CEBU CITY – Ambassador Victoriano Lecaros appealed today to his fellow Cebuanos to bear the short-term inconvenience arising from the preparations for the 12^th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit in exchange for the long-term benefits Cebu and the nation will reap from the regional meeting.

"The convention industry is coming to Cebu. The infrastructures built for the Summit will not only be there long after the meeting is over but it will make Cebu the convention center south of Manila," Lecaros, the Summit spokesman, said.

The Cebu provincial government, the cities of Cebu, Mandaue and Lapu-Lapu down to the other local government units, are joining forces with the national government to ensure the success of the Dec. 10-14 event, the biggest-ever conclave of Southeast Asian leaders outside Metro Manila.

Also coming for the Cebu Summit are the leaders of ASEAN’s six dialogue partners – China, Japan, India, Australia, the Republic of Korea and New Zealand.

"We have to bear the inconvenience, especially us Cebuanos, which will only last about a week," Lecaros said.

He acknowledged the problems that people here will have to undergo arising from the traffic rerouting and security measures that will be in place for the duration of the Summit.

Traffic rerouting will begin on Dec. 9 as the delegations of the 16 ASEAN leaders and its dialogue partners start arriving in Cebu. The heads of state are expected to arrive in Manila or Cebu Dec. 10 or at least a day ahead of the Summit opening.

Lecaros said that Cebuanos, "more than any other people," would be benefited by the decision of the ASEAN leaders to hold their annual meting here. The Cebuanos’ international exposure as a friendly and hospitable people will be a big come-on for world tourists.

CEBU CITY – In an effort to show the best side of Cebu province, the Cebu Citizens Press Council (CCPC) called on the media and local officials Tuesday to show a greater sense of responsibility for an excellent media coverage and a successful hosting of the four-day 12^th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit which opens here Sunday.

In a resolution, the CCPC appealed to media practitioners to show a deeper sense of community in reporting and commenting on the news during the four-day summit and for public officials to show restraint in their disagreement with what it called specific media lapses or practices.

"The CCPC hereby appeals for greater sense of responsibility on both sides, the press and the government, for excellent media coverage and for a successful hosting of the summit," the resolution said.

Meeting en banc for their fourth quarterly meeting at the MBF Cebu Press Center in Lahug, the CCPC noted the vast importance to the country in general and Cebu in particular of the 12^th ASEAN Summit.

It also cited the major stake of the Cebuanos in the event which is expected to provide unprecedented opportunity to showcase the best of the province to foreign visitors.

"The Cebu media can greatly help in presenting Cebu’s rich heritage, culture and values; its advances in governance, education, and technology; and the attractions of the province as tourism and investment destination," the CCPC resolution said.

We are confident that a balanced solution can be found to the question of custody.

It appears that the best option is the permanent evacuation of all the families living within the hazard zones of the Mayon volcano.

We cannot allow the threat of such a tragic incident to hover endlessly over thousands of people who are obviously in danger every time a weather disturbance hits the area.

This tragedy is another painful lesson that calls for clear cut decisions to save lives in the future, not only in Albay but also in other disaster-prone areas in the country.

The negative report on housing rights violations in the country is drawn out of context, without a clear appreciation of the informal settler problems in the Philippines.

Decongesting Metro Manila has been a priority program of this administration and we are implementing this with utmost regard for social welfare and human rights.

We relocate informal settlers to save lives as they usually reside in creeks that flood over during heavy rains, or adjacent to railroad tracks without any buffer space.

We are implementing the "Balik-Probinsiya" program aimed at helping the throngs of rural residents return home, and providing them with the necessary livelihood assistance.

Forced evictions in the country are an isolated phenomenon occasioned by court orders over the disposition of private land.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo led the recognition today of the winners of the nationwide search for The Outstanding Young Men (TOYM) of 2006 who were chosen for their extraordinary contributions to Philippine society.

In conferment rites held at Malacaņang’s Rizal Hall, the President presented a trophy and a medal to each of the 12 TOYM awardees this year, the biggest batch of honorees since the founding of TOYM in 1959. Two women were among the recipients of the award this year.

The 12 awardees are:

-- Lawyer Romero Quimbo for Government Service. Currently the president/chief executive officer of PAG-IBIG Fund, he was cited for spearheading the rationalization and liberalization of the government’s housing program, resulting in an increased number of families availing of housing loans.

-- Vivienne K. Tan for Business Education-Entrepreneurship. She founded the Thames International Business School now known as Entrepreneurs School of Asia that pushes entrepreneurship education and training, thus encouraging more Filipino students to be "job creators" rather than "job seekers."

-- Louis Benedict Hernandez for Business Leadership. He was chosen for leading a start-up industry-pioneering company, eTelecare Global Solutions.

-- Federico Hizon for International Journalism and the first Filipino male news anchor to work for two of the most prestigious global news organizations – CNBC and BBC World’s Asia Business Report.

-- Michael Allen Cacnio for Arts and Sculpture, whose exceptional brass sculptures depict the Filipino family, its values and traditions.

-- Eugenio Isabelo Tomas Sanchez, Jr. for Community Development. He was cited for being the man behind the widely successful Catholic inspirational magazine, Kerygma.

-- Heradio Oracion and Romeo Garduce for Sports. Both of them are widely known for their recent conquest of Mt. Everest.

-- Dr. Rafael Consunji, for Medical Community Service, is a trauma surgeon who pioneered the Safe Kids Program that aimed to keep children safe from accidental injuries.

-- Dr. Mariella Sugue-Castillo for Medicine-Child Protection. By co-founding the first Child Protection Unit (CPU) under the Department of Pediatrics of the Philippine General Hospital, she had pioneered the multi-disciplinary approach to the care of abused children.

-- Dr. Windell Rivera for Medical Science (Microbiology) where he has developed a diagnostic tool to accurately detect the causative agents of gastro-intestinal disorders caused by protozoan, parasites. This development contributed significantly to advancement in public health.

-- Dr. Samuel Soliven for Education, for his immense contribution as a teacher of Math and Science at the St. Mary’s University in Nueva Vizcaya.

Atty. Romero Quimbo delivered the response of the awardees who thanked the President and the board of jurors for the distinction accorded them.

"The life story of each awardee represents a full commitment to serve the public at large and to give unquestionable zeal of tasks and goals. The 2006 awardees humbly accept this TOYM award not as an achievement or reward; rather as a challenge to commit ourselves to do even better," the awardees said.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has granted executive clemency to 16 more inmates in time for the holiday season and for humanitarian reasons.

Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita announced during his weekly press conference this afternoon in Malacanang that the President signed the order granting conditional pardon to 11 inmates and commutation of sentence to five others last Nov. 30.

Those given conditional pardon were Eutiquio Cherrenguene, Marvin Mahinay, Jerson Ruga, Eufrocino Agudez, Rodrigo Bravo, Efren Espaņola, Rosendo Fontanilla, Alejo Frias, Martin Giango, Jaime Ochoa, and Manuel Sevilla.