Speech
of
His Excellency Fidel V. Ramos
President of the Philippines
At a meeting with the Rotary Club of Manila

[Released on March 19, 1993]

Turning the wheel
of growth

I ACCEPT with pride the honor of “patron of Rotary in the Philippines” that you have conferred on me. What makes this title special is that it comes from fellow members of the Philippine Rotary with whom I share ideals for our country and our people.

We Rotarians recognize that each person is a special human being, and that the Rotarian may well be among the best of persons. He is supposed to be gifted with superior intelligence and with well-developed capabilities that enable him to rise to the highest levels of excellence. He also is assumed to have a heart that craves for the fellowship of his peers and bleeds for the misfortunes of his less-endowed fellow men.

This heart drives him to place himself at the service of his community, to share his gifts and resources with others in need, believing in his moral duty to be of “service above self” and in the principle that “he profits most who serves best.”

The economic revolution

These are qualities our country is in great need of today. Seven years after we regained our political freedom at EDSA in February 1986, we are now engaged in the monumental task of giving material and social substance to that freedom. Under my Administration we have embarked on an economic revolution that would place the Philippines squarely in the ranks of Asia’s fast-growing economies by the turn of the century.

We seek economic growth because our circumstances demand it—and, more than that, our people deserve it. Social equity and social justice cannot be thoroughly realized unless the people’s basic economic needs are met and their labors are benefited equitably.

But this effort will require more than just a vision and more than just skills. It demands the complete dedication of our people’s energies and capabilities to the objectives of economic growth. And this, in turn, will depend on our attainment of what I have called a “culture of excellence”—our ability and willingness to unite, to sacrifice and to serve in the best interest of our nation and humanity.

This culture of excellence is embodied in the Rotarian creed, and it is now our duty to propagate it among our people.

What to expect from Government

For our part, we are committed to provide the kind of policies and programs that will assist—and not obstruct—economic growth and people empowerment.

The heart of our economic program lies in achieving a better interplay of market forces in our economy to improve market competition domestically, and to enhance our international competitiveness.

As I have often stressed, we can uplift our people’s welfare through the equitable sharing of responsibilities between Government and business in a partnership for progress.

Our tasks are cut out for us in this partnership. The economic philosophy of my Administration is to do less in those areas where market forces already work and where you in the private sector can do the job better than Government. Conversely, we must do more in areas where Government can do that start-up and pioneering tasks.

To attain the status of newly industrialized country by the turn of the century, we have launched the Philippine Medium-term Development Plan for 1993-98, our road map to progress. And to keep our focus on this closely contested race, we have adopted the battle cry—”Philippines 2000.” As we begin to carry out the development plan, we have laid down the foundations to achieve this goal.

Our efforts toward national unity and political stability are gaining momentum. We have reached out to all dissident groups in society to join us to work for the common good. We are addressing criminality forcefully so our citizenry can live and work in peace.

Priming the pump

To pave the way for our fast-track public infrastructure building program, we are priming the pump to the time of at least 60 billion pesos this year.

We are adopting measures that will dismantle monopolies and cartels and are privatizing big-ticket Government corporations and assets. We have decisively moved to fully deregulate foreign exchange and considerably relax foreign investment regulations.

We have been aggressive in our diplomatic and promotional efforts to attract foreign investments, trade, technology transfer and tourism through visits to our Asian neighbors.

We are establishing regional industrial centers all over the Philippines where investors can be assured of profitable ventures and access to our skilled manpower pool, as well as catalyze agricultural productivity and modernization in those regions.

But our biggest stumbling block to progress remains the debilitating power shortage. Let me assure you, however, that Government is employing all available talent and resources within its means to solve this problem as early as possible.

The bottom line is to create more national and personal wealth to support the aspirations of our people. The ultimate aim is to alleviate poverty and assure for all a better quality of life. This is a fitting legacy we must bequeath to the young as we mark the centennial of our independence before the end of the century.

With a more integrated ASEAN poised to take off, the Philippines can look forward to faster economic growth using the stronger synergy that ASEAN can provide.

The synergy of the Philippines within ASEAN

We propose the following concrete strategies and measures to enhance our competitive edge further:

a. Formulate policies and design programs to improve the image of the Philippines;

b. Conduct regular dialogues between the branches of the Government and the private sector on plans and programs that need to be undertaken to ensure consistency in their interpretation and implementation;

c. Pursue an export-led industrialization drive by developing an outward-looking industrial sector focusing beyond the domestic market to foreign markets and supported by a more open investment environment;

d. Develop intermediate and support industries (e.g. light industries) to process primary products toward servicing both regional and international networks of industries;

e. Promote small and medium enterprises through a more liberal supportive environment;

f. Formulate effective programs to capture the Philippines’ comparative advantages in ASEAN in the following: managerial, accounting, banking and other professional manpower (so that the Philippines can capture the high-level consultancy and professional market in Southeast Asia); agricultural technology; health and allied professions; print and broadcast media; and computer software.

g. Formulate programs to encourage manufacturers of semicapital-intensive products, including nonmetal manufacture, electrical appliances, fertilizer, pulp and paper, rubber products, packaging materials and automotive components where the Philippines is considered to have the competitive edge;

Move the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) toward regional cooperation and liberalization of trade in services, in addition to goods;

Review and reformulate countryside development programs, including agricultural productivity, to make them responsive to AFTA opportunities.

j. Hasten the deregulation of the domestic industries and the institution of new reform measures so that industries most affected by AFTA would become, by the year 2000, fully competitive;

k. Deregulate the maritime shipping industry and strengthen maritime and maritime-related industries and services so that the Philippines will be in a strong maritime position in anticipation of a greater volume of intra-ASEAN seaborne trade; and

l. Add Malay culture and Bahasa courses as well as Nippongo and Mandarin courses especially for business/commerce programs in schools and universities.

The need for a civic revolution

Our economic takeoff depends largely on our most valuable resource—the people. But it is a resource that has not been fully developed. We must release the untapped potential of our people if we have to attain our aspirations for our country. Our policies and programs should draw on this distinctive competence of our people to enhance their competitive advantage. Our educational policies must be restructured to enable the next generation of Filipinos to cope with the challenges and opportunities of a new global economic milieu and political order.

But most of all, we need to trigger a civic revolution—an explosion of social energy. It is a revolution characterized by an upsurge of enthusiasm of citizens to get involved in the business of national development. It is a resurgence of initiative to contribute to the common good. It is the revolution that we need to truly empower our people.

What the private sector can do

At this point let me shift to the roles of the private sector. I will cite four of what I consider to be your most significant functions.

First, you must sustain your credibility and therefore profitability by serving your customers well. You know this better than I do. But I mention it here only to stress that I see this not just as a commercial imperative but also as a social duty. This ties in with the culture of excellence I spoke of earlier. Business must emphasize quality and service, beyond opportunism and quick profit-taking, if it is to achieve strategic competitiveness.

The second role of the private sector is to help us improve the payment and collection of taxes and the overall tax effort. Given the requirements for development and the time it takes for reform measures to yield results, we will also need to ask the support of Congress for Government’s proposed revenue-generating and enhancement measures.

A third role is to share benefits with your employees and clientele. I need not tell you that this is good business sense and that this provides for a well-motivated workforce, thus preserving industrial peace for the good of all.

The fourth and perhaps most important role is to think and act in unity on our national objectives, on our ASEAN and Asia-Pacific regional concerns and on our global competitiveness.

The challenges before us are formidable. It will take much work and dedication from both the Government and the private sector to get our country moving toward where we want to be. I remain deeply concerned but unfazed. My faith in the capability of our people to rise above our misfortunes and to move the Philippines forward and fast remains unshakable.

For far too long, we have scorned our own abilities, bewailing our sick man status in Asia and generally discouraging ourselves without doing much to reverse the situation.

We have only to look at the successes of our immediate neighbors to see that what they have done we can do as well, if not better. If I have learned anything from my recent visits to our friends around Asia, it is that development begins with inspiration. And this inspiration we must draw from our deepest resources of faith and commitment—and from local success stories.

We have much going for us. Our greatest strength is still the Filipino as a productive worker and a competent manager, in whatever field. We are well positioned to achieve our objectives. We have the resources, and we have the capabilities to do what Korea, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand, among others, have done in their own ways and their own time. But we need to foster and to promote the right attitudes—a new ethic of discipline, community service and self-sacrifice—to turn the wheel of growth forward.