LUBAO, PAMPANGA?Unity and volunteerism to see the country through the global recession was President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo?s wish on her 62nd birthday Sunday.

?We are needed by our country and our province now...we need to march toward one direction,? the President said in Filipino at the end of the Mass celebrated by San Fernando Archbishop Paciano Aniceto and 18 priests at the St. Augustine parish church in Lubao, her hometown.

Unity is a ?noble mission that everyone must pursue,? said Ms Arroyo to an audience of Cabinet secretaries, local officials and town mates.

The members of the Pampanga Mayors League, the provincial board and Vice Gov. Joseller Guiao also attended the 10 a.m. Mass. Gov. Ed Panlilio was absent.

Ms Arroyo?s entire family sat with her in the front pew, her husband Jose Miguel Arroyo, her children and their spouses, and her grandchildren.

The President was in a summer getup of denim pants and sleeveless shirt topped with a thin violet blouse.

Speaking in her native Kapampangan, she said her birthday this time was more meaningful because it coincided with Palm Sunday, an event in the Christian world that signals the start of the commemoration of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

?This is the time to unite for our families and communities,? she said.

Ms Arroyo also called for volunteerism, saying this must be undertaken all together by the government, churches and civic groups.

?We should focus our initiatives on caring for the environment, building parks, planting trees, giving food to the poor and doing literacy programs for unschooled brethren,? she said.

The loving and caring traits of Filipinos, she said, should be shown all the more as a way of sharing God?s blessings.

Asked what his wish was for his wife, Jose Miguel Arroyo echoed her message: ?Magkaisa na ang bansa (That the country would be united).?

In his homily, Aniceto wished the President ?excellent health of body and soul,? and called her the ?most masipag (industrious) President.?

Ms Arroyo was smiling as the archbishop praised her.

Earlier in his homily, Aniceto reminded government officials of the concept of ?servantship.? This, he said, was the ?secret of power of each one and of our leaders.?

?We pray for our President so that she will follow the example of the Lord,? Aniceto said.

Immediately after the Mass, Ms Arroyo led the oath-taking of 120 members of the controversial Citizens Armed Forces Geographical Units Active Auxiliary recruited by the military from Lubao, Guagua and Sasmuan towns.

Ms Arroyo had lunch with local officials and Pampanga priests at the church hall.

She toured the One-Town, One Product bazaar mounted by the Department of Trade and Industry in the church yard, and spent some time interacting with residents who availed themselves of free medical and dental services.

Press Secretary Cerge Remonde said Sunday it would be the ?best birthday gift? to the President if members of the Cabinet would strive to ?achieve her wish and vision.?

?That?s the best birthday wish and gift we can give because her own wish was not for herself but for the nation,? Remonde said over government radio station Radyo ng Bayan.

The press secretary said the Cabinet will not hold its Lenten retreat this year because President Arroyo is set to leave for Thailand and Dubai on Friday.

She is expected back on Easter Sunday, he said.

The President will attend meetings of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) with dialogue partners in Bangkok, then head to Dubai to meet with business groups and the Filipino community there. With a report from Christine O. Avendaño