Address
of
His Excellency Fidel V. Ramos
President of the Philippines
At the 98th Independence Day celebration

[Delivered at the Quirino Grandstand, June 12, 1996]

Remembering the
lessons of history

MULI TAYONG nagtitipon dito, at gayundin sa daan-daan pang mga liwasan sa buong kapuluan, upang gunitain at ipagdiwang ang makasaysayang sandali ng ating kasarinlan siyamnapu’t-walong taon na ang lumipas.

Napapanahon na din marahil upang tanungin ang ating mga sarili kung ano na ang ating naitulong para sa ating bayan—ang bayan na pinagbuwisan na dugo at buhay ng ating mga bayani magkaroon lamang ito ng magandang kinabukasan.

We gather here today to commemorate the birth of our nation—and to renew our faith that only a free people can shape their destiny and their future.

A nation created by our heroes

Two historic events meet in this commemoration. We mark, first, the 98th year of the proclamation of Philippine Independence in Kawit, Cavite, by Emilio Aguinaldo. And we also mark this year the centennial of the Revolution of 1896 led by Andres Bonifacio that gave flesh to that proclamation.

In the joining of these events comes a stirring reminder that we are not a nation created by accident or as a gift from others. There is cause and effect in our becoming a free and democratic republic.

To arrive at that moment in Kawit 98 years ago, a long line of generations—from Lapu-lapu to Jose Rizal—gave freely of themselves on the altar of nationhood.

And every year since then, many more have offered life, fortune, and honor so that the nation might live.

Ating tinatamasa ngayon ang kasarinkn at kalayaan na ipinaglaban ng ating mga bayani. Subalit magiging makahulugan lamang ang ating parangal sa kanilang kagitingan kung ipagpapatuloy natin ang kanilang simulain—ang simulaing magpapalubos ng ating kalayaan—ang pakikibaka sa kahirapan upang mai-angat ang antas ng buhay ng ating kapwa Pilipino.

A necessary ritual

Some may say this yearly commemoration is no more than ritual. I say it is necessary for us to be here—and for others throughout this land to mark this day.

Because we are nothing if we do not remember how our republic was erected—stone by stone. And we will get nowhere if we do not learn the lessons of our history.

One lesson surely is that our republic did not rise from a policy of every man for himself or each region to its own pursuits.

It came to be from a union of aspiration and effort.

Some of us may envy others for the smaller historical price they have had to pay for their freedom. But as Pope John Paul II has said, who would want a nation that costs us nothing?

Our nationhood has cost us dearly—many painful struggles, many lives, many disappointments. Yet it is precisely the sum of all these that signifies how precious to us is the blessing of independence.

Now as we strive to raise our country to the center of progress, let us remember this undying message of national unity and what it can accomplish.

To study our history is also to know that each generation must take up the torch of freedom and strive to enrich the legacy. If nationhood was the prize we sought 98 years ago, today—with nationhood secure—the challenge for us is to use freedom and democracy to achieve our aspirations to modernization and progress.

In 1896 we were no more than an archipelago of six million. Today we are a nation of 69 million—close to two-fifths of whom are poor.

In 1896 the world was dominated by a few nations, with the greater part of humanity hostage to their interests. Today the world is a community of independent nations, and we live in a global economy where every country must compete if it is to survive and prosper.

We have made a good start in meeting these new challenges and in seizing the opportunities before us. We must therefore stay on course and not allow partisan passions to rule over national life today.

To indulge in the quarrels of politics now, just a year removed from the 1995 elections and still two years away from the next, is to risk losing our way to the future.

Of the two years that remain of my Presidency, I will strive to ensure that they become years of further growth and strengthening for our country—so that when the time comes to pass the torch to another leader, the ship of the republic will sail smoothly onward.

A ledger of national life

In any case, indulging in these political games now is only diverting us from our urgent priorities as a nation. We are wasting precious time, energy, resources and good will that are better spent in meeting our economic and social goals. And there is much for all of us to do.

Some may question the priorities, goals and programs that define our national course today. It is their right to criticize—just as it is my duty as President to press on. But there is a ledger of national life that exists above partisan opinion. This tells us the true national condition—how the country is truly faring, how the economy is moving, how the fruits of progress are being shared, how our provinces and cities are responding to the challenge of change and development

Our people know the difference between reality and humbug. We are moving forward—not backward. There is new hope and confidence throughout the land. The world applauds what is happening here.

Only the strident politicking of the day is preventing us from moving faster still.

Let us tell everyone frankly, we still stand on difficult ground. The reform process is not yet complete. Vital measures wait on Congress to act. In the new global economy, there are no rewards for what you did in the past. There are only returns for those who relentlessly seize the opportunities of the times.

So commitment and resolve, not complacency and selfishness, must govern our directions and goals. And we must move forward—not retreat into the old ways.

The dead, the living and the unborn

Finally, my countrymen and countrywomen, this day reminds us that this country belongs not only to the living; it belongs as well to those who are dead and those who are yet to be born.

Our heroic forebears who set us on the course to nationhood defined the borders of this nation and our identity as a people. In their time, they too had their quarrels and their weaknesses. But in the hour of challenge, when nationhood was on the line, they forged together the foundations of our nation.

This legacy places on us the responsibility to ensure that we too will hand as great a legacy to those who will follow us.

Today our challenges are of another kind. Our problems have become more complex—as we have grown in number and in circumstances. And our opportunities have enlarged, as mankind has grown in its capacity to build the future.

But if our tools are greater and better, the essential principles and guideposts are the same. Our task is still to secure a free, just and prosperous society—not for some, but for all.

Two years to our national centennial, we stand at a decisive moment—when we either win the future or lose it.

This I believe is the unchanging message of Independence Day—to leaders and citizens alike. If we live up to this responsibility, then we can say to our founding parents: we of this generation did our part—and to the coming generations: we give you a heritage to build on.

It is fitting that we speak these words today—because part of our story too is that we Filipinos frequently forget. We have occasionally forgotten the lessons of history and fallen into the pit of tyranny and stagnation. We have sometimes taken for granted what has been bequeathed us at great cost—and reaped a harvest of sorrows.

The promise of freedom

This must not happen again—especially now when we stand so close to completing the full promise of freedom.

Sa lugar na ito, nang nakaraang taon, aking sinindihan ang Sulo ng Kalayaan bilang isang simbulo ng ating masidhing paniniwala sa kakayahan ng ating mamayan—ang maging maunlad, matagumpay at handang makipagsukatan ng kakayahan sa buong mundo.

Sa ating pagdiriwang ng ika-siyamnapu’t-walong taon ng ka-sarinlan ay ating sanang isabuhay ang mga aral na itinuro sa atin ng ating kasaysayan.

Ito ang ating maaaring ipagmalaki ngayon—sa Kawit, sa Malacanang, sa Rizal Park, sa buong bansa at buong daigdig: “Ikarangal mo Pilipino. . . magiting ang lahi mo”

Aking sinasabi sa inyong lahat—magsama-sama pa rin tayo—sapagkat higit pang magagandang pangyayari sa ating bansa ang darating!