Corazon Aquino

“ Let us not, however, use the reduction in strikes by itself as an invitation to more investments, but rather as a barometer of the more equitable distribution of the progress we are making. We are instructed by this welcome development to work towards even greater equity in the distribution of wealth as the surest means to social order and peace.
Our greatest investment in enhancing national productive capacity is in education – in developing the intelligence and the sinews of our people, as it were. ”

“ I will not preempt a Congress that feels its time is better spent in investiga­tions of anything, nor a Supreme Court that has a longer backlog of unresolved cases than there are decisions in the casebooks from the turn of the century. ”

“ This year, we anticipate less because of a slight contraction of the world economy and the shift from consumer-led to the more substantive but slower investment-led growth that we see as the safer course to take.
The economic upturn is reflected in the reduction of industrial actions. The exuberance of a suddenly liberated labor sector has made room for a deeper appreciation of the need for all sectors to work together-rather than against each other-for the general improvement. ”

“ First, we have to strengthen the foundations of a vigorous market-oriented economy. This would involve continued adherence to prudent fiscal and monetary policies and reliance on market forces in the functioning of the economy. These policies have engendered robust growth of private investment, output, employment and consumption. These have also kept inflation at accept­able levels and helped protect the real incomes of wage earners. Our record of high growth with low inflation is a singular achievement among heavily indebted countries. ”

“ Three and a half years have passed since the Revolution. Recalling the perils we passed, and the ground we have covered, I marvel at the kindness of God and the strength of our people – at the fortitude and ingenuity of a race that did so much with so little, and in so short a time. ”

“ Our objective is not merely to subdivide the misery on the land, but to raise the living standards of our farmers to the level of their dig­nity as the backbone of our economy.
Fifth, for our development to be at all sustainable, we need to redress the years of degradation and neglect of our environment, and preserve what remains of our natural resources. ”

“ A people-powered revolution must aim for a people-empowered democracy and economy. Rural development will best realize this aim. The al­leviation of poverty will come with the upliftment of the rural poor.
Unless we draw our rural areas into the dynamics of the national economy, turning hinterlands of decay into frontiers of progress, our growth and equity goals will not be attained, neither in the short nor the long term. ”

“ As we emerge from a singular pre-occupation with economic recovery, we must remind ourselves of initiatives that will have a major impact now and profound implications tomorrow. Three particular priorities are: the protection of the environment, the promotion of family planning and responsible parent­hood, and the development of science and technology.
While the lead in the environmental movement must be taken by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, responsibility must be as­sumed by all of us. ”

“ Let us not forget that we have come from a 2O-year struggle between our people and a dictator, and that we are here engaged in the reconstruction of an economy and a polity as though from the ruins of war. ”

“ Until we-the Executive, the Congress, and the Judiciary-bring the situation totally under control, none of our accomplish­ments elsewhere will have a lasting impact on the opinion of the public. For criminality threatens the most basic rights of man-the right to live, to raise a family, and enjoy and bequeath the prosperity he has worked for. ”

“ The great task that we have set ourselves will require two great instruments of social transformation: a just but iron-fisted law and good government.
There will be no progress in our communities without order, without secur­ing the lives and properties of our citizens against criminality and the insurgency. ”

“ There is the challenge of sustaining growth and meeting our medium-term targets.
And there is the age-old challenge and threat that poverty and under­development pose to the viability of democracies in the Third World. How long can we stay poor and still free? ”

“ Fourth, as the lynchpin of our efforts to lift the mass of our people from poverty, we must implement agrarian reform with greater vigor, doing our best to combine speed with the necessary caution. I would like to stress again the aim of agrarian reform. ”

“ We have one of the lowest tax to GNP ratios of any country in the world. No longer can we tolerate tax evasion as a national pastime, especially of the rich, when indeed our economic future is at stake. The place for tax evaders is not high society but behind bars.
As regards external financing resources, except for one component we have installed a financing structure which will support sustained growth. ”

“ Even as they per­form their duties with the required independence and integrity, let them be reminded that good government can be achieved as well by cooperation as by adversarial relations. The purpose of checks in government is not to induce paralysis but to achieve balance and foster progress. ”

“ Third, no less important than physical infrastructure, we must continue to strengthen our public institutions and find ways to do things better, faster, and, with the greater appearance and substance of integrity. I have a few words to say on the subject of corruption. Yesterday, a pastoral letter was read in all the churches deploring the resurgence of official corruption. How can the Cabinet, the Congress, and the Supreme Court deny what is plain for all to see: that cor­ruption is again a way of public life? ”

“ For we must brace ourselves for greater cruelties from a cause that is now indistinguishable from a common crime. In summary, we have beaten the insurgents less by fighting than by the example of our humanity, our concern, and the impact of our economic progress. ”

“ Our other great task is to deliver good government. This, I believe, consists of maintaining closeness to the people, honesty and efficiency in their service, and making a difference for the better in their lives. ”

“ Economic Recovery and Poverty
Yet poverty remains prevalent. The lowest 30% of our population remains mired in unchanging misery. They think nothing has changed and I don’t blame them. Liberty is a poor substitute for food. The economic improvement we have experienced has had some impact on the incidence of poverty, which declined from 59% in 1985 to 49% in 1988. ”

“ We need the physi­cal infrastructure to link rural production and consumption with the national and international economies. We need to enhance education and health to make the best use of our best assets-our people. ”

“ The increasing isolation of the rebels has allowed military operations to succeed as never before. But such operations must take greater care to avoid collateral damage to the civilian population. For our moral ascendancy has ac­counted for the greater part of our superiority in this conflict. The protection of human rights even under conditions of conflict must be a key consideration in military operations and missions. ”

“ Sixth, we must mobilize the resources, both domestic and foreign, neces­sary to sustain public and private investment and provide basic social services. To generate domestic resources, vigorous tax collection efforts, banking reforms, and the development of capital markets are underway. Measures to enhance public confidence in the stock markets are needed and I look to the Congress to study and initiate them. ”

“ While the Department of Health is the designated lead agency for family planning, we should all contribute towards building the fami­ly as a purposeful act of confidence in the future. The Department of Science and Technology needs to bring academe, government and business together in· promoting science and technology. ”

“ We must steer away from the siren songs of quick fixes, easy spending, un­warranted subsidies, and irrational price controls, which elsewhere have contributed to bloated deficits, tailspin hyperinflation, and social instability. ”

“ Ouantitatively, we are close to our targets; qualitatively we are far. A rigorous and high quality secondary education, the Japanese and Ger­man experiences teach, is the foundation of a modern economy. ”

“ The magnitude of unresolved disputes has frozen innumerable billions of pesos worth of assets in litigation. The staggering number of unsolved crimes has eroded the credibility of the state to be respected as such. ”

“ The problem is massive for having been left unattended by the branch of government, and the departments and agencies specifically charged with the dispensation of justice and the punishment of crimes. ”

“ Second, we must go on building structures essential to the efficiency and productivity of the economy. Government has improved or constructed 1,124 kilometers of major roads and 7,821 kilometers of secondary and feeder roads to bring markets and producers closer to each other. ”

“ Last year, 70.9% of all infants one year old or younger were immunized, representing 1,318,000 babies-a dramatic improvement over 30% in 1985. 7.7 million children were treated for various illnesses. Our aim, as we said, is shar­per minds and sounder bodies for the next generation of Filipinos. ”

“ The main weapons were democracy, a greater concern by government for rural needs, the economic recovery, a heightened respect for political and human rights, and a deeper commitment to their proper mission on the part of the Armed Forces. The.AFP reports an 8% reduction in NP A troop strength. A better indicator is the brutality with which the Communist leadership has treated the common people and even their own ranks. ”

“ Added to that faith was the will to stand for no more nonsense from military adventurers who thought that failure to shave qualified them for national leader­ship. Some people don’t like the way I dress. ”