The project substantiates certain program items in her pro-poor 10-point legacy agenda, particularly those aimed to address the basic needs and alleviate the plight of marginalized sectors.

Press Secretary Ignacio R. Bunye, in a radio interview this morning, said President Arroyo has instructed her Cabinet officials to focus their efforts on programs that will help spur the country’s economic growth as well as those that provide basic services to the people, particularly to marginalized sectors of society.

Bunye said the "Tindahang Pinoy" project the President launched today in Payatas, Quezon City will make available subsidized rice, noodles and other basic goods to the squatter families in the area.

The project, Bunye added, will also be replicated in other poor communities in Metro Manila and the regions.

In his regular press briefing yesterday, Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said that in addition to ensuring access by the poor to cheaper priced food items, the President has also instructed her Cabinet officials to focus on four other major concerns of government, including public infrastructures, housing, health, and education.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo inaugurated this morning the first Tindahang Pinoy (TP) chain of convenience stores at Ilang-Ilang St., Barangay Payatas Area A, Quezon City.

The TP project, one of the major components of the President’s job generation and food security program, aims to provide low-income Filipinos fast and reliable access to basic goods and commodities at affordable prices.

Funding for the pro-poor program comes from the P35 billion that the President earmarked for various government projects, including public works facilities, housing, and school buildings during the first quarter of this year.

The TP program also falls under the President's commitment to ensure that ordinary Filipinos, particularly the poor, will benefit from the new economic gains achieved by the country through the government’s fiscal reforms.

Implementation of the project is being undertaken jointly by the National Food Authority (NFA), Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), barangay officials and non-government organizations (NGOs).

Under the program, the NFA will supply the rice to the TP, the DSWD will identify the depressed barangays, where the TP convenience stores will be located, while the local barangays will closely monitor TP operations to make sure that the poor and the needy benefit from the project.

The DSWD will also provide a P20,000 loan to those who will put up TP stores in their localities.

Under the project, the TP will sell rice and noodles to families pre-determined to be among the poorest of the poor. To prevent hoarding, residents will be issued identification cards indicating their status in life and will be allowed to purchase two kilos of rice and several packs of noodles everyday.

NFA well-milled rice at the TP store will be sold at P18.00 a kilo, or P6.00 lower than the standard rice sold at other dealers, while noodles will cost P4.27 only a pack.

Aside from rice and noodles, the TP will also sell such basic commodities as coffee, sugar, sardines and cooking oil at lower than "sari-sari store" rates.

During the inauguration, the President announced the release of P500 million to the NFA to support its rice and noodles program.

"I would like to announce that I have ordered the release of P500 million for the budget of NFA to implement its rice and noodles program," the President said.

"This P500 million will go directly to the rice and noodles program and will not be used for the department's other expenses as they have their own corporate budget," she added.

After the inauguration, the President motored to the nearby National Government Center located at Parokya ng Kristong Hari on Commonwealth Avenue to inspect TP stores that have been in operation since September.

According to Jeanette Dumo, executive director of the Kristong Hari Foundation, her foundation was able to put up P200,000 to fund the building of 16 TP stores within her area.

She added that since September, the 16 TP stores were able to realize a profit of P160,000.

A visibly elated President Arroyo thanked and congratulated the TP store owners and egged them to work harder so that their lives and the lives of others in their community would improve.

The TP store is different from the rolling stores or Tindahan ni Gloria rolling stores in the sense that the TP store is "fixed" on a piece of land within the community and, according to NFA Administrator Gregorio Tan, Jr., there are more commodities being sold at TP stores.

From our point of view, this is a series of consolidation meetings in the interest of national reconciliation and healing.

We have confidence in the leadership and capacity of former President Ramos to bring other national leaders behind a strong agenda of social reform, economic takeoff and political renewal.

We appreciate his initiative in forging unity and cooperation among political leaders for the sake of the country.

The assessment runs counter to what the international and local investors say about the strength and soundness of our economy.

This is clearly evidenced by renewed business confidence and the buoyant outlook in the Philippine market, driven by good governance, social justice and free enterprise.

We have surpassed our targets and expectations, with the peso showing its prowess not just in the Asian region but throughout the world—enough to cheapen prices of basic commodities such as oil imports and soften inflation.

Our law enforcement authorities are working round the clock on the swift resolution of the murders of journalists and we expect the PNP (Philippine National Police) to double its efforts in the prevention of these heinous crimes.

Ordinary citizens can also be a part of this effort by coming out to testify when needed. We must work together to protect our journalists in order for them to practice their profession without fear of harm and harassment.

Press Secretary and Presidential Spokesman Ignacio R. Bunye said today he believes the recent meeting between former President Fidel V. Ramos, Senate President Franklin Drilon and former Senator Vicente Sotto III is but part of a series of consolidation meetings in the interest of national reconciliation and healing.

"We have confidence in the leadership and capacity of former President Ramos to bring other national leaders behind a strong agenda of social reform, economic takeoff and political renewal," he said in a statement.

Bunye expressed appreciation of Ramos’ initiative in forging unity and cooperation among political leaders for the sake of the country.

"It is a welcome departure from the poisoned politics of the recent past and it opens a new path to national reconciliation," he said in reaction to the reported secret meeting between the three personalities last Monday.

The meeting has sparked various speculations, among them the alleged forging of a political alliance among Ramos and the opposition which the former President has categorically denied.

To dispel speculations arising out of his meeting with Drilon and Sotto, Ramos has suggested to Malacanang to hold two important political meetings this month to be convened by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, with the former President in attendance.

Presidential Political Adviser Gabriel Claudio said the two meetings are the convening of the National Directorate of the Administration Party Lakas-CMD on Jan. 14, to be followed by the Council of State meeting considered as the highest consultative and advisory body of the government.

Ramos, who has confirmed his attendance in both meetings, is the Chair Emeritus of the Lakas-CMD.

The Council of State, created during the term of former President Corazon Aquino, serves as a forum for the exchange of ideas, fostering of national cooperation, proposing meaningful reforms in government and advising the President on matters of public policy.

Claudio said the convening of the Lakas caucus and the Council of State were both suggested by Ramos before Christmas last year "as mechanisms and fora to guide the administration in dealing with crucial national issues, and in the case of the Council of State, to forge greater national unity, solidarity and teamwork among our political leaders and people."

Malacanang disputed today the report of a US-based think tank that the Philippines’ ranking in the list of the world’s freest economies slipped in 2005.

In its annual report released this week, The Heritage Foundation claimed that from 90 out of 161 countries in its Index of Economic Freedom, the Philippine dropped to 98 out of 157 countries last year.

In a statement, Press Secretary and Presidential Spokesman Ignacio R. Bunye said the "assessment runs counter to what the international and local investors say about the strength and soundness of our economy."

"This is clearly evidenced by the renewed business confidence and the buoyant outlook in the Philippine market, driven by good governance, social justice and free enterprise," he said.

The Palace official pointed out that the administration of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has surpassed its economic targets and expectations following the implementation of tough reforms.

He said the peso continues to gain strength not only against the US dollar but other currencies, resulting in cheaper prices of prime commodities, including petroleum products.

The peso has shown its "prowess not just in the Asian region but throughout the world – enough to cheapen prices of basic commodities such as oil imports and soften inflation," Bunye said.

Malacanang said today the Philippine National Police (PNP) is intensifying its efforts to solve the killings of media practitioners in the country.

"Our law enforcement authorities are working round the clock on the swift resolution of the murders of journalists and we expect the PNP to double its efforts in the prevention of these heinous crimes," Press Secretary and Presidential Spokesman Ignacio R. Bunye said in a statement.

Bunye issued the statement following reports that the Philippines now ranks second to Iraq on the list of deadliest countries for journalists in 2005.

Last year, more than 60 journalists were killed and 1,300 physically attacked or threatened worldwide making 2005 the deadliest year since 1995, according to Reporters Without Borders.

In Iraq, 24 journalists and five media assistants were killed last year, making it the deadliest country for the third year running.

The PNP, Bunye said, has created a special team to handle and investigate attacks against journalists and the Palace expects it to deliver positive results.

Bunye urged ordinary citizens to do their part by cooperating with law enforcement authorities and testifying against the suspects.

"Ordinary citizens can also be a part of this effort by coming out to testify when needed. We must work together to protect our journalists in order for them to practice their profession without fear of harm and harassment," he said.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo expressed elation today that the Philippines’ strong economic performance was cited by the International Herald Tribune and the Wall Street Journal, two major United States-based international dailies.

In a round table discussion at Malacanang’s Kalayaan Briefing Room this afternoon, the President reported that the country’s recent economic gains have landed in the front page of the two US international papers, and attributed the development partly to economic reforms she had implemented in 2005 which, she said, have begun to bear fruits.

President Arroyo said both articles acknowledged the turnaround in the economic and investment outlook of the Philippines, spawned by the series of tax measures the government has set in place.

The Herald Tribune, she said, cited investors saying the Philippines is looking better, "thanks to tax measures by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo."

She added that the World Street Journal, for its part, noted that the Philippines has become more investment friendly which explains why the sales of its bonds have brought big demands as peso and its stock market sentiment keep rising.

President Arroyo said the government, with the help and support of the public, should focus more on reforms that can pave the way for the creation of additional jobs and new investments rather than giving attention to the political noise that is affecting the revitalized Philippine economy.

Joining the President in the round table discussion were Budget Secretary Romulo Neri, Finance Secretary Margarito Teves and Trade and Industry Secretary Peter Favila.

The International Herald Tribune report noted that the Philippines is getting new attention brought about by a budgetary makeover President Arroyo has put in place to benefit from anticipated surge of foreign funds into the region this year.

The paper added that investors are now looking to the Philippines, often shunned before by them in the past for being "the sick man of Asia."

"Analysts and investors say the Philippines is looking better than it has been in a long time, thanks to tax measures by President Arroyo that have succeeded in reversing eight years of deepening government shortfalls," the Tribune reported.