions in the areas of content capture, conversion and enrichment, financial and transactional business process outsourcing, litigation support, electronic data discovery, editorial and content production, healthcare documentation, and enterprise content lifecycle management.

The Dumaguete facility, located at Km 7 in Bacong, Negros Oriental, under the SPI Publisher Services, has 114 staff at present and will be increased to 250 by the end of the year.

Earlier, the President motored to Foundation University and visited the 60-seater medical transcription facility of Entheos IT, Inc., at the 3rd Floor of the L.G. Sinco IT building inside the campus.

Victor Vicente Sinco, president of Entheos IT, and Mira Sinco, president of the Foundation University briefed the President about the operations and services of the medical transcription facility.

DUMAGUETE CITY - President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today inaugurated the newly constructed, P9 million Sibulan RC Port which is expected to greatly enhance the delivery of goods and services in Negros Oriental as well as open new livelihood opportunities for residents of the province.

Arriving at the port, the President unveiled the marker of the project and cut the ceremonial ribbon, signaling the formal operation of the facility.

After the blessing of the port terminal by Monsignor Larry Candelario of the San Antonio de Padua Parish Church, Philippine Port Authority (PPA) Dumaguete City Port Manager Felix Barcala briefed the President on the operations of the new facility.

With the completion of the port, fast ferry vessels can now negotiate the Negros Oriental-Cebu sea route in 20-30 minutes.

DUMAGUETE CITY –President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo dismissed as "old hat" reports purportedly coming from the United States linking the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) with the Indonesian-based international terrorist group Jemaah Islamiyah.

"I don’t know if that is a new report that there are some MILF elements that are linked to the JI. Maybe some elements because they are related to one another. But not the MILF that we are in peace talks with," the President said during an interaction with the media at the Foundation University here.

The President is here to inaugurate and inspect several projects, including the digital and transportation infrastructure of Negros Oriental, that are expected to boost eco-tourism and create employment opportunities for the residents of Central Visayas.

The President was reacting to a purported report from the United States that Washington has strong evidence that the MILF has close connections with the Jemaah Islamiyah, a known terrorist group which has claimed responsibility for several bombings in Southeast Asia, including Indonesia and the Philippines.

The Chief Executive said the United States would be the last to lump the MILF with the terrorist group because of its support for the ongoing peace process.

Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita is hopeful that conscience and patriotism of Congress members would prevail as they craft the final version of the Value-Added Tax (VAT) bill.

In a press briefing, Ermita said Malacaņang is counting on the Senate to live up to its word that it would approve the VAT bill before the Lenten break.

"Whatever comes out, I am very sure that both houses of Congress represented in the bicameral conference committee would be guided by their conscience and by their patriotism on what they think is needed by the national government to be able to gather enough resources to push through with the agenda of the President, especially those listed in the 10-point agenda," Ermita said.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has asked Congress to pass economic measures that would allow the national government to raise an additional P80 billion in revenues to reduce the country’s dependence in foreign borrowings.

New revenues would also allow her administration to implement programs to alleviate poverty and create 10 million jobs before her term ends.

Ermita said Congress has already proven its support for the Arroyo administration’s move to solve the country’s fiscal problems with the passage of the so-called sin taxes on alcohol and cigarettes, and the lateral attrition law.

"I hope they pass, as they have promised, the VAT tax. We also hope the other measures, three or four others, would be passed immediately after the Holy Week break," he added.

Malacaņang has expressed confidence the United States recognizes the progress made in the peace negotiations between the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and that the Muslim rebel group has kept its end of the bargain, particularly its commitment not to provide support to terrorist groups.

In a press briefing today, Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said the US is fully supportive of the peace negotiations, dispelling speculations that the MILF leadership has maintained links with the Asian terror network Jema’ah Islamiyah.

He recalled incidents when kidnap victims of the Abu Sayyaf terror group were freed immediately, through the help extended by the MILF to government forces.

He stressed that the MILF has also committed not to provide sanctuary to JI elements running away from pursuing military troops.

He said the JI is likewise well aware that its activities in the Philippines are being closely monitored by intelligence authorities, and that they could not forever run away from the law.

Ermita pointed out that the MILF even offered to step in and act as negotiator between the government and the Abu Sayyaf and other terrorists being pursued by government troops in Sulu, to finally put an end to the hostilities.

"All these are indications of the cooperation by the MILF," he emphasized.

Ermita expressed hope the Government-MILF formal peace talks could resume soon, although he noted it could only push through with the go-signal from Malaysia.