PHILIPPINE EMBASSY NEWS RELEASE15/JUN/071. PGMA certifies bill seeking 10-year extension of agrarianreform law2. Statement of Secretary Ignacio R. Bunye Re: Courtesy resignations3. Report on Cabinet revamp totally inaccurate — Bunye4. PGMA continues visitations of Metro Manila barangays

1. PGMA certifies bill seeking 10-year extension of agrarianreform lawPresident Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on Friday certified as urgent abill seeking a 10-year extension of the Comprehensive AgrarianReform Law (CARL) to 2018.The CARL, or Republic Act (RA) 6657 which took effect in 1988,expires next year.Agrarian Reform Secretary Nasser Pangandaman announced thePresident’s decision during the celebration of the 19thanniversary of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP)at Malacaٌang’s Rizal Hall this morning.Pangandaman said the 10-year extension would allow the governmentto fully cover the remaining two million hectares still to beplaced under the CARP that will benefit an additional twomillion farmers.Seven million hectares have already been placed under CARP since1988, benefiting about four million farmers.Thus far, the CARP support services have created 500,000 jobs in infrastructure, Pangandaman said.CARP envisions “to make the countryside economically viable forthe Filipino family by building opportunities toward lastingpeace and sustainable rural development.”The President has time and again said that land ownership can endpoverty in developing countries like the Philippines.In today’s celebration of CARP’s 19th anniversary, thePresident handed out awards to outstanding stakeholders who havecontributed to the successful implementation of the CARP.Leading the awardees was Nelson Taladhay Sr. of Masiag AgrarianReform Community (ARC) in Bagumbayan, Sultan Kudarat.The other awardees were KENKRAM Agrarian Reform BeneficiariesMulti-Purpose Cooperative of Isulan, Sultan Kudarat as theProgressive ARB Organization;KENKRAM Mapantig ARC of Isulan as the Outstanding Agrarian ReformCommunity; and the Del Carmen Irrigators’ Association ofPresident Roxas, Cotabato as the Outstanding CARP IrrigatorsAssociation.Foreign donor-countries and financial institutions that havesupported the implementation of CARP, including the Japan Bankfor International Cooperation (JBIC), the Asian Development Bank(ADB) and the World Bank (WB), received plagues of appreciation.

2. Statement of Secretary Ignacio R. Bunye Re: CourtesyresignationsJust to set the record straight, the President has indeed askedfor the courtesy resignations of top officials ofgovernment-owned and controlled corporations (GOCCs), includinggovernment financial institutions (GFIs).However, any news purporting to expand the coverage of the orderto include members of the Cabinet is totally inaccurate.No such order (asking the resignation of Cabinet members) wasmade. The President was very specific. She was just referring toGOCCs and GFIs.Secretary (Peter) Favila and I were both present when she gavethe instructions to Secretary (Gary) Teves last Saturday.

3. Report on Cabinet revamp totally inaccurate — BunyeMalacaٌang branded today as “totally inaccurate” a publishedreport that two members of the Cabinet are on their way out inan impending revamp of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’sofficial family.”Just to set the record straight, the President has indeed askedfor the courtesy resignations of top officials of thegovernment-owned and controlled corporations (GOCCs), includinggovernment financial institutions (GFIs),” Press Secretary andPresidential Spokesman Ignacio R. Bunye said in a statement today.”However, any news purporting to expand the coverage of the orderto include members of the Cabinet is totally inaccurate,” hesaid.Bunye said the President had made no order to members of herofficial family to submit their courtesy resignations. “ThePresident was very specific. She was just referring to the GOCCsand GFIs,” he added.The Malacanang official asserted that he should know. “Secretary(Peter) Favila and I were both present when (the President) gavethe instructions to Secretary (Gary) Teves last Saturday” fortop officials of GOCCs and GFIs to submit their courtesyresignations.Just yesterday, Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita dismissedspeculations that the poor showing of Team Unity candidates inthe May 14 election was the reason behind the forthcoming revampof top leaders of GOCCs and GFIs.The President had asked for the courtesy resignations of GOCC andGFI top officials so she would have a free hand in choosingtheir replacements whom she believes would infuse new impetus,direction and greater efficiency in the operations of thegovernment corporate agencies.The impending changes of some top officials of GOCCs and GFIshave nothing to do whatsoever with the outcome of the lastelection, Ermita stressed.

4. PGMA continues visitations of Metro Manila barangaysPresident Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo continued today her almostdaily visitations of Metro Manila barangays to check the livingconditions of the residents and the peace and order situation inthe metropolis.The President, accompanied by the representatives of differentconcerned agencies, visited Barangay 594, Zone 5, Road 1 cornerRoad 2 in Sta. Mesa, Manila around 11:00 this morning.This was the fourth Manila barangay she visited in a week’stime in her efforts to bring the government closer to themasses. The first barangay she visited on June 8 was Barangay579, Zone 56, Buenos Aires, Sampaloc, Manila. This was followedby Barangay 586, Zone 57, Santol-Ramon Magsaysay Boulevard, Sampaloc, the next day, June 9. Then two days after, on June 11,the President interacted with residents of Barangay 593, Zone58, District VI, Sta. Mesa.In her visit this morning to Barangay 594, Zone 5 Road 1 cornerRoad 2 in Sta. Mesa, the President awarded a Certificate toOperate a Tindahan Natin store to Lolita Toledo and 100 TESDA(Technical Education and Skills Development Authority)Scholarship Vouchers to Barangay 594 Chairman Jose Toledo.As she continued to move around, she inspected a “Botika ngBayan” that sells cheap basic medicines and food supplementslike multivitamins, cough syrups, paracetamol and herbalmedicines.After the awarding, the President, together with theheads/representatives of concerned agencies, made an informalinteraction with the barangay officials inside the Barangay HallIn their informal meeting, the President assured the barangayofficials that she already tasked the Department of SocialWelfare and Development (DSWD) to provide additional livelihoodprojects to indigent residents.She also informed them that she instructed Metro ManilaDevelopment Authority (MMDA) Chairman Bayani Fernando tosupervise the installation of streetlights and the possibleconstruction of overpass/pedestrian lane along Magsaysay Blvd. near SM Center Point and Light Rail Transit (KRT) -2 V. MapaStation.The President also told them that she directed Manila PoliceDistrict (MPD) Director Sr. Supt. Danilo Abarzosa to strengthenpolice visibility in the area in order to resolve the problemson snatchers and holdup men.