President Arroyo on Thursday paid funeral wake visits to General Santos and Koronadal cities to personally extend her sympathies to the families of the Maguindanao massacre victims.

She started her day visiting the wakes of 14 of the journalists who were killed in November 23 incident.

Describing the gruesome killing of 57 people, including 31 journalists and media workers as “black mark on our nation,” she ordered the immediate resolution of the election-related violence.

The President provided P100,000 each to the victims of the massacre.

President Arroyo on Thursday afternoon called for a regional command conference of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine National Police (PNP) in Koronadal City. She is set to convene the National Security Council today at Malacañang.

Interior and Local Government Secretary Ronaldo Puno said Mrs. Arroyo was impatient over the course of the investigation, but she expressed “satisfaction” over the arrest of suspects and the suspension of the local government officials, including some members from the AFP and the PNP.

Puno had a meeting on Wednesday with Mrs. Arroyo in Malacañang to brief her on the measures taken by the DILG to ensure “orderly and peaceful” Maguindanao.

According to him, Mrs. Arroyo also reminded the authorities not to go beyond their boundaries in hunting down the perpetrators and move accordingly under the ambit of the Constitution.

Maguindanao can expect more deployment of government troops to maintain peace and stability in the area following the directive of the President.

During her visit to Koronadal City in South Cotabato, the President inaugurated the two-storey P10-million modern business center inside the compound of Southern Philippines Development Authority (SPDA), which houses several government offices and lodging facilities.

SPDA compound is located about a kilometer away from the main commercial district of Koronadal, just beside the South Cotabato Productivity and Technology Center (ProTech).

The President also graced the ground breaking ceremony of the proposed 18-room apartelle building within the compound and distributed certificates of lot entitlement award to 150 poor beneficiaries.