Brother Eraño "Ka Erdie" Manalo Dies

Brother Eraño G. Manalo, the Executive Minister of the Iglesia Ni Cristo (INC) has passed away.



Ka Erdie died of cardiopulmonary arrest (*failure of ventricles of the heart to contract, with the consequent absence of the heartbeat leading to lack of oxygen) on Monday at 3:53 pm. He was 84.

Ka is the son of Felix Manalo, Founder and first Executive Minister of the Iglesia ni Cristo. Ka Erdie took over the administration of the church after his father's death in 1963 and became the instrumental in the expansion of the church internationally.

The remains of Ka Erdie lies at the INC Central Temple located on Commonwealth Avenue, New Era, Quezon City.

*www.freedictionary.com

DFA Philippines Issues Machine Readable Passport (MRP) - DFA ePassport

The Philippines now belongs to the exclusive club of countries issuing ePassports, joining the United States, United Kingdom, Germany and Japan.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo yesterday said the Philippines has improved its standard one level above the machine readable passport with the issuance of the state-of-the-art electronic passports.

The ePassport has an embedded microchip containing data essential in verifying the passport holder’s identity, including personal data, biometrics and digital signature.

"This chip is interoperable, that is to say, it can be read by any standard passport machine reader in border controls worldwide," Romulo said.

The embedded microchip also contains a complex laminate that protects the datapage against tampering; customized invisible images on every page; and a hidden and coded technology that allows the encoding of the holder’s name and passport number on the passport photo.

"With the ePassport travel document, we join the exclusive club of countries issuing ePassports – among them Japan, South Korea, India, Hong Kong, France, Spain, Germany, Italy, the UK, Russia, the US, and other developed countries," he added.

Romulo said Filipinos were first given the world-class machine readable passport (MRP) when the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) issued 228,430 MRPs in 2007 and 2,097,383 MRPs in 2008.

From January to Aug. 9 this year, 1,500,402 MRPs had been issued and delivered. To date, the DFA has issued a total of 3,826,215 MRPs.

"The MRP has brought much benefit to our people. With a quick swipe of the MRP, immigration clearance is accomplished in less than 30 seconds," Romulo said.

The DFA said applications for the ePassport through the online appointment system will be accepted starting Wednesday.

The DFA’s Office of Consular Affairs advises interested applicants to set an appointment through the DFA website http://www.dfa.gov.ph.

Until the DFA’s ePassport system has achieved full capacity, only 100 ePassports will be issued daily on a first-come, first-served basis. From Aug. 26 to Sept. 30, only passport applications for renewal will be accepted.

Before submitting their online appointment application, applicants are requested to fill out the required fields on the online appointment page on the DFA website.

Otherwise, the online appointment process will not proceed. After internal verification, the DFA will inform the prospective applicant of his/her schedule via email.

Subsequently, the applicant will confirm his/her availability by sending a reply.

Personal appearance is required for prospective ePassport applicants. Until an announcement is made, all ePassport applications during this period shall be filed personally by the applicants.

An applicant may use the current MRP application form for this purpose, which is also available on the DFA website.

Current MRP holders are advised that their MRPs are compliant with global standards and remain valid.

Yam Laranas' Documentary "Asia’s Titanic" Premieres on August 25 at National Geographic Channel

"Asia’s Titanic", a 100% Filipino made documentary produced by Andrew Roque and directed by Yam Laranas will have its premiere on the National Geographic Channel across Asia on Tuesday, August 25, 2009 at 8:00pm with replays on Wednesday, August 26, 2009 at 4:00am and 9:00am.

The documentary which took three years in the making tells the story of MV Doña Paz sea tragedy and its survivors.


On December 20, 1987, just five days before Christmas, passenger ship MV Doña Paz collided with an oil tanker, MT Vector, off Mindoro Island in the Philippines. It is said that almost 5,000 passengers died in the tragedy and called the world’s worst peacetime maritime disaster.

Through dramatic first hand accounts from survivors and rescuers, transcripts from the Philippine congressional inquiry into the tragedy, archival footage and photos and a re-enactment of the collision, "Asia’s Titanic" would dissect how the Doña Paz tragedy unfolded.

Four Honor Guards Who Escorted Cory's Funeral Cortege Were Cited, Promoted

The four honor guards who escorted the remains of former President Corazon Aquino last Wednesday were proud to be part of the final journey of the late leader and icon of democracy.

From left, Navy Petty Officer 2 Edgardo Rodriguez, Army Pfc. Antonio Cadiente and Airman 2nd Class Gener Laguindan salute during a press presentation at Camp Aguinaldo yesterday. The three servicemen, along with Police Officer 1 Danilo Malab Jr. (far right), served as honor guards during the funeral procession for former President Corazon Aquino.

Police Officer 1 Danilo Malab Jr., 25, said his experience during the nine-hour-long funeral procession for Mrs. Aquino was one of the most memorable in his life.

Malab and three other honor guards – Army Pfc. Antonio Cadiente, Airman Second Class Gener Laguindan of the Air Force and Navy Petty Officer 3 Edgardo Rodriguez – have been receiving praise for displaying exceptional discipline in the performance of their extraordinary task.

Throughout the entire procession along the 20-kilometer stretch from the Manila Cathedral to Manila Memorial Park in Parañaque, the four honor guards remained standing at attention.

Malab, a member of the Philippine National Police-Headquarters Support Service (PNP-HSS), admitted that standing up straight on a moving truck for several hours was a difficult task but prayers for stamina, and determination to live up to the expectation of his superiors and a mourning nation kept him on his feet.

"Hindi ko na inisip yung matagal na oras ng pagtayo kasi ako yung tatayo para sa kapulisan, karangalan ko na lang yun bilang isang pulis mapagsilbihan si (I didn’t think about the long hours because I was standing for the police service, it was my honor as a policeman to serve) former President Aquino," said Malab who joined the PNP last June 1, 2008. "Dasal ako nang dasal para mabigyan ako ni God nang stamina (I kept prayig for stamina)."

Malab said he ate eggs and fried beef tapa for breakfast before they were deployed as early as 6 a.m. for the funeral procession.

PNP Promotes Honor Guard

PNP chief Director General Jesus Verzosa announced the promotion Malab to the next rank of PO2 after due deliberation.

"We are proud and consider it an honor for the PNP (to be part of the last moments of the former leader)," according to Verzosa.

Aside from Malab, nine ranking police officials served as pallbearers of the former president at the Manila Cathedral.

Malab said regular physical fitness exercises helped him and the three other honor guards to endure the rain and wind during the funeral procession.

He admitted that he moved his toes, but they all ignored the coins that hit them when bystanders threw coins at the coffin as part of a Filipino tradition for the dead.

Senior Inspector Jesus Manalo, who was in charge of the police team assigned to the security of the cortege, admitted that he never expected the funeral procession to last more than four hours.

"But the procession took a lot longer because of the number of people. We were worried about Danny (Malab), but we knew he could do it and he did not let us down," Manalo said in Filipino.

Manalo said his first words to Malab as soon as he alighted from the truck carrying President Aquino’s casket when it reached the gate of the Manila Memorial Park was, "Are you okay? What do you want?"

Malab said he ran towards a portable toilet set up near the gate of the memorial park.

While he was standing up there, Malab said he thought his wife Joan, who is working in Canada, was watching television and was very proud of his contribution to the historic event.

Malab’s parents Danilo Sr., and Alice were also watching the funeral procession at their hometown in Isabela and were also proud of their son’s contribution to Mrs. Aquino’s funeral.

Manalo said the HSS is proud of Malab, who will be given a weeklong vacation, which he will spend with his parents.

Drank Rain Water

Petty Officer 3 Rodriguez said they ignored bystanders talking to them or offering food and water to be able to perform their solemn duty to give honor to their former commander-in-chief. "Karangalan ng bansa na ang nakataya dito (The country’s honor was at stake here)," he said.

He added that he could not believe their efforts would catch public attention, including that of his wife Marissa and their three children.

Rodriguez said when they were thirsty, they simply drank rain water dripping from their faces.

Rodriguez added that at times, when they were about to break down, all four of them simply drew strength from the privilege given them to be by the late former president’s side, as well as from the thousands of well-wishers and supporters who showed up along the way.

"We have to perform some finger and foot exercises without being noticed so our muscles would not lock. Aside from being hungry, we just could not go to the toilet," Rodriguez said.

"When I got off the truck, I went to the police who all pointed to the portalets," Rodriguez said, adding that after going to the restroom he proceeded to their service vehicle to eat packed food prepared for them.

When he returned to Navy headquarters Rodriguez said he was surprised to see his colleagues all cheering him and asking for his autograph.

Volunteer For Duty

Laguindam, 24, volunteered to represent the Air Force in the honor guards after two of his colleagues were found to be unfit to stand as honor guards.

He said the first soldier was not that tall while the other one had just been hospitalized, "so I volunteered."

Laguindam, a resident of Magalang, Pampanga, was very proud to perform his duty, especially for the former president.

"I am very proud, of course, because it was former President Aquino," said Laguindam, who is detailed at the Air Force’s Honor Escort Battalion, which usually performs parade honors at Villamor Airbase.

Cadiente, 23, detailed at the Army’s Security and Escort Battalion based in Fort Bonifacio, said the tens of thousands of people watching and joining the funeral procession gave them strength for their job.

Cadiente said they were proud because they served a former commander-in-chief.

Meanwhile, Senators Rodolfo Biazon and Pia Cayetano said they were in favor of the proposal to grant commendations to the four honor guards.

"I’d agree to that," Biazon said. "The best they can get is military commendation medal, non-combat, the highest military merit medal."

Biazon believes that a military commendation medal award is appropriate for them and that there is no need for a congressional resolution.

Cayetano said she would file a resolution for their commendation, citing further that they were role models of what a public servant should be.

"They did their job well and I will file a resolution commending them because it is symbolic of what people in public service should do. Whatever your job is, do it well," Cayetano said.

AFP Cites Honor Guard Brigade

Lt. Col. Romeo Brawner Jr., Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Public Information Office (PIO) chief, said a brigade of honor guards assembled to provide full military honors to Mrs. Aquino would be lauded by their respective mother units, the Philippine Army (PA), Philippine Air Force (PAF) and the Philippine Navy (PN).

"For a job well done, commensurate awards and commendation will be accorded to the troops."

Brawner said that while they are elated by the public response to Laguindam, Rodriguez and Cadiente, the AFP leadership will also commend all those who participated in the full military honors for the late president.

"The military leadership is not singling out our three personnel who stood as honor guards but all AFP participants during the honors rendered to former President Aquino. All of them will receive medals and commendations, commensurate to their duties," Brawner said.

Aside from Metro Manila, AFP Chief Gen. Victor Ibrado also ordered all key military commands in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao to give the late president full military honors via a 21-gun salute.

Source: Cecile Suerte Felipe, The Philippine Star

Cory Aquino’s Funeral and Burial on August 5 is a Special Non-Working Holiday

Malacañang has declared Wednesday, August 5, 2009 the funeral and burial day of the remains of former Philippine President Corazon "Cory" Aquino as a special non-working holiday.

This will allow the nation to witness the moments before she is brought to her final resting place beside her late husband, Senator Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino, Jr. at the Manila Memorial Park.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has declared a 10-day period of national mourning from August 1 to August 10 over the death of Aquino through Proclamation No. 1850.

Former Philippine President Corazon Aquino Passes Away

Former President Corazon “Cory” Aquino, an icon of democracy around the world and leader of people power in the Philippines, passed away at 3:18 a.m. Saturday.

According to her son, Senator Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III, the official cause of death was cardiorespiratory arrest.

The 76-year-old former president was diagnosed with colon cancer in March of 2008 and was treated with chemotherapy. Last May, she underwent surgery to remove parts of her colon and was brought to the Makati Medical Center in June due to loss of appetite.

"She would have wanted us to thank each and everyone of you for all your continued love and support. It was her wish for all of us to pray for one another and for our country," Senator Aquino said.

Watch Senator Noynoy talks about her mother's death:

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo 2009 State of the Nation Address (SONA) Speech

Thank you, Speaker Nograles, Senate President Enrile, Senators, Representatives, Vice President de Castro, President Ramos, Chief Justice Puno, Ambassadors, friends:

The past twelve months have been a year for the history books. Financial meltdown in the West spread throughout the world...

Tens of millions lost their jobs; billions across the globe have been hurt—the poor always harder than the rich. No one was spared...

It has affected us already. But the story of the Philippines in 2008 is that the country weathered a succession of global crises in fuel, in food, then in finance and finally the economy in a global recession, never losing focus and with economic fundamentals intact...

A few days ago, Moody’s has just announced the upgrade of our credit rating, citing the resilience of our economy. The state of our nation is a strong economy. Good news for our people, bad news for our critics...

I did not become President to be popular. To work, to lead, to protect and preserve our country, our people, that is why I became President. When my father left the Presidency, we were second to Japan. I want our Republic to be ready for the first world in 20 years...

Towards that vision, we made key reforms. Our economic plan centers on putting people first. Higit sa lahat ang layunin ng ating mga patakaran ay tulungan ang masipag na karaniwang Pilipino. New tax revenues were put in place to help pay for better healthcare, more roads, a strong education system. Housing policies were designed to lift up our poorest citizens so they can live and raise a family with dignity. Ang ating mga puhunan sa agrikultura ay naglalayong kilalanin ang ating mga magsasaka bilang backbone ng ating bansa, at bigyan sila ng mga modernong kagamitan to feed our nation and feed their own family...

Had we listened to the critics of those policies, had we not braced ourselves for the crisis that came, had we taken the easy road much preferred by politicians eyeing elections, this country would be flat on its back. It would take twice the effort just to get it back again on its feet—to where we are now because we took the responsibility and paid the political price of doing the right thing. For standing with me and doing the right thing, thank you, Congress...

The strong, bitter and unpopular revenue measures of the past few years have spared our country the worst of the global financial shocks. They gave us the resources to stimulate the economy. Nabigyan nila ang pinakamalaking pagtaas ng IRA ng mga LGU na P40 billion itong taon, imparting strength throughout the country and at every level of government...

Compared to the past, we have built more and better infrastructure, including those started by others but left unfinished. The Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway is a prime example of building better roads. It creates wealth as the flagship of the Subic-Clark corridor.

We have built airports of international standard, upgraded domestic airports, built seaports and the RORO system. I ask Congress for a Philippine Transport Security Authority Law...

Some say that after this SONA, it will be all politics. Sorry, but there’s more work...

Sa telecommunications naman, inatasan ko ang Telecommunications Commission na kumilos na tungkol sa mga sumbong na dropped calls at mga nawawalang load sa cellphone. We need to amend the Commonwealth-era Public Service Law. And we need to do it now...

Kung noong nakaraan, lumakas ang electronics, today we are creating wealth by developing the BPO and tourism sectors as additional engines of growth. Electronics and other manufactured exports rise and fall in accordance with the state of the world economy. But BPO remains resilient. With earnings of $6 billion and employment of 600,000, the BPO phenomenon speaks eloquently of our competitiveness and productivity. Let us have a Department of ICT...

In the last four years tourism almost doubled. It is now a $5 billion industry...
Our reforms gave us the resources to protect our people, our financial system and our economy from the worst of shocks that the best in the west failed to anticipate...

They gave us the resources to do reforms para palawakin ang suportang panlipunan and enhance spending power....For helping e raise salaries through joint resolution, thank you Congress.

Cash handouts give the most immediate relief and produce the widest stimulating effect. Nakikinabang ang 700,000 na pinakamahihirap na pamilya sa programang Pantawid Pamilya.

Our preference is to invest in projects with the same stimulus effects but also with long-term contributions to national progress...

Sa pagpapamahagi ng milyun-milyong ektaryang lupa, 700,000 na katutubo at mahigit isang milyong benepisyaryo ng CARP ay taas-noong may-ari na ng sariling lupa. Hinihiling ko sa Kongreso na ipasa agad ang pagpapalawig ng CARP, at dapat ma-condone ang P42 billion na land reform liabilities dahil 18% lamang ang nabayaran mula 1972. Napapanahon dahil it will unfreeze the rural property market. Ang mahal kong ama ang nag-emancipate ng mga magsasaka. Ii-mancipate naman natin ngayon ang titulo...

Nakinabang ang pitong milyong entrepreneurs sa P165 billion na microfinance. Nakinabang ang 1,000 sa economic resiliency plan. Kasama natin ngayon ang isa sa kanila, si Gigi Gabiola. Dating household service worker sa Dubai, ngayon siya ay nagtatrabaho sa DOLE. Good luck, Gigi...

Nakinabang ang isang milyong pamilya sa programang pabahay at palupa, mula sa PAG-IBIG, NHA, community mortgage program, certificates of lot awards, at saka yung inyong Loan Condonation and Restructuring Act...

Our average inflation is the lowest since 1966. Last June, it dropped to 1.5%. Paano nakamit ito? Proper policies lowered interest rates, which lowered costs to business and consumers.

Dahil sa ating mga reporma, nakaya nating ibenta ang bigas NFA sa P18.25 per kilo kahit tumaas ang presyo sa labas mula P17.50 hanggang P30 dahil sa kakulangan ng supply sa mundo. Habang, sa unang pagkakataon, naitaas ang pamimili ng palay sa mga magsasaka, P17 mula sa P11...

Dahil sa ating mga reporma, nakaya nating mamuhunan sa pagkain—anticipating an unexpected global food crisis. Nakagawa tayo ng libu-libong kilometro ng farm-to-market roads at kasama ng pribadong sector, natubigan ang dalawang milyong ektarya. Mga Badjao gaya ni Tarnati Dannawi ay tinuruan ng modernong mariculture. Umabot na sa P180,000 ang kinita niya mula noong nakaraang taon. Congratulations, Tarnati. We will help more fisherfolk shift to fish farming with a budget of P1 billion...

Dahi dumarami na naman daw ang pamilyang nagugutom, mamumuhunan tayo ng bago sa Hunger Mitgation program na nakitang mabisa. Tulungan nito ako dito Kongreso...

Mula noong 2001, Nanawagan tayo ng mas murang gamot. Nagbebenta na tayo ng mga gamot na kalahating presyo sa libu-libong Botika ng Bayan at Botika ng Barangay sa maraming dako ng bansa. Our efforts prodded the pharmaceutical companies to come up with low-cost generics and brands like RiteMed. I supported the tough version of the House of the Cheaper Medicine Law. I supported it over the weak version of my critics. The result: the drug companies volunteered to bring down drug prices, slashing by half the prices of 16 drugs. Thank you, Congressman Cua, Alvarez, Biron and Locsin...

Pursuant to law, I am placing other drugs under a maximum retail price. To those who want to be President, this advice: If you want something done, do it hard, do it well. Don’t pussyfoot. Just do it. Don't say bad words in public.

Sa health insurance, sakop na ang 86% ng ating populasyon...

Sa Rent Control Law ng 2005 hanggang 2008, hanggang sampung porsyento lang maaaring itaas taon-taon ang upa. Iyong kakapirma nating batas naglagay ng isang taong moratorium, tapos pitong porsyento lang ang maaaring itaas. Salamat, Kongreso....
Noong isang taon, nabiyayaan ng tig-P500 ang mahigit pitong milyong tahanan bilang Katas ng Pantawid Koryente para sa mga small electricity users...

Iyong power rates, ang EPIRA natin ang pangmatagalang sagot. EPIRA dismantled monopoly. But minana natin iyong power purchase agreements under preceding administrations, so hindi pa natin makuha iyong buong intended effect. Pero happy na rin tayo, dahil isang taon na lamang iyan. The next generation will benefit from low prices from our EPIRA. Thank you...

Samantala, umabot na sa halos lahat ng barangay ang elektrisidad. We increased indigenous energy from 48% to 58%. Nakatipid tayo sa dollars tapos malaki pa ang na-reduce pa iyong oil consumption. The huge reduction in fossil fuel is the biggest proof of energy independence and environmental responsibility. Further reduction will come with the implementation of the Renewable Energy Act...and the Biofuels Act....again, thank you.

The next generation will also benefit from our lower public debt to GDP ratio. It declined from 78% in 2000 to 55% in 2008. We cut in half the debt of government corporations from 15% to 7. Likewise foreign debt from 73% to 32%. Kung meron man tayong malaking kaaway na tinalo, walang iba kundi ang utang, iyong foreign debt. Past administrations conjured the demon of foreign debt. We exorcised it...

The market grows economies. A free market, not a free-for-all...

To that end, we improved our banking system to complement its inherent conservatism. The Bangko Sentral has been prudent. Thank you, Governor Tetangco, for being so effective. The BSP will be even more effective if Congress will amend its Charter....
We worked on the Special Purpose Vehicle Act, reducing non-performing loans from 18% to 4% and improving loan-deposit ratios...

Our new Securitization Law did not encourage the recklessness that brought down giant banks and insurance companies elsewhere and laid their economies to waste. In fact, it monitors and regulates the new-fangled financial schemes. Thank you, Congress...

We will work to increase tax effort through improved collections and new sin taxes to further our capacity to reduce poverty and pursue growth. Revenue enhancement must come from the Department of Finance plugging leaks and catching tax and customs cheats. I call on tax-paying citizens and tax-paying businesses: help the BIR and Customs spot those cheats...

Taxes should come from alcohol and tobacco and not from books. Tax hazards to lungs and livers, do not tax minds. Ang kita mula sa buwis sa alak at sigarilyo ay dapat pumunta sa kalusugan at edukasyon. Sa kalusugan, pondohan ang Philhealth premiums ng pinakamahihirap. Ponhodhan ang mas maraming classroom at computers...

Pardon my partiality for the teaching profession. I was a teacher...

Kaya namuhunan tayo ng malaki sa edukasyon at skills training...

Ang magandang edukasyon ay susi sa mas mabuting buhay, the great equalizer that allows every young Filipino a chance to realize their dreams...

Nagtayo tayo ng 95,000 na silid-aralan, nagdagdag ng 60,000 na guro, naglaan ng P1.5 billion para sa teacher training, especially for 100,000 English teachers. Isa sa pinakamahirap na Millennium Development Goals ay iyong Edukasyon para sa Lahat pagdating ng 2015, na nangunguhulugang lahat ng nasa edad ay nasa grade school. Halos walang bansang nakakatupad nito. Ngunit nagsisikap tayo. Binaba natin ang gastos ng pagpasok. Nagtayo tayo ng mga eskwela sa higit isang libong barangay na dati walang eskwelahan, upang makatipid ng gastos ng pasahe ang mga bata. Tinanggal natin ang miscellaneous fees para sa primary school.

Hindi na kailangan ang uniporme sa mga estudyante sa public schools...

We assist financially half of all students in private high schools...

We have provided 600,000 college and post-graduate scholarships. One of them Mylene Amerol-Macumbal, finished Accounting at MSU-IIT, went to law school, and placed second in the last bar exams--the first Muslim woman bar topnotcher. Congratulations...

In technical education and skills training, we have invested three times that of three previous administrations combined. Narito si Jennifer Silbor, isa sa sampung milyong trainee. Natuto siya ng medical transcription. Now, as an independent contractor and lecturer for transcriptions in Davao, kumikita siya ng P18,000 bawat buwan. Good job.

The Presidential Task Force on Education headed by Jesuit educator Father Bienvenido Nebres has come out with the Main Education Highway towards a Knowledge-Based Economy. It envisions seamless education from basic to vocational school or college...

It seeks to mainstream early childhood development in basic education. Our children are our most cherished possession. In their early years we must make sure they get a healthy start in life. They must receive the right food for a healthy body, the right education for a bright and inquiring mind—and the equal opportunity for a meaningful job...

For college admission, the Task Force recommends mandatory Scholastic Aptitude Tests. It also recommends that private higher education institutions and state universities and colleges should be harmonized. It also recommends that CHED will oversee of local universities and colleges. For professions seeking international recognition—engineering, architecture, accountancy, pharmacy and physical therapy—it recommends radical reform: 10 years of basic education, two years of pre-university, three years of university...

Our educational system should make the Filipino fit not just for whatever jobs happen to be on offer today, but also for whatever economic challenge life will throw in their way...

Sa hirap at ginhawa, ang ating overseas Filipinos ay pinapatatag ang ating bansa. Iyong padala nilang $16 billion noong isang taon ay record. Itong taon, mas mataas pa...

I know that this is not a sacrifice joyfully borne. This is work where it can be found—in faraway places, among strangers with different cultures. It is lonely work, it is very hard work...

Kaya nagsisikap tayong lumikha ng mga trabahong maganda ang bayad dito sa atin so that overseas work will just be a career choice, not the only option for a hardworking Filipino in search of a better life...

Meanwhile, we should make their sacrifices worthwhile. Dapat gumawa tayo ng mga mas malakas na paraan upang proteksyonan at palawak ang halaga ng kanilang pinagsikapang sweldo. That means stronger consumer protection for OFWs investing in property and products back home. Para sa kanila, pinapakilos natin ang Investors Protection Task Force...

Hindi ako nag-aatubiling bisitahin ang ating taong bayan at ang kanilang mga hosts sa buong mundo – mula Hapon...hanggang Brazil, mula Europa at Middle East hanggang sa American Midwest, nakikinig sa kanilang mga problema at pangangailangan, inaalam kung paano matulungan sila n gating pamahalaan—-by working out better policies on migrant labor, or by saving lives and restoring liberty...

Pagpunta ko sa Saudi, pinatawad ni Haring Abdullah ang pitong daang OFW na nasa preso. Pinuno nila ang isang buong eroplano at umuwi kasama ko...

Mula sa ating State Visit to Spain, it has become our biggest European donor. At si Haring Juan Carlos ay nakikipag-usap sa ibang mga bansa para sa ating mga namomoblemang OFW. Ganoon di si Sheikh Khalifa, ang Prime Minister ng Bahrain...

Pagpunta ko sa Kuwait, Emir al-Sabah commuted death sentences. For overseas workers, maraming salamat.

Our vigorous international engagement has helped bring in foreign investment. Net foreign direct investments multiplied 15 times during our administration.

Kasama ng ating mga Together with our OFWs, they more than doubled our foreign exchange reserves. Pinalakas ang ating piso at naiwasan ang lubhang pagtaasng presyo. They upgraded our credit because our reserves grew by $3 billion while those of our peers have shrunk...

Our international engagement has also corrected historical injustice. The day we visited Washington, Senator Daniel Inouye successfully sponsored benefits for our veterans as part of America’s fiscal stimulus package...

I have accepted the invitation of President Obama to be the first Southeast Asian leader to meet him at the White House, this week...

That he sought us the Philippines testifies to our strong and deep ties...

High on our agenda will be peace and security issues. Terrorism: how to meet it, how to end it, how to address its roots in injustice and prejudice—and most and always how to protect lives...

We will also discuss nuclear non-proliferation. The Philippines will chair the review of the nuclear weapons non-proliferation Treaty in New York in May 2010. The success of the talks will be a major diplomatic achievement for us...

There is a range of other issues we will discuss, including the global challenge of climate change, especially the threat to countries with long coastlines. And there is the global recession, its worse impact on poor people, and the options that can spare them from the worst.

In 2008 up to the first quarter of 2009 we stood among only a few economies in Asia-Pacific that did not shrink. Compare this in 2001, when some of my current critics were driven out by people power, Asia was then surging but our country was on the brink of bankruptcy...

Since then, our economy has posted uninterrupted growth for 33 quarters; more than doubled its size from $76 billion to $186 billion. The average GDP growth from 2001 to the first quarter of 2009 is the highest in 43 years.

Bumaba ang bilang ng nagsasabing mahihirap sila, mula 59% sa 47%. Kahit na lumaki ang ating populasyon, nabawasan ng dalawang milyon ang bilang ng mahihirap. GNP per capita rose from a Third World $967 to $2,051. Lumikha tayo ng walong milyong trabaho, an average of a million per year, much, much more than at any other time...

In sum:

1. We have a strong economy in a strong fiscal position to withstand political shocks.

2. We built new modern infrastructure and completed unfinished ones.

3. The economy is more fair to the poor than ever before.

4. We are building a sound base for the next generation.

5. International authorities have taken notice that we are safer from environmental degradation and man-made disasters.

As a country in the path of typhoons and in the Pacific Rim of Fire, we must be as prepared as the latest technology permits to anticipate natural calamities when that is possible; to extend immediate and effective relief when it is not….The mapping of flood- and landslide-prone areas is almost complete. Early warning, forecasting and monitoring systems have been improved, with weather tracking facilities in Subic, Tagaytay, Mactan, Mindanao, Pampanga...

We have worked on flood control infrastructure like those for Pinatubo, Agno, Laoag, and Abucay, which will pump the run off waters from Quezon City and Tondo flooding Sampaloc. This will help relieve hundreds of hectares in this old city of its age-old woe...

Patuloy naman iyong sa Camanava, dagdag sa Pinatubo, Iloilo, Pasig-Marikina, Bicol River Basin, at mga river basin ng Mindanao...

The victims of typhoon Frank in Panay should receive their long-overdue assistance package. I ask Congress to pass the SNITS Law...

Namana natin ang pinakamatagal ng rebelyon ng Komunista sa buong mundo.

Si Leah de la Cruz isa sa labindalawang libong rebel returnee. Sixteen pa lang siya nang sumali sa NPA. Naging kasapi sa regional White Area Committee, napromote sa Leyte Party Committee Secretary. Nahuli noong 2006. She is now involved in an LGU-supported handicraft livelihood training of former rebels. We love you, Leah!
There is now a good prospect for peace talks both with both the Communist Party of the Philippines and the MILF, with whom we are now on ceasefire...

We inherited an age-old conflict in Mindanao, exacerbated by a politically popular but near-sighted policy of massive retaliation. This only provoked the other side to continue the war...

In these two internal conflicts, ang tanong ay hindi, "Sino ang mananalo?" kundi, bakit ba kailangang mag-away ang kapwa Pilipino tungkol sa mga isyu na alam ng dalawang panig over issues na malulutas naman sa paraang demokratiko.

There is nothing more that I would wish for than peace in Mindanao. It will be a blessing for all its people, Muslim, Christian and lumads. It will show other religiously divided communities that there can be common ground on which to live together in peace, harmony and cooperation that respects each other’s religious beliefs...

At sa lahat ng dako ng bansa, kailangan nating protektahan an gating mamamayan kontra sa krimen -- in their homes, in their neighborhoods, in their communities.
How shall crime be fought? Through the five pillars of justice. We call on Congress to fund more policemen on the streets...

Real government is about looking beyond the vested to the national interest, setting up the necessary conditions to enable the next, more enabled and more empowered generation to achieve a country as prosperous, a people as content, as ours deserve to be...

The noisiest critics of constitutional reform tirelessly and shamelessly attempted Cha-Cha when they thought they could take advantage of a shift in the form of government. Now that they feel they cannot benefit from it, they oppose it.
As the process of fundamental political reform begins, let us address the highest exercise of democracy...voting!

In 2001, I said we would finance fully automated elections. We got it, thanks to Congress...

At the end of this speech I shall step down from this stage...but not from the Presidency. My term does not end until next year. Until then, I will fight for the ordinary Filipino. The nation comes first. There is much to do as head of state—to the very last day...

A year is a long time. Patuloy ang pamumuhunan sa tinatawag na three E’s ng ekonomiya, environment at edukasyon. There are many perils that we must still guard against...

A man-made calamity is already upon us, global in scale. As I said earlier, so far we have been spared its worst effects but we cannot be complacent. We only know that we have generated more resources on which to draw, and thereby created options we could take. Thank God we did not let our critics stop us...

As the campaign unfolds and the candidates take to the airwaves, I ask them to talk more about how they will build up the nation rather than tear down their opponents. Our candidates must understand the complexities of our government and what it takes to move the country forward. Give the electorate real choices and not just sweet talk...

Meanwhile, I will keep a steady hand on the tiller, keeping the ship of state away from the shallows some prefer, and steering it straight on the course I set in 2001...

Ang ating taong bayan ay masipag at maka-Diyos. These qualities are epitomized in someone like Manny Pacquiao....Manny trained tirelessly, by the book, with iron discipline, with the certain knowledge that he had to fight himself, his weaknesses first, before he could beat his opponent. That was the way to clinch his victories and his ultimate title: ang pinakadakilang boksingero sa kasaysayan..........Mabuhay ka, Manny!

However much a President wishes it, a national problem cannot be knocked out with a single punch. A President must work with the problem as much as against it, and turn it into a solution if I can...

There isn’t a day I do not work at my job or a waking moment when I do not think through a work-related problem. Even my critics cannot begrudge the long hours I put in. Our people deserve-a-government that works just as hard as they do...
A President must be on the job 24/7, ready for any contingency, any crisis, anywhere, anytime...

Everything right can be undone by even a single wrong. Every step forward must be taken in the teeth of political pressures and economic constraints that could push you two steps back-if-you flinch and falter.. I have not flinched, I have not faltered. Hindi ako umaatras sa hamon...

And I have never done any of the things that have scared my worst critics so much. They are frightened by their own shadows...

In the face of attempted coups, I issued emergency proclamations just in case. But I was able to resolve these military crises with the ordinary powers of my office. My critics call it dictatorship. I call it determination.... We know it as strong government...

But I never declared martial law, though they are running scared as if I did. In truth, what they are really afraid of is their weakness in the face of this self-imagined threat...

I say to them: do not tell us what we all know, that democracy can be threatened. Tell us what you will do when it is attacked...

I know what to do:

I know what to do, as I have shown, I will defend democracy with arms when it is threatened by violence; with firmness when it is weakened by division; with law and order where it is subverted by anarchy; and always, I will try to sustain it by wise policies of economic progress, so that a democracy means not just an empty liberty but a full life for all...

I never expressed the desire to extend myself beyond my term. Many of those who accuse me of it tried to cling like nails to their posts...

I am accused of misgovernance. Many of those who accuse me of it left me the problem of their misgovernance to solve. And we did it...

I am falsely accused, without proof, of using my office for personal profit. Many of those who accuse me of it have lifestyles and spending habits that make them walking proofs of that crime...

We can read their frustrations. They had the chance to serve this good country and they blew it by serving themselves...

Those who live in glass houses should cast no stones. Those who should be in jail should not threaten it, especially if they have been there...

Our administration, with the highest average rate of growth, recording multiple increases in investments, with the largest job creation in history, and which gets a credit upgrade at the height of a world recession, must be doing something right, even if some of those cocooned in corporate privilege refuse to recognize it...

Governance, however, is not about looking back and getting even. It is about looking forward and giving more—to the people who gave us the greatest, hardest gift of all: the care of a country.

From Bonifacio at Balintawak to Cory Aquino at EDSA and up to today, we have struggled to bring power to the people, and this country to the eminence it deserves...

Today the Philippines is weathering well the storm that is raging around the world. It is growing stronger with the challenge. When the weather clears, as it will, there is no telling how much farther forward it can go. Believe in it. I believe...

We can and we must-march-forward-with-hope, optimism and determination.

We must come together, work together and walk together toward the future.

Bagamat malaking hamon ang nasa ating harapan, nasa kamay natin ang malaking kakayahan. Halina’t pagtulungan nating tiyakin ang karapat-dapat na kinabukasan ng ating Inang Bayan...

And to the people of our good country, for allowing me to serve as your President, maraming salamat. Mabuhay ang Pilipinas.