Fidel V. Ramos

“ Taxes are a necessary burden citizens must carry, and the best that government can do is to see to it the burden falls heaviest on those who can best bear it. Yet this judicious spreading of the burden, government in our country has not even been able to ensure. The Filipino middle class -- and the poor -- actually bear disproportionately the burden of paying for public administration. And, ironically, it is also they who suffer most grievously from the lack of basic social services which has substantially resulted from the very high rate of tax evasion by the powerful and influential. ”

“ Our democracy is far from perfect -- but it works well enough for us to be able to move it away from the politics of patronage, guns, goons and gold.
The third -- and most important -- modernization we must accomplish is to bridge the gap between the few who are well-to-do and the many who are poor. Equality cannot wait until after the economic pie has grown much bigger -- because gross inequality by itself enables the Powerful few to override the interests of the powerless majority in the making of public policy. ”

“ Protectionism for us had produced only retarded "infant industries" and a generation of political entrepreneurs who fattened on unearned income from tariff barriers, tax holidays, import licenses, and behest loans. Thus, both self-interest and international commitments compel us to turn our economy outward -- toward participation in humankind's shared adventure of development. ”

“ We will continue, if not accelerate, the program to reduce tariffs until these reach one uniform rate. Simplifying and bringing down the tariff level is the best way to stop smuggling and corruption at the Bureau of Customs. We also need to recast our laws on trusts, monopolies, oligopolies, cartels and combinations injurious to public welfare -- to restore competition where it has disappeared, and to preserve it where it still exists. In a word, we need to perpetuate competition as a system to regulate the economy and achieve global product-quality. ”

“ And we must see to it every citizen develops as great a care for his civic duties as for his civic rights. In social reform, we must never forget we seek growth not for its own sake but only as a means to enlarge each citizen’s enjoyment of the benefits of our democracy, because no amount of growth will mean anything -- unless it improves the lot of the common tao. The key reform is to give the ordinary Filipino an inherent stake in our system -- the chance to own and manage an honest livelihood and to win his own future.
Let me now take up our tasks of modernization in more detail. ”

“ I shall be calling a second social pact -- to bring together all those who oppose the expanded vat law and those who are for it -- to discuss comprehensive and progressive tax reforms -- openly, frankly and, I hope, with civility -- so we can jointly agree on where the resources to pay for community development and nation-building are to come from. ”

“ Now that we have met our minimum goals, we can look beyond economic growth to the full modernization of our country. Laying the groundwork for modernizing our economy and our political system is the central task of this government and this Congress. And our end-goal must be to secure social equity for the poorest among us, particularly the basic humanities of life: to enable every single Filipino to develop his or her capabilities to their farthest limits. ”

“ Over these two years, we have come a long way -- together -- towards our shared vision of a better life for Filipinos as we enter the 21st century. The first year we devoted to putting our house in order -- to restoring political stability, enhancing national unity, and strengthening social cohesion -- as the requisites for economic recovery. The second we devoted to liberalizing the economy -- opening it to competition, and leveling the playing field of enterprise. ”

“ But we have not yet achieved the level of political will and national capacity that enable a nation to transform its dream of modernization into reality. The true measure of national capacity is neither the size of a country's army, nor the way power is centralized in one man or group of men. ”

“ If, in the economy, we speak of the physical infrastructures for development, so in our political life, we must lay the administrative infrastructure for effective government. Of this infrastructure, no element is more important than the bureaucracy. ”

“ The first modernization is that of the economy -- to make it more productive; to make it competitive in the world; and to make room for the small and middle-sized industries which are the building blocks of economic democracy. Export orientation is the only way to self-sustaining growth in our time -- whose controlling element is an emergent global economy. In the first five months of this year, our exports reached $5 billion at a growth rate of 16.1%. This growth rate is expected to further increase in the years ahead. ”

“ We must create indigenous power reserves to serve our expanding economy.
The second modernization is about politics and governance. Ultimately, modernization is about good government. If we are to improve the quality of our national life, we must first improve the quality of our governance. In our part of the world, the economic success of less-than-democratic societies is being used to cast doubt on the prospects of countries like ours -- which seek to modernize as functional democracies. ”

“ Perhaps it is because the kind of democracy we have known -- for the better part of this century -- has emphasized the individual over the community, private gain over the public good, and civic rights over civic duties. But, in truth, the concept of civic duty is the core of the historic tradition of democracy everywhere. ”

“ You and I know development exacts a price -- which all those who seek it must pay. That price we Filipinos have paid only reluctantly. Our current tax effort -- 14.7% of GNP, compared to the 18% average for ASEAN countries (Malaysia is at 22%) -- is totally inadequate for paying the costs of development. In 1995, we intend to raise the tax effort to at least 17% of GNP. Without a stable revenue base, the Philippine state will remain weak and dependent. And for as long as our structural problems persist, we shall remain vulnerable to outside pressures and external political and economic shocks. ”

“ For a brief period in the early 1950s, the Philippines was second only to Japan in the vigor of its economy. and at an earlier time -- now almost exactly a hundred years ago -- we Filipinos had also proclaimed East Asia's first Free Republic. Today we are struggling to catch up with our vigorous neighbors in economic and technological growth. But, perhaps, we are more than abreast of them in one key component of modernization. We Filipinos have already won our democratic revolution. History has made our culture of freedom proof against tyranny. ”

“ Second, modernization of our politics -- making people empowerment work in place of political patronage. Third, social reform -- modernization of the Filipino family and the national community. We must prepare our economy for the new trading order ordained by the Uruguay round of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade. Our survival in the evolving World Trade Organization will depend on how competitive our export industries can become. In politics, our task is to raise the national capacity of the state. Power must come not from force but from legitimacy. ”

“ To improve government's capability to provide adequate services and infrastructure for the economy, we seek an amendment to the Public Transport Service Law -- last revised in 1952 -- to rid it of its restrictive regulatory framework and to foster a new competitiveness in our land, water, and air transport industries. Efficient transport must complement our breakthroughs in the telecom industry which has served to link our archipelago more closely by hi-tech means. ”

“ These, then, are the civic tasks for which we need your expertise, your industry, and your dedication. Our end-goal must be to lay the groundwork for the Philippines to become a thoroughly modern country, at peace with itself and with its neighbors, and where the least among our people have the decent minimum of material goods to realize the full possibilities of their lives. ”

“ Second, the economy. We have begun dismantling the mechanisms of protection and privilege which have hobbled our economy these past 30 years -- while also focusing it on exports and global competitiveness. The country now feels a surge towards growth that is fully supported by such indicators as low interest rates, single-digit inflation, a stable peso, sufficient foreign exchange reserves, rising investments, and the vigorous development of growth centers nationwide. ”

“ People power must be put to work productively. This I have always believed: we can develop as a working democracy -- and not in spite of it. The electoral process we need to focus -- not on patronage and personalities -- but on public policies. ”

“ Our country's emergence from under America's wings has given us Filipinos the chance -- after centuries of colonial passiveness -- to make our own history. We are renewing and expanding our contacts and friendships -- in East Asia and North America -- so that we can once again become attractive to foreign investment, trade and tourism. I shall be visiting Western Europe in September, to promote our trade, tourism and investment programs in the European Union. ”

“ We have broken the back of the biggest crime syndicates, dismantled the most notorious armed groups, and effected changes in the leadership and chain of command of our police force to improve its credibility and efficiency. We will not consider this work done until every citizen can feel reasonably safe -- at home, in the workplace, and on the streets. ”

“ Ang unang taon ay iniukol natin sa pagsasa-ayos ng ating kabahayan -- ang pagbabalik ng katatagang pampulitika, pagpapalaganap ng pambansang pagkakaisa, at pagpapalakas ng panlipunang pagsasama-sama -- na kinakailangan ng pag-angat ng ating ekonomiya. Ang pangalawang taon ay iniukol natin sa pagluluwag ng ekonomiya -- pagbubukas nito sa tunggalian, ang pagbibigay ng pantay-pantay na pagkakataon sa mga kalahok sa ating ekonomiya. ”

“ The lesson to us is clear: without hard work, there are no miracles. We must perform as we pray, and pray as we perform.
Even as we consolidate our gains, we can now look toward the full modernization of our country. Three modernizations we must achieve: First, modernization of the economy -- increasing productivity and competitiveness. ”

“ The message I carry wherever I travel abroad is clear and simple: the Philippines is back in business in the heart of the world's fastest-growing region. And we have committed ourselves unequivocably to ASEAN and its ideal of open regionalism. Together with our immediate neighbors and partners, we are building the regional architecture for our vision of a peaceful, neutral, and nuclear-free Southeast Asia. ”

“ We must first of all resist the populist pressures being generated within our paternalistic political culture which looks at government as the exclusive source of goodies in our society -- lest our representative system degenerate into what Peter Drucker calls "the pork-barrel state". ”

“ Fourth, social reform. In poverty alleviation, we have moved away from the old "trickle down" policies to "positive bias" for our poorest provinces and the numerous pockets of poverty that are to be found even in our richest cities. Our object is to help the poorest of our poor help themselves -- by expanding their access to health care, basic education, decent housing, credit, jobs; and by raising their productivity in their traditional occupations. The "Kabuhayan 2000" program alone should create two million jobs all over the archipelago these next two years. ”

“ We will continue to fast-track the improvement of Science and Technology foundations of young Filipinos. Already these efforts have begun to pay off: not only in higher GNP growth and increased productive activities in the countryside, but -- what is more important -- in restoring to ordinary Filipinos the sense that life can truly become better, for themselves and their children. ”

“ In Agri-industrial Development, we place the highest priority on the bill on high-value crops, the mining and environment codes, and the House Bill awarding protection to the ancestral domains of our cultural communities. In other areas of the macro-economy and finance, we propose various bills to simplify our tax and tariff structures, enhance the investment climate, encourage the flow of credit to our rural areas and promote long-term savings. ”

“ Here our guiding principle is that future generations should not have to pay for the needs of the present. We intend to leave this Philippine spot on earth cleaner and greener than we found it. Out of Smokey Mountain and Payatas -- notorious symbols of our environmental degradation -- will eventually rise new greenery, and new lives. ”

“ Let me be the first to say it: we are not getting the full worth of every peso we spend on each government agency. But, then, we cannot make the bureaucracy do better just by scolding it -- as we are often inclined to do. ”

“ Tourist arrivals are growing at 19% on an annualized basis. The Philippines has reestablished its credit worthiness with the international financial network as well as regained the confidence of the world's donor community. If we began under a smog of skepticism, we have proved to ourselves how much we can do -- if only we put our act together and pulled as a national team. ”