Speaking at the 9th National Convention of Government Employees and 60th anniversary of the Philippine Government Employees Association in Malacañang, the President said the additional bonus would be sourced from the savings of several government agencies.

"I have asked the Department of Budget and Management to collate from all national government agencies the total of our savings so (that) we can use that pool of national government savings to pay for a uniform extra bonus for all of you," she said.

The amount is in addition to the yearend bonus of employees from all national government agencies, state universities and colleges, governmentowned and -controlled corporations, government financial institutions and local government units.

In giving the additional cash bonus, the President praised the government workforce for its devotion to good governance, particularly in resisting temptations of corruption. "It is high time to congratulate you for all these decades of spirited quest for true service and your fight against graft and corruption. You’re making an essential contribution to governance," she said.

Mrs. Arroyo added that government employees can also expect an increase in their salaries next year as soon as Congress enacts the proposed 2005 national budget.

"The people pin their hopes upon the performance of our public servants, our bureaucracy of the top officials to the lowest rank-and-file, and we are trying hard in spite of budget limitations to alleviate the plight of our government workers," she said.

The government has sought the immediate passage of the 2005 budget bill to finance its operations and delivery of public services next year. In the same speech, the President reiterated her plan for the Philippines to join the ranks of the first-world countries by 2025.

Arroyo, however, acknowledged that much has to be done and accomplished to clean up and modernize the bureaucracy and the political system to achieve "this dream."

The President said the first step is to reconcile the nation with God for a period of national renewal and the second step is to redirect the focus of the government "so that the bureaucracy will be more responsive to the call and needs of the times."

As this developed, Malacañang expressed confidence yesterday that the spirit of Christmas season will eventually prevail over fresh attempt by President Arroyo’s detractors to resurrect old political issues and allegations of any wrongdoing leveled against her.

Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye made the statement as Senate and House probers revived their separate investigations into the alleged massive cheating by Mrs. Arroyo in last year’s elections as contained in the controversial "Hello Garci" tapes.

"No amount of political noise will dampen the Yuletide spirit, especially with our winning streak in sports and the economy," he said in an official press statement, mindful of what he called "sterling performance" of the peso exchange rate and the stock market."

Bunye’s statement, however, was belied by the result of a recent approval rating survey conducted by the Social Weather Stations (SWS) which showed that fewer Filipinos are satisfied with the President whose popularity has slid to its second-lowest level.

Based on the SWS survey result, the negative sentiments among Filipinos from all economic classes could not be reversed even by the strong standing of the Philippines in the recently-concluded Southeast Asian Games or by the continued appreciation of peso.

The SWS survey was conducted from Nov. 27 to Dec. 4, registering a negative 23 percent for Mrs. Arroyo’s public approval, said to be the second lowest for her since May this year. (with a report by Ferdie J. Maglalang)