Joseph Estrada

“ But, surely, it is time for the masses to enjoy first priority in the programs of the government.
As far as resources permit, to the best of our ability and the limit of our energy, we will put a roof over their heads, food on their tables, and clothes on their backs. We will educate their children and foster their health. We will bring peace and security, jobs and dignity to their lives. We will put more infrastructure at their service, to multiply their productivity and raise their incomes. ”

“ We have a seventy-billion peso budget deficit and a consolidated public sector deficit that could go as high as ninety billion pesos. Collection on taxes and duties are down, even as more and more tax exemptions and incentives cut deep into government revenues.
Government could borrow more. But that will only raise interest rates and worsen the economic slowdown. The result: less taxes and fewer jobs.
If high interest rates squeeze GNP by just 2 percent more, there will be half a million more jobless. But if we pressure the Bangko Sentral to print more money, inflation will shoot up. ”

“ Rectifying these decades of historical errors and lapses will take much more than two years of any presidency.
Radical restructuring entails the modernization of the economy, both physically and electronically, to make it more productive, efficient, and globally competitive. And modernization must touch not just agriculture and industry but the brains and hands of our people, to put the country squarely on the path of the information superhighway, which in turn links the world's knowledge-based economies into one vast global network. ”

“ Why must economic progress always be at the people's expense?
When it was a question of economic reforms to rebuild business confidence and restore business profits, the reforms were never too fast or too hard, especially for the common people to bear.
Six years after Cory Aquino, the foundations of a strong economy were laid. In the six years of the Ramos administration, the economy was paying big dividends to its biggest stockholders. This time, why not to the common people as well, for a change? Must we always measure progress only by the golf courses of the rich? ”

“ Yet may I remind our people that liberty without responsibility is license, that freedom does not confer the right to violate the law or the rights of others, that freedom without responsibility is the formula for chaos, anarchy, and lawlessness. ”

“ These are the men and women who gave birth to the idea of Filipino freedom; who struggled in war to give it recognition; and worked in peace to make it come true. Cory Aquino brought freedom back after it was taken away and Fidel Ramos showed how power should respect the people's freedom of choice in elections.
They also began the slow and difficult work of making freedom more meaningful-not just for the rich but also for the poor who are more, but have nothing.
It is time. Time to speed up the improvement of the living conditions of the common people. ”

“ I realize that "eradication" is unattainable in real life. But getting as close to it as possible is worth the effort. it is true that Jesus Christ said: "the poor you will always have with you," but he did not say they had to be the majority. My vision is to drive poverty away from the center and into the periphery of our concerns, to make it a marginal rather than a mainstream problem.
Hence, our war on poverty is not just one program of government. It is the overriding business of the government itself. It is built into and embedded in our total economic and social programs. ”

“ Graft and corruption is the worst form of rottenness in our society. It erodes the moral fabric of our people, robs the poor, increases the costs of doing business, erodes tax collection efforts, and drives away investments. ”

“ While I ask you to share these sacrifices with me, I will not impose any more on you when it comes to my job as president. The job is mine now and I'll do it.
There is no excuse for the spread of crime in any society, unless government is an accomplice. There is no criminal organization or criminal activity that can stand up to the government if the government is sincere about stamping it out. ”

“ You must drop your weapons because outside of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the authorized police forces, no group whatsoever has any right to maintain an armed force or military camps within the sovereign territory of this republic.
Secession by itself is a mere ideology, but if backed by armed force, it becomes a rebellion. A secessionist can only argue, but a rebel can kill. The government has no choice but to disarm the rebel--except for duly licensed personal firearms. ”

“ Bumalik na kayo sa buklod ng batas at ng atin lipunan, At dito tayo mag-usap ng masinsinan, bilang magkakapatid, walang sandata sa kamay, walang tutukan ng baril.
Our people overwhelmingly support our constitutional system and our functioning democracy. No insurgency of any color has the legal, political, or moral right to seek to bring it down. ”

“ If you wish to run the government, seek the people’s mandate. If you have any grievances against the government or against society, seek your redress within the law. You have a right to your beliefs, but you cannot justify your belligerence. ”

“ Government cannot afford to build all the roads that are needed, but it would be a crime to build fewer roads to line more pockets.
Government cannot afford to bring back the millions of Overseas Filipino Workers to jobs and dignity back home, but we shall protect their interests abroad and their families back home.
Government cannot afford to give all the youth the complete education promised by the Constitution, but it would be a crime if any money for education was misspent on inferior textbooks and substandard classrooms built by pork barrel. ”

“ Until we develop a credible military deterrent, we must depend on the goodwill of our neighbors, on our treaty commitments with the United States, and on the skills of our diplomats in conveying to everyone that we want only peace, stability, and a shared prosperity. ”

“ All these institutional reforms and radical restructurings, plus additional measures I will mention later, should restore and increase the country's ability to compete for investments in the future.
As we build our infrastructure, so shall we build our information superhighway. In fact, instead of just retracting the history of other faster-growing countries, we have decided to leapfrog from the so-called old economy to the new economy: using information technology, including e-commerce, to fast-track our output, our productivity and our competitiveness. ”

“ Walang lakas ang mahihirap upang tulungan ang kanilang sarili ngunit ngayon, kahit ang gobyerno ay kapos sa pondo. So we must straategize to maximize.
Dole-outs are out, but basic social services are only just and right. That means basic health care, basic nutrition, and useful education for those who want it, but cannot afford it.
We will speed up the program to establish one Science high school in every province. We will give education subsidies straight to deserving students and teachers without passing through the schools. That way they can choose where to study and where to teach. ”

“ Your powers and ours may be separate, as mandated by the Constitution, but our concern for our people should converge.
To sum up: We have emerged from the Asian crisis. We are now in pursuit of our vision of a prosperous and a poverty-free Philippines. The future is for us to shape.
The conditions are positive. Our exports are surging up. Our rice and corn harvests are bountiful. Our banking system is among the strongest in Asia. The peso is stable. Interest rates are low and inflation is low. ”

“ We know that the most damaging crimes against society are not those of petty thieves in rags, but those of economic saboteurs in expensive clothes: the dishonest stockholders, the wheeling-dealing businessmen, influence-peddlers, price-padders, and other crooks in government. ”

“ There are whole Filipino populations in Mindanao--Muslims, Christians, and Lumad--who do not want their territories and their residencies disturbed. Not even the majority of the Muslim population shares your separatist views nor the violent means you employ to attain them. The overriding passion of the people of Mindanao is for peace.
Our people will simply not stand for the dismemberment of the country. All of the Philippines belongs to all Filipinos. ”

“ We will establish a large taxpayers unit at the BIR. We will suspend the implementation of certain BOI exemptions granted to companies under laws and executive orders that expired in 1997.
The fiscal reforms forced upon us by the economic crisis will continue to serve us well even after the crisis is over. I will take this opportunity to establish fiscal discipline in the spending habits of government. Although we have to tolerate a certain amount of deficit this year, we will try as best as possible to pursue a balanced budget for the National Government in the coming years. ”

“ Investments create jobs. And jobs provide both income and dignity. They are the decisive eliminators of poverty.
Our war on poverty is in our programs to enable our industries to achieve global competitiveness. We will transform the power sector to a market-based, competitive industry in order to lower the costs of power. The Omnibus Power Bill is necessary to achieve this. We will exploit our competitive advantage in high-tech industries. Our science and technology policies are being re-oriented towards satisfying the needs of the underprivileged. ”

“ When I talk of another war, I mean the war to correct historical wrongs, which left a sad legacy of poverty and social injustice to Mindanao. This is the war that all of us, including ex-rebels, should fight together.
Fighting the rebellion is one thing. It takes the military to do it. But fighting the root causes of rebellion is another. It will take the whole society to do it.
We can talk about the possibility of amnesty. I ask the MILF leaders to lead your followers in walking with us along the path of peace. ”

“ What wealth will be generated will be more equitably shared. What sacrifices are demanded will be more evenly carried. This much I promise, for every stone of sacrifice you carry, I will carry twice the weight. ”