INTRODUCTION
I am deeply honored by your invitation to act and serve as your inducting officer and guest speaker.
Being with fellow Rotarians and their ladies is always a welcome event for me because I have always been one of you -- even if I have incurred more than the usual quota of absences from regular meetings of our Rotary Club of Manila
This does not mean, however, that I have stopped being a Rotarian, for I have always adhered to our motto of “Service Above .Self” -- for God, country and people -- in the performance of my duties and in my dealings with others.
That is why as your former president, and now a plain citizen, I continue to undertake the mission of helping our people and our government -- regardless of who is the Philippine President -- to restore confidence in ourselves and confidence of others in the Philippines as an attractive investment, trade, tourism destination, and as a capable partner in information and communications technology (I.C.T.)
Not too long ago, we put ourselves back on the right road to economic recovery, democratic governance, and sustainable development.
Hopefully, our joint strivings -- those of government and the citizenry -- will usher in a new era of stability and accomplishment. And by invoking the collective “national team spirit” -- where each Filipino strives to serve above self -- we can become happy and self-confident again.
Our country needs a prolonged period of political stability -- so that our workers and businesspeople can again create new material wealth, and our leaders can reinforce our social cohesion. It needs no repeating that political stability is the bedrock of our economic recovery and sustainable development.
PRIORITIES FOR THE ARROYO GOVERNMENT
Our central task as a people is to build strong political institutions -- to build an effective and efficient state.
For the ruling elite, politics had historically been a game of protecting “special interests” and pursuing factional rivalries, rather than being a tool for nation-building and economic development. That is why President Arroyo has identified as among her basic goals that of improving moral standards in government.
And this is fitting and proper, since any democracy needs strong ethical foundations.
But we may never have such stability for as long as civil society must intervene to repudiate a specific administration or overthrow a government, as Filipinos had done twice in the last decade and a half.
We must make future revolutions unnecessary. Filipinos must not allow their poilitical processes, their political institutions and the government leadership ever to fail again.
We must put a stop -- once and for all -- to the periodic crises that corruption, extravagance, cronyism, irresponsibility, and incompetence inflict on our national society.
Surely, we Filpinos are justified in celebrating “People Power” (Philippine Style). But People Power cannot again and again substitute for strong democratic institutions/
Last January 31, 2001 on the 76th Anniversary of the MAPUA Institute of Technology, I said by way of reminding our leaders that: “Let us make EDSA-III unnecessary by strengthening our democratic institutions.”
President Arroyo must build quickly on the revival of confidence her presidency has generated -- not only among our corporate leaders but among everyday Filipinos, especially the poor.
She must re-energize our people by raising before them the vision of a country that can do better.
The president needs to spell out challenging national goals -- not only for the political leadership and administrative bureaucracy but also for business, labor, and the whole of civil society. She must also keep alive -- and turn into a positive purpose -- our inherent national pride and the cautious return of investor confidence.
URGENT TASKS FOR HIGH GROWTH
The urgent tasks of the Arroyo government can be summarized in what I call the four "C's" namely:
* Consolidation - Cabinet, legislature, AFP/PNP, bureaucracy, civil society, CITIZENRY international community;
* Confidence/Trust - Restoration and strengthening, especially in regard to investments inflow, leadership capability, and the rule of law;
* Continuity of Reforms - level playing field, transparency, predictability and accountability; AND STRATEGIC INTERVENTIONS;
* Competitiveness - production efficiency and quality, I.C.T. potential, Asia-Pacific gateway, human assets and natural resources.
Political stability must be restored urgently -- and that is why the Arroyo administration has begun talking peace wtth the M.I.L.F. (Muslim separatists) and the Communist Party of the Philippines and its military arm, the N.P.A. On the other hand, the Abu Sayyaf who are plain terrorists and bandits, must be dealt with forcefully and their armed capabilities reduced to insignificance.
The criminal prosecution for economic plunder of Mr. Estrada and his cronies which has already begun, must be brought to an expdeitious and just conclusion under the rule of law.
In the economy, these next two years must be spent in managing the deficit, restoring business confidence, and completing structural reform with the constant cooperation of congress, as much as the support of our leading civic organizations, such as the Rotary and the Inner Wheel Clubs of Manila.
Government’s most pressing need is to raise its revenues so that it could increase public spending on infrastructure and on developing our human capital.
Not only must public expenditures be contained. Tax administration must be overhauled; tax programs simplified and fiscal incentives rationalized.
OUR UNIQUE STRENGTHS
Clearly, we Filipinos have emerged from our cluster of crisis situations more confident in our ability to govern ourselves in a truly democratic way. Our country is being cleansed by its constitutional ordeal.
Now, the new 12th Congress is in place, and the nation and the international community await President Arroyo’s first state of the nation address (SONA) due to be articulated in a couple of weeks.
We need leaders in both the public and private sectors to help heal the cleavages in national society -- the income gap between rich and poor, the opportunity gap between majority and minority ethnic groups, the digital gap between the “smart” and the “not-so-smart.”
Fortunately, we have a multitude of people’s organizations which today enlivens Philippine civil society -- the Rotary family not the least among them. Our NGOs, people’s organizations, cooperatives and voluntary associations promote their sectoral interests -- such as those of women, the youth, cultural communities, the senior citizens, and the handicapped, the farmers and fisherfolk, the environmentalists, the workers and, especially, the poor.
Let me now challenge all people’s organizations to “act and serve” -- the Rotary Club of Manila’s way -- towards the higher task of national development and the “business of mankind,” to which the Rotary International commits itself for the year 2001-2002.
Let us all stop thinking of ourselves as representatives of particular “special interests.” Instead -- let us think of our beloved Philippines as our people’s joint-venture corporation.
And each corporate leader must take up the responsibility of helping to manage and to lead our country -- applying the best of knowledge and experience to deal with problems that affect not only specific business interests, but also these concerns of our communities, and more importantly, those of our children and their children -- the Filipinos who will inherit this country’s future.
SUMMING UP: CARING, SHARING AND DARING
Let me now sum up and conclude:
Like it or not, you and I are part of this country’s board of directors -- part of this country’s management team -- as well as stakeholders.
As community leaders and concerned citizens, we have the responsibility to support our political leaders as they strive to lay down structural reforms, and create the conditions necessary for our country’s peace, prosperity and enduring development, even as we have the responsibility to oppose them if they seek office only to fatten their wallets and despoil this country.
I also say -- let us not depend entirely on the political process and on government as an integrating force -- particularly in a transitional democracy like ours.
It is this quality of caring, sharing and daring for each other that is the defining quality of what is called “civic responsibility.”
Caring and Sharing may be easy enough for us Filipinos to do because we are naturally hospitable, compassionate, generous and friendly.
But daring to take part in public concerns; daring to commit oneself to civic tasks; daring to give more than to take; daring to reform oneself to make a differnce; daring to take collective action for the common good -- these are the real and the ultimate tests of responsible citizenship and civic leadership!!!
Since 25 January 2001, as President Arroyo’s special representative to international gatherings -- at no government expense -- and as chairman of the Ramos Peace and Development Foundation (RPDEV), I have traveled to 8 different countries, promoting Philippine interests.
President Arroyo’s message, which she has asked me to bring to audiences abroad -- and which I also bring to you, fellow Rotarians -- is that of her government’s “serious commitment to make the Philippines a better place for Filipinos and for our foreign friends and neighbors to do business.”
This is the challenge to Rotary -- for each and everyone of us to act and serve mankind better -- because mankind is our business!
THANK YOU, AND MABUHAY! |