LAPU-LAPU CITY, Cebu -- President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo last night thanked the leaders of various religious groups in the country for making a clear call for promoting a culture of peace and fostering understanding not only in the Philippines but in the whole world.

The President sounded her expression of gratitude when she addressed the closing ceremonies of the National Summit of Religious Leaders Towards a Culture of Peace, attended by some 180 leaders of various religious and ethnic denominations at the Crown Regency Suites in Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu.

"I am grateful to you, our religious leaders, and to the many well-meaning Filipinos who have made a clear call of prudence, sobriety, dialogue, understanding, and peace in these trying times. Because you have called for and conducted dialogues, you have tempered the onslaught of hate and manned the perimeters of prudence, understanding, sobriety and the rule of law," she said.

The two-day national summit, which envisioned to unite and galvanize peoples of diverse religions and beliefs towards addressing peace and order issues, was spearheaded by the National Secretariat for Social Action (NASSA)--Justice and Peace of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) in celebration of September as the National Peace Consciousness Month 2005.

The summit participants came from various religious groups and organizations such as Islam, Roman Catholic, Philippine Council of Evangelical Churches (PCEC), National Council of Churches in the Philippines (NCCP), Greek Orthodox, Brahma Kumaris, Hindu, Bahai, Sikhs, Buddhist, Seventh Day Adventist, and the Indigenous Peoples.

The President said that what the country needs now is "less talk – unless it’s dialogue -- and more action on jobs, high prices, especially coming from the world oil price upsurge, hunger, law and order, and corruption" which, she noted, are the very sentiments mentioned in the summaries and statement presented to her by the summit participants.

"Yesterday (September 6) Congress spoke with the mighty voice of the people they represent and I thank all of them. Their voice is clear – let’s work for peace, not conflict. Let’s get back to work, not in the streets, but in our offices and industrial centers, in our farms and communities. Let’s bury the conflict of the past and gather around a brighter, peaceful tomorrow," the President said.

She stressed she has instructed her entire Cabinet to get down to the brass tacks and let the people feel in their bones, and in their hearts, in their spirits the power of honest and efficient service. "These are things that you, our religious leaders, can fully help internalize in your public servants," she said.

According to the President, her "personal pain or political triumph is of no moment to the task of building this nation and putting the economy in order."

"I offer the olive branch of peace to all my critics and detractors for a principled partnership for the people, driven by responsible governance and responsible fiscalization," she added

The President also asked for the guidance and support of the summit participants to help save the Philippines from the "rapidly degenerating political system" that breeds not only the compartmentalization of ideals, not only the misunderstanding among religions, ethnicity and cultures, but also compartmentalization of work, "a system that foments division not only across the institutions of our national government, but also along the axis of national and local governance and also across different religions and ethnic cultures."

"Now is the time to begin to change the system. You, in this dialogue, in this promotion of peace, are part of the changing of the system and I thank you for that," she said.

While extending the hand of peace to her detractors, the President also invited all Filipinos, including her critics and supporters, to an earnest and sincere debate to amend the Constitution, "which many of you want to bring power back to the people and to cast the demons that have haunted our politics."

The President said the National Summit of Religious Leaders Towards a Culture of Peace "transcends all politics, all parties and concerns, and I thank you for your statement and I look forward to the follow-up that you will be making."

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo meets with the Cabinet tomorrow (Friday, Sept. 9) on pressing economic, security and legislative issues, as the administration refocuses its attention on governance following the impeachment vote in Congress.

"We have a full plate," Cabinet Secretary Ricardo Saludo said.

Saludo, who coordinates and documents Cabinet meetings, stressed that after the impeachment vote in Congress, the "people now want to see government action on issues affecting them everyday."

The agenda for the 10 a.m. meeting includes the oil crisis and the anticipated implementation of the expanded value added tax. Also to be discussed are measures to ensure ample food supplies toward December, a security and political briefing, and the updated list of urgent legislations, including the Anti-Terrorism Bill.

The President’s offer of reconciliation was done in all sincerity and humility and with the greater good of our people and our country in mind.

We have to return to the business of the economy soonest, bring in investments and create more jobs.

We need to execute pro-poor programs and get the legislative mill on track to regain the momentum for take-off.

We need to gear up for debates on the budget and on Charter amendments.

We need to address the looming energy crisis and the renewed perils of terrorism.

We accept peaceful demonstrations as part of our democracy.

If there is one great lesson to be learned from the recent impeachment process, it is the fact that we must amend our Constitution so that our nation need not suffer the scars of intense political combat every time there is a bid to change the President.

We can emulate the style and substance of more developed political systems.

Malacanang cited today the importance of quickly consolidating the energies and resources of the nation following the exasperating impeachment proceedings at the House of Representatives, which resulted in the junking of the complaint against President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

Press Secretary and Presidential Spokesman Ignacio R. Bunye said in a statement that there is an urgent need to return to the business of the economy soonest in order to bring in the investments and create more jobs.

"We need to execute pro-poor programs and get the legislative mill on track to gain the momentum for take-off," he said.

Bunye said there is also a need to gear up for debates on the budget and on Charter change which the President has been pushing to "exorcise the demons in the country’s political system."

"If there is one great lesson to be learned from the recent impeachment process, it is the fact that we must amend our Constitution so that our nation need not suffer the scars of intense political combat every time there is a bid to change the President," he said.

"We can emulate the style and substance of more developed political systems. The debate on Charter change must now be done in earnest," he added.

The Press Secretary likewise cited the need to address the looming energy crisis and the renewed perils of terrorism.

"But to do all these," he said, "we need to quickly consolidate the energies and resources of our nation."

The President herself has stated that there is an urgent need to address the more pressing needs of the country to bolster the momentum of reforms and services that are essential to investments and jobs.

In earlier pronouncements, the Palace noted the importance of public support in the government’s quest to effectively address the problems by working hand-in-hand with the administration.

LAPU-LAPU CITY – President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo directed Wednesday all members of the Cabinet to buckle down to work in the service of the people, transform the weariness of the Filipinos into a fresh dynamism for action, enterprise and reform as she offered anew the hand of reconciliation to her detractors.

"What we need is less talk – unless it’s dialogue – and more action on jobs, high prices, especially coming from the world oil price upsurge, law and order, corruption," the President told about 180 members of various religious and ethnic groups during the closing session of the two-day national religious congress at the Crown Regency Suites here.

She said the congress expressed the "mighty voice of the people they represent" and called on every Filipino to work together towards the attainment of peace and unity as the country must move forward.

Filipinos must "work for peace, not conflict. Let us get back to work – not in the streets but in our offices and industrial centers, in our farms and communities. Let’s bury the conflict of the past and gather around a brighter, peaceful tomorrow," the President said.

Cebu Archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal, through his spokesperson Monsignor Achilles Dakay, has appealed to the faithful to go to church and pray instead of joining street protests because of the junking of the impeachment complaint against the President.

Bishop Dinualdo Gutierrez, chairman of the National Secretariat for Social Action –Justice and Peace of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), one of the convenors of the summit, also said that street protests would not achieve anything.

"The whole Cabinet is put on notice to get down to brass tacks and let the people feel in their bones, and in their hearts and in their spirit the power of honest and efficient service," the President said.

"My personal pain or political triumph is of no moment to the task of building this nation and putting the economy in order. I offer the olive branch of peace to all my critics and detractors for a principled partnership for the people, driven by responsible governance and responsible fiscalization."

Malacanang said today that the government’s policy of maximum tolerance in dealing with street demonstrations remains unchanged.

Press Secretary and Presidential Spokesman Ignacio R. Bunye said peaceful rallies are "part of our democracy."

He appealed, however, to demonstrators to keep their protest actions within the bounds of the law.

"We will continue to observe maximum tolerance but we also enjoin the protesters to police their ranks against infiltrators," Bunye said.

He said the police have faithfully observed a longstanding directive on maximum tolerance in dealing with rallyists, provided the protests are held peacefully and orderly.

Malacaņang today expressed confidence the legal team of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo will satisfactory answer all questions that may be raised after Atty. Oliver Lozano elevated to the Supreme Court his impeachment case earlier junked by the House of Representatives.

Press Secretary and Presidential Spokesman Ignacio R. Bunye said lead impeachment counsel Atty. Carlos Platon of the law firm Platon, Martinez, San Pedro and Leano and the legal team have studied the impeachment case very well and are ready to handle it with confidence.

"Our impeachment team led by Atty. Platon and their designated spokesperson have rigorously studied all the issues related to the impeachment complaint in Congress and they are ready to answer any and all issues" related to it, Bunye said in his press briefing today.

Aside from Platon, the other members of the legal team are lawyers Saklolo Leano and Pedro Ferrer. President Arroyo had earlier named Atty. Romulo Makalintal as her spokesman on the impeachment case, and former Congressman Ed Nachura as the team’s resource person.

Malacanang said today that President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s offer of reconciliation to all her critics was done in all sincerity and humility "and with the greater good of our people and our country in mind."

Press Secretary and Presidential Spokesman Ignacio R. Bunye made the statement in reaction to insinuations that there were secret deals in the President’s latest pronouncements of unity and reconciliation.

"There are no secret deals," he said, "only an open hand extended for peace and unity."

Malacanang stressed that the President’s reiteration of her call for reconciliation is an attempt to convince the opposition groups to accept the offer if they still love the country and the Filipino people.

The reconciliation offer, Bunye said, was done in order to save the country’s economy from the ill-effects of the political turmoil.

Rumors of a possible secret deals floated when six congressmen identified with former President Joseph Estrada either abstained or voted yes in the House of Representatives’ plenary voting during the impeachment proceedings.

Press Secretary Ignacio R. Bunye said today President Gloria Macapagal- Arroyo would continue extending her reconciliation initiatives to the political opposition and call for unity to all sectors after the House of Representatives junked the impeachment case filed against her.

In his regular press briefing in Malacanang this afternoon, Bunye, who is also the Presidential Spokesperson, likewise dismissed allegation of so-called secret deals in exchange for the junking of the impeachment case by members of the House.

"The President’s offer of reconciliation is being extended in all sincerity and humility with the greater good of our people and our country in mind," he said.

Bunye stressed there is absolutely no truth to the allegations of supposed secret deals with lawmakers in exchange for their support of the impeachment dismissal.

The Press Secretary’s statement came after the political opposition rejected President Arroyo’s unity offer, which came right after the House voted 158 to 51 and junked on Tuesday the impeachment complaints against the President.

Under the Constitution, the complainants will have to wait for another 12 months before they can initiate another impeachment move against the Chief Executive.

Reacting to the threat by militant groups that will campaign for a tax payment boycott to sustain their protest, Bunye reminded them of their civic duty as citizens to pay their correct taxes and to do the same on time.

The leftist group Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) had earlier said they would lead walkouts in schools and offices.

"If they would not pay (taxes), social services would not be implemented and basic services like education and health would be affected," Bunye said.

He expressed confidence, however, that the greater majority of Filipinos are reasonable enough and will not opt to join the tax boycott and anarchy initiatives.

Malacanang also assured protesters that it accepts peaceful demonstrations as part of the country’s democratic system and culture.

Malacanang said today Filipinos must unite to reverse the findings of an international body that the Philippines cannot meet the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015 as it previously committed to achieve.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the UN released a report on Wednesday titled "A Future Within Reach" which said that none among developing countries in the Asia-Pacific region, including the Philippines, will achieve the envisioned millennium goals of eradicating poverty, disease, hunger, illiteracy, environmental destruction and discrimination against women by 2015.

"We can achieve the goals if we unite as a people," Press Secretary Ignacio R. Bunye said in a media briefing today in Malacanang.

Bunye, who is also the Presidential Spokesman, said that aside from the MDGs, Filipinos should also come together to address the looming energy crisis and the renewed perils of terrorism.

The government, he stressed, needs the people’s help in returning to the business of the economy, to generate more investments and consequently, more jobs.