Ferdinand Marcos

“ We have dutifully ploughed back our earnings as a nation to the tasks of development. We have become a more disciplined and far-sighted nation. We devote 60 per cent of our budget to social and economic development. A more dramatic index of our new orientation towards production rather than consumption is this fact: up to 84 per cent of our imports in the previous year consisted of capital goods, reversing the traditional proportion of non-essential to essential importations. ”

“ The experience of nations shows that the cost of development must be borne mainly by the people themselves. Increasingly, the burden of development will have to be shared by citizens in proportion to their economic means. It is in this spirit that the Administration plans to propose to the Congress this years sweeping reform in our traditional and inadequate tax structure. To act on this will requires an atmosphere of courage and civic spirit and the ability to face the unpleasant today in return for the just rewards of tomorrow. ”

“ As I slated upon arrival from my recently concluded three-nation state visits, I am now convinced that the primary threat to our national security within the immediate future comes from internal subversion rather than from any external aggression. ”

“ The search for economic prosperity demands that we straighten out the state of our financial affairs. Fiscal irresponsibility breeds conditions that are not conducive to monetary stability. When we sow the seeds of currency and price instability, we ultimately lose the benefits of economic progress. ”

“ I am determined that the momentum for Asian prosperity and stability, which we gained through our recently renewed contact with Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand, shall be maintained, if possible increased. For the second fundamental aim of our foreign policy, which is to ensure the security of the Philippines from aggression and subversion, is in­extricably linked with our economic development. A better life for our people is the best guarantee of their security. ”

“ About 72 per cent of tax revenues are from indirect taxes; the remaining 28 per cent come from direct taxes. This must now be revised.
A realistic tax program, one attuned to the development requirements as well as the structure of our society, is now imperative. We must produce a system which would not only increase tax revenues for financing intensified government action in economic development but also distribute the tax burden fairly and justly. The rich, rather than the poor, should bear the greater weight of the tax responsibility. ”

“ Of the problems that still confront us, the most serious one, and one that is important to national self-respect as well as economic life, is the problem of improving our foreign exchange earnings. With our rapid growing population and in our present stage of industrialization, our country must trade in order to live acceptably well. The limits of easy import substitution have been reached, and substantial overcapacities already exist in many industry lines. ”

“ In education and manpower development, there have been many achievements; but our needs are very great, and lack of funds has prevented us from going as far as we would have liked. Nearly half a million children were admitted to the first grade this year, as well as 150,000 out-of-school youths, making a total of 7 million students in school; this is one out of five Filipinos. Three million textbooks are being produced for the Public School Textbook Program; the vocational education curriculum has been revised to make it more responsive to economic needs ”

“ I have repeatedly said that the greatest peril to a people, to the safety of their lives and institutions, is their own country’s im­provident economy,
For the task providing our society with sufficient guarantees of stability and security, in the form of more abundant goods and a greater sense of well-being, I have enlisted the services of the Armed Forces. Although it is proper that our soldiers must be prepared to perform their role in the military defense of the country it is necessary that today they must also participate in the more imme­diate and vita! ”

“ Manpower Development. Unemployment continues to be a pressing problem, with about 8 per cent of our labor force totally unemployed last year. We are considering several proposals to improve the skills of our idle manpower and thus make them productive members of society.
Among these measures are: an in-plant skills training program responsive to current and projected needs of industry; training for employment of out-of-school youth and unemployed adults through a network of practical training centers and free vocational instruction at the secondary school level. ”

“ The government’s output of roads, bridges, irrigation dams, airports, portworks and other infrastructure projects exceeded by several hundred per cent the total accomplishments of preceding Administrations.
—We have attained the growth objective set in our four-year development program. In agriculture, the rate of growth in the past two years averaged 6 per cent, which exceeds the target of 4 per cent in the program. In manufacturing, the target increase was 7.1 per cent; the actual increase has been placed at 8.7 per cent. We have increased per capita income. ”

“ We can certainly afford more taxes: the proportion of national income our government disposes of is about half the comparable percentage for Malaysia and about 50 per cent less than that of Thailand, neither of which countries is conspicuously richer than we are. Furthermore, our present tax structure was essentially created before 1939, when our needs were much simpler, and when we had a colonial father to run to in case of need.
Measures Proposed. Most of the measures we propose increase tax revenues. But there is a second purpose for tax reform, besides increasing government revenue. ”

“ On the domestic front, our own exporters are in need of more incentives. They must be encouraged to export more, and differ­ent things, to different markets. In this way, we protect ourselves from the uncertainty of being tied to a few buyers of a few products. In addition to the encouragement provided by the Investment Incentives Act, we should therefore like to see a special incentives act for exporters, in which additional tax ex­emptions are granted in proportion to the degree of domestic processing. ”

“ Our economic relations with other countries also need to be tidied up. There are treaties already negotiated and awaiting approval with the United States on tax relations, and with Japan, Germany and Sweden. Action should be taken on these as soon as possible, and in accordance with the will of Congress.
As a last measure in the field of international economic relations, we must increase our international bargaining power. Alone, we are economically weak against the industrial giants of the world; in union with similar countries in the Southeast Asian region, we can carry a little more weight. ”

“ A massive housing program for low-income groups will be launched under a coordinated leadership with various agencies of the government taking part. An energetic thrust in the field of manpower training will be carried out, to upgrade our labor skills and meet the growing needs of business and industry for technicians and skilled hands. We shall engage in a vigorous campaign for the promotion of Philippine export products to realize an increased amount of foreign exchange needed to provide the import requirements of our growing economy. ”

“ The 1969 elections should not be allowed to engage our thoughts and energies now and deflect us from the more urgent tasks demanded by the welfare of our people.
Those who persist in politicking at so late or so early an hour deserve the re­proach and censure of the whole nation. ”

“ Need to Increase Exports. First priority must therefore be given to increasing our exports, and to sustaining this increase over the long term. Our ultimate goal is self-sustaining growth, i.e. a high growth rate which can be maintained without undue reliance on foreign borrowing. Domestic savings are rising fast enough to be sufficient for our investment requirements in about ten years; but exports continue to fall short of our import requirements. We must eventually aim at an annual growth rate of 8 per cent for our exports ”

“ My state visits to these three countries have increased my confidence that national develop­ment and regional development can and must go hand in hand. We and our neighbors, in a region where the opportunities for growth have been largely unfulfilled, must now bring our skills and resources together to establish the only real basis for peace and security. ”

“ At the same time, we shall soon put into effect a scheme for the benefit of students, building on an existing service of the Social Security System where by students may be provided loans, under special terms and conditions, to cover their school expenses. This will be financed from a special fund contributed by various financial institutions of the government.
Economic Growth and Security. The progress we are striving for goes beyond the mere requirements of survival. Our economy must prosper if our society is to be truly secure. ”

“ In the drafting of this program, every possible reduction has already been made. The proposals have been subjected to ruthless scrutiny and pruning; only those that have met the strictest criteria of economy, efficiency and necessity have been allowed to pass, and these often in severely reduced form.
As evidence of this testing, I have laid down, in a proposal unprecedented in the history of Philippine budgeting, an absolute upper limit on the level of current expenditures. For this fiscal year, current expenditures from the general fund will not be allowed to exceed P2 billion. ”

“ Recognizing technology to be the foremost factor in economic development today, as strikingly demonstrated in the economic recovery of Japan and Germany after World War II, the government has embarked on a new program to invigorate the scientific climate of the country. Additional funds have already been channeled to support new projects in the field of applied science. About P2 million have been allocated to augment the facilities and admit a larger enrollment in the Philippine Science High School. ”

“ If some banks then still feel that their liquidity has been reduced it is perhaps a sign that their loan portfolio is unbalanced, favoring activities which, in the opinion of the government, are less conducive to economic development. The increased activity in our stock market shows that there is certainly considerable capital available. ”

“ Directing Private Investment. At the same time we must make sure that private entrepreneurs channel their energies and their funds in the ways that best promote economic development. We remain committed to free enterprise; controls are a cumbersome and an inefficient tool. Our method is simply to make certain industry lines attractive to private business as well as essential to development. In the encouragement of priority lines industries, the Board of Investments and the Presidential Economic Staff will take a leading part. ”

“ We are laying the groundwork for a national youth development program. Eventually, it will redeem some three million of out-of-school youth, teach them civics, physical fitness, occupational and food production techniques. It involves the establishment of a national institute for youth leadership, pilot training centers, and the cooperation of the Manpower Development Council, the National Youth Coordinating Council, the Departments of Education, Labor, National Defense, the PACD and the private sector. ”

“ Our development program requires, in addition to heavy invest­ment, large imports of capital goods and some raw materials; and recent world developments indicate that we may shortly have either to give up some of our protected markets or share them with other developing countries. Furthermore, the improvement of our export earnings requires that we first improve our relations with other countries; so that external trade becomes a question of in­ternational prestige as well as of national development. ”

“ A Board of Investments is now preparing the rules and regulations and the priority areas for investment. This should clear up unnecessary blocks to foreign and domestic investments in our country.
—Education has become more than ever a reality for the poor. About 8,100 new school buildings have been constructed and erected. Scholarship funds and student loans funds for the poor have been extended.
—With the substantial increase in rural health units and free medicine for the needy, medical facilities have been extended to the indigent population all over the country. ”

“ The discovery here of oil in commercial quantities would be a tremendous asset, not only to our international reserves but also to our national security. We should no longer deny ourselves this possible good fortune. ”

“ The purpose of the survey is to provide a comprehensive and coordinated transport program on the basis of the expected socio-economic development of the country and its various regions, suggesting measures to be taken in the field of planning and regulating transport services, in the field of the responsibilities and organization of the public and semi-public entities involved and identifying investments in the entire sector and priorities there. ”