The administration is focused on a strong and massive information drive to enlighten the people on the key issues of Charter change, and we believe it is high time for all our institutions to band together for fundamental political reform.

A strong people’s initiative combined with legislative push will lend it irresistible momentum.

We welcome the consistently positive assessments on the economy as a result of the sacrifices of the Filipino, as we remain focused in sustaining the momentum we have achieved for the past months.

While there may be residual concerns on the country’s political stability, the Government is in full control of the situation.

The President upholds the command guidance of the Chief of Staff on the insulation of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) from partisan politics. The planned dialogue of the opposition with the soldiery is just an anti-administration propaganda ploy no matter how one looks at it.

If they really want to help, we suggest that they leave our soldiers alone in the performance of their duty. They can help instead in the modernization of the armed services under the existing programs of the defense department.

The AFP leadership is engaged in a formidable task of healing the wounds inflicted by previous attempts to exploit the soldiery in plots to overthrow the government.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo motored this morning to the Manila International Container Port (MICP) in Port Area to see for herself the 3,000 bags of assorted merchandise seized from the 168 Shopping Mall in Divisoria for alleged smuggling and other violations of the Customs and Tariff Code.

Last Thursday, Customs personnel led by Commissioner Napoleon L. Morales swooped down on the 168 Shopping Mall and carted away the suspected smuggled items to the MICP warehouse at the compound of the customs bureau for inventory, safe-keeping and verification of tax payments.

Customs officials said the President’s trip to the MICP signaled her determination to go after all smuggling activities in the country. Smuggling deprives the government of hundreds of millions of pesos in uncollected revenues annually.

Last Thursday’s raid on the Divisoria shopping mall was carried out by agents of the BOC, National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and Manila Police District (MPD).

Among the confiscated items were shoes, dresses, pants, children’s wear, bags and ladies’ accessories.

Morales informed the President that the seized merchandise, worth about P700 million, represents only about 15 percent of the goods confiscated during the 168 Shopping Mall raid.

He said 25,000 bags were still kept at the mall awaiting inventory by customs personnel. The inventory will continue until the last merchandise is processed, Morales added.

The customs official said he has ordered the immediate investigation of the ports of entry of the smuggled goods to pinpoint responsibility.

He said the raid on the 168 Shopping Mall should serve as a stern warning to all importers who evade the payment of proper duties and taxes.

Malacanang said today President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is upholding the command guidance of Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Chief of Staff Gen. Generoso Senga on the insulation of the soldiery from partisan politics.

Press Secretary and Presidential Spokesperson Ignacio R. Bunye branded the planned dialogue of the opposition with the soldiers as just an anti-administration propaganda ploy "no matter how one looks at it."

"If they really want to help, we suggest that they leave our soldiers alone in the performance of their duty," he said in a statement.

Bunye was referring to the opposition plan of pushing through with their dialogue with the soldiers in a move that could put to test the five-point guidance recently issued by Senga.

Senga’s directive, entitled "The Role of the Armed Forces in These Trying Times," reminded soldiers to remain neutral and resist any attempts by politicians to use them for vested interests.

Opposition leader Francis Escudero said the aim of the dialogues with the military "was to listen to what they have to say."

But Bunye countered that if the opposition really wants to help, it can instead do so in the modernization of the armed services under the existing programs of the defense department.

"The AFP leadership is engaged in a formidable task of healing the wounds inflicted by previous attempts to exploit the soldiery in plots to overthrow the government," he said.

"Let us allow the command to repair whatever damage has been done and restore the AFP to its premium role in protecting the people and upholding the Constitution for the greater good of the Republic," he added.

Malacaņang said today it will pursue a massive information campaign to enlighten the people on the key issues of the proposal to change the Constitution.

In a statement, Press Secretary and concurrent Presidential Spokesman Ignacio R. Bunye said "we believe it is high time for all our institutions to band together for fundamental political reform."

"The administration is focused on a strong and massive information drive to enlighten the people on the key issues of Charter Change, and we believe it is high time for all our institutions to band together for fundamental political reform," Bunye said.

He said the information drive, coupled with that "legislative push" from the politicians, would provide the needed momentum for Cha-Cha to get moving.

"A strong people’s initiative combined with legislative push will lend it (Cha-Cha) irresistible momentum," Bunye said.

He also called on all political leaders to "assume this great responsibility of shepherding this nation from strife to stability and from stagnation to prosperity."

The proposed shift from bicameral to parliamentary form of government is gaining more supporters.

House Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr. said the Charter Change is "irreversible" with his group garnering 160 signatures, short of only 35 of the required signatures.

Malacanang welcomed today the consistently upbeat assessments of the economy by various financing institutions, as it attributed the positive developments in the economic front to the sacrifices of the Filipino.

Press Secretary and Presidential Spokesperson Ignacio R. Bunye said notwithstanding the optimistic developments, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo will continue to focus on measures and policies designed to sustain the economic momentum the country has achieved during the past few months.

"While there may be residual concerns on the country’s political stability, the government is in full control of the situation," he assured.

Bunye was commenting on the assessments of the country’s economy by the Dutch financial giant ING Bank and investment banker UBS AG.

In what is considered as the most bullish outlook on the peso so far, ING Bank sees the peso surging to as high as P45 to the US dollar in the next two years, surpassing Goldman Sach’s projection of 48: $1 in the next 12 months.

UBS AG, on the other hand, said the peso’s recent gains "could be sustainable," adding that the peso outperformed most Asian currencies last year "due to a resilient current account surplus on the one hand and a move into surplus for the capital account, on the other."

UBS believes the peso will continue to trade in the narrow range of P51 to P52 to the dollar for the remainder of the year.

In a commentary last week, ING economist Tim Condon said the country’s strong balance of payment position in the first two months of the year indicated the extent of foreign exchange inflow that had helped lift the peso against the greenback.

Under the bold economic reforms of President Arroyo, the Philippines posted a BOP surplus of $2.03 billion in the first two months of the year, nearly three times the $685 million recorded in the same period last year.