The President won fair and square in the polls, was vindicated in the impeachment proceedings and will consistently be vindicated in any open, fair inquiry.

Proceeds from the Marcos wealth were used solely to guarantee the full implementation of the CARP (Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program) law and the paper trail is clear.

We appreciate the response of our local officials to the need for fundamental change in our political system. They deal directly with the people and have a feel for what the people want and need. This is a bottoms-up exercise.

The Department of Health and the Department of Agriculture remain on guard for the deadly avian flu, which is now being closely monitored by countries around the world.

Malacanang hailed today the positive response of local officials on the need to change the current political system and move the country forward through constitutional reforms.

"We appreciate the response of our local officials to the need for fundamental change in our political system," Press Secretary and Presidential Spokesperson Ignacio R. Bunye said in a statement.

Bunye cited the importance of the initiative of the local leaders in pushing for the formation of a unicameral- parliamentary form of government because "they deal directly with the people and have a feel for what the people want and need."

"This is a bottoms-up exercise," Bunye said, adding that the move of the Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines (ULAP) to start the nationwide advocacy campaign for Charter change is based only on what they feel and need.

He stressed that the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) will only serve as a facilitator in the public awareness drive on Charter change and would definitely not interfere with the freedom of choice of the people.

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) leadership reaffirmed today the loyalty of the armed services to the chain of command and their commander-in-chief, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo amid continuing rumors of coup plots against the government.

"The AFP will always toe the line of the commander-in-chief. We always follow the supremacy of the civilian authority over the military," AFP spokesman Col. Tristan Kison said in an ambush interview following the AFP command conference this morning at the Aguinaldo State Dining Room of Malacaņang.

He explained, however, that reports on military adventurism were not in the agenda of the command conference.

Kison admitted that coup rumors will continue to circulate, even as he dismissed the capability of the plotters to mount a serious challenge to national security.

He also admitted that there had been attempts to recruit young junior military officers to join destabilization moves against the administration of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, but the anti-government plots were uncovered early and dismantled.

He said that no less than the junior officers, the targets of the recruitment, reported the plot against the government to their superior officers.

"The coup threat is always there because they will always continue with the recruitment. But the thing is, we were able to discover it at a very early stage. In fact, the junior officers, who were being enticed to join anti-government plots, reported the clandestine recruitment activities to higher authorities. So we are very appreciative for that," Kison said.

He added that military commanders continue to dialogue with the junior officials to enlighten the latter on the various issues being raised by the plotters against the government.

Malacaņang ordered today a stepped up military offensive against the New People’s Army, the armed group of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), which the government considers the biggest threat to national security.

Defense Secretary Avelino Cruz Jr. and Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Chief of Staff General Generoso Senga said President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo made the order after being briefed on the security situation in the country.

"Ang gusto ni Presidente ay palakasin iyong magkaroon ng offensive stance ang AFP against the international security threat sa Pilipinas," Cruz said after the regular AFP Command Conference this morning at the Aguinaldo State Dining Room of Malacaņang.

"Ang naging center of our discussion were mostly on the internal security operations of the AFP and that is what was emphasized by the Commander-in-Chief to all the key commanders of the AFP who were called to the command conference," Senga said in an ambush interview.

Aside from the CPP-New People’s Army-National Democratic Front (CPP-NPA-NDF), the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) and the breakaway group of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) also pose a big threat to internal security, according to Senga.

Although the NPA remains one of the biggest threats to peace and security of the country, the military reported that there was a big decline in the activities, recruitment and membership of the communist rebels.

According to the report, the armed component of the CCP has shrunk to about 8,000 today as compared to 26,000 in 1987.

"More or less, it’s a reiteration. We must instill the offensive spirit that should inspire us, propel us to take more action, more offensive on the part of operating troops," said Philippine Army commanding general Lt. Gen. Hermogenes Esperon.

Malacanang debunked today charges that part of the assets the government recovered from the Marcos Swiss deposits was channeled to the election campaign of the administration in 2004.

In a statement this morning, Press Secretary and Presidential Spokesman Ignacio R. Bunye reiterated that proceeds from the Marcos wealth were used in the implementation of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) Law.

"Proceeds from the Marcos wealth were used solely to guarantee the full implementation of the CARP law and the paper trail is clear," he said.

He asserted that disbursements from the recovered assets were fully documented and government records on the matter were open to scrutiny.

"Records do not lie and all disbursements in relation to the release of the Marcos fund are in order," Bunye said.

Malacanang enjoined today all sectors, including local government units, non-governmental organizations and schools, to help the government in raising public awareness on the deadly avian flu.

Press Secretary and concurrent Presidential Spokesman Ignacio R. Bunye said information dissemination on the deadly effects of H5N1 virus or bird flu on fowls, including wild birds and even human beings, must reach all parts of the country up to the grassroots level.

He said the government remains on guard for the deadly virus so the Philippines will remain the only country in Asia that is bird flu-free.

"The Department of Health and the Department of Agriculture remain on guard for the deadly avian flu, which is now being closely monitored by countries around the world," Bunye said.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo had earlier called on the Filipino people to be united in efforts to keep the country bird flu-free.

The Arroyo administration allotted last year P6 billion for its anti-bird flu program, which includes the importation of anti-bird flu vaccine. It also plans to produce the vaccine locally.

Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita laughed off speculation that the military command conference in Malacanang today was intended to check the loyalty of the Armed Forces of the Philippines to President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, AFP commander-in-chief.

"No, there is no such thing as loyalty check," Ermita said following the AFP command conference at the Aguinaldo State Dining Room in Malacanang this morning. "There’s no need for a loyalty check," he added.

The gathering of the military top brass preceded the oath taking of newly promoted generals and other senior military officers before the President.

Ermita said there was no need for a loyalty check because the men and women in uniform have amply demonstrated time and again their steadfast loyalty to the Constitution, their commander-in-chief and the chain of command.

He pointed out that although military officials have confirmed efforts by certain individuals to recruit AFP junior officers to join destabilization plots against the government, the military’s loyalty to the chain of command is unshaken.

Col. Tristan Kison, AFP spokesman, told newsmen after the command conference that junior officers themselves reported the recruitment activities of the anti-government plotters to their superior officers.

The early discovery of the recruitment effort led to the dismantling of the plot, Kison added.

Ermita said the command conference undertook a general overview and assessment of the peace and order situation of the country, not the specific issue of military adventurism.

"It (conference) was not called for that purpose. It’s the overall internal security situation" that was taken up during the conference, he said.

Malacanang reiterated today that it is leaving entirely to the Sandiganbayan the disposition of the case of former President Joseph Estrada.

"This is a matter strictly for the court to decide. The Administration does not intend to interfere in the judicial process," Press Secretary Ignacio R. Bunye said in a statement. "The trial is ongoing and we will respect the decision of the court," Bunye, who is also the Presidential Spokesman, added.

Bunye and Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita had said earlier that Malacanang would not intervene in the judicial process involving the former President.

"We would like to have unity and reconciliation but we leave the disposition of this issue to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Sandiganbayan. We will never compromise on the rule of law and the public interest," Bunye said in a Feb. 13 statement.