Mrs. Arroyo was earlier scheduled to proceed to Bataan upon her arrival from Rome yesterday to lead the annual commemoration of Bataan Day. She was unable to do so, however, and Vice President Noli De Castro took her place instead.

In the afternoon, the President visited Farmers Market in Cubao, Quezon City.

During a town hall meeting at the marketplace, Mrs. Arroyo said the late Pope will remain her inspiration in fighting poverty and corruption and in raising public morals in the country, the largest Roman Catholic nation in the region. The President recalled that Pope John Paul II had often emphasized the importance of moral- based governance to improve the lives of Filipinos especially the poor during their previous meetings.

"Kahit na si Pope John Paul II ay sumakabilang buhay na, ang kanyang alaala ay mananatiling matagal sa ating bansa at siya ay magiging tuluyang inspirasyon natin para labanan ang kahirapan, labanan ang katiwalian at masasamang asal at magtrabaho para sa kapayapaan (The memory of the late Pope John Paul II will be kept alive in the country and he will continue to be our inspiration to fight poverty, corruption, misdeeds, and to work for peace)," she said.

Mrs. Arroyo likewise continued to extol the much-loved leader of the world’s one billion Catholics and took pride that Filipinos are the people who loved him the most.

She said she joined numerous world leaders and millions of faithful who bid an emotional farewell to the Pope at the St. Peter’s Square because the late Pontiff held a special place in the hearts of Filipinos and vice versa.

She recalled that the Pope visited the Philippines twice during his 26- year papacy, with his second visit in 1995 drawing four million Filipinos for the World Youth Day in Manila. This was the Pope’s largest audience ever, the President said.

Mrs. Arroyo recalled that during the requiem Mass she informed UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, who was seated beside her, that the crowd gathered at St. Peter’s Square had equaled the multitude who flocked to see the Pope in the Philippines in 1995. "But the crowd here comes from all over the world. The four million in the Philippines were all Filipinos," she told the UN leader.

"So we are the people who loved Pope John Paul II so much, and he loved us, too," the President added.

During yesterday’s town hall meeting in Cubao, Quezon City, Mrs. Arroyo also pushed for tougher amendments in the Oil Deregulation Law that would break the "cartel behavior" of local oil companies to protect Filipino consumers from price manipulation and unreasonable oil price hike.

The President also supported the stance of Sen. Mar Roxas, her former trade secretary, in mobilizing the Department of Energy (DoE) to use its authority under the law to curb possible pricing abuses by local oil firms.

"The best thing to do, like what Senator Roxas suggested, is (to find ways) to stop the cartel behavior," she said when asked by a vendor how the government intends to stop the spiraling cost of petroleum products in the country.

The President led the awarding of the five best private markets in Metro Manila, including Farmers Market, which sell fresh and clean basic goods at affordable prices.

Mrs. Arroyo said it was imperative to reinforce the "anti-cartel provisions" in Republic Act 8479 or Downstream Oil Industry Deregulation Act amid public perception that it has failed to prevent the collusion of oil companies in unfairly raising gasoline and diesel prices.

She, however, acknowledged that the government could only do so much to mitigate the impact of the high prices of petroleum products, insisting the upward adjustments in the world oil market are unprecedented and are caused by various external factors.

"But we are implementing various ways to prevent further oil price increase in the country compared to other countries in the region," she said.

The President earlier ordered the DOE to create a five-man team to review the oil deregulation law.

Although the government is unable to control the rising oil prices, Roxas pointed out the government could at least protect the consumers from any unreasonable increases in the cost of petroleum products by oil players.

"That is why the Senate and the House are reviewing the oil deregulation law to strengthen the anti-cartel, anti-monopoly, anti-price fixing provisions of the oil deregulation law," he said in the same town hall meeting in the marketplace owned by his family.

Roxas also said the DOE has adequate powers under the law to closely monitor pump prices and keep abuses in check in order to protect the rights of the consumers.

He cited the law (RA8479) has empowered the energy department to investigate on its own and file complaints before the proper court against oil companies engaged in cartels and monopolies.

On proposals by the business community to restore the Oil Price Stabilization Fund (OPSF), Roxas advised the President against such plan due to lack of government funds.

Upon arrival at the Farmers Market, the President inspected several stalls in the market to ensure prices are at reasonable levels and led the unveiling of the price monitoring board inside the marketplace.

She also witnessed the awarding of the five winners of Huwaran Palengke project, which were given P500,000 check each by Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap.

The winners in the private market category are Farmers Market in Quezon City, Concepcion Market in Marikina, Muñoz Market in Quezon City, People’s Market in Marikina City, Aling Clara Market in Parañaque City.

Meanwhile, Mrs. Arroyo is scheduled to visit the Ford Group Philippines plant in Sta. Rosa, Laguna, tomorrow during which the company’s 30,000th export production unit and its newest car export model will both be presented to her.

The President’s visit to the Ford plant is in line with her administration’s program to continue attracting foreign investments to spur the economy.

Ford Group Philippines president Henry Co, Trade and Industry Undersecretary Elmer Hernandez, and Sta. Rosa Mayor Leon Arcillas will welcome the President upon her arrival at the Greenfield Automotive Park.

Her visit will be highlighted by an audio visual presentation on Ford Philippines’ 30,000th export production vehicle – the Ford "Escape" – and the latest export model dubbed Ford Focus.

The Ford Focus is a European car model that will soon be assembled in the Ford Sta. Rosa plant under the firm’s New Car Program, which is expected to boost further the company’s exports from the country.

Ford Philippines assembles the Ford Lynx and Escape, Mazda Tribute and Mazda 3 which are being exported to Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand.

The company launched its export program in 2002. Since then, the Ford Export Program has been expanded to include the export to completely knocked down (CKD) kits to Vietnam in October, last year.

In October 2003, during an audience with the President in Malacañang, Ford chairman and chief executive officer Bill Ford announced an additional investment of $50 million for the expansion of the Ford Philippines plant in Sta. Rosa.

The expansion was in preparation for the launch of the company’s New Car Program involving two new models – the Mazda 3 and the Ford Focus. The Mazda 3 was launched on August 11, 2004 and has since been exported to other countries in the ASEAN region, notably Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand.