President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo said today the Council of State Meeting on Tuesday amounted to "such collective encounters of statesmanship" which earned for Filipino leaders the respect of the world.

The President conveyed her deep appreciation to those who attended the meeting which was convened "without much hype and hoopla but nevertheless successfully hurdled our agenda in a productive way."

To a certain degree, the meeting got vested with controversy when ranking leaders of the political opposition opted to boycott it.

"I appreciate the candor and the wisdom shared by our leaders for the sake of the Filipino people, especially towards shoring up political stability and economic growth," she said in a statement issued this morning.

"We earn the respect of the world by such collective encounters of statesmanship, and I shall be guided by the consensus gathered in the meeting, and work with Congress to carry it to fruition under the sovereign will of the people," she added.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo inaugurated today the first of five Tindahan Natin convenience stores to be established in Parola Compound, Tondo, Manila.

Nenita Poblete, of Gate 17, Area-D, Barangay 20, was one of the lucky store owners who were awarded certificates of accreditation to operate Tindahan Natin stores by the President in the area.

The others are: Gertrudes Fame (Gate 19 Area-H), Emelda Pormoran (Gate 20, Area-H), Angelina Asa (Area-F) and Suzeth Ibañes (Gate 17, Area-D).

The five Tindahan outlets will service Manila’s largest barangay with 13,000 households or 50,000 residents, according to Social Welfare and Development Secretary Lualhati Pablo.

The Tindahan Natin (formerly Tindahang Pinoy) chain of convenience stores aims to provide low-income families fast and reliable access to food, specifically rice and noodles, and other basic commodities at much lower than market prices.

Under the program, the DSWD will provide "pre-determined" and specially screened beneficiaries a P20,000 loan each which they will use to purchase National Food Authority (NFA) rice and instant noodles.

The Tindahan Natin operators in 18 highly depressed areas within Metro Manila will sell rice and noodles at special prices of P18 per kilo of well-milled NFA rice and P4.25 per pack of instant noodles to residents in their respective areas.

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.

The Tindahan Natin program is in keeping with 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 NFA, DSWD, barangay officials and non-government organizations (NGOs).

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo saluted and praised today the great courage and heroism displayed by Philippine Air Force Capt. Aniano Amatong who opted to steer his faltering plane to a fishpond and die in its crash instead of hitting a populated area in Paombong, Bulacan yesterday.

The President condoled with Capt. Amatong’s family at the ill-fated soldier’s wake at the Villamor Air Base in Pasay City this morning after coming from the Parola Compound in Tondo, Manila where she earlier fulfilled a governance engagement.

She spent some time and silently grieved with Amatong’s wife, other family members and friends who all gathered at the Philippine Air Force Mortuary Chapel to pay their last respects to the man who, many say, died a hero.

Press Secretary Ignacio R. Bunye said Amatong exemplified the "true meaning of the word heroism."

"The President and Commander-in-Chief salutes the great courage of Capt. Aniano Amatong. He clearly showed not only to our fighting men and women, but also to the entire nation, what the word heroism really means," Bunye said in a statement.

"We extend our deepest sympathy to his family and we assure his kin and fellow soldiers that this sacrifice will forever be enshrined in the roll of honor of the Armed Forces," Bunye added.

The Air Force officer died Tuesday when the OV-10 fighter plane he was piloting crashed into a fishpond in Paombong, Bulacan.

Amatong was on his way together with co-pilot Capt. James Acosta from Sangley Point in Cavite to Clark Field in Pampanga to join aerial combat exercise maneuvers with US troops when the plane’s left engine developed trouble.

Before crashing, Acosta said Amatong had tried to steer the plane away from a residential area to prevent a bigger casualty count before barking orders for him to eject.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo made a surprise visit to Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City this afternoon to look into the progress of the administration’s housing project for the Army’s enlisted men.

The President had earlier set aside P5 billion from the P35 billion economy pump-priming program for housing projects around the country. Of the P5 billion allocation, P1.3 billion was earmarked for the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).

The Chief Executive ordered the construction of houses for the Army as part of the government’s program to provide decent homes to the men and women in uniform.

"They are part of the many families that we have to provide housing," she said.

The President said more housing units for military personnel are being lined for different regions of the country.

"We want to have more housing units like this all over the country although the units in the camps outside Metro Manila don’t have to be medium-rise but single detached," she said.

Upon her arrival at the Camp Aguinaldo housing site, the President was met by AFP Vice Chief of Staff Ariston de los Reyes and Presidential Chief of Staff Michael Defensor.

Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita and Ambassador-designate to Greece Rigoberto Tiglao welcomed this morning to Malacanang "The Lettermen," one of the most popular singing groups in music history.

The Lettermen trio composed of Anthony Butala, Donovan Tea and Mark Preston, and the two Malacanang officials sang together one of the group’s hit songs -- "Love is a Many Splendored Thing" -- at the Malacanang Premier Guest House.

The famous trio also serenaded the Malacanang Press Corps with the Filipino love song "Ikaw" during a photo session.

The music group will render the same song (Ikaw) for President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on Thursday evening when they perform at the Manila Hotel.

Founded by Butala, "The Lettermen" will likewise perform for two nights at the Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City and in the cities of Cebu, Iloilo and Davao.

The trio, which scored 25 chart hit singles in the 1960s and 70s, first visited the Philippines in 1998.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo said today she would ask liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) producers and manufacturers to sell their products at a much lower price to cushion the impact of rising prices.

"We will negotiate with (Pilipinas) Shell so that they will be enticed to offer their LPG products at much lower prices which we can sell at our Tindahan Natin stores," the President said during her "Pulong Bayan" (townhall meeting) with government officials and residents of the Parola Compound in Tondo, Manila this morning.

She said that the continued rise in the prices of petroleum products has taken its toll on the ordinary citizens, particularly the poor, who have resorted to further "belt-tightening" measures just to make ends meet.

The President visited the Parola Compound to inaugurate five Tindahan Natin convenience stores aimed at providing the poorest of the poor with fast and adequate access to food, specifically rice and noodles, and other basic commodities at lower than market prices.

The Tindahan Natin program 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.

The Council of State, convened on the 24^th of January 2006 in Malacanang Palace, calls on the nation and our leaders to sustain the reform initiatives now building confidence, cohesion and competitiveness; boosting growth, investment and jobs; and enhancing governance and stability in our country.

With our fiscal reforms moving resolutely towards full implementation, the nation can now turn to the equally important task of political reform to make the electoral process more honest, orderly, peaceful and democratic, and to enhance the government’s responsiveness, performance, accountability and service to the people.

The Council, therefore, supports the appointment of former Supreme Court Chief Justice Hilario Davide as Senior Adviser on Electoral Reforms, whose office shall undertake a thorough study of electoral processes, recommend reforms, and nominate eminent persons of proven integrity and ability as commissioners in the Commission on Elections.

The Council also urges Congress to undertake bicameral dialogue and cooperation on proposals to review and amend the Constitution, in consultation with key sectors and leaders across the country, with the goal of addressing the nationwide clamor for more responsive, accountable, transparent and democratic government.

The Council also supports efforts to fully inform our people about Charter Change issues, including the creation of the Charter Change Advocacy Commission, harnessing for this purpose the members of the Consultative Commission on Constitutional Change, and representatives of the basic sectors.

The Council acknowledges the multifarious endeavors of the government and key sectors of society to deliver development across the archipelago, especially the rural areas; support micro, small and medium enterprises for job creation; and sustain the country’s long-term trajectory toward first-world status within a generation.

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said today 5,800 Botika ng Barangay (BnB) are now operating in various parts of the country and 1,600 more will be opened by March or April as the government steps up its program to ensure the availability of low-priced, quality drugs to the people, especially the poor.

Duque told a press briefing in Malacanang this afternoon that the government target of 7,400 Botika ng Barangay will be achieved before yearend.

The Botika ng Barangay are established in the barangays or barrios, while the Botika ng Bayan are located in the town proper.

In addition to the Botika nga Barangay, 1,016 Botika nga Bayan are now operating nationwide. The Botika nga Bayan sells quality drugs at up to 50 percent cheaper than those being sold by established pharmaceutical outlets.

A joint project of the Department of Health (DOH) and the Philippine International Trading Corporation (PITC), the Botika ng Bayan sells half-priced medicines to the marginalized sector of society.

Duque also said that he has asked the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) to release an additional P2 million for the government’s Philippine Health Insurance (PhilHealth) program.