Ferdinand Marcos

“ Beset as we are with tremendous challenges at home, we are also affected by the momentous happenings abroad.
The foreign policy of our Republic shall continue to be dictated by our national interests and the interests we share with other peoples of identical aspirations and goals. It must serve the enduring welfare of our nation by promoting its prosperity, security and liberty. Its primary goals must be the security of our country from aggression and subversion, and its economic development through our own vigorous efforts and in close economic cooperation with other countries. ”

“ Our financial policy therefore will be so designed that the public sector may not unduly tax the existing credit sources in competition with the private sector.
It will also be so designed that consumers do not suffer from the consequences of a rise in prices. Not only will we exercise the utmost responsibility in monetary and fiscal policy in order to hold the line on prices, but we are determined to undertake massive production programs in rice, fish, vegetables and meat. We shall fight hoarding and market manipulation with every force at our disposal. ”

“ The challenge of our times demands that we mobilize the best talents available in the private sector as well as in the public service if we are to realize our aspirations as a people. To this end, I would like to see the infusion of our career staff with “new blood” at all levels of the national government and the interchange of talent between government and private employment and among government agencies in order to enhance the responsiveness of our public service to the challenges we face. ”

“ Our industries have been the main propellent of our growth. Now they are suffering from being too thin in capital base, too fat in accounts receivables, too starved for credit and too drained of profits. ”

“ We cannot lay any claim to nobility or greatness unless we can improve our tax collection system. We must show convincing proofs that we are using in the most judicious and economical manner the funds we collect in the form of taxes in order to leave no room for the justification of the popular hesitation to pay taxes which taxpayers claim will just be squandered away. ”

“ Self-sufficiency in the production of food, especially rice, must be attained in the shortest possible time. We must also improve and diversify our production of export crops so that we can develop Philippine agriculture into a reliable earner of foreign exchange.
This Administration is prepared to find the means for the implementation of land reform. If necessary, we shall consider the sale of government properties not immediately needed to realize the funds for the proposed Land Bank. ”

“ There are other crimes whose pernicious influence rests not so much on their rate of incidence, but more importantly, on their adverse effects on the national economy. I refer particularly to the problem of smuggling—that cancerous evil that has wreaked havoc on our economy and weakened the moral fiber of our people. ”

“ Our inability to make a bigger contribution does not derive from any lack of will but from a lack of means. To augment the limited government resources available for these projects, we have recommended to Congress the amendment of the Reparations Law in order to allow greater utilization of reparations goods, services and funds for public works development. ”

“ Our Supreme Court, the final arbiter of the law, has clothed the Commission on Elections with power to annul votes that appear in election returns that are patently fraudulent. I recommend legislation which would grant the Commission on Elections the additional power to issue injunctions against any candidate, under pain of cancellation of his name from the list of candidates, for violating the limitation on expenditure and the period of campaign.
The implementation of the new registration law must continue so as to prevent flying voters and other malpractices vitiating the popular will. ”

“ However, when it will not be possible to generate a surplus in the magnitude that will suffice to cover our requirements for economic development we shall not be limited to the mere extent of such a surplus. ”

“ Since trade with the United States is essential to the national economy, we shall maintain this trade on equitable and mutually advantageous terms. At the same time, we shall seek to expand our trade with other countries under conditions consistent with our fundamental interests. ”

“ We appeal to the businessmen of this nation to harness their best qualities towards our common goals. With the lifting of the retention scheme and the relative easing of credit policy, we invite our investors to direct their attention towards ventures that contribute to our productive capabilities. ”

“ We shall be friends to all nations that either share our values or wish us no evil. We shall maintain close relations with our allies on a basis of mutual respect, equal dignity and genuine identity of purpose. ”

“ You can see, therefore, that our government is hard put to meet its obligations. And the financing horizon is shrouded in darkness. For the different government financial institutions are floundering. ”

“ We shall continue to give loyal support to the United Nations. We have participated in the establishment of the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization, the Association of Southeast Asia, and Maphilindo. It is our hope that these orga­nizations will continue to strengthen our capability to ward off aggression and subversion, build our economy, and enrich our culture. ”

“ Despite advances in public health during the last decade, tuberculosis, in­testinal and communicable diseases continue to take a heavy toll of life among our people.
There is a very disturbing upsurge in the incidence of criminality in our country. The crime clock indicates murder and homicide every hour, theft every 30 minutes, robbery every hour, sexual offense, estafa and falsification every two hours. Speed in the investigation of complaints, prosecution of criminals and adjudication of cases is far from satisfactory and there is backlog of more than 80,000 cases pending in our courts. ”

“ We are committed to provide an educational system which can tap the potentials and vitality of our human resources. We shall continue to meet the constitutional mandate of providing free and universal primary education. ”

“ Communism remains an ever-present danger to the security of this region. We shall stand ever alert to this menace and are determined to resist its expansion through our own s­trength and in cooperation with other nations. ”

“ We must, for too long have we procrastinated as a people, be never daring to forsake, in the phrase of Rizal, “a humble present for a brilliant future.” But our people cannot wait and they ask us to act and I hear them say, there is no margin for pettiness. There are no reserves for partisan strifes. ”

“ We are faced with the irony of having to religiously invest a very high proportion of our limited resources in education and yet experiencing so much waste in high dropout rates and in the incidence of unemployment among college graduates. ”

“ The promotion of the wood products industry by lifting the percentage tax on all domestic sales of logs for manufacture or processing into wood products, and by imposing a tax on all foreign sales of logs. We have the necessary capacity and potential for producing veneer, plywood, wood pulp and other wood products for export. ”

“ These threats to our security are further aggravated by the state of pre­paredness of our military and police establishments which is far from adequate.
We face a pervasive threat from a military power that has resorted to open aggression to attain its ends and has never accepted that general war would be disastrous. ”

“ The creation of a National Export Trade Authority which shall have the responsibility of promoting Philippine export trade. This Export Authority shall coordinate and unify the activities of government agencies concerned with exports, update and simplify export procedures, impose quality control and standardization of export products, and generally lend all manner of assistance to Philippine exporters. ”

“ The convenience of water supply facilities is afforded to less than half our population. Electric power reaches only a segment of the cities and the municipalities. Only five per cent of our rice lands are irrigated. ”

“ It is suggested that perhaps it would be better if no sample ballots were distributed except as incidental to or as a part of other propaganda leaflets within the limits prescribed, but the names of all candidates of each party, and independent groups, should be posted in every election booth at election time. The use of newspapers, television and radio should be limited to a reasonable level. ”

“ Our school system continues to experience difficulties in accommodating the annual increment to the school population; in improving the quality of instruction at all levels; and in efficiently utilizing the output of our colleges and universities. ”

“ Our industries face the challenge of recovery. Their growth has been stunted. Machines in our factories have sputtered to a stop, thereby leaving industrial capacity unused and hundreds of workers unemployed. ”

“ The Philippine National Bank, therefore, now seeks to borrow funds for its own operations. The GSIS has overdrawn its count with the Philippine National Bank by P35 million. The Development Bank of the Philippines with a billion capitalization lost more than P5 million in operations last year, the first time since its organization. The Social Security System is badly indebted. ”

“ It is my task today to recount the unhappy details of such a crisis. Our government has been spending more than it has been earning. The daily income of government is ₱4 million while its daily expenditures are ₱6 million. ”

“ Define terms under which foreign investors shall venture into the Philippines.
There shall be created an Investment Office which shall furnish all the information that may be required by prospective investors, foreign or domestic. ”

“ The fifth plan is, we shall extend maximum protection to the working man and we shall do so through a vigorous and effective implementation of existing labor laws, and we shall enhance the productivity of workers through training and placement services. However, I shall periodically present and recommend to Congress amendments to some of the existing labor laws. ”

“ To overcome the crisis in classroom accommodations by undertaking a school building program which would not only meet the annual increase in requirements but would also gradually eliminate the existing backlog of 50,000 classrooms. ”

“ We intend to develop an additional capacity for 1 million kilowatts of electric power and provide adequate water services for 3.7 million people in the provinces. We will irrigate an additional quarter of a million hectares and undertake river control projects in eight regions and 38 localities. ”