PGMA's Speech during the Luncheon with the World Economic Forum (WEF) Media Fellows

Palace Hotel, New York City, New York, USA (01 Feb, 2002)
GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS, GUESTS, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN:

I AM VERY HAPPY TO JOIN YOU HERE TODAY. SOME OF YOU WERE IN A SIMILAR FORUM, THE "MEDIA LEADERS' DINNER" WHERE I SPOKE DURING THE EAST ASIA ECONOMIC SUMMIT OF THE WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM HELD IN HONG KONG LAST YEAR.

SINCE WE LAST MET, THE EVENTS OF SEPTEMBER 11, 2001 AND THEIR AFTERMATH CONTINUE TO CONSUME THE INTERNATIONAL AIRWAVES AND PRINT MEDIA. THE PHILIPPINES HAS BEEN A PART OF THE STORY OF LATE AS FOCUS IS SHIFTED FROM THE CAMPAIGN IN AFGHANISTAN TO WHERE THE NEXT ANTI-TERROR FIGHT GOES.

LONG BEFORE SEPTEMBER 11, HOWEVER, THE PHILIPPINES WAS ALREADY FIGHTING TERRORISM ON ITS SOIL AND WE HAVE GAINED THE UPPER HAND, ISOLATING TERRORISM INSURGENTS TO ONE SMALL ISLAND. WE HAVE FELT THE PAIN OF TERRORISM FIRST HAND AND KNEW IT MUST NOT SPREAD TO THE REST OF THE WORLD. THAT IS WHY WE WERE THE FIRST IN ASIA TO LEND OUR SUPPORT TO THE INTERNATIONAL COALITION.

MUCH HAS BEEN WRITTEN ABOUT OUR PROTRACTED CAMPAIGN TO DESTROY THE ABU SAYYAF TERRORISTS IN A REMOTE ISLAND IN SOUTHWESTERN PHILIPPINES BUT HEADLINES HAVE BEEN REVVED UP RECENTLY WITH THE ARRIVAL OF U.S. ANTI-TERRORIST TRAINORS AND SEVERAL HUNDRED SUPPORT TROOPS WHO ARE THERE FOR THE ANNUAL JOINT MILITARY EXERCISES. PREDICTABLY, THEIR PRESENCE HAS STIRRED UP PASSION AMONG A VOCAL MINORITY OF OUR CITIZENRY. OLD RHETORIC REMINISCENT OF THE U.S. DEBATE ON THE U.S. BASES AND EVEN VIETNAM HAVE AGAIN SURFACED.

AS THE FIRST SOUTHEAST ASIAN LEADER TO COME OUT IN SUPPORT OF THE INTERNATIONAL COALITION, I APPLAUD THE IMPERATIVE TO WIPE OUT TERRORISM. THAT IS WHY I TOOK THE POLITICALLY RISKY ACTION OF RECOMMENDING THAT THIS YEAR'S ANNUAL JOINT MILITARY EXERCISES BETWEEN THE U.S. AND THE PHILIPPINES ADOPT A MODULE OF ENHANCING THE CAPABILITY OF FILIPINO SOLDIERS TO FIGHT TERRORISM. THIS WILL HELP US GO THE LAST MILE IN DESTROYING THE ABU SAYYAF TERRORISTS. I HAVE DONE SO IN WHAT I BELIEVE IS A RESPONSIBLE AND LAWFUL CONTRIBUTION OF THE U.S. MILITARY TO ENSURE THE STABILITY AND FREEDOM OF MY PEOPLE. THEY ARE THERE TO PROVIDE THE INTELLIGENCE AND CAPABILITY BUILDING, INCLUDING THE OPERATION OF SOPHISTICATED TRACKING EQUIPMENT. EVEN THOUGH IN OUR VIEW THE CIRCUMSTANCES EXIST FOR THEM TO BE LAWFULLY ENGAGED IN COMBAT, WE HAVE TAKEN THE POLICY DECISION FOR THEM NOT TO DO SO.

WE CONSIDER THE ABU SAYYAF TO BE TERRORISTS OF THE KIND WE IDENTIFIED IN THE INTERNATIONAL COALITION AS THE ENEMY. WE HAVE INCONTROVERTIBLE PROOF OF THEIR LINKAGES TO FOREIGN TERRORIST GROUPS UNTIL 1995, INCLUDING AL-QAEDA.

WE HAVE BEEN MADE AWARE OF THE EXISTENCE OF TERRORIST CELLS ALL OVER OUR REGION WITH THE SEIZURE ESPECIALLY OF A LARGE CACHE OF ARMS AND EXPLOSIVES AND THE ARREST OF AN INDONESIAN CITIZEN WITH TIES TO TERRORIST GROUPS OPERATING IN THE REGION. AND YOU WILL RECALL THAT BACK IN 1995, WE THWARTED A PLOT TO BOMB AMERICAN AIRLINES WHICH SUBSEQUENTLY LED TO THE ARREST OF MOHAMAD YUSUF RAMZY WHO WAS LATER CONVICTED OF INVOLVEMENT IN THE 1993 WORLD TRADE CENTER BOMBING.

OUR RECENT ACTIONS ARE IN KEEPING WITH OUR COMMITMENT TO THE U.N. RESOLUTION ON ANTI-TERRORISM. THAT RESOLUTION WAS MADE IN ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF THE FACT THAT TERRORISM IS A GLOBAL PROBLEM REQUIRING A GLOBAL SOLUTION. THE PAST FEW MONTHS HAVE MADE IT CLEAR THAT OUR ECONOMIC, POLITICAL, AND EVEN PHYSICAL SECURITY IS INTERRELATED. GLOBALIZATION HAS MADE US MORE INTERDEPENDENT THAN EVER. EVEN THE MENACE OF TERRORISM AND ITS ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES CAST A SHADOW ON ALL NATIONS.

THE SOLUTION TO TERRORISM, AS WE ARE FINDING OUT, AND AS I HAVE BEEN SAYING, AS YOU HAVE HEARD ME SAY, RESTS NOT ONLY IN SOPHISTICATED INTELLIGENCE AND MODERN WEAPONRY, BUT IN ADDRESSING THE CONDITIONS ON WHICH TERRORISM FINDS SUSTENANCE. I AM REFERRING TO THE CONDITIONS OF DESPAIR, EXCLUSION, AND HOPELESSNESS BORNE OUT OF POVERTY AND INTOLERANCE WHICH MAKE PEOPLE VULNERABLE TO THE SIREN SONG OF EXTREMISM.

WE HAVE PUT A FACE ON TERRORISTS, AND NOW WE MUST PUT A FACE ON THE POOR. WE WILL ELIMINATE TERRORISM AND WE MUST ELIMINATE POVERTY. IF WE DO NOT, THE BREEDING GROUND OF RESENTMENT WILL BEGIN AGAIN TO PLAGUE ANOTHER GENERATION.

AT THE DAWN OF THE 21st CENTURY, WE CANNOT GO ANOTHER GENERATION IN THE HISTORY OF MANKIND WITHOUT SLAYING THE DRAGON OF POVERTY. LEADERS OF ALL NATIONS, RICH AND POOR, MUST HARNESS THE POWER OF MODERN SOCIETY AND TECHNOLOGY TO ADVANCE THE QUALITY OF LIFE OF EVERY GLOBAL CITIZEN. WE CANNOT DO SO WITH STARS IN OUR EYES BUT WITH DETERMINATION IN OUR HEARTS.

THERE IS NO VICTORY AGAINST TERRORISM UNLESS WE ALSO WIN TOGETHER THE STRUGGLE AGAINST WORLD POVERTY. IN THE UPLIFTING SIGHT OF AFGHAN WOMEN CRYING IN JOY OVER THEIR LIBERATION FROM THE CRUELTIES OF THE TALIBAN, WE SEE THE SHADOW OF THE STRUGGLES TO COME IN MAKING AFGHANISTAN A VIABLE STATE AND WORKING ECONOMY.

MULTIPLY AFGHANISTAN'S SITUATION TO ABOUT ONE-FIFTH OF ALL HUMANITY, AND WE CAN IMAGINE THE SCALE OF THE CHALLENGE. ACCORDING TO THE WORLD BANK, HALF THE DEVELOPING WORLD-SOME TWO BILLION PEOPLE-LIVE IN COUNTRIES THAT HAVE SEEN LITTLE GROWTH IN THE LAST TWO DECADES. AND EVEN THOSE DEVELOPING COUNTRIES THAT HAVE BEEN DOING WELL, EVEN THERE HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF PEOPLE ARE MARGINAL TO THE PROGRESS OF GROWTH. AS A RESULT, WELL OVER ONE BILLION PEOPLE, AROUND 20 PERCENT OF THE POPULATION OF THIS PLANET, LIVE ON LESS THAN ONE DOLLAR A DAY.

THIS 20 PERCENT ARE THE CONSTITUENCY TO WHOM TERRORISTS AND EXTREMISTS SING THEIR SIREN SONG -- WITH GREAT SUCCESS. THIS IS WHY WE ARE ANXIOUS THAT THE FLUSH OF MILITARY ACTION IN AFGHANISTAN WILL NOT STOP AT THE EDGE OF THIS LARGER STRUGGLE AGAINST POVERTY.

OUR DEVELOPMENT PARTNERS ARE BEGINNING TO ANSWER THIS CALL.

FOR THIS NEW INITIATIVE TO SUCCEED, DEVELOPED AND DEVELOPING COUNTRIES ALIKE MUST ACCEPT NEW RESPONSIBILITIES TO GO WITH THE NEW OPPORTUNITIES. POOR COUNTRIES MUST MEET THE CHALLENGE OF ADOPTING STANDARDS OF TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY AND BUILDING MARKET ECONOMIES SO AS TO BECOME REAL PARTNERS IN INVESTMENT AND TRADE.

IN THE PHILIPPINES, WE ARE DOING THAT. OUR VISION FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IS BASED ON A REFORM PLAN AIMED AT ELIMINATING EXTREME POVERTY WITHIN THE DECADE. THAT PLAN HINGES ON FOUR COMPONENTS, FIRST, AN ECONOMIC PHILOSOPHY OF FREE ENTERPRISE APPROPRIATE TO THE 21st CENTURY. SECOND, A MODERNIZED AGRICULTURAL SECTOR FOUNDED ON SOCIAL EQUITY. THIRD, A SOCIAL BIAS TOWARD THE DISADVANTAGE IN OUR ECONOMIC GROWTH PLAN. AND FOURTH, AN UNSWERVING COMMITMENT TO RAISING THE MORAL STANDARDS OF GOVERNMENT AND SOCIETY.

... (AUDIO/ VIDEO CUT) ... GLOBAL ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT. AND WE KNOW THAT WE MUST DO MORE THIS YEAR TO AGGRESSIVELY IMPLEMENT LONG-TERM STRUCTURAL AND GOOD GOVERNANCE REFORMS TO ENSURE THAT WE WILL BUILD ON OUR ACHIEVEMENTS AND MOMENTUM AND ATTRACT INVESTMENTS THAT WILL CREATE MORE OF THE MUCH-NEEDED JOBS.

THESE CHALLENGES ARE NOT UNIQUE TO THE PHILIPPINES. AS A LEADER OF A DEVELOPING COUNTRY WHICH HAS MADE A COMMITMENT TO DEMOCRACY AND MARKETS, I HAVE BEEN RESOLUTE IN IMPLEMENTING ESSENTIAL REFORMS WITHOUT WHICH INTERNATIONAL ASSISTANCE WILL DO LITTLE GOOD. THE ANSWER TO GLOBALIZATION IS TO GET PRODUCTIVELY ENGAGED IN THE WORLD ECONOMY, NOT TO WITHDRAW FROM IT.

DEVELOPED COUNTRIES, OF COURSE MUST RECOGNIZE THEIR DUTY TO OPEN THEIR MARKETS, TRANSFER RESOURCES AND REFORM INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTIONS. IT IS A FACT THAT HOW RICH COUNTRIES MANAGE THEIR ECONOMIES DETERMINE STABILITY IN THE WORLD'S FINANCIAL SYSTEM AND THE AVAILABILITY OF RESOURCES FOR DEVELOPMENT IN THE POOR COUNTRIES. BUT WE CAN UNDERSTAND THAT YOU WILL EXPECT ACCOUNTABILITY FROM THE BENEFICIARIES OF THIS ASSISTANCE.

A NEW KIND OF WAR REQUIRES A NEW KIND OF PEACE. THE HALLMARKS OF ANY NEW GLOBAL ALLIANCE TO ALLEVIATE POVERTY MUST BE MARKET-DRIVEN, MUST SOLVE A REAL HUMAN PROBLEM, AND AS I SAID, MUST DEMAND ACCOUNTABILITY FROM THOSE NATIONS THAT BENEFIT. IT CANNOT BE THE SAME OLD FORMULA OF HAND-OUTS TO THE HAVE-NOTS. IT MUST BE A HAND-UP FOR THE SELF-RELIANT.

I CAN SPEAK FOR THE PHILIPPINES WHEN I SAY THAT WE PRIDE OURSELVES ON OUR NATIONAL SELF-RELIANCE. FOR INSTANCE, WE SAW THAT OUR U.S. MARKET WAS GOING TO COLLAPSE AND AS OUR MAJOR MARKET IN 2001 ... SO WE DECIDED TO BEEF UP OUR DOMESTIC MARKET EVEN AS WE WERE GOING TO KEEP OUR BUDGET DEFICIT DOWN, AND WE SUCCEEDED IN THAT.

WE ALSO PRIDE OURSELVES ON A REGIONAL UNITY IN ADDRESSING OUR OWN PROBLEMS. MALAYSIA, THE PHILIPPINES AND INDONESIA HAVE COME TO A TRILATERAL AGREEMENT, OPERATIONAL AGREEMENT TO HELP ONE ANOTHER, FIGHT TERRORISM AMONG OUR COMMON BORDERS AND COMMON SEAS BECAUSE WE RECOGNIZE AS THE INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE HAS BEEN PUBLISHING THAT THERE ARE TERRORIST CELLS IN OUR REGION. WE WANT TO BE SELF-RELIANT. WE HAVE CREATED STEPS TO BE SELF-RELIANT BUT WE ALSO RECOGNIZE THAT WE HAVE MUCH TO LEARN AND GAIN FROM OUR DEVELOPED BROTHERS AND SISTERS.

PROSPERITY WILL ONLY TAKE ROOT WHEN THERE IS STABILITY, DEMOCRACY AND TRANSPARENCY HELD IN PLACE THROUGH THE EVEN-HANDED ENFORCEMENT OF LEGITIMATE AND PREDICTABLE LAWS. PROGRESS TOWARD THIS ALL-IMPORTANT ASPIRATION WOULD BE ACCELERATED IF THE STRONGEST MEMBERS OF THE GLOBAL ECONOMY WERE TO TAKE ON ROLES THAT GO BEYOND AID IN THE TRADITIONAL SENSE. THEY SHOULD EMBRACE TRUE PARTICIPATION AND INVEST IN GLOBAL STRUCTURES THAT ARE NEEDED TO ENSURE THAT GLOBALIZATION IN THE DEVELOPING WORLD IS NOT A EUPHEMISM FOR MISSED OPPORTUNITIES.

IN MY LIFETIME, I WANT TO BE ABLE TO LOOK INTO THE EYES OF A YOUNG FILIPINO AND SEE A CONFIDENT GAZE, FREE FROM FEAR, FREE FROM THE FEAR OF TERRORISM, FREE FROM THE FEAR OF POVERTY. AND FREE TO LIVE A LIFE OF DIGNITY AND PROSPERITY.

EVERYONE MUST APPRECIATE THAT OUR OBLIGATION TO OUR PEOPLE IN THE PHILIPPINES IS TO PUT FOOD ON THE TABLE FOR THE HUNGRY TODAY AND NOT MERELY PROMISE A BETTER LIFE TOMORROW. JUST AS WE SEARCH OUT AND DESTROY TERRORISM, WE MUST SEARCH OUT AND DESTROY THE TERROR OF POVERTY. THERE IS EVIL IN BEING HUNGRY JUST AS THERE IS EVIL IN BEING A DESTRUCTIVE TERRORIST. WE MUST WORK TOGETHER AS A FAMILY OF NATIONS TO ALLEVIATE BOTH.

TO SUM UP THEN, WE HAVE REASON TO CHEER THAT THE ONGOING WAR AGAINST TERRORISM IS MAKING SIGNIFICANT PROGRESS. BUT VICTORY IN THIS STRUGGLE DOES NOT ONLY DEPEND ON WINNING THE BATTLES OF THIS WAR. WE MUST ALSO WIN THE PEACE, AND WINNING THE PEACE IN THE LAST ANALYSIS IS WINNING THE BATTLE FOR DEVELOPMENT. AS POPE JOHN PAUL II SAYS, "DEVELOPMENT IS THE OTHER NAME OF PEACE."

WE ARE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER. WE ARE ALL AFFECTED BY TERRORISM; WE MUST ALL WORK TOGETHER TO WIPE IT OUT. BUT AT SOME POINT, THE HEADLINES WILL DISAPPEAR AS NATIONS SHIFT THEIR FOCUS AWAY. AND THE WORLD WILL STILL BE LEFT WITH POVERTY. THE BREEDING GROUND OF RESENTMENT WILL BEGIN AGAIN, TO PLAGUE ANOTHER GENERATION IN TIME.

BUT BY EXTENDING OUR PRESENT COALITION FOR PEACE INTO A COALITION FOR PROSPERITY -- AND BY MOUNTING AN EARNEST PROGRAM FOR POVERTY ERADICATION AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT -- WE COULD IGNITE HOPE AND DYNAMISM AMONG THE POOR AS THEY HAVE NEVER KNOWN IN ALL OF HISTORY.

NOT UNTIL THE UNDERLYING FORCES THAT MAKE OUR POOR VULNERABLE TO EXPLOITATION ARE NEUTRALIZED WILL THE WORLD BE ABLE TO LIVE FREE OF THE DUAL SCOURGE OF POVERTY AND TERROR BECAUSE GLOBALIZATION MEANS THAT IN BOTH WAR AND PEACE, WE ARE ALL LINKED.

THANK YOU.

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