Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has declared Jan. 7 as a National Day of Prayer and Mourning for the thousands of victims of the deadly tsunami that struck neighboring countries recently.

At a press conference held Monday morning at the presidential palace, Arroyo said she will lead the national prayer and mourning a day after she returns to the country from attending the emergency summit on tsunami in Jakarta set on Jan. 6.

"I would like to announce that we're going to have a national day of Prayer and Mourning for those who perished in the tsunami on Friday," Arroyo said.

She added that she believes that it is appropriate to hold the day of prayer and mourning on Friday, the same day that Christians will be observing the first Friday mass, so that Muslim brothers can also offer their prayers to the victims of tsunami.

Friday's event would also show the Filipinos' solidarity with its ASEAN (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations) neighbors that lost thousands of their citizens from the disaster spawned bya 9.0-magnitude earthquake off Sumatra, Indonesia on Dec. 26, 2004,Arroyo said.

Although the Philippines was not affected by the tsunamis, Filipinos either working or vacationing in the affected countries were among the dead and wounded.

Starting Tuesday, various evangelical groups will hold prayers at the presidential palace for the tsunami victims that will culminate in an inter-faith prayer on Friday, said Arroyo.

Reports said that the death toll from the killer waves could reach up to 150,000, and countries hit hardest by the deadly giantwaves left some 1.8 million survivors who are hungry, sick and waiting for aid, reports said.

Twenty Filipinos remain missing in the wake of the disaster while five were confirmed dead, according to the Philippine Department of foreign affairs.

The Philippines has sent a forensic team from the National Bureau of Investigation to Phuket, Thailand to help identify Filipinos killed in the disaster.

Source: Xinhua