Ferdinand Marcos

“ Whereas, as an essential part of the reforms accomplished by the New Society under martial law the Filipino people have given expression to their political will through free and voluntary participation in plebiscites, referenda and elections, achieved an unprecented growth of the economy, a just and compassionate sharing of wealth, an orderly growth of human settlements and communities, a dignified and sovereign participation in international relations, and a flowering of Filipino art and culture ”

“ Whereas, such progress wrought by reforms under conditions of peace and public order are merely a reflection of the profound transformation in the spirit of the Filipino, who as a consequence of the support and the challenge of the New Society has acquired the community spirit, a sense of belonging and a sense of pride in his community, his nation, his history and traditions, a sense of national identity that fills him with the resolve to stand his ground against any intruder ”

“ Under the martial law government legitimate political dissent received full protection, although constant vigilance has been exercised to protect the government and society from the inroads of subversion and violence. The care and attention given by the government to distinguish between legitimate political dissent and subversion or violence has promoted greater citizen awareness of the contribution they are expected to make to the peace, security and stability of the nation. ”

“ The government protects the welfare of the poor by imposing very low taxes on essential items. This is evident in food items and in crude oil products — low taxes are imposed on diesel and industrial fuel, higher taxes on gasoline. The taxes have been altogether moderate. In other countries, tax collected constitute from 17% to 25% of the gross national product. In the Philippines, taxes are only 14 per cent of the GNP. Also in line with our commitment to promote the welfare of the poor, we have deliberately controlled the prices of 15 essential items. ”

“ Whereas, the experience gained by the nation under martial law in subduing threats to the stability of the government, public order and security, has enabled the Filipino people to rediscover their confidence in their ability to command the resources of national unity, patriotism, discipline and sense of common destiny ”

“ During the present administration, the Philippines has become so dependable as a borrower that the World Bank has been willing to lend $500 million at any single time, indicating the competence and stability of the Philippine government, which has never been delinquent in its payments. ”

“ Underlying the economy is the basic policy to uphold private enterprise. We have never confiscated or nationalized private enterprise, and there is absolutely no intention to take this socialist course. The previous administration threatened to do so, that is why investments before the present administration were discouraged from entering the Philippines. ”

“ Land reform, which has liberated 523,153 farmers from the shackles of tenancy and transformed land ownership from a system of exploitation to a self-reliant and creative act, so that the income of the Filipino farmer has increased twofold in some areas, threefold in others, a condition altogether different from the times when land reform legislation repeatedly failed because Congress was controlled by landowners, giving rise to the Hukbalahap uprising. ”

“ The ultimate objective of our economic policy is a balanced agro-industrial economy. This is why we are shifting slowly to the 11 principal industries which are needed for the fulfillment of this objectives. ”

“ Whereas, the Philippines has broadened its outlook and reached for larger horizons, in keeping with its new stature as a truly sovereign nation, discarding the parochialism of the past in favor of a world view that encompasses every nation that would reciprocate its goodwill, including socialist countries, and performing an important role in the organization of the Association of Southeast Asian nations, in the process gaining unwonted prestige in the international community, recently enhanced by its membership in the Security Council of the United Nations ”

“ Labor reform, which produced a new Labor Code, introduced tripartite conferences of labor, management and government as a means of protecting industrial peace, and enabled the government to maintain the unemployment rate at 4.5 per cent considerably lower than that of many other countries, including highly developed ones. ”

“ Martial law provided the opportunity to install the requisite institutions for coping with the energy crisis now and in the future, starting with the formulation of a comprehensive, long-term program which has been singled out by the World Bank as a suggested model for Third World countries. ”

“ Whereas, the government and the people are at the same time also aware that the public safety continues to require a degree of capability to deal adequately with elements who persist in endeavoring to overthrow the government by violent means and exploiting every opportunity to disrupt the peaceful and productive labors of the government ”

“ A widely accepted innovation in democratic government has been the election of representatives of the youth, labor and agricultural sectors in the Batasang Pambansa and in the Sanggunian, a system which permits three important segments of society to participate directly in legislation. ”

“ The economy gained incalculable benefits from the roadbuilding program, which has built 65,972 kilometers of highways from 1969 to 1980, compared to the 84,722 kilometers built between 1900 to 1965, as well as from the accelerated program of irrigation, which has produced irrigation systems for more than 1,300,000 hectares as of 1980, in contrast to the systems built from 1900 to 1972, which could serve no more than 600 thousand hectares. Under the New Society, foreign loans have been rationalized. ”

“ The vigorous and unrelenting quality of the peace and order campaign enabled the government to identify 250 criminal syndicates and apprehend or neutralize their members; to seize or collect 650,000 firearms of all classes, makes and varieties, including artillery, machine guns, assault rifles, tanks, armored cars, and the latest models of sophisticated armaments; to arrest and bring to trial more than 2,000 ordinary criminals long wanted under unserved warrants. ”

“ Educational reform, which has succeeded in reorienting the curriculum to the requirements of economic development, placing emphasis on vocational and technological skills in high school and science and engineering in college ”

“ Per capita income has more than trebled from US$214 in 1972 to US$755 in 1979 — in 1972 the percentage of Filipino families with a family income of ₱1999 and below was 24.3 per cent while in 1979 it was reduced to 11.2 per cent, and those with family incomes of ₱30,000 or over increased from 5.0 per cent in 1972 to 12.8 per cent in 1979 ”

“ We have set up the Kadiwa Centers of the Human Settlements ministry and the National Grains Authority to bring down prices even more. A massive food production and supply system has been established under a new corporation, the National Food Authority, to which the NGA has been converted with a capitalization of ₱5 billion. ”

“ Pursuant to Article XVII, Section 3, Paragraph 2 of the Constitution, all proclamations, orders, decrees instructions, and acts promulgated, issued or done by the incumbent President constitute part of the law of the land, and shall remain valid, legal, binding, and effective even after lifting of martial law, unless modified, revoked, or superseded by subsequent proclamations, orders, decrees, instructions, or unless expressly and explicitly modified or repealed by the regular National Assembly. ”

“ We can therefore hope that in time we shall cease completely to import factories and heavy machinery and will instead engineer and fabricate them. We are even now in the process of gradually manufacturing automobile, heavy truck and diesel engines. ”

“ These 11 basic industries are in the process of being set up; copper smelter, phosphate fertilizer, aluminum smelter, heavy equipment industries, integrated steel mills, petrochemical complex, diesel engine manufacturing, cement industry expansion, coconut industry rationalization, alcogas, and integrated pulp and paper. ”