Leaders in Oriental Negros are optimistic that there will be political stability in the country following President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's lifting of her State of Emergency proclamation Friday.

Gov. George Arnaiz said the State of Emergency was meant to be a temporary setup. Its lifting could mean that the political situation is normalizing.

Dumaguete City Mayor Agustin Perdices said the President's declaration was a sign that things are back to normal. "I hope they don't do it again soon," he said, noting the adverse public reaction in Manila. But Perdices also said that, for the entire duration of the State of Emergency, there was nothing unusual in Dumaguete. "We would even recommend that if ever a State of Emergency will be restored, it should only be confined to Metro Manila," he said.

This sentiment was shared by many mayors who are members of the League of Cities, he added.

Msgr. Merlin Logronio, Bacong parish priest, welcomed the President's announcement, saying it would ease the tension. "It's a good move," he said.

But Rep. Emilio Macias II expressed caution over the move, saying that while Presidential Proclamation 1017 was lifted, there was no word about the lifting of General Orders 5 and 6, which actually give the President the emergency powers that are in question.

He, however, admitted that the lifting of PP 1017 was a step in the right direction.*AP

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