GMA to hold first Cabinet meet in 2002 in Maguindanao

President Arroyo will hold her first Cabinet meeting for the year in Maguindanao on Friday, as she embarks on visits to provinces and "new towns" aimed at reaching out to people in far-flung areas.

From Baguio City, where the First Family spent the Christmas holidays, the President will visit towns in Leyte and Masbate today. Later in the week, she will fly to Sorsogon and then to Maguindanao.

Mrs. Arroyo said people mired in poverty and those coping daily with threats from rebels "need to see the face of government there."

"When they see the Pre-sident, at least they know somebody is looking after them," she said.

Such visits will serve as a "trigger" for other government officials to visit far-flung places, she added.

Mrs. Arroyo lashed out at critics who said the provincial visits were part of her political strategy to win votes for the presidency in May 2004.

She cited her recent visit to the new town of Barig in Mountain Province last Saturday.

"I don’t know if there are 2,000 voters there. Are you going there to politick?" she asked.

Her first trip takes her to Palo, Leyte, where she will address the closing ceremonies of the 12th national jamboree of the Boy Scouts of the Philippines. She will then proceed to Barangay Limbuhan Daku in Tanauan to inaugurate the Lobi Bridge.

She next flies to Masbate and visit the towns of Milagrosa and Pio V. Cruz to meet with local officials.

Tomorrow, she is scheduled to visit the new town of Sta. Magdalena in Sorsogon as well as the towns of Juban and Casiguran. She will also meet with local officials in Jovellar, Albay.

On Friday, the President will fly to Maguindanao and visit the town of Paglat before proceeding to the Estosan Hotel for a Cabinet meeting. She will attend an informal dinner with the newly elected officials of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), led by Gov. Parouk Hussin.

The next day, she will lead ceremonies installing Hussin and other ARMM officials at the Shariff Kabunsuan complex in Cotabato City. — Marichu Villanueva