PGMA's Speech Launching Ceremony of the 4th Philippine Human Development Report

PGMA's Speech during the Launching Ceremony of the 4th Philippine Human Development Report

Heroes Hall, Malacanang (12 July 2002)

THANK YOU VERY MUCH SECRETARY DANTE CANLAS.

PROFESSOR WINNIE MONSOD, PRESIDENT OF THE HUMAN DEVELOPMENT NETWORK; DR. ABUEVA; MISS RICARDA RIEGER OF UNDP; DISTINGUISHED AWARDEES, AND I WOULD LIKE TO MENTION THEM AGAIN: GOVERNOR HENARES AND FORMER GOVERNOR HENARES OF RIZAL -- BECAUSE THEY BOTH SHARE. BECAUSE FORMER GOVERNOR ALSO DID A LOT OF ... THIS IS 2000, RIGHT? SO, HE WAS THE GOVERNOR, GOVERNOR MARCOS OF ILOCOS NORTE, ACTING GOVERNOR ROQUE AND ACTING VICE GOVERNOR CALIMBAS OF BATAAN, MR. SOLIMAN REPRESENTING CAVITE AND GOVERNOR NINGNING LAZARO OF LAGUNA. AND I WOULD LIKE AGAIN TO MENTION THE LEADERS OF THE MOST IMPROVED PROVINCES -- DAVAO ORIENTAL, REPRESENTED BY THE PROVINCIAL ADMINISTRATOR, BUT I WOULD LIKE TO GREET GOVERNOR MARLENE PALMA-GIL, MT. PROVINCE GOVERNOR MALI„AS -- AND I WAS TELLING WINNIE, I CAN IMAGINE WHY HE IS THE MOST IMPROVED. HE NAGS ME ALL THE TIME WHEN I'M IN THE BAGUIO GOLF COURSE FOR ALL THE DIFFERENT HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS OF HIS PROVINCE OF MT. PROVINCE, SOUTH COTABATO REPRESENTED HERE, BUT I WOULD LIKE TO GREET GOVERNOR DAISY FUENTES FOR HER GOOD WORK. PROVINCE OF ILOILO GOVERNOR NEIL TUPAS AND MAYOR TUPAS ARE HERE. AND THEY HAD BEEN WORKING HARD ESPECIALLY ON IRRIGATION. AND THE PROVINCE OF LEYTE REPRESENTED BY VICE GOVERNOR VILLASIN. AND PLEASE GIVE MY CONGRATULATIONS TO GOVERNOR MATIN PETILLA. AND WHAT WINNIE CONSIDERS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT OF THESE AWARDS IS IN TERMS OF CONTRIBUTING TO LITERACY, AND THIS IS THE AWARD GOING TO MISAMIS ORIENTAL. AND I WOULD LIKE TO GREET THE FIRST LADY OF MISAMIS ORIENTAL MRS. KALINGIN BECAUSE SHE WAS HERE TO RECEIVE THE AWARD. OTHER GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS ESPECIALLY CONGRESSWOMAN ETA ROSALES, AND MEMBERS OF THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY HEADED BY DONALD DEE, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN:

I AM GLAD THAT THE FOURTH PHILIPPINE HUMAN DEVELOPMENT REPORT HAS ADOPTED "WORK AND WELL-BEING" AS ITS THEME. I'M CERTAIN THIS REPORT WILL SERVE AS A USEFUL GUIDE IN OUR PURSUIT -- DANTE'S PURSUIT AND MY PURSUIT -- OF MORE JOBS FOR OUR PEOPLE AS THE PRIMARY MEANS OF FIGHTING POVERTY. AND FOR THIS, I COMMEND THE REPORT'S AUTHORS AND THE PUBLISHERS -- THE HUMAN DEVELOPMENT NETWORK OR HDN AND THE UNITED NATIONS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME.

THE REPORT IS A FRUIT OF THE CONTINUING DIALOGUE BETWEEN CIVIL SOCIETY AND GOVERNMENT. WE MAY NOT ALWAYS AGREE WITH EACH OTHER BUT DIALOGUE MAKES US UNDERSTAND EACH OTHER. AND ONE CLEAR EXAMPLE OF OUR UNDERSTANDING IS THE USE OF THE HUMAN DEVELOPMENT INDEX AS AN OFFICIAL STATISTIC IN THE PHILIPPINES, THE VERY FIRST COUNTRY TO EVER DO SO. THE HUMAN DEVELOPMENT INDEX IS THE PRODUCT OF INSTITUTIONALIZED CONSULTATION FOR THE COMMON GOOD.

I HAVE ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS DEFINED NEW POLITICS, IN CONTRAST WITH THE OLD POLITICS OF PERSONALITY AND PATRONAGE, AS THE POLITICS OF PARTY PLATFORMS AND INSTITUTIONALIZED CONSULTATION WITH THE PEOPLE. THIS LATTER TRAIT OF NEW POLITICS, THE POLITICS OF INSTITUTIONALIZED CONSULTATION WITH THE PEOPLE REQUIRES A VIBRANT CIVIL SOCIETY.

THIS VIBRANT CIVIL SOCIETY IS A CORNERSTONE OF A STRONG REPUBLIC. THE FAMILY, THE COMMUNITY, THE NGOs, THE MEDIA, THE CHURCHES HAVE VITAL ROLES IN BUILDING THE REPUBLIC, IN DOING SOME OF THE STATE'S TASKS TO IMPROVE THE CONDITIONS OF EVERY CITIZEN. BUT CIVIL SOCIETY -- A WARRIOR IN TOPPLING A DICTATORSHIP AND A CORRUPT GOVERNMENT -- MUST NOW LEARN TO FORGE ITS SWORDS INTO HAMMERS FOR BUILDING THE REPUBLIC. WE MUST STRIVE TO FINALLY DISMANTLE A SUBCULTURE OF DIVISIVENESS AND SELF-CENTEREDNESS, AND TRANSFORM OUR FAMILIES, OUR COMMUNITIES AND OTHER CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANIZATIONS INTO ENGINES FOR NATIONAL PROSPERITY. IT IS ALSO CIVIL SOCIETY, AS ANYWHERE IN DEMOCRATIC COUNTRIES OF THE WORLD, WHICH HAS THE PRIME RESPONSIBILITY OF DEVELOPING AND ADVANCING PHILIPPINE CULTURE.

TO GO NOW TO THE DOCUMENT ITSELF, THE DOCUMENT HIGHLIGHTS A NUMBER OF INTERESTING POINTS.

ONE -- NOT SO MUCH MENTION HERE BUT IN THE DOCUMENT ITSELF -- IS THAT UNEMPLOYMENT AND POVERTY DO NOT AMOUNT TO THE SAME THING. NEITHER THAT I HAVE SAID EARLIER THAT DANTE AND I NOW SEE OUR JOBS AS BASICALLY SOLVING UNEMPLOYMENT. THAT'S WHY DONALD DEE IS VERY IMPORTANT TO US AS OUR MAIN MEANS OF FIGHTING POVERTY IN A FREE ENTERPRISE ECONOMY. SO, LOW UNEMPLOYMENT AND PROSPERITY ALSO DO NOT ALWAYS GO TOGETHER.

SULU, THE POOREST PROVINCE IN TERMS OF PER CAPITA INCOME, IN THE DOCUMENT ALSO HAPPENS TO HAVE THE SECOND LOWEST UNEMPLOYMENT RATE. ITS UNEMPLOYMENT RATE IS 3.1 PERCENT. TAWI-TAWI, THE SECOND POOREST IN PER CAPITA INCOME, HAS THE SEVENTH LOWEST UNEMPLOYMENT RATE OF 4.2 PERCENT. ON THE OTHER HAND, METRO MANILA, THE MOST PROSPEROUS REGION IN THE COUNTRY, HAS THE HIGHEST UNEMPLOYMENT RATE OF 17.5 PERCENT. CAVITE AND TARLAC, TWO RELATIVELY RICH PROVINCES, ARE ALSO AMONG THE TEN PROVINCES WITH THE HIGHEST UNEMPLOYMENT RATES.

ON THE MACROECONOMIC LEVEL, THIS HELPS ME TO UNDERSTAND WHY OUR ECONOMY IS THE BEST-PERFORMING IN SOUTHEAST ASIA AND THE THIRD BEST PERFORMING IN ASIA, AND YET IS HAS MORE THAN 4 MILLION PEOPLE OUT OF WORK.

ANOTHER HIGHLIGHT OF THE DOCUMENT IS THAT SOME PROVINCES HAVE VERY HIGH LEVELS OF UNDEREMPLOYMENT. IT IS SAD TO SEE THAT IN AT LEAST 10 PROVINCES UNDEREMPLOYMENT IS ABOVE 40 PERCENT, AND THAT IN TWO PROVINCES -- BUKIDNON AND CAMARINES SUR -- IT IS MORE THAN 50 PERCENT. THIS MEANS THAT FOR THESE PROVINCES MORE THAN HALF OF THE WORKERS ARE LOOKING FOR ADDITIONAL WORK, AND IT IS MOST LIKELY BECAUSE OF INADEQUATE PAY.

THESE STATISTICS TELL US WHAT WE MUST DO. WE MUST NOT BE CONTENTED WITH JOBLESS GROWTH. MORE INVESTMENTS ARE NEEDED FOR MORE JOBS. BUT TO GET MORE INVESTMENTS, WE NEED TO HAVE A MORE COMPETITIVE INVESTMENT CLIMATE. PART OF THIS INVESTMENT CLIMATE IS GROUNDED ON OBJECTIVE QUANTITATIVE REALITY, SUCH AS MAKING OUR POWER RATES MORE COMPETITIVE. BUT A LARGE PART OF OUR COMPETITIVENESS IS PERCEPTION, SUCH AS THE FEELING -- FEELING SAFE AGAINST KIDNAPPERS, FEELING THAT OUR GOVERNMENT IS ATTENDING TO GOVERNANCE RATHER THAN TO POLITICS.

TO BRING ABOUT COMPETITIVENESS IN POWER RATES, WE ARE -- AS MANY OF YOU KNOW -- PURSUING A TEN-POINT PROGRAM THAT I HAVE ALREADY UNVEILED TWICE: ONCE, BEFORE THE INDUSTRY AND -- BUT ON NATIONAL TV -- AND THE SECOND TIME BEFORE THE ACADEMIC COMMUNITY IN ATENEO BUT ALSO BEFORE THE NATIONAL TV. THIS IS BEGINNING TO BEAR FRUIT IN THIS MONTH'S ELECTRIC BILLS. AND ON THE OTHER HAND, TO MAKE OUR INVESTORS AND CITIZENS FEEL SAFER, I AM CONCENTRATING MY EFFORTS, TOGETHER WITH THE NEW PNP CHIEF HERMOGENES EBDANE, AND WITH MAYOR RUDY DUTERTE, TO BREATH NEW LIFE AND EFFICACY INTO OUR ANTI-KIDNAPPING EFFORTS. IN THE MEANTIME, I HAVE RENEWED MY INSTRUCTIONS TO MY TEAM, MY ECONOMIC TEAM, TO ADDRESS BOTTLENECKS THAT HAVE STALLED MAJOR INFRASTRUCTURE AND INVESTMENT PROJECTS. WE MUST PROVIDE VISIBLE REINFORCEMENT TO THE UNDERSTANDABLY TIMID BUSINESS COMMUNITY THESE DAYS THRU LARGE PROJECTS IN THE PIPELINE, SUCH AS THE NORTHRAIL, THE LRT-MRT LINK, THE NEW NAYONG PILIPINO TOURISM ESTATE, THE HOUSING SECTOR, THE NATIONAL STEEL REOPENING, THE BATANGAS PORT WHICH THANK GOD HAS STARTED CONSTRUCTION, AND THE PHILIPPINE NATIONAL BANK REHABILITATION WHICH THANK GOD IS ALSO GOING ON SMOOTHLY.

I HAVE BEEN CLOSE TO THESE OBJECTIVES IN THE PAST WEEKS -- THE PEACE AND ORDER, THE ELECTRIC POWER RATES, AND REMOVING THE BOTTLENECKS TO MAJOR INFRASTRUCTURE AND INVESTMENT PROJECTS. TO LOWER POWER COSTS, WE WILL NOT STOP UNTIL WE ARE SATISFIED THAT WE HAVE SQUEEZED EVERY DROP OF BLOOD FROM STONE BUT AT THE SAME TIME WE MUST BE RESPONSIBLE AND RESPECT THE SANCTITY OF CONTRACTS, DESPITE THE HISTRIONICS OF SOME, BECAUSE THIS IS NEEDED IF WE ARE TO PRESERVE THE GAINS WE HAVE MADE IN OUR CREDIT RISK RATINGS.

ON THE PEACE AND ORDER CAMPAIGN, I AM DEALING WITH THE THREAT OF KIDNAPPING THE WAY I DEALT WITH THE THREAT OF THE ABU SAYYAF. I NAG THE POLICE EVERYDAY TODAY THE WAY I USE NAGGED THE MILITARY EVERY DAY SINCE LAST MAY 1st AFTER I WAS CONVINCED THAT WE HAD SEEN THE LAST OF THE DESTABILIZATION THREATS BECAUSE MAY 1st WAS VERY PEACEFUL. I BEGAN TO WORK ON BREATHING DOWN THE NECKS OF THE MILITARY, AND THANK GOD THE ABU SAYYAF HAS BEEN DEFEATED.

THE NEWS TODAY REPORTS THE ORDER OF BATTLE WORKSHOP ON THE 21 KIDNAPPING SYNDICATES HELD AT THE POLICE HEADQUARTERS YESTERDAY. AND TODAY, GENERAL EBDANE WILL GIVE ME HIS REPORT ON WHAT HE NEEDS TO ACCELERATE THE MANHUNT FOR THOSE SYNDICATES AT THE TOP OF THE ORDER OF BATTLE. OF COURSE, I WILL NOT MICRO-MANAGE THEM AS I DID NOT MICRO-MANAGE THE WAR AGAINST THE ABU SAYYAF. BUT I WILL PERSONALLY TRACK PROGRESS. AND WE WILL WIN THIS BATTLE WITH HANDS ON PERSISTENCE, COMBINED WITH GOOD INTELLIGENCE AND -- AS IN EDSA I AND EDSA II AND MANY OTHER STRUGGLES -- DIVINE PROVIDENCE. THAT'S WHY I'M GLAD THAT PROFESSOR ABUEVA SAID THAT WE THE FILIPINO AFTER ALL, THE MOST IMPORTANT VARIABLE, THE MOST IMPORTANT PARAMETER -- WHATEVER YOU CALL IT, PARAMETER OR VARIABLE IN HIS LIFE -- IS SPIRITUALITY. AND THEREFORE, IT IS IMPORTANT ESPECIALLY WHEN IT IS A MATTER OF BEING DISCOURAGED OR ENCOURAGED, NO MATTER WHAT THE NUMBERS LOOK, IT IS THE SPIRIT THAT WILL HELP LIFT US UP FROM THE FEELING OF HOPELESSNESS TO THE FEELING OF FAITH.

THESE ARE WHAT WE ARE DOING TO SHORE UP OUR BUSINESS CONFIDENCE, BRING INVESTMENTS, AND CREATE BETTER AND HIGHER-PAYING JOBS FOR OUR PEOPLE.

EIGHT OF THE TOP 10 PROVINCES IN OUR HUMAN DEVELOPMENT INDEX ARE IN LUZON. WELL, OF COURSE, LUZON ALSO MAKES UP 60 PERCENT OF OUR POPULATION. BUT MOST OF THESE ARE NEIGHBORING PROVINCES OF METRO MANILA. OF COURSE, THE POPULATION IS ALSO AROUND METRO MANILA. ON THE OTHER HAND, NINE OF THE BOTTOM TEN PROVINCES ARE EITHER IN THE VISAYAS OR IN MINDANAO.

AND AS WINNIE MENTIONED, WORST SITUATED ARE OUR MUSLIM BROTHERS IN THE SOUTH. THE PROVINCES OF THE AUTONOMOUS REGION OF MUSLIM MINDANAO COMPRISE THE BOTTOM FIVE PROVINCES. THE HUMAN DEVELOPMENT INDEX OF SULU, THE BOTTOM PROVINCE, IS LESS THAN ONE-HALF THE HUMAN DEVELOPMENT INDEX OF RIZAL, THE TOP PROVINCE. THAT'S WHAT WINNIE MEANT ABOUT THE BAD NEWS, THE VERY TERRIBLE DISPARITY. BUT BY THE WAY, LET ME CONGRATULATE GOVERNOR NINI YNARES AND GOVERNOR ITO YNARES, HER PREDECESSOR, FOR LEADING THE PROVINCE OF RIZAL UP TO THE HIGHEST HUMAN DEVELOPMENT INDEX IN OUR COUNTRY TODAY. CONGRATULATIONS.

BUT I BELIEVE THAT SULU -- THAT'S WHY IT IS IMPORTANT TO TRACK, KNOWING WHERE IT'S COMING FROM -- WILL DOUBLE ITS EFFORTS. WE HAVE A NEW GOVERNOR OF SULU, GOVERNOR JIKIRI, FORMER MNLF BUT ONE OF THE MOST SUPPORTIVE GOVERNORS IN OUR COUNTRY AS FAR AS WHAT WE WANT TO DO. WHETHER IT'S FOR DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS, WHETHER IT IS FOR PEACE AND ORDER PROJECTS. AND MINDANAO AS A WHOLE HAS BRIGHT POTENTIALS. IT IS ENCOURAGING THAT TWO OF ITS PROVINCES -- DAVAO ORIENTAL AND SOUTH COTABATO, INCIDENTALLY LED BY TWO WOMEN GOVERNORS -- ARE AMONG THE TOP TEN GAINERS IN HUMAN DEVELOPMENT. AND THAT ANOTHER PROVINCE, MISAMIS ORIENTAL, HAS THE EIGHTH HIGHEST HDI IN THE COUNTRY AND IS A TOP PERFORMING PROVINCE IN THE AREA OF EDUCATION.

WE NEED TO ADDRESS THE LOW HUMAN DEVELOPMENT INDEX OF THE BOTTOM FIVE AS QUICKLY AND DECISIVELY AS POSSIBLE. AND THAT, OF COURSE IS WORKING ON THE AUTONOMOUS REGION OF MUSLIM MINDANAO. I HAVE SAID WE SHOULD FIND JOBS FOR OUR PEOPLE IN ORDER TO WIN THE WAR AGAINST POVERTY WITHIN THE DECADE. IF THE PROVINCES WITH THE LOWEST DEVELOPMENT INDICES ALSO HAVE LOW UNEMPLOYMENT RATES, I BELIEVE IT IS BECAUSE THE UNEMPLOYED OF THOSE PROVINCES QUICKLY MIGRATE TO THE PROVINCES WITH THE HIGHEST DEVELOPMENT AND LOOK FOR JOBS THERE, BUT NOT FINDING JOBS FAST ENOUGH, THEY JUST STAY THERE. THEY DON'T GO BACK HOME AGAIN. AND THIS EXPLAINS WHY THE RICHEST REGIONS ALSO HAVE THE HIGHEST UNEMPLOYMENT RATES. SO I STILL BELIEVE IT IS STILL JOBS, JOBS, JOBS WE MUST CREATE TO RAISE THE HUMAN DEVELOPMENT INDEX OF OUR PEOPLE AS A WHOLE. IN A FREE ENTERPRISE ECONOMY THIS IS A TALL ORDER BECAUSE IN THE END JOBS WILL BE CREATED NOT BY GOVERNMENT ECONOMIC ACTIVITY BUT BY PRIVATE SECTOR INVESTMENT DECISIONS. BUT THE SITUATION BROOKS NO DELAY. STEP-BY-STEP, WE MUST MOVE FORWARD.

ON OUR PART, WHAT CAN GOVERNMENT DO. WELL, WINNIE MENTION INPUTS AND OUTCOME. THE GOVERNMENT CAN DO ITS INPUTS AND WE MENTION OUR OUTPUT. BUT IN THE END, HUMAN DEVELOPMENT WILL BE IN THE OUTCOME. OUR JOB IS TO BE GUIDED BY REAL, VISIBLE AND MEASURABLE TARGETS IN TERMS OF INPUTS AND HOPEFULLY IN TERMS OF SOME OUTPUTS, MOST OF THESE WERE CONTAINED IN MY FIRST STATE OF THE NATION ADDRESS BEFORE CONGRESS LAST YEAR.

ALLOW ME TO MENTION A FEW ACCOMPLISHMENTS.

INPUT: I TARGETED 20 BILLION PESOS A YEAR FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE AGRICULTURE AND FISHERIES MODERNIZATION, BUT IN ACTUALLITY, WE OVERREACHED THAT INPUT. WE SPENT MORE THAN 24 BILLION PESOS ON AGRICULTURAL MODERNIZATION.

OUTCOME: AGRICULTURE IS ONE OF OUR FASTEST GROWING SECTORS, GREW MORE THAN TARGETTED, RIGHT DANTE? IN YEAR 2001 AND FIRST QUARTER OF 2002. AND THIS YEAR, WE HAVE ALLOCATED EVEN MORE FOR OUR AGRICULTURAL MODERNIZATION, ALMOST 26 BILLION PESOS.

OUTPUT: I TARGETTED THAT 150,000 URBAN POOR FAMILIES WOULD BE EMPOWERED TO BUY THE LAND THAT THEY OCCUPY, AND THAT 200,000 HECTARES OF PUBLIC LAND AND PRIVATE AGRICULTURAL LAND WILL BE DISTRIBUTED UNDER LAND REFORM.

OUTPUT TARGETS: MORE HAVE ALREADY BEEN GRANTED.

OUTPUT: MORE THAN 150,000 HOUSEHOLDS HAVE BEEN PROVIDED MASS HOUSING BECAUSE WE TARGETTED THAT 100,000 WORKERS HOUSING AND 50,000 POOREST OF THE POOR HOUSING WILL BE PROVIDED. THE STRUCTURE IS NOT QUIET HOW I TARGETTED IT. WE UNDERPERFORMED ON WORKERS HOUSING, OVERPERFORMED IN HOUSING FOR THE POOREST OF THE POOR. BUT AGGREGATED THE OUTPUT TARGET HAS ALSO BEEN EXCEEDED.

OUTCOME: I HOPE OUTCOMES CAN BE FOUND IN THE HUMAN DEVELOPMENT INDEX. AND I HOPE OUR HUMAN DEVELOPMENT INDEX WILL BECOME HIGHER WITH OUR GAINS TOWARDS UNIVERSAL HEALTH INSURANCE AND CUTTING BY HALF THE PRICE OF MEDICINES.

OUTPUT AGAIN: OUR TARGET FOR HEALTH INSURANCE COVERAGE FOR THE URBAN POOR WAS 500,000. WE HAVE ALREADY ENROLLED MORE THAN 2,204,000 URBAN POOR. AND FOR THE RURAL POOR WHERE I HAD NO TARGET BECAUSE I WASN'T SURE HOW THE LOCAL GOVERNMENTS WOULD COOPERATE, MORE THAN 1,864,000 HAVE ALREADY BEEN ENROLLED. THAT'S OUTPUT AND I HOPE IT CAN TRANSLATE TO OUTCOMES IN HIGHER LONGER LONGEVITY.

RELATED TO HEALTH INSURANCE IS MEDICINE. SEVENTY-FOUR GOVERNMENT HOSPITALS NOW CARRY MEDICINES COMMONLY BOUGHT BY THE POOR AT PRICES HALF OF WHAT THEY WERE PAYING LAST YEAR. AND YESTERDAY THE PRIVATE SECTOR JOINED THE DRIVE TO PROVIDE THESE HALF-PRICED MEDICINE WITH THE INAUGURATION OF RITEMED, A BRAND OFFERING COMMONLY USED MEDICINES AT AN AVERAGE OF 50 PERCENT LESS THAN THE CURRENT PRICES OF RIVAL BRANDS. MAY I CITE, IT IS ALSO BEING DISTRIBUTED IN WATSON'S BRANCHES ALL OVER THE COUNTRY. WINNIE HAS ALWAYS BEEN PUSHING FOR RETAIL LIBERALIZATION. WATSON'S BEING THERE AND PIONEERING IN CARRYING THESE BRANDS IS PROOF THAT WINNIE'S POLICY OF RETAIL TRADE LIBERALIZATION IS CORRECT.INCIDENTALLY, THE 63 BRANCHES WERE ALL PUT UP DURING MY ADMINISTRATION. AND WHILE THE OTHERS MAY BE TIMID, WATSON'S WILL PUT UP 15 MORE BRANCHES BEFORE THE END OF THE YEAR. SO, WE NEED COMPETITION AND INVESTMENT. AND SOMETIMES THOSE THAT WE USED TO SEEK TO KEEP OUT OF OUR ECONOMY SOMETIMES THEY ARE THE ONCE WHO ARE MORE DARING. AND I HOPE THEY CAN BE THE LEADERS FOR THE REST OF OUR BUSINESS COMMUNITY TO PUT THEIR MONEY BACK IN THEIR FAITH IN GOVERNMENT.

BUT THIS IS NOT ALL. WE NEED A STRONG REPUBLIC TO CREATE JOBS TO WIN THE WAR AGAINST POVERTY. WE NEED A STRONG AND EFFECTIVE GOVERNMENT, NOT THAT COWERS IN FEAR AT EVERY THREAT, THAT DELIVERS BASIC SERVICES INSTEAD FOR EVERYONE. FOR THE MOST IMPORTANT OF WHICH TODAY, IN OUR MATERIAL CONDITIONS TODAY, IS AN ENVIRONMENT OF PEACE AND ORDER AND THE RULE OF LAW AND THE NECESSARY INFRASTRUCTURE.

WE NEED AN EFFECTIVE STATE TO UPLIFT ITS POOREST AND WEAKEST CITIZENS, EMPOWER THEM AND DISMANTLE THE STRUCTURES THAT MAKE THEM POOR AND WEAK. WE NEED AN EFFECTIVE GOVERNMENT THAT REST ON THE RULE OF LAW FOR ALL AND NOT JUST FOR THE POWERFUL.

AND SO I ASK YOU -- HELP! LET US WORK TOGETHER TO CONTINUALLY INCREASE OUR HUMAN DEVELOPMENT INDEX. LET US SET ASIDE DIVISIVE SENTIMENTS. AND LIKE THE REST OF THE ORDINARY FILIPINOS, LET US MAKE FAITH AN IMPORTANT PART OF OUR INDICES. LET US MOVE AS ONE WITH A STOUT HEART AND A STRONG REPUBLIC, GOD WILL MAKE US VICTORIOUS.

THANK YOU.

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