The Philippines and India, building upon their friendly relations as reaffirmed in the current visit of Indian President Dr. Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam to Manila, have agreed to expand bilateral cooperation and mutual engagement to include enhanced defense and security cooperation.

The first Indian President to visit the Philippines in 15 years, Kalam arrived in Manila yesterday afternoon.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo formally welcomed this morning in Malacaņang the visiting Indian leader and his delegation.

Philippine Defense Secretary Avelino J. Cruz Jr. and Indian Rural Development Minister Raghuvansh Prasad Singh, on behalf of Indian Defense Minister Shri Pranab Mukherjee, signed a Defense Cooperation Agreement.

The signing of the agreement was the culmination of a two-year effort to formalize existing defense cooperation between the Philippines and India. It is seen as a timely opportunity to build upon the excellent relations between the two countries and to reinforce these ties through active cooperation in defense and security, within the context of their bilateral, multilateral and regional commitments.

The agreement seeks to enhance the bilateral defense relationship between Philippines and India through the mutual exchange of experience and knowledge between the two countries.

Defense cooperation will be promoted through exchanges of military training expertise and information, military instructors and observers, military personnel for purposes of attending military educational courses or programs, among other activities of mutual benefit that promote closer defense ties. In the field of defense related technology, the agreement also seeks to facilitate contact between defense related agencies and dialogue between research institutes.

Previous Philippine Defense officials have visited India to foster better defense relations between the two countries.

Since 2002, the two countries have engaged in information exchanges and security dialogues. Military-to-military exchanges have also been enhanced in recent years through the attendance of various Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) officers in training courses offered by Indian military training institutions under the Other Allied Countries (OAC) Program.

Faculty and students of the National Defense College of India recently visited the Philippines, hosted by their counterparts in the National Defense College of the Philippines (NDCP).

In 2004, bilateral defense cooperation between the two countries was given an impetus when former Philippine Defense Secretary Eduardo R. Ermita invited then Indian Defense Minister George Fernandez to a formal signing of a defense cooperation agreement in Manila.

Four major bilateral agreements were signed today between India and the Philippines following the expanded meeting between the two countries witnessed by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and the visiting Indian President Dr. Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam.

The first document signed in front of the two Presidents at the Palace Reception Hall was the agreement on Defense Cooperation between Defense Secretary Avelino Cruz, Jr. and Indian Minister for Rural Development Raghuvanash Prasad Singh.

While defense and security cooperation between the two countries are ongoing, the new agreement will provide legal framework to enhance defense cooperation through exchanges in military training, expertise and information; exchanges in military instructors and observers; exchange of visits of military aircraft and naval vessels; and defense technology cooperation.

Undersecretary Oscar P. Palabyab, acting secretary of the Department of Tourism, and Minister Singh signed the agreement of cooperation in the field of tourism which is expected to boost the volume of tourists from the two countries.

The third agreement on cooperation in agriculture and related fields, signed by Agriculture Secretary Domingo F. Panganiban and Minister Singh, aims to promote the exchange of agricultural materials and information technology.

It is also aimed at exchanging agricultural scientists, experts and trainees; organizing symposia, conferences and other activities covering the cooperation in rice production and processing, sugarcane technology, multiple cropping, bio-organic farming, horticulture, cotton-growing, dairy development, dairy and livestock development, particularly in dairy buffalo breeding, among others.

The fourth agreement is an effort of the Philippines to expand its supply base for quality medicines from lower-priced source countries like India.

Former Agrarian Reform Secretary and now Philippine International Trading Corp (PITC) Chairman and President Roberto Pagdanganan and Valerian Victor Lobo of the LOB International, PITC representative in India for Pharmaceuticals, signed the documents.

Since 2000, India has been the supplier of multinational-branded medicines to the Philippines under the government’s parallel importation program.

PITC, the only legally authorized entity to undertake parallel importation of pharmaceuticals, purchased such goods solely from India, from 2000 up to present. Total annual imports have grown steadily, reaching close to US$1 million in 2005.

The President supports new investments from responsible mining companies because her Administration is both pro-environment and pro-growth. Our concern for a clean, healthy environment goes hand-in-hand with our commitment to grow the economy and provide jobs for our people.

We are committed to making sure that the development of the mining sector is done responsibly, with only the best interests of the people in mind. That is why we have held a number of open, transparent public meetings to include stakeholders from local communities including religious and civic leaders as we move forward with the development of this sector. We share the concern of all Filipinos for a clean, safe environment and growing economy.

We also share the concern of the CBCP (Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines) regarding the need to reduce any negative impact from mining projects which is why the Administration works diligently to ensure that new projects meet strict environmental and social impact standards. We are aggressive in enforcing those standards and we have clearly demonstrated that any violations are dealt with swiftly and these include, where required, the closure of the project.

We believe that the mining sector can be a force for good in many areas throughout our country. Responsible mining companies are a catalyst for economic development in some of our most remote parts of the country. Their projects provide much-needed employment for tens of thousands of our rural countrymen, tax revenues that support education, healthcare, and other social services, and modern infrastructure that benefits all sectors in our rural economies.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo ordered today all government agencies to provide assistance to the victims of a game show stampede at the Philsports Arena in Pasig City this morning.

Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said the President issued the directive right after the stampede that killed at least 69 people and injured hundreds more.

"The President’s instruction is for all agencies to extend assistance immediately to the victims, " Ermita said during an interview at Malacaņang’s Reception Hall after the signing of four agreements between the Philippines and India.

He said the President also instructed Defense Secretary and National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) Chairman Avelino Cruz Jr. and the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) to dispatch teams to find out what the government can do to mitigate the situation.

Also included in the agencies tapped by the President to assist the victims are the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Department of Health, and Philippine National Police.

National Capital Regional Police Office Director Vidal Querol reported to the President that he immediately dispatched more than 200 policemen to look at the safety of the people and secure the area.

Based on initial reports, the stampede occurred at around 6 a.m. as thousands, including those who had been camped outside the stadium since Wednesday, were lined up to watch the first anniversary of the noontime show "Wowowee" aired on ABS-CBN television.

Local distilleries, which only operate at 50 percent efficiency due to the limited availability of molasses, can be fully utilized if cultivation of sweet sorghum is promoted for ethanol production.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has appointed Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Secretary Michael Defensor as the new Presidential Chief of Staff, Press Secretary Ignacio R. Bunye said today.

Defensor takes over the post of Secretary Rigoberto Tiglao who will be the new Philippine ambassador to Greece.

Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Angelo T. Reyes takes over Defensor’s DENR post.

Bunye, who is concurrently the Presidential Spokesman, said the President also appointed Esperanza Cabral to fill up the top Department of Social Welfare and Development position vacated by resigned Secretary Corazon Juliano Soliman.

The President has ordered an immediate and thorough investigation into the stampede this morning and submission of results within 72 hours.