Address
of
His Excellency Fidel V. Ramos
President of the Philippines
At the First Multisectoral Forum on Science and Technology

Delivered in Manila, January 21, 1993]

Philippines 2000

SOMEBODY—I think it was an official trying to justify his extravagance with the people’s money—once remarked that the Philippines is a rich country pretending to be poor.

Much closer to the truth is the statement that we are a potentially rich country which has somehow remained poor.

A few may be wallowing in unexplained wealth. But our people as a whole are experiencing unexplained poverty. “Unexplained” because our country abounds in resources—both natural and human.

While being painfully aware of this paradox, I have nonetheless grown weary— as I’m sure you have—of hearing our nation being described as the “Sick Man” of our region.

Summoning the Filipino spirit

I’m tired of being told I preside over a sick society. I’m tired of people endlessly cataloguing what’s wrong with the Philippines and the Filipinos.

For a change, I want people to be able to talk about our state of health, instead of our sickness:

What’s good in us; instead of our flaws. What we’re good at; instead of what we’re short of. Our strengths; rather than our vulnerabilities. What we can do; rather than what we have been unable to do.

This morning is a good time for talking positively. Because this morning we summon the spirit distinctly Filipino—bayanihan, kapit-bisig; tulung-tulungan, sama-sama.

We shall be mobilizing all these virtues in the Filipino character to achieve the vision we share for our country.

This morning, we bring together agriculture, industry and trade to join forces with Government, the academic community and our scientists, NGOs and people’s organizations—in a drive to make the Philippines an NIC by the end of this century.

This forum shall offer you a prescription for our country’s economic health. We want you to examine this program from your point of view—and also from the national interest. If you agree—as we hope you shall—we will want your wholehearted commitment to this program.

We shall want all of you to join us in undertaking a series of measures that shall continue without letup until our goal is reached—that of reconciling our country with its promise: that of entering industrial status with the new century.

These measures include a National Technology Agenda—which shall teach our people to use technology to enhance our skills and optimize our productivity; to give us greater access and control of our resources in people and in nature; and to propel us into modernized agriculture and an industrialized society.

My vision for our country

My vision for our country—a vision I have long articulated and which I know you share—is for the Philippines to become a place where the least among us has the decent minimum of food, clothing, shelter and dignity—and the chance to make of his or her life the fullest it can be.

I want every Filipino to be secure in his home and in the street. I want our politics to be cooperative—not confrontational—and based on our people’s welfare and the national interest.

During my watch as President, I want to see our per-capita income rise to at least US$1,000; our economy to grow by at least 6-8 percent; and our incidence of poverty to decline to at least 30 percent from the present 50 percent.

Guided by this vision, our Medium-term Development Plan for 1993-98 has taken up the twin themes of “global excellence” and “people empowerment.” Export-orientation of the economy shall “enlarge the pie.” People empowerment shall both help enlarge the pie and divide it more equitably.

Achieving this vision

How do we achieve this vision? Achieving it depends on many factors.

Scanning the environment at home and in the world—the environment in which the Philippines must operate—we identify five major problems we must deal with—before we can place our economy on the way to growth.

First, we must bring down the old economic order. Our “infant” industries—coddled by over 40 years of tariff protection and import controls—are too soft, too inefficient, too self-satisfied to compete in the world.

The second problem—a byproduct of the first one—is our cartels and monopolies. Competition at home has also been distorted by political entrepreneurship, crony capitalism and oligarchic power.

The third problem is corruption in the agencies that regulate and control the economy. Corruption undermines not just the economy but—even more grievously—the entire civic structure of people’s faith in Government.

Fourth is the quality of our infrastructure. Our electric power, water, transport and telecommunication facilities and other services are either deficient, inefficient or mismanaged. And this historical neglect is costing us dearly—in lost investments; in raising the prices of goods and services; and in wasted production capacity.

The fifth constraint is the unfavorable economic climate in the world.

We have taken much too long to get our act together. Competition in the world market is now much stiffer than it was when our neighbors—today’s dragon-economies of East Asia—began their own ascent to growth.

Exclusivist economic blocs, increasing protectionism in Europe and America, and even the shift from central planning to market mechanisms in the ex-Communist countries—all these trends indicate we shall be venturing out into a tough and unforgiving world.

These five problems we must factor into our growth equation. And we must decisively deal with those we can deal with on our own, as urgently as we can.

Learning from our neighbors

How best do we realize our growth targets? What operational strategy do we pursue?

The way to growth is no longer a mystery. The road to development is by now well mapped. And we also have—at hand—the example of our vigorous neighbors.

Scholars and practitioners from 35 Pacific Rim countries—getting together in Taipei in 1988—identified the secrets of success of five Asian countries—Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore and South Korea. They identified three preconditions for economic growth that all five countries met; and seven strategies they followed.

The three preconditions which made the economic “miracles” of Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore and South Korea possible are:

1) Civic order and political stability;

2) A deeply ingrained work ethic; and

3) Commitment by the political and economic elite to the common good.

As for the seven growth strategies, they are:

1) Commitment to a “planned” free-market economy;

2) Giving the people a stake in development;

3) Industrializing from a base of agricultural productivity;

4) Encouraging a high saving rate;

5) Developing an educated work force;

6) Fostering export industries; and

7) Building a solid infrastructure.

The example of Japan Inc.

What is more—except for Hong Kong, which follows classical laissez-faire—all governments in these countries organized their national businesses, labor unions and elite bureaucracies into veritable country-corporations.

The most conspicuous example of this kind of tripartite collaboration is Japan. A core of permanent high-level bureaucrats—located for the most part in the Ministry of International Trade and Industry, the world-famous MITI—regularly consults top political, business and labor officials—to provide a communitarian vision, and an industrial and trade strategy for the Japanese nation.

So successful has this approach been that countries as far apart as Germany, France, Brazil, Malaysia and Thailand have all adopted it. Even President-elect Bill Clinton’s America is gearing up for this same kind of collaboration among government, business and unions.

We ourselves have started to reach out to key national actors—to forge a strategic alliance with them. I see this cooperative venture as characterized by:

1. Informal but close cooperation between Government, business and labor/NGOs-POs;

2. A corporate approach to development: We must set ourselves clear and achievable targets, and select potential “export winners”;

3. Maximum use of information—the great strategic resource of the twenty-first century—to enable us to respond actively to threats—and opportunities—in the world marketplace.

Roles of the key players

For this strategy to be effective, each key sector must take its role to heart. Government must shift from regulative to promotional and developmental modes of intervention in the economy. This is why we are undertaking pump-priming activities—and focusing on electric-power generation and product research and development.

Above all, Government must create the proper policy-environment for private enterprise to flourish. Government must ensure the home market is truly competitive—by dismantling the unfair advantages enjoyed by a privileged few.

I believe the passage of an Anti-Trust Act by Congress now opportune. Such a law will benefit even those who now enjoy monopolistic positions in the home market. It will lead them to become more innovative and more competitive.

And Government must pursue internal reforms to eradicate political—and judicial—corruption. The passage by Congress of a RICO statute—against racketeering and corrupt influences—is now also timely.

Business should widen the base of entrepreneurship; while labor should cultivate among its ranks the work ethic—industry, productivity, technical skills, and the passion for excellence.

To achieve economic growth, we are more than willing to unleash the energy of self-interest, the drive for individual profit. But we shall insist that Philippine capitalism maintain a high regard for the welfare of our masses, and for the good of society as a whole.

Though wealth is best owned privately, its owner should use it for the public good.

Civic responsibility and the elite

One of the reasons our neighbors have grown so splendidly is that in every one of these countries, the political and economic elites have been so deeply committed to the common good. By contrast, development in our country so far has failed—because this commitment to the civic welfare has largely been missing from among our political and economic leaders.

From the centuries of colonialism through the first decades of Independence, our elite has held family and social class above that of the Filipino nation. I have always thought it ironic that Filipinos of means—who are the quickest to complain about the quality of our social services—should also be the most adept at shortchanging Government on their taxes.

We shall insist that our business and political elites commit themselves unequivocally to the common good.

We see Philippines 2000 as more than just a forum. We see it as a movement, a campaign, a tidal flow—a huge machinery for development, whose every cog and wheel must be fine-tuned for maximum efficiency.

I call on business and industry; our workers, organized and unorganized; every agency of Government; the civil service; our intellectual, scientific and academic communities; and all our people’s organizations to align all their programs with the principles and framework of Philippines 2000.

I expect this group assembled here today, from many sectors and many talents, to draw up—before the day is over—a draft consensus of a National Agenda for Industry and Technology.

I also expect you, in the coming days, to consult as many other groupings as you can. Reach out to every segment of the national community—particularly those with the least access to power and privilege. Speak to them of our vision, our hopes and our programs.

The hour is late. All of these things we must do should really have been done yesterday. We must redouble our collective efforts. We must all work as we have never worked before.

There will be many hardships and few material rewards for those of us who take up this challenge. But if we keep faith with ourselves, with our people and with our God, we shall not fail. We can do it: so let’s do it!