INTRODUCTION
Mga kababayan:

Isang maalab at taos-pusong pagbati sa inyong lahat! Unang-una’y nais kong magpasalamat sa mga kaibigan nating gumawa ng mga paghahanda upang magkatipon-tipon tayo dito sa Chicago — lalung-lalo na ang Filipino American council of Chicago, at ang ating Philippine Consulate.

Malayo man tayo sa Pilipinas, para na rin tayo ay nasa ating inang-bayan dahil sa ating pagsa-sama-sama ngayon. Sa aking mga paglalakbay sa ibang bansa, ito ang pagkakataong pinakamasaya para sa akin — ang makatagpo ang mga kapwa-pinoy.

I am delighted to be here — again — in Chicago, this great city which i came to know quite well during my stay at Champaign-Urbana forty-two years ago.

There must be something about being in the Midwest — the American heartland — that brings out the best in people — Filipinos and Americans alike. I saw this much in evidence today, and I would like to thank everyone for this very warm welcome — something that always help temper Chicago’s cold and windy weather.

Your presence here today means a lot to me. I realize that you have had to take time off your busy schedules to meet me on a weekday. I know how busy life can be for a Filipino in the United States, especially for one holding two or three jobs at the same time.

Many years ago, I was an expatriate here myself. I was young and far from home, and America was a vast and often bewildering country — full of challenges and opportunities for those who would take them.

My circumstances obliged me to return to the Philippines and serve in our government, and I have never regretted having done so. But I have always treasured the five years i spent here in the U.S., because I learned — and I felt — what it was to be a part of a great country.
GIVING SUBSTANCE TO DEMOCRACY
I left America with the resolve that someday, God willing, I would do whatever I could — however modestly — to help my own country and people achieve their own greatness, on their own terms.

Today, that opportunity has come — and that responsibility has fallen squarely on my shoulders.

I have been president for a little over sixteen months. Within that time, I trust that I have already begun to redeem my pledge “to win the future” for our people.

We began by seeking reconciliation and unity with our disaffected countrymen — the communist insurgents, the military rebels and the Moro National Liberation Front. Since then, some 15,000 of them have crossed over the bridges of peace we have built, back into civil and productive society.

We declared a total war on crime. And today, the crime rate is declining dramatically. We are cleansing the police — as well as the entire bureaucracy — of crooks, scalawags and misfits. Reforms in the bureaucracy and judiciary are being undertaken.

Indeed, our people deserve a government that works, and works for their benefit.

True enough, overwhelming passion for debate in the Philippines is still very much alive, operating as it does in an atmosphere of freedom of choice and of speech.

But this, it must be said, is the debate of the free — the very spirit of our democracy.

What we must do now is to invest that spirit with material substance.

Unless our people are well-provided for and empowered to take charge of their own lives, no democracy can last long anywhere, and freedom will be meaningless.
A WELLSPRING OF PRIDE
We may be far from the Philippines today, and some of you have been here for many, many years. But i am sure that no day passes without your thinking of home — your first home.

You have come here to the United States for many different reasons. I understand and respect those reasons, and indeed I admire the strength of spirit and the will to succeed that any Filipino immigrant or expatriate must have to be here at all.

Many of you have achieved great success and prominence in American society, and this, too, is a wellspring of pride for us back home.

But it may be good to remember that Filipinos in America have not always been so fortunate.
ONE MAN’S EXPERIENCE
More than sixty years ago, a poor and unlettered provincemate of mine — from Binalonan, Pangasinan, which is next to my hometown of Asingan — arrived on a ship in Seattle.

Shortly upon arrival, he learned that he had been sold for five dollars to a labor contractor. He spent the next many years picking fruits, working in canneries, and doing odd menial jobs just to survive.

But at the same time, he taught himself to be a better person. He read all the books he could in the public libraries. He discovered that he could write, and write well.

Soon, his poems and stories appeared in the best American publications. His autobiographical novel, “America Is In The Heart,” sold more than a hundred thousand copies, and was translated worldwide.

But he never forgot to help his fellow Filipinos. He organized Filipino farm workers on the West Coast. He fought exploitation and racism. He fought for unity among his compatriots, and among other minorities.

Unfortunately when he died in 1956, also in Seattle, he was poor again, and sick, and few Filipinos back home had even heard his name.

But he had served his time — and the future — well. If life is so much better here for minority groups today, they owe a great part of that change to this man — Carlos Bulosan.
THE CONTINUING STRUGGLE
We may not remember Carlos Bulosan, but his ideals — and his struggles — have survived him.

Today we have a new generation of Filipino Americans who tend to be much more highly educated and more affluent than the immigrants of Bulosan’s time.

American society itself has grown not only in its ethnic diversity but also in its democratic substance.

While this country may be beset by formidable economic and social problems — as would surely beset any other country of its size and complexity — the American dream continues to be pursued — most intensely, by its newest citizens.

We would not deny you that dream. We wish you all the best in your aspirations. Your success is ours, likewise. And we in the Philippines are proud of your collective achievements.

We feel extremely proud, for example, of the fact that we now have a Filipino American in the cabinet of Chicago’s city government, Commissioner Teresita Sagun — may we request her to please rise and be recognized?

Of course, we should also acknowledge the achievements and contributions of our many, many other Filipino American leaders in the Midwest.

We are aware of the excellent job you have done here to gain respect for the abilities of the Filipino, and to integrate yourselves into the American mainstream.
THE FILIPINO DREAM
But remember that we, too, have our Filipino dream back home.

We dream of a progressive and prosperous Philippines where every Filipino has enough to eat, a good and stable job, decent shelter, and every opportunity to lead a long and productive life.

My vision of “Philippines 2000!!!” should put that dream within reach by the turn of the century. We will exert every effort to ensure its attainment.

It will take much discipline, much hard work and much self-sacrifice. Those of you who have succeeded here in America know what that means. And if you can do it here, there is no reason why we can not do it back home. Kung kaya ninyo, kakayanin din namin!

We have a huge English-speaking, young, highly-trainable, highly-skilled labor force. Our democratic culture plus the large existing base of U.S. investors make the Philippines a “natural” site for U.S. business. Geographically, the Philippines sits at the strategic heart of the Asia-Pacific region. A foothold in the Philippines gets you access to the dynamic markets of this region.

But we need your help. We need the help of every Filipino, at home or abroad, to whom the word “inangbayan” or motherland means more than a postcard picture.

Share our dream, and be a part of it. See what you can do to build new bridges of friendship, and of business, and of cultural cooperation between America and the Philippines.
A NEW PHASE IN PHILIPPINE-U.S. RELATIONS
Our relationship with the United States has entered a new phase. It has matured, as it should, into the understanding of old friends and sovereign partners.

I am confident the Philippines and the United States will always have what might be called a special relationship. We of course share nearly one hundred years of history. This creates unique bonds between our two countries.

But we need to look to the future. The principal foundation for our future relationship will be economic — trade and investment. The United States recognizes that its own prosperity is tied to the continued growth of Asian economies, and we Filipinos are determined to be part of the Asian economic miracle.

We are saying: the Philippines is no longer in transition. We are now a working democracy, and after several years of painful but necessary economic reform, we are now poised for economic takeoff. We are confident that the quality of life for the Filipino people will be markedly better by the year 2000 than it is today.

The Philippines-U.S. bilateral relationship is obviously different than it was during the period of the cold war. Economic cooperation has replaced security concerns as the centerpiece of that relationship. However, the Philippines, along with virtually all other countries of Asia, continues to value the American security presence in the region as vital to stability. By working together with our neighbors as well as with the United States, I am confident we can do what is necessary to assure that the American military engagement continues.

I believe that, where you are and whatever you do, you can help that understanding along.
UNITING BEHIND OUR DREAM
And we can begin by achieving unity among ourselves — to show to others and our fellow Filipinos that we share the same lofty ideals as much as we share the same blood.

There are now almost two million Filipino Americans here in the U.S. This makes you the second largest group of Asian Americans, after the Chinese.

But your numbers are growing at the fastest rate, so much so that by the year 2000, yours will likely be the largest Asian American community.

These numbers by themselves imply tremendous political, economic and cultural power — a positive power that could be put to use to benefit our people here and at home.

But we have failed to realize this power, because of traditional, provincial and parochial divisions among ourselves.

I am told, for example, that there are over 3,000 Filipino American organizations all over the United States. That is well and good — if those 3,000 organizations establish strong and viable linkages towards the definition and promotion of American — and Philippine — interests.

We can continue to celebrate our regional diversity. But here, as at home, we cannot hope to succeed as a people if we can not think beyond being natives of provinces and towns.

As Gloria Ochoa, who was the democratic party candidate for congress in Santa Barbara county, California observed:

“Filipino-Americans have become a powerful group, without their realizing it. They form the backbone of America’s health-care system; they teach America’s children; they are scientists and researchers in the universities; they are artists and musicians of note; they are protectors of civil rights; they are historians and writers. But they are the last to be their own advocates.”

We must learn to put our past and petty divisions behind us, and focus on those more significant values and aspirations that unite and dignify us as a people.

The Ilocanos have a saying we can all profit from:

Ornus ken panagtutulong su ti tulbek ti gundaoay. (Unity and cooperation are the key to opportunity.)

Or, as the Tagalogs say, “Nasa pagkakaisa ang lakas,” and the Hiligaynon, “Ang kusog ara sa pagbinuligay.”

If we can achieve strength through unity, then all good things will indeed be possible for all of us in this land of opportunity.

And for our part, I assure you that we will do our best to make your visits — or perhaps even your retirement — to the Philippines a pleasant, safe, and enriching experience.

I also urge you to send your children and grandchildren on a home visit, so they may rediscover their roots, and the wealth of our culture, for themselves — and so extend your ties to the homeland to the next generation.

Mga mahal na kababayan, kaibigan at kapanalig: ikinatutuwa at ipinagmamalaki namin ang natamo ninyo dito sa malayong bayan ng Amerika.

Sa tagumpay man o kahirapan, nakiki-isa kami sa inyong mga pagsusumikap.

Huwag sana tayong lumimot na makiramay at makibalikat sa isa’t isa. Ipamalas natin sa buong mundo na saan man ang Pilipino, hindi siya uurong sa anumang pagsubok.

At tulad ng isang bayani nating dito rin nanirahan ng ilang taon sa Amerika, si Ninoy Aquino, ang Pilipino ay hindi nag-iisa.

Sama-sama nating kamtin ang kaunlaran para sa minamahal nating inangbayan.

Together, shoulder-to-shoulder, let us achieve sustained progress for our beloved Philippines.

Mabuhay ang Pilipinas!

Mabuhay tayong lahat!

Salamat sa inyong lahat.