Mrs. Arroyo visited the Little Flower High School in Poblacion Penarrubia in Abra to distribute 50 sacks of rice, 1,800 PhilHealth cards, and bags of grocery items to poor Filipinos there.

The distribution of grocery items and PhilHealth cards is part of the Serbisyo Muna Caravan of the President held here in Northern Luzon as the First Family spends the Holy Week in Baguio City.

She also handed out checks to recipients of "Tindahan Natin" livelihood projects, generic drugs for two "Botika sa Barangay" outlets, textbooks for various schools, food-for-school packs for thousands of Grade 1 and day-care pupils, and kits for Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA)- trained masseurs and auto and diesel mechanics.

In her message, Arroyo, noted a 2006 census showing that 50.1 percent of Abra’s total population was living in extreme poverty. She said she intends to reduce this alarming rate of poverty in the province.

"It is important that the people of Abra will rise out of the clutches of poverty. We want to put it (50.1 poverty incidence rate) down. And, the day will come when majority of Abreños will no longer live within the poverty line," the President said.

Using the local dialect, Arroyo reiterated her desire to help the country’s poor.

She promised Abra folk of more and constant help from her administration.

Mrs. Arroyo also announced she will attend the Provincial Peace and Order Council meeting here on April 10.

The President was accompanied by her husband, First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo and Education Secretary Jesli Lapus.

She and her party were met by provincial and municipal officials. She was honored with the indigenous "tadek" dance, and gamely danced with the Tingguians of Peñarrubia, as she entered the school and Catholic parish premises where a free medical and dental mission was held.

From the town, Arroyo motored to the Bangued public market.

She went directly to the "Bigasan ni Gloria sa Palengke" and checked the prices of rice supplied by the National Food Authority and from local farmers. She also checked out prices at the dry goods and wet market.

Earlier, Mrs. Arroyo led the first leg of the caravan in Malasiqui, Pangasinan en route to Baguio for the Holy Week.

Mrs. Arroyo thanked the First Gentleman for accompanying her in her activities in Baguio and nearby provinces which are more numerous this year compared to her previous trips here for the Holy Week.

Also yesterday, Mrs. Arroyo inspected Teacher’s Camp along Leonardwood Road in Baguio City.

Mrs. Arroyo will continue the Serbisyo Muna Caravan in Luna, La Union today, and in La Trinidad, Benguet, on Black Saturday. On Monday, Mrs. Arroyo will lead the caravan in Belance, Dupax, Nueva Vizcaya.

Meanwhile, local leaders expressed support for Arroyo, saying it would be a crime to the people here if she was ousted from power.

Abra Electric Cooperative (Abreco) general manager Loreto P. Seares Jr. presented to the President a resolution passed by the cooperative’s board of directors expressing support for her administration.