President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo enlisted today the help of members of the Operations Research Society of the Philippines (ORSP) in the battle against poverty, the campaign against tax cheats and in easing the traffic gridlock in metropolitan Manila.

In her keynote address during the 7^th Asia-Pacific Conference on Operations Research, the President said the "government could make use of your (the OR practitioner’s) expertise to ensure the success of our development programs."

"I am inviting you to help us solve our traffic problem, to help us in our traffic management alongside with our poverty alleviation (program)," she said.

"With your operations research, the Bureau of Internal Revenue and the Bureau of Customs can leverage innovative approaches to hike revenues and to put to justice tax cheats and smugglers," she added.

The President noted that OR, which she said is often called the "Science of the Better," had been successful in coming up with plans and proposals for the betterment of other countries.

She said she had read about OR’s successful applications in minimizing the cost of production and transportation of agricultural produce in India; the highly efficient railway network service in South Africa, and the school meal program in Chile.

The President said these programs were similar to her administration’s Roll On-Roll Off system of ferry boats and highways, the North and South Rail Project and her hunger alleviation program for elementary school children and distribution of rice to the poor.

She expressed hope that the ORSP could expand its work in the Philippines.

"I am sure that OR practitioners can do similar work in our country as well as you have been able to in some of the other countries," she said.

The President reiterated her government’s three main priorities for 2006, namely, building a strong republic, building a stronger economy and pushing political reforms through Charter change.

She said people were tired of the "political noise" and they eagerly look forward to fundamental changes in the country’s politics.

With the help of OR, these fundamental changes could be delivered with greater "efficiency and transparency," she said.

Established in 1957, the Association of Asia-Pacific Operational Research Societies (APORS), which includes the ORSP, is a formal grouping of national societies within the International Federation of Operational Research Societies (IFORS).

This is the work of discredited groups who are starting the new year with their trademark of poisoned politics.

We expect the economy to further perk up once the General Appropriations Act is signed into law, as this would send a signal to our creditors that we are seriously vying for the gold medal in governance, especially in the matter of stabilizing our finances.

It is an admirable act of statesmanship on the part of former President Fidel V. Ramos to leave the vital decisions of political governance to Lakas CMD (Christian-Muslim Democrats). He has consistently shown the capacity to make deep personal sacrifices not merely for the sake of the party, but also for the sake of the whole nation.

President Arroyo shares the bereavement of the families of the victims, but is also shocked at how sea safety standards have apparently been ignored in this incident.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo inspected today the ongoing construction of the North-South Rail Linkage Project (NSLP) in Barangay San Antonio, Makati City.

She was accompanied by Vice President Noli de Castro, who is also chairman of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC); Makati 1^st District Rep. Teodoro Locsin Jr., Korean Ambassador Hong Jong-Ki, National Housing Authority (NHA) General Manager Federico Laxa, and Philippine National Railways General Manager Jose Sarazola.

The linkage project is a major component of the government’s program to fast track the restoration, rehabilitation and modernization of existing lines of the Philippine National Railways (PNR) for the efficient transport of people and cargo between Metro Manila and Southern Luzon.

The NSLP was formally launched by President Arroyo and South Korean President Roh Moo-Hyun during the latter’s state visit to the Philippines last Dec. 15.

The NSLP will link the north terminal of the Northrail Project in Caloocan and the north end of the Southrail Project in Calamba, Laguna.

De Castro said Phase 1 of the project will cover the 40-kilometer stretch from Caloocan to Alabang. It will have 16 stations along the way.

An estimated 2,903 households are affected by the NSLP in the four Makati barangays of San Antonio, Pio del Pilar, Bangkal and Magallanes, De Castro said.

As of Jan. 11, 61 households had been already relocated to the NHA Southville Housing Project in Cabuyao, Laguna.

As Congress resumed its session today, Malacaņang expressed optimism that the country’s lawmakers will uphold the welfare of the people by speeding up the passage of the national budget.

In a statement, Press Secretary and Presidential Spokesman Ignacio R. Bunye said approval of the general appropriation bill will further perk up the economy as it would "send a signal to our creditors that we are seriously vying for the gold medal in governance, especially in stabilizing our finances."

"We are confident that our legislators will uphold the welfare of the people and pass the 2006 national budget soonest," he said.

"We could also expect fresh investments to flow into the country and this would mean more job opportunities for the people," he added.

In the Senate, Majority Leader Francis Pangilinan said they will resume deliberations on the P1.05 trillion 2006 national budget starting today after they failed to pass it before the holiday break last Dec. 16.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo expressed today her condolences to the bereaved families of the 16 victims of the tragic Leyte fluvial procession last Sunday.

In a statement, Press Secretary Ignacio R. Bunye said the President shares the grief of the families of the victims who drowned after an overcrowded boat capsized during the fluvial parade celebrating the feast of the Sto. Nino in San Ricardo, Southern Leyte.

Bunye added that the Chief Executive expressed shock at how sea standards had apparently been ignored in the incident and immediately ordered an investigation.

"A full investigation is in order and this should lead to stricter enforcement of rules and regulations governing such fluvial processions that involve huge masses of people," Bunye said.

The tragedy occurred Sunday morning while the MB Sunjay was about a kilometer away from Barangay Inolinan in San Ricardo town.

Initial reports said a person fell overboard and the ensuing rush by other passengers to one side to see what had happened caused the boat to capsize.

A still undetermined number of passengers, many of them children, were thrown overboard.

Malacanang lauded today former President Fidel V. Ramos for affirming his support for President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to serve out her full six-year term that ends in 2010.

Ramos had earlier urged the President to cut short her term by 2007 as part of the proposed shift from presidential to parliamentary form of government.

Meeting in Malacanang last Saturday, the national directorate of the ruling Lakas agreed that the President should serve out the six-year mandate she won in the 2004 elections.

The former president confirmed his support for the Lakas’ decision that the President finish her term at a media briefing yesterday at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) before he left with a Filipino business group for a conference in India.

"I have to be flexible. I am no longer in the administration," Ramos was quoted as saying.

In a statement, Press Secretary Ignacio R. Bunye described Ramos’ decision as an "admirable act of statesmanship" and showed the former leader’s "capacity to make deep personal sacrifices."

"It is an admirable act of statesmanship on the part of former President Fidel V. Ramos to leave the vital decisions of political governance to the Lakas-Christian and Muslim Democrats (Lakas-CMD)," Bunye said.

"He has consistently shown the capacity to make deep personal sacrifices not merely for the sake of the party, but also for the sake of the whole nation," he added.

Bunye also pointed out that by reconsidering his call for Mrs. Arroyo to cut short her term, Ramos amply demonstrated that his relationship with the President "stands on high morale ground."

"The ruling party has emerged as solid as ever and this will serve as the administration’s springboard for vigorously pushing for economic growth with social equity and political renewal," he said.

The President, Lakas-Christian-Muslim Democrats party chairman; Ramos, chairman emeritus; Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr. and the party’s national directorate met last Saturday to thresh out Ramos’ appeal for Mrs. Arroyo to step down in 2007 to pave the way for the shift to parliamentary form of government.

However, the party officials reaffirmed their support for the President to finish her term.