We appreciate the efforts of the House of Representatives to expedite the process of Charter change as a way of responding to the interest of the people.

Let us get moving in order to boost our chances of joining the First World in 20 years.

It is unfair that we are being made the scapegoat for the sluggishness of some legislators in performing their duty—to the detriment of the people.

We have consistently made clear our intention to have the 2006 national budget enacted.

We assure every interested party of a speedy and fair trial of the case, even as we continuously bank on the assurance made by US Government of its full cooperation in accordance with law.

Finance Secretary Margarito Teves has reported his office is currently working with the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) on reporting mechanisms to address the public’s concern on the utilization of the Expanded Value Added Tax (EVAT) revenues.

In a report to President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, Teves said the Department of Finance (DoF) is keen on the implementation of the two percent EVAT increase (from 10 to 12 %) starting February 1, once appropriate official data are available.

"We will work closely with the DBM to develop reporting mechanisms on the utilization of EVAT proceeds to engender strong public support by institutionalizing transparency and accountability," said Teves in his report.

Teves said DoF is also working out a comprehensive action plan to further enhance the revenue collection efficiency of the Bureau of Internal Revenue and the Bureau of Customs by improving both customer service and enforcement.

To address concerns over bleeding and perennially losing government-owned and controlled corporations (GOCCs), he said DoF has also started developing performance contracts for selected GOCCs that contain mutually agreed upon performance criteria and "deliverables" they are expected to achieve.

Teves said the International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission that visited the Philippines recently has recommended closer monitoring of GOCCs to ensure that the poor performance of any one of them will not undermine the government’s ongoing fiscal consolidation efforts.

Philippine Army chief, Lt. Gen. Hermogenes Esperon said today the escape of four of the 2003 Oakwood mutineers is "no cause for alarm" as he assured the public the military and the police are doing everything to recapture the fugitives.

The four mutineers, all commissioned officers, escaped Tuesday night from their detention cell in Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City.

At a press briefing this afternoon in Malacanang, Esperon also downplayed rumors of a coup attempt, as Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) unit commanders have vowed to faithfully abide by the chain of command and do not sympathize with the escapees.

"We would like to assure the public that the Army is doing everything to recapture the fugitives. Along this line, we would like to solicit the assistance of the public to report any information that would lead to the arrest of the group," Esperon said.

Esperon said any information could be relayed to 0915-2546579 or may be sent as a text message to the same number. He assured the Magdalo officers’ escape is definitely not a cause for alarm.

He said he immediately talked to his division commanders after the discovery of the escape and got a feedback this morning that Army unit commanders are abiding by the chain of command.

"They are again committing and pledging their loyalty to our mandate. The troops in the field don’t seem to sympathize with these escapees," Esperon said.

He also dismissed insinuations that the escape has been orchestrated by the Army itself as alleged by a lawyer of one of the Magdalo group members who did not join the escape.

Esperon said the lawyer, who was objecting to the transfer of the detainees due to lack of a court order, had just left the detention compound Tuesday night when the detainees staged their escape.

Initial investigation findings, he said, show that Capt. Nathaniel Rabonza and 1Lts. Lawrence San Juan, Sonny Sarmiento and Patricio Bumindang piled up chairs inside their detention cell between 7:30-8:00 p.m. and escaped through the high window.

Esperon said they received raw intelligence reports of a possible jailbreak since last Friday and they were about to transfer some of the detainees to another building inside the same compound when the mutineers bolted from their detention cell.

The allegations of the lawyer, one Atty. Pulido, could mean "he is covering his possible complicity in the escape. Had it not been for his undue interference, the four escapees could have been promptly transferred to a safer building in the same compound," he said.

Esperon said the four officers could have escaped because they "probably got some wrong or intentional wrong advice" from people who have other motives.

Esperon said the Army would submit an official report about the escape to the Makati Regional Trial Court (RTC) that is trying the civil cases against the escapees.

He said he has designated Major Gen. Ferdinand Bocobo, Army Inspector General, to head an investigation team whose findings may be divulged immediately.

Malacaņang reiterated today its call for Congress to speed up the passage of the P1.05-trillion national budget for 2006 to sustain the strong recovery surge of the country’s economy.

Press Secretary Ignacio R. Bunye said lawmakers should put their act together since the early passage of the 2006 national budget is in their hands instead of blaming the administration for its delay.

"It is unfair that we are being made the scapegoat for the sluggishness of some legislators in performing their duty – to the detriment of the people. We have consistently made clear our intention to have the 2006 budget enacted," Bunye said in a statement.

A newspaper report today quoted a senator as saying the House of Representatives and the Executive department are delaying the passage of the 2006 national budget allegedly in connection with the proposed Charter change.

Malacaņang had repeatedly called for the early passage of the national budget to push the government’s pro-poor agenda and the country’s economic takeoff and in the interest of public welfare and good governance.

Bunye said the administration also leaves the decision to amend the Charter in the hands of Congress either through a Constitutional Convention, a Constituent Assembly or the People’s Initiative mode as proposed by the Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines (ULAP).