President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo conferred last night the 2006 Gusi Peace Prize on 15 distinguished men and women worldwide who have contributed toward the attainment of peace and respect for human life and dignity.

The President, assisted by Gusi Peace Prize (GPP) president Manuel Morato and GPP chairman Barry Gusi, presented the plaques of recognition during the awarding rites held at the Meralco Theater in Pasig City.

Four of the awardees are Filipinos -- former President Fidel V. Ramos for Statesmanship; Rev. Fr. Corsie Legaspi (Divine Healing and Services for the Sick and Needy); Carlo Caparas (Cinematic Excellence); and Filipino-American Dr. Felipe Tolentino (Medicine-Opthalmology).

Other awardees were Guam Gov. Carl Gutierrez (Public Service); Greek surgeon Dr. Ioannis Lyras (Plastic Surgery); Indian lawyer Justice Ram Jethmalani (Social Justice and Humanitarian Law); South Korean monk Master Bup Kwan (Humanitarianism); Indonesian Ambassador Tarmizi Taher (Religious Affairs and Humanitarianism); Malaysian entrepreneur Hadji Ismail Bin Mohamad (Philanthropy); Hong Kong Dr. Leung Ping Chung (Medicine and Academe); Russian pianist Katya Grineva (Performing Arts); New Zealand bungee jumper Alan John Hackett (Sports); Chinese artist Madam Wang Zushi (Cultural Heritage); and Quan Yin Method Supreme Master Ching Hai of the United Kingdom of Great Britain-Vietnam (Philanthropy and Humanitarianism).

Based in the Philippines, the Gusi Peace Prize is a charitable foundation which recognizes groups or individuals who have worked with excellence and distinction in the service of humanity. It was founded by the late Capt. Gemeniano Javier Gusi, a World War II guerrilla leader-turned- politician who became popular for his fight for human rights.

President Arroyo is firmly committed to defend the welfare of consumers. This is the reason why the Department of Energy has now stepped up the monitoring of the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) to prevent any possible recurrence of the reported price manipulation.

The President will take into consideration the recommendation of the Philippine Electricity Market Corp. (PEMC) and act on the basis of public interest.

That said, we are confident in the capacity for self-repair by the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market which is still in its infancy.

The opposition plan to file charges against local government officials who supported the People’s Initiative is a cheap shot at grandstanding and gimmickry.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo praised today the visiting officers of the prestigious Graduate Research Institute for Policy Studies of Japan (GRIPS) for their academic contribution in enhancing the Filipino talent and skills in policy and diplomatic studies.

The President met this morning at Malacaņang’s Music Room Dr. Takashi Shiraishi, GRIPS president, along with its other officers including Dr. Tatsuo Oyama.

They were accompanied by Japanese Ambassador Ryuichiro Yamazaki, Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary Romeo Manalo, and JJ Samuel Soriano, president of the Philippine Resource Organization on Japanese Enterprise Capital and Technology (PROJECT).

"Welcome to the Philippines. This is another event to celebrate the golden jubilee of the Philippines-Japan diplomatic relations. Thank you for your contribution and dedication in enhancing the Filipino talent and skills," the President told them.

For their part, the visiting Japanese educators thanked the President for the warm accommodation and promised to further enhance their educational system to produce more excellent Filipino educators.

GRIPS is considered as Japan’s version of the JFK School of Government (Harvard) that started its international policy studies program in 1984 originally for government officials from the ASEAN and Korea through its more than two decades of existence.

Driven by common fear of terrorism, leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) are set to raise the ramparts against security threats when they hold the 12^th ASEAN Summit in Cebu City on Dec. 11-13.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, this year’s ASEAN chair, is expected to lead the push for tighter regional cooperation against terrorism at the summit of the heads of state of Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Like some of its ASEAN partners, particularly Indonesia, the Philippines has had its share of terrorist attacks from the Al-Queda linked Muslim terrorist cell Abu Sayyaf. Operating out of Mindanao, the Abu Sayyaf has teamed up with Jemaah Islamiya," the terrorist group blamed for the 2002 Bali bombing.

The President had set the tone of the anti-terrorism agenda of the 12^th ASEAN leaders’ summit in her recent official visit to China, where she raised regional security concerns in her dialogues with Chinese leaders and other ASEAN heads of state at the 15^th ASEAN + China Commemorative Summit in Nanning, China.

Dr. Wilfredo Villacorta, former deputy secretary general of the ASEAN said in a television interview that a committee of the ASEAN in charge of security and transnational crime is crafting a convention on counter-terrorism.

The convention will "involve different forms of cooperation like information exchange to combat terrorism, particularly international terrorism," he said.

Saying that the proposed ASEAN convention was "three years in the making," Villacorta added that the expected summit action would be "more of a formalization of the consensus of the 10 ASEAN member-countries with respect to specific measures to combat international terrorism."

In 2002, Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines forged an agreement in Kuala Lumpur calling for cross border sharing of information on terrorism and other security concerns, but it contained no specific measures to implement the accord.

Villacorta said the tri-nation accord was "more of a multilateral agreement not within the framework of ASEAN because any AEAN document must be adopted by all 10 member-countries."

She said the free trade accord with China, the world's fastest growing economy, will help all ASEAN economies grow as well as bolster peace and security in the region.

The President, who chairs this year's 10-member ASEAN grouping, said the free trade agreement offers vast opportunities to the Philippines and its regional partners.  "The ASEAN region represents a market of over half a billion people for Chinese exports.  It is a supplier of much-needed resources," she added.

"The Chinese government will honor its (commitment) made last year of providing $5 billion of preferential loans to support Chinese companies in investing and setting up business ventures in ASEAN countries," Wen said.

Stressing that complete meaningful reform can only be achieved by overhauling the government structure, Malacanang said today that "Charter change as a vision lives in the hearts and minds" of the Filipino people.

Press Secretary and Presidential Spokesperson Ignacio R. Bunye said in a statement that "although the Supreme Court has written off People’s Initiative, Charter change as a vision lives in the hearts and minds of the people who look forward to the opportune moment to renew the struggle."

At the same time, Bunye branded as "a cheap shot at grandstanding and gimmickry" the opposition plan to file charges against local government officials who supported the People’s Initiative to amend the Constitution.

Bunye issued the statement in reaction to reports saying the United Opposition would file charges against officials who allegedly participated in a supposedly private initiative to amend the Charter.

Earlier, Bunye had said "Charter change will remain a platform commitment of the administration and we contiue to urge Congress, local government units and all sectors to keep the fire burning so we can eventually realize the hopes and dreams of a new Philippines."

Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita, in his weekly press conference Wednesday said the Supreme Court ruling against the signature campaign conducted by the Sigaw ng Bayan and the Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines (ULAP) would not deter the administration from pursuing its advocacy of changing the Constitution.

CEBU CITY--World Trade Organization (WTO) Director-General Pascal Lamy will be one of the key speakers in the ASEAN Business and Investment Summit (BIS) on Dec. 7-10 at the Waterfront Hotel (Lahug) here.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo will give the keynote address in the three-day ASEAN Summit which will be held in various sites in the city on Dec. 11-13.

Lamy will discuss the implications of WTO negotiations and measures on how to address the challenges of global and regional integration.

The discussion aims to help businessmen put into perspective their strategies, considering the current setting of the trading scene, in light of the resumption of the WTO trade talks.

Lamy has served the WTO under his current position since 2005. He was also the Commissioner for Trade of the European Commission from 1999-2004.

From 1985 to 1994, he held the position of Chief of Staff for the president of the European Commission.

With the theme "One Caring and Sharing Community," the 2006 ASEAN BIS is an integral part of the annual ASEAN summit which aims to provide an opportunity for business to learn about the proposed changes and to provide feedback to the leaders as to what policy initiatives were needed to ensure that ASEAN becomes a vibrant and competitive region.

The ASEAN BIS was organized by the ASEAN Business Advisory Council (ASEAN BAC) and co-organized by the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI).

The conference will focus on the advances made in both the ASEAN region and the global markets, and the business opportunities and challenges that come with regional market integration.

Ambassador Donald Dee, president of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said the ASEAN leaders have targeted 11 sectors that are to be given priority in the process of economic integration.

These include agro-based products, air travel and air transport, automotive products, e-ASEAN (software), electronics (hardware), fisheries, health care, rubber-based products, textiles and apparels, tourism and wood-based products.

CEBU CITY – The Department of Health (DoH) has taken measures to guard against possible health-related emergencies that might arise during the 12th ASEAN Summit in this city from Dec. 11-13.

Dr. Expedito A. Medalla, DoH-7 Health Emergency Management Staff Coordinator, said all the City Health Offices (CHOs) in Cebu province's five cities have been instructed to step up training of their health staff on medical and emergency responses in time for the summit.

The DoH will deploy a total of 34 ambulances in all key points during the summit.

Each medical response team vehicle will be manned by a doctor, a nurse, a paramedic expert and a driver and will be equipped with communication devices to ensure efficient flow and coordination among them.

He also gave assurance that the health department will remain vigilant against possible incidence of communicable diseases in anticipation of the heavy crowd during the Summit.

"We have instructed the CHOs to conduct information campaigns on health, focusing especially in observance of social hygiene," he said.

All hospitals will be put under white alert or on emergency standby mode during the event.

The Bureau of Quarantine will also beef up its monitoring team at the Mactan International Airport to guard against possible entry of the avian flu virus.

Medalla said there is also guaranteed supply of blood bags, including those of rare types such as RH negative common among Europeans in case there is a need.

"We have met with the different blood banks here, the regional blood council, blood donating council and representatives from the Philippine National Red Cross," he added. The DoH will also check all commercial establishments in Cebu to test the safety of drinking water not just in event venues but also throughout the province because they expect the delegates to go out and enjoy the various recreational facilities in the province.

CLARK ZONE, Pampanga – President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo assured the Filipino people today that her administration will continue to focus on improving the economic indicators of the country.

The President made the assurance when she led the closing ceremony of the National Forum on Internal Security and Counter-Terrorism at the Grand Ballroom of the Holiday Inn Mimosa Leisure Estate here.

To be able to do that, the President said she will convene a joint meeting of the National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC) and the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) to ensure that the Filipino would benefit both in the short and long term.

"I’ve asked Ric Saludo, our Cabinet Secretary, to have a joint Cabinet meeting on Tuesday of the NAPC and the NEDA because the economic and the social clusters in the Cabinet are getting together to ensure the benefits for the Filipinos in the short and long term," the President said.

The President expressed hope that in the upcoming joint Cabinet meeting, Interior and Local Government Secretary Ronaldo Puno would be able to explain the solid achievements of her administration to the local government units.

She also reiterated in her speech that her administration’s thrust for social payback is founded on the compensation increase of all state workers, expanded microfinance program, massive infrastructure projects, pump priming through the super regions strategy to provide more jobs.

CLARK ZONE, Pampanga – To keep the positive momentum of the economy going, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo ordered today the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) to neutralize all threats to the internal security of the country.

In a speech at the culminating activities of the two-day National Forum on Internal Security and Counter-Terrorism at the Mimosa Leisure Estate inside the Clark Special Economic Zone in Pampanga, the President cited the need to take a concerted effort against all threats of terror and insurgency.

"We cannot take lightly the fact that activities being perpetrated by local terrorist groups enjoy the support and funding of foreign terrorist organizations," she said.

The President, in particular, ordered DILG Secretary Ronaldo Puno and PNP Chief Director General Oscar Calderon to speed up the following:

• Peace process in Southern Mindanao
• The war on street crimes, illegal drugs and illegal gambling
• Moving on corrupt officials, tax cheats and smugglers
• Checking of non-performing nursing schools
• Relief rehabilitation and reconstruction of disaster hit areas
• More efficient disaster management capability, and
• Strengthening the war on terror and insurgency.

Included in her order are the cases of Charlie "Atong" Ang, former Senator Gregorio "Gringo" Honasan, ousted former President Joseph Ejercito Estrada and the soldiers involved in the Oakwood Mutiny in July 2003.

CLARK ZONE, Pampanga – As part of United States President George Bush’s assurance of extending "deeper and broader" involvement in the Mindanao peace efforts, senior officials of the US Embassy in Manila will now work with the government panel involved in the peace talks with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

This was announced by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo during her speech today at the closing ceremony of the National Forum on Internal Security and Counter-Terrorism at the Grand Ballroom of the Holiday Inn at the Mimosa Leisure Estate here.

The agreement on the direct involvement of the US government in the peace process, she said, was reached during her meeting with Bush at the sidelines of last week’s Asia-Pacific Economic Conference (APEC) Summit in Hanoi, Vietnam.

Ending the decades-old hostilities in Mindanao, particularly with the MILF, is one of the top priority programs of the President to keep the positive momentum of the country’s economy going.