We are thankful that our worker was released unharmed by his abductors.

We are looking forward to forging stronger regional cooperation for maritime security and law enforcement.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo authorized Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chairman Bayani Fernando today to handle the traffic situation along the stretch of McArthur Highway from Caloocan City to Pampanga during the Holy Week.

The President issued the authorization during the Pulong Bayan this morning at the KASARIVAL (Kapisanan ng mga Samahan sa Riles ng Valenzuela) resettlement site in Barangay Bignay, Valenzuela City.

During the Pulong Bayan, the President called up Fernando on her cellular phone and ordered him to supervise traffic along the stretch of McArthur Highway from Monumento in Caloocan City to Mabalacat, Pampanga.

The President expects traffic along McArthur Highway to worsen once motorists start their yearly Holy Week exodus to Northern Luzon starting tomorrow.

In the same Pulong Bayan, Valenzuela residents asked the President to address the heavy build-up of traffic along McArthur Highway which has become the favorite route of motorists trying to escape the high toll fees at the North Luzon expressway after its management implemented a 400 percent increase in toll fees starting last January.

The President assured them that before April 15, the Department of Public Work and Highways (DPWH) will announce the private contractors who won in the public bidding conducted by the agency to conduct the widening of McArthur Highway.

She added that after the announcement is made and published in leading daily newspapers, the DPWH would start the clearing and construction of an additional four-lane section of the McArthur Highway.

The Philippines is doing its share in fighting terrorism in this part of the world and we will continue to work with our neighbors in seeing to it that the threat is contained.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo inaugurated today a resettlement project for families affected by the ongoing rehabilitation of the Northrail Development Project of the Philippine National Railways (PNR) in Valenzuela City.

The project is being undertaken under the supervision of Vice President Noli de Castro, chairman of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC), in cooperation with the city government of Valenzuela under Mayor Sherwin Gatchalian.

Accompanied by the Vice President, the Chief Executive unveiled the Kapisanan ng mga Samahan sa Riles ng Valenzuela (KASARIVAL) marker immediately upon her arrival at the resettlement site in Barangay Bignay. KASARIVAL is a federation of 11 local associations of families living along the PNR line in Valenzuela City.

An in-city resettlement site, it has a total area of 7.75 hectares. More than 1,000 of the 4,102 families living along railroad tracks in Malanday, Vicente Reales, Karuhatan, Malinta, Marulas and Dalandanan, all in Valenzuela City, have been relocated to Northville 1 (Phase 1) of the resettlement project.

National Housing Authority (NHA) General Manager Federico Laxa, Mayor Gatchalian, PNR General Manager Jose Marie Zarazola, and Philippine Army 51^st Engineering Brigade Commander Col. Cyrano Austria were also present.

In her remarks during the Pulong Bayan, the President attributed the speedy implementation of the project to the close partnership between the national agencies and the local government of Valenzuela City.

"Thank you Kabayan (Vice President de Castro) for the good job of your team. Thank you also Mayor Gatchalian, and all the officials of Valenzuela City for their cooperation in the construction of this relocation site," the President said.

She also thanked the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), particularly Col. Cyrano Austria, commander of the Army’s 51^st Engineering Brigade, for constructing other infrastructure facilities in the area, including streets and drainage system.

The Vice President hailed the inauguration of the project, calling it the realization of Malacaņang’s effort to promote the country’s economic progress through the provision of an efficient rail system while at the same time ensuring that the affected families are provided decent houses.

"The President wants the immediate construction of the Northrail and Southrail projects to enhance and maximize the development and growth potentials of the Central and Southern Luzon areas. However, the President also wants us to ensure the smooth and humane relocation of the affected families. The KASARIVAL resettlement project is exactly what the President envisioned for the affected families," de Castro said during the Pulong Bayan.

During the program, the President awarded Certificates of Entitlement to Lot Allocation (CELA) to 10 of the 11 leaders of KASARIVAL-affiliated organizations led by federation president Adelo Flores.