We condemn cheating in any form.

This confirms our statement of June 2, that if ever there were some instances of cheating and violation of election law by political parties in their areas, these did not affect the voting in general.

Our people must move ahead with faith and hope. Fired up by love of country, we are called to develop a culture of integrity, to participate in national transformation, to build up the conditions for peace, to intensify our fight against corruption, and to monitor the performance of our elected officials.

by CBCP President Archbishop Fernando Capalla*
Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP)

Senator Villar and I sat down and discussed the matter of the Senate presidency. After reviewing all our options, we thought it is best that we set aside our personal aspirations and work together to vigorously pursue the legislative agenda to address the looming financial crisis that we face.

We believe that our personal aspirations should be subordinated to the greater national interest. Our egos are nothing compared to what we face as a country if we can’t put our acts together. It is on this premise that we have agreed, after a very friendly discussion, that Senator Villar will support my presidency in the Senate for the first and second regular sessions of the 13th Congress, and that, I, in return will support Senator Villar’s Senate presidency for the third regular session of the 13th Congress beginning July 2006.

by Senate President Franklin Drilon*

We didn't want to add more to the country's problems. There's the problem in Iraq, there's the looming fiscal crisis, and there's a lot of bickering ... It's a great deal if we think of the nation first in the face of these problems.

by Sen. Manuel Villar*

The proposal for a term-sharing agreement was raised before the elections.

Sen. Francis Pangilinan*
Liberal Party Vice-President and Senate majority leader

Term-sharing has been the direction of the negotiations from the start. The only question then was who would serve for two years, and who would preside in the remaining year.

Juan FlavierFlavier*
Senate pro tempore

There are good signals that the extension of the deadline has been given (for) another 48 hours. Through the efforts of our close friends and contacts who, like us, hope to resolve this matter with no loss of life, additional time has been obtained within which discussions can continue. We are thankful that (De la Cruz) remains alive and, as we understand it, will be treated under existing civilized rules. We shall endeavor, as best as we can and as circumstances permit, to keep the public informed of crucial developments.

by Labor Secretary Patricia Sto. Tomas*
where she was accompanying De la Cruz's wife and brother in Dubai

There are 10 Filipino drivers who have been stranded in Iraq for several days, unable to reach the border and cross back into Saudi Arabia due to the lack of Iraqi police escorts. We are concerned that they are running out of money and provisions.

by Telecoms Engineer Rashid Fabricante*
member of a crisis intervention group

In response to the demand by the group Khaled ibn al-Walid (Islamic army in Iraq), the Philippine government... will pull its humanitarian forces out of Iraq swiftly, in the time it takes to carry out the necessary preparation for their return to the Philippines. In the name of the Filipino people and the name of humanity and the family of de la Cruz and his eight children, the government of the Philippines is pleading for his release.

PHILIPPINE deputy foreign secretary Rafael Seguis*
as told with the Qatar-based Arabic television channel

The Philippine government deserves the harshest possible judgment from history. It deserves nothing but the disgust and condemnation of free people. Some new Dante is needed to write the sorry story of the Chamberlains, the Zapateros, and the Gloria Macapagal Arroyos, along with all the other besotted do-gooders who brought Peace to Our Time. But such may not emerge until some distant future when the Dark Ages of the Sharia rule that is sure to come to the Philippines and elsewhere begin to recede.

Jihadwatch.org

This court, therefore, believes that allowing movant (President Joseph 'Erap' Estrada) to be detained at his rest house will serve to promote and protect the public interest.

As a condition to the grant of herein motion is that movant will not promote, provoke or support, in any manner, any public disturbance or allow his name to be used in whipping up a feeling of discontent; otherwise, he will be brought back to Camp Capinpin or to the VMMC (Veterans Memorial Medical Center) as the circumstance would warrant.

Estrada is not like any other prisoner. His case is unique. He is a former president whose continuing political clout this court takes a judicial notice of... Other fallen heads of state are likewise treated differently because of their role in influencing the peace and order situation in their country, among other things.

Precisely, he is being prosecuted separately for perjury for failure to disclose his bank account. Precisely, as well, the act of accumulating alleged commissions, gifts, shares, etc., and depositing the same under his name 'Jose Velarde' is being used against him in plunder.

A reasonable scrutiny of the laws as applied to the present case has indubitably led this court to conclude that the use of an alias within the context of a bank transaction is protected by the secrecy provisions of RA 1405, until the passage into law of RA 9160.

by Presiding Justice Minita Chico-Nazario*
the Sandiganbayan special division said in a 19-page resolution

Public perception is that Estrada is being given special treatment.

by Assistant Ombudsman Dennis Villa-Ignacio*
who will file a motion for reconsideration this week
to stop Estrada move to rest house

It's politics. It's the culprit behind the forced resignations of Cito Lorenzo, Joey Lina (former secretary of the interior and local government) and (Social Welfare Secretary) Dinky Soliman. She (Gloria Arroyo) lost in these areas, where she expected to win. And she's taking it against Cito, who has performed creditably as agriculture secretary.

by opposition Sen. Aquilino Pimentel Jr.*
Senator, Philippines

Ano ba ang problema nila, dumaan na sa proseso? Hindi naman nakakaapekto yan eh kaya lang nakakainis kung mabasa ng kaibigan natin at mga anak natin. Ayoko na lang ma-promote kung ganyan ang salita.

Senior Superintendent Ricardo Dapat*
Philippine National Police Maritime Group director

We are giving the highest political priority to providing solutions to the problems of the nation. This is a time-bound challenge to the leaders of the Senate.

Speaker Jose de Venecia*
House of Representatives, Philippines

If the rules are passed in the caucuses, it would greatly reduce the amount of time we devote to their approval in plenary. We are not writing a new Constitution, we are amending the present one, and we don’t need a convention to do that because the Constitution specifically provides for a constituent assembly of Congress to amend the Charter.

Cagayan de Oro Rep. Constantino Jaraula*
House of Representatives, Philippines

The welfare of the country and the people remains the paramount interest of the Speaker - as is proven by his decision to give priority to economic measures without necessarily giving up on the equally important Charter change bid.

Reps. Joseph Ace Durano of Cebu*
Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC), Philippines

The 72% rate puts the Philippines among the 10 highest in the region. It shows that software piracy continues to be a major problem in the country. If not reduced significantly, it would continue to be detrimental to the development of the ICT industry and of the Philippine economy as a whole.

by Ronald Chua*
chair of the BSA Philippines Committee

Economies in the Asia Pacific region are still confronted with the challenge of combating software piracy and it is in the interest of governments in the region to drive down software piracy.

by Jeffrey Hardee*
Vice President and Regional Director, Asia Pacific, BSA

We remain optimistic that software piracy rate in the Philippines will go down with continuous cooperation between the government and various industry groups. We also call on private organizations to adopt a software asset management policy to avoid software license misuse.

by Ronald Chua*
chair of the BSA Philippines Committee

Piracy continues to be a significant problem through Asia Pacific, as evidenced by the region's representation among the world's piracy leaders. Unfortunately, this same piracy is also hurting the region's competitiveness. The revenues that are lost to piracy are vital to the success and survival of smaller, local software developers and that ultimately undermines the region’s ability to develop new products and compete in the global market.

by Martin Kralik*
senior research manager for Asia Pacific consulting at IDC

BSA will continue to work with governments across Asia Pacific to encourage them to enact policies to protect software intellectual property and to implement programs to educate businesses and consumers about the importance of copyright protection for creative works. Lowering the piracy rate will stimulate local economic activity, generate government revenue, create job growth and cultivate future innovation.

by Jeffrey Hardee*
Vice President and Regional Director, Asia Pacific, BSA