Excerpts from a Speech
of
His Excellency Fidel V. Ramos
President of the Philippines
Before the Joint Provincial and City Council Civic Assembly

[Delivered at the Immaculate Conception College Art Center, Ozamis City, Misamis Occidental, June 22, 1993]

The promise of Mindanao

I KEEP TALKING about Mindanao as part of the triangle of opportunity in Southeast Asia. And I say it again, because this is what needs to be done and developed in collaboration with our ASEAN neighbors [Indonesia and Malaysia] so that finally we shall be able to move Mindanao into its promise and potential as the future land of prosperity for one third of the entire Filipino population.

Today we inaugurated Ozamis port, thus opening another gateway to the progress of Northern Mindanao. Ozamis City is the recognized commercial and trade center of Northern Mindanao. And if further developed, expanded and enlarged, it will also speed up the progress of the other cities of Misamis Occidental, of Oroquieta and Tangub, as well as all the other municipalities. It could even provide the vital sea link between Regions 9 and 10 to the rest of the Philippines.

On the drawing board is a mini-industrial estate here in Ozamis City as the provincial center for agri-based processing industries. This your National Government supports. Many resources here need to be developed. I need not mention our fisheries in Pangil Bay, which is now the beneficiary of a fishery program funded by the Asian Development Bank.

The prospects are also bright for Mount Malindang National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary to become one of the centers of ecotourism. . . .

We have also encouraged the expansion and modernization of your agricultural undertakings because this province is fortunate in being below the typhoon belt and having a steady rainfall the whole year round, making you one of the greenest provinces in the country, if not the greenest of them all. So keep it that way. I know how much that is appreciated. I happen to come from a brown province.

The challenge to all of us—whether in Government or in the private sector—is to see to it that we grow without violating our environment, that we prosper with equal opportunities for all and that the country becomes richer, with everybody, and not just a few, enjoying the benefits of prosperity.

Excerpts from a speech given before the Joint Provincial and
City Council Civic Assembly, Immaculate Conception College
Art Center, Ozamis City, Misamis Occidental, June 22, 1993