President Arroyo does not deny having met with leaders of various political persuasions in the runup to EDSA Dos. She was the constitutional successor at a time when President Estrada was threatened by massive people power and she had to try to consolidate the nation at a time of grave national necessity, which she did.

She even launched peace negotiations with the NDF in a bid to reconcile with the revolutionary left, to no avail. But she regrets having met with militant leaders knowing now that they started to plot against her administration from day one since its inception, and they were never serious for peace.

The fears of misuse of the recovered ill-gotten wealth of the Marcoses are misplaced. Official records would bear us out that there was no fund misappropriation as it was used for its intended beneficiaries, the farmers.

The deception here is not in the release of the funds but in the investigations being conducted to portray the administration in bad light and foment destabilization.

Millions of pesos are being spent unwisely in legislative investigations that prove to be clothed with partisan and personal interest.

There is a standing order for the PNP to act on these killings of militant leaders, and to identify and arrest the culprits. We cannot allow this murder trend to undermine peace and order.

The affairs of the Liberal Party are internal to the organization and although the President is its honorary chairman, she has no desire to intervene in the internal workings of the party. Her focus is on economic and political reforms to strengthen our Republic.

This statement is unfair to the overwhelming majority of our soldiers who are loyal to the Constitution and the chain of command.

Our soldiers are men and women of valor and they should not be labeled as "a new destabilizing agent" when clearly they have remained on the side of our people.

World leading supplier of information technology Dell, Inc. has decided to cast its lot in the Philippines, in what many consider as another strong testament to investor confidence in the country.

Early this morning, the market leader in computing products and services, opened its customer contact center at the SM Mall of Asia Complex in Pasay City in simple rites graced by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

Dell founder-chairman Michael Dell, who led some 700 employes in welcoming the President and other guests to the contact center, pointed out that the decision of the company to expand its operations here is due to the country’s robust telecommunications infrastructure and the Filipinos’ strong communication skills and exemplary work ethic.

The significance of Dell’s entry into the country was not lost on the President who lauded the Filipinos’ charm, strong grasp of the English language and knack for technology as key factors for making the Philippines one of the most sought after business process outsourcing (BPO) markets in the world.

Dell, along with Dell International Services (DIS) Vice President Bert Quitana, DIS Asia-Pacific Vice President Rajan Andan and DIS Philippines General Manager Mike Garrison, escorted the President during a tour of the company’s sprawling office that can accommodate 1,400 employees who will be trained to deliver superior customer experience for Dell consumers and customers in the United States.

"Thank you, Mr. Dell for choosing the Philippines for your newest contact center. This is a compelling expression of your company’s confidence in the knowledge, skills and abilities of our great Filipino worker, especially the young workers," the President said.

The President called this knowledge, skill and ability of the Filipino the "competitive edge" in the process outsourcing business which requires "we answer queries fast, with facts and with feeling."

"However, I like to think that it is not just in the charm department that the Filipinos are tops. But most important, we possess the language and technological competencies to be the back office or the front desk of the world," she added.

In the same occasion, the President also witnessed the turnover of a personal computer by Dell Philippines to the Pasay City East High School through its principal, Lourdes Monje.

Malacanang said today President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo regrets having met with militant leaders, who she accused of plotting against her administration from Day One of her presidency in 2001.

In a statement, Press Secretary and concurrent Presidential Spokesman Ignacio R. Bunye said the President "does not deny having met with leaders of various political persuasions in the runup to EDSA Dos."

He said that as the constitutional successor to the presidency at a time when then President Joseph Estrada was threatened by a people power revolt, it was incumbent upon then Vice President Arroyo to act to stop the country from breaking up.

"President Arroyo does not deny having met with leaders of various political persuasions in the runup to EDSA Dos. She was the constitutional successor at a time when President Estrada was threatened by massive people power and she had to try to consolidate the nation at a time of grave national necessity, which she did," Bunye said.

He pointed out that the President even took steps to open the way for peace negotiations with the National Democratic Front (NDF) in an attempt to reconcile with the revolutionary left, but the leftists showed no genuine interest in talking peace.

"She regrets having met with militant leaders knowing now that they started to plot against her administration from Day One since its inception, and they were never serious for peace," Bunye said.

He said the administration now accepts that the militants and their cohorts will never give up their sinister plot to overthrow the government and replace the democratic system with their own.

Malacanang said today that although President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo welcomes the revitalization of all political parties, it is not her intention to intervene in their internal affairs.

Press Secretary and Presidential Spokesman Ignacio R. Bunye made this statement as he refuted allegations by administration critics that Malacanang has a hand in the controversy now rocking the Liberal Party.

"The President welcomes the revitalization of political parties as an essential step towards political stability and reforms," he said, but added that she won’t interfere with the internal affairs of the party.

"The affairs of the Liberal Party are internal to the organization and although the President is its honorary chairman, she has no desire to intervene in the internal workings of the party. Her focus is on economic and political reforms to strengthen our Republic," Bunye said.

The statement came on the heels of the LP intramurals involving the factions of Senate President Franklin Drilon and Manila Mayor Lito Atienza.

Bunye said the party squabble is purely an internal matter of the Liberal Party, and only members of the party could resolve their differences.

Malacaņang branded today as unfair Senator Joker Arroyo’s statement calling the military as the real destabilizer, pointing out that the great majority of the soldiers are loyal to the Constitution and to the chain of command.

"This statement is unfair to the overwhelming majority of our soldiers who are loyal to the Constitution and the chain of command," Press Secretary and Presidential Spokesperson Ignacio R. Bunye said in a statement.

He stressed that the statement released by Senator Arroyo was an affront to the valiant Filipino soldiers who, he said, "have remained on the side of our people."

"Our soldiers are men and women of valor and they should not be labeled as ‘a new destabilizing agent’ when clearly they have remained on the side of our people," Bunye said.

Earlier, Malacaņang had upheld 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.

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.

Bunye appealed to the citizenry to respect the Filipino soldier and recognize his contributions to nationbuilding.

Press Secretary Ignacio R. Bunye asserted today that the recovered ill-gotten wealth of the Marcoses were never misused but appropriated to benefit farmer-beneficiaries.

Bunye issued the statement in reaction to recurrent opposition charges of alleged misuse of the recovered Marcos assets.

"The fears of misuse of the recovered ill-gotten wealth of the Marcoses are misplaced. Official records would bear us out that there was no fund misappropriation as it was used for its intended beneficiaries, the farmers," he said.

He denied any deception in the release of the ill-gotten wealth recovered by the government. "The deception here is not in the release of the funds but in the investigations being conducted to portray the administration in bad light and foment destabilization," Bunye said.

He said the government has already submitted the proper documents and records to prove that disbursements of the fund comply fully with legal requirements.