PGMA's Speech during the Mass with Members of the Fil-Am Community

Cathedral of Our Lady of Angels Los Angeles, California, U.S.A. (May 17, 2003)

Thank you very much, your Eminence Cardinal Roger Mahoney. Thank you for your kind gesture of celebrating this special mass with the Filipino community. Thank you also for wearing a beautiful vest made of beautiful Philippine embroidery.

Officials of L.A. county; members of my delegation. I would like to take this opportunity to introduce the members of my official delegation: from the senate, Senate President Franklin Drilon; from the House of Representatives, Speaker Jose de Venecia; also Congressman Monico Puentevella of Bacolod city; and Congressman Teddy Boy Locsin of Makati City.

From the Cabinet: Executive Secretary Bert Romulo; Defense Secretary Angelo Teyes; Tourism Secretary Dick Gordon; National Security Adviser Roy Golez; my adviser on OFWs, Sonny Alvarez; my adviser for Special Projects, Mai Jimenez; my adviser for the North Luzon Quadrangle, Chavit Singson. Lahat Lumingon Chavit nung binanggit ko ang pangalan mo.

From the local governments: the Governor of Batangas, Dodo Mandanas; the Mayor of Olongapo City, Kate Gordon; ang ating Ambassador dito sa Amerika, Ambassador Albert del Rosario; ang Consul General natin dito, si Ambassador Jun Paynor. Dalawa ang trabaho ni Jun Paynor: isa, Consul General dito sa Los Angeles at pangalawa, s'ya rin ang aking presidential assistant for Official visits. So, he is coordinating this whole visit. My fellow kababayans, thank you for being here in this special mass.

Like churches everywhere, this place feels like home. What a large gathering of Filipinos! What a grand cathedral! and in this large gathering of Filipinos and Filipino-Americans, and I must pay special homage to the more than 500 Filipino volunteers from this cathedral alone. This large gathering attests to the deep faith of the Filipino people wherever we are. The churches are always filled with Filipino faithful wherever I go. Pero siyempre kaiba-iba ang Los Angeles dahil pinakamalaking Filipino community sa labas ng Pilipinas ay nasa Amerika. At pinakamalaking Filipino-American community, one-fourth ng buong Filipino-American community ay nandito sa Los Angeles area. We are an international people and we have a universal faith. And wherever we are, I see that we testify to a deep and abiding trust in God.

Recent events call for a renewal of that deep abiding trust in God. To the cowardly acts of terrorism and the threats of more wars using methods and weapons of mass destruction, comes now the spread of a deadly disease whose nature and cure still eludes the scientists.

Indeed, times are needed for greater faith. But through all these trials that our current world is undergoing progress is being made, not just in the terrorism front, not just in the SARS front but in many other fronts. Perhaps the greatest progress has been in our attitudes to these threats. We have progressed beyond fear and wonder, we have progressed towards action. And already there are promising results.

On March 20 a u.s.-led coalition of countries decided that the best way to overcome fear was to defeat it. The outcome is a victory welcomed by everyone, except the technocrats of terror and tyranny in iraq.

That victory in which many Filipino-Americans, young Filipino-Americans participated and fought. That victory now creates a new global environment that requires a new perspective on political and economic security. A perspective that must be based on a recognition of two realities:

The first, that Asia -- and that includes the Philippines -- must take greater responsibility for its own political and economic security; and the second, that strong relations with the u.s. will contribute greatly to regional stability and progress in Asia as well as greater success in addressing terrorism.

Asian self-reliance will promote immediate and effective response to clear and present dangers before they get out of control. For the Philippines, that new perspective must also take into account that we have over 7 million of our men and women who are making significant contributions to the economic development of many countries.

Filipinos and Filipino-Americans contribute remarkably to American life, not just in the economy but in the social sector as well. Recognizing the important role that our 7 million overseas Filipinos likewise play in the Philippine economy, we passed the overseas absentee voting act so that those who help our country may have a hand in shaping its future as well.

I thank the Senators and Congresssmen -- as I said represented here by Senate President Drilon, Speaker de Venecia, Congressman Puentevella, Congressman Teddy Boy Locsin -- I thank them for passing this long-awaited administration measure.

On the part of the bush administration, the united states also appreciates your contribution to both of our economies. Isa sa mga bunga ng aking state visit ay magiging ito -- pero sabihin ko nang mas maaga sa inyo -- the United States is launching a project to facilitate the flow of remittances from Filipino workers around the world back to the Philippines. This project will improve the lives of millions of Filipinos by lowering the cost of remittance transactions. It will make it easier for funds to flow to the Philippines from the United States and around the world.

We are proud of the contributions made by our current generation of Filipinos. We are also proud of the contributions made by the Philippine World War II veterans who gave so much in defense of freedom. Thus, we will continue to work for legislation extending equity benefits for Commonwealth Army Veterans and guerillas. Sayang nga noong huling pumunta ako dito pumasa na sa kongreso, umabot sa Senate committee, tapos nagkaroon ng halalan para sa bagong congressmen. Kaya ngayon itutuloy natin ang ating paglaban. But in behalf of the Filipino veterans living in the Philippines, I'd like to let you know that since my last visit to Washington, the U.S. government has been providing medical equipment to the Veterans Memorial Center in Quezon City.

The Filipino experience in this country, particularly in Los Angeles, is a positive outcome of a time-honored friendship based on shared values and traditions. You find a natural home in your host country as you embrace and advocate the ideals of freedom, democracy and the free market. Many Filipinos thrive in this country, particularly in Los Angeles, as I said, home to the largest concentration of Filipinos in the United States. Kung pag-uusapan nga natin ang Los Angeles lamang at 'yung surrounding areas. Alisin natin ang lahat nating ibang filipinos sa ibang bahagi ng amerika. Ang mas marami lamang na Filipino sa ibayong dagat keysa sa Filipino sa Los Angeles ay 'yung Saudi Arabia na one million at Malaysia na seven hundred thousand pagkatapos Los Angeles na dahil five hundred thousand. Seven hundred thousand nga kung isasama pa natin ang mga San Diego area. And I think the reason why you're so at home here in Los Angeles is because of a common political and economic bridge between our two nations across the pacific.

Filipinos hold important positions and perform important jobs in this community. Filipinos, among ethnic groups, are held in the highest respect and trust. And I congratulate you for that. You hold important positions in the private and public sectors, in the state and federal government. L.A. even has a landmark named filipino town street. And we are grateful to the office of the mayor in Los Angeles county for this gesture.

During my visit to Los Angeles in October last year, I made a special appeal to you to help me build a strong republic in the Philippines, so that the country may steadily strengthen its institutions in such a way that the interest of the many, and not a favored few alone, can be served.

I'm pleased to report that we've made progress in that direction. For instance, in strengthening the security institutions of our country, we have contained the Abu Sayaff threat. Last night, before I left Manila, I welcomed back to civilization the last two hostages of the Abu Sayaff. We are working with the United States on a new set of joint military exercises to finally finish off that threat.

In the economy, the Philippines is one of the few countries in the region that are still expected to grow at least 4 percent this year inspite of the global slowdown. And in governance, after the political turmoil that started in the year 2000, my administration has gradually stabilized our political life. The pivotal role of overseas Filipinos in nation-building cannot be overemphasized. Filipino-Americans constitute one-third of overseas Filipinos, but you contribute 71 percent of foreign exchange remittances. This contribution translates to education because we build many schools; it translates sa housing because you buy houses for your relatives; it translates to anti-poverty programs in the Philippines because you capitalize your relatives and you also make philanthropic contributions. That's why I always say that you're not overseas Filipino workers rather you're overseas Filipino investors.

I'd like to take this opportunity to renew my call for our verseas Filipino investors to continue to support our economy so that our aspiration of liberating our people from poverty can be fully realized.

Tomorrow, I shall leave for Washington to begin the official part of my state visit. I'm confident that my discussions with president bush will elevate the allied partnership between the two countries that I know you love so much. Pray for me that this visit will be a success.

Thank you

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