Thank you, Mr. Congressman from the fourth district of Pangasinan, our good friend Joe de Venecia whom we shall call henceforth as RainbowJoe (applause). Some characters in the past were called Sunshine Joe but that is just one part of the day they’re talking about. In the case of rainbows, they take place twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, three hundred sixty-five days a year (applause).

May I also greet our parting president, the highly respected elder statesman, the emphasis is on statesman, not on elder (laughter), Raul Manglapus (applause).

My partner on the platform all over the country, sometimes accompanied by Robin Padilla (laughter), to our apprehension because sometimes robin gets the bigger crowds, governor Lito Osmeña (applause).

Our two dear senators who have survived (laughter) because of being part of LAKAS-NUCD, but probably more because of their sterling records of performance as senators, Nina Rasul and Letty Shahani (applause).

Our very own Tio Komong or Ka Komong, the former majority floor leader of the house, congressman Francisco Sumulong (applause) whose column I now religiously read because it has a lot of komong sense (laughter). Our party liaison between Congress and Malacañang, the guy who occupies the loftiest heights in the country because he comes from the Cordillera, congressman Bert Lumauig (applause).

The happiest person in this crowd who is none other than congressman Edel Amante (applause) because he is sitting on unclaiming possession of two positions right now (laughter).

Our governor Andy Verceles, one of our (applause) party stalwarts who delivered the Bicol region to LAKAS-NUCD versus our strongest opponents.

Our vice-president, Joey Rufino (applause), likewise a reliable and dependable partner in the party.

Distinguished members of the LAKAS-NUCD-UMDP, that means all of you, you are all distinguished, mga kasama, mga kaibigan at mga kababayan.

As your president, I have to be very careful of what I say from now on (laughter) and that is why i have prepared a written speech for the record (applause). But I came here this afternoon really prepared to talk as friend to friend, as party mate to party mate, as leader to leader, as Filipino to Filipino. Because that’s what this party coalition is all about. This is the party of the masses of our people. This is the party that protects and reinforces the interest of the great majority of Filipinos. How I wish everyone who was a candidate in this hall as well as those who are up here this afternoon, brought to victory with me, but since that as come about, I am happy that on the basis of the workshop reports I have heard and the whisperings of Raul and Lito beside me that we can bring a much bigger group to victory in 1995 (applause).
This place which is the crystal ballroom of the Hyatt Regency Hotel, for me personally as well as for many of you who are out there has many meaningful memories in terms of our political crusade. We started here gathering supporters of Eddie Ramos and the original Ramos faction of the LDP and that later enlarged into the Lakas Tao. Then that became Lakas Tao plus the people’s coalition. (sige, pumalakpak kayo) [applause]. Later on, the Lakas Tao People’s Coalition plus Cory’s Forces, palakpakan din natin ang Cory’s Forces at marami sila rito (applause). And eventually, with the coming in of Lito Osmeña and his huge forces coming from the Central Visayas and from the NUCS, we became what we are now, which is our vehicle to victory in 1992 and 1995, the LAKAS-EDSA-NUCD-UMDP -People Power Coalition (applause).

We are now entering into a new phase not only of party development but also national development. And as I gaze out across this hall, I see a brighter future for the Philippines. I am reassured that this is going to happen, especially because we are now consolidating as a political party.

I see the great warriors of the LAKAS-NUCD coalition, the men and women who defied formidable odds imposed by too meager resources. Ano ba yung resources natin? Five hundred pesos per precinct for poll watching.

When somebody (off the record na ito, ha?) [laughter] accused our party of doling out four thousand pesos per poll watcher during that period, I had to stand up and defend the party. I am clarifying that we could hardly make good our promise to all of you who were out there to receive five hundred pesos per precinct for the entire period of poll watching. Anyway, that was one very difficult obstacle. There was also too little time to help bring about a triumph for everyone who ran under the party because truth to tell we were the newest political aggrupation in the entire contest. And so, whenever I am asked about the turning point of the campaign when tight turn from inevitable defeat to victory for some of us, including victory in the presidency, I can point to no specific instance for in fact, there was no single turning point.

I see, however, a train of events that inevitably built up to that may 11th triumph of Eddie Ramos. For which I thank you from the bottom of my heart because without you, this would not have come about (applause).

Our First Lady, our dear Ming and our children, join me in these sentiments. She cannot make it here today because as First Lady, she is also now consolidating a new frontier because all of a sudden, she has many new friends (laughter/ applause).

But what are the series of events I see as our collective turning point? First of all, our failure in the LDP provincial convention or straw vote was a baptism of fire for me similar to the first exchange of gunfire between opponents in open combat. That defeat left us wounded. But not knocked out. And it opened the door to a rare opportunity to put together this ragtag political army of which you are all a part (applause)–a bunch of political guerillas, a bunch of political has beens and a bunch of political left-overs (laughter) but just like a crusading army, you are pledged to work toward a vision, our vision which is to return real power to our people.

I see the great sacrifices of our partymen who relentlessly pushed our campaign undeterred by the odds against them, undeterred even by violence but motivated only by loyalty to party, loyalty to a program of government and loyalty to the welfare of our people.

I see also as part of this series of turning points the vigilance of our partymen who, with their lives, protected the integrity of the electoral process and made sure that the genuine voice of our people would be heard.

Salamat sa inyong sakripisyo. Salamat sa inyong nagawa hindi lamang para sa akin ngunit para sa buong partido.

But let me hasten to add that I also would like to express my gratitude to our former opponents in the presidential contest, many of whom early in the process upon our very urgent request also helped protect the integrity of the ballot.

So again, to all of you, our most heartfelt gratitude.

What we accomplished in May is really only the beginning. For our triumph over traditional type politics and the big party machines has led us to a bigger arena.

Now, we are being called to wage a new war, a war in which there is only one enemy and that enemy is poverty. The poverty of individual Filipinos, the poverty of Filipino families and Filipino households and the poverty of the Filipino nation itself.

Poverty has oppressed millions of Mang Pandoys out there in the countryside and the dark corners of our cities and provincial capitals.

When we started out, I asked you to make great sacrifices for the cause of the coalition. And i ask you now to make even greater sacrifices for the good of our country and people.

Our mandate has been written. History has propelled us to this point in time to confront this herculean task that is both humbling and ennobling for its sheer enormity and urgency. To us has been entrusted the opportunity to regain the vibrancy of our prostrate economy, the dignity of our political system and an honored place in the community of nations.

There is no turning back for us, not for anyone in this hall, not for anyone in our coalition who is convinced that now is the time to begin to make politics work not for the coalition, not for the party, not just for any particular person but for the entire Filipino nation.

So serious is our task that today, I have decided to announce a decision that has been supported by many of you, that has been supported by the workshop reports. And this has taken the better part of my first week in Malacañang to mull over.

To be able to wage an effective and sustained war against poverty, we need above all a party able to transform our vision and to organize workers who shall reach into every barangay in all of our towns and cities across the breadth and length of our archipelago.

We will therefore amend our party constitution to pave the way for the evolution of the LAKAS-NUCD-UMDP from a political coalition into a full-fledged political party (applause).

This party shall be our workhorse. It shall be our vehicle in waging the war against poverty and to assure our countrymen that it will do its task, I will remain as the titular head of this party and harness every ounce of its resources to succeed in our mission (applause). But do not forget, that my larger party now is the Filipino people themselves. Their interests are paramount to any other party’s interests including ours (applause).

Sometime in August or September this year, coalition members or their official representatives will gather again in this hall and will be asked to ratify the new party constitution. And before the year is over, we shall organize our first national convention to further consolidate the party and thence to recruit and expand the organization. This is our top priority as a party.

We shall not stop there. A party, to be able to carry out its mission, must be imbued with a sense of high purpose and a collective will to serve the people. Our second priority, therefore, is to educate the party rank and file and train them in all aspects of party work necessary to transform LAKAS-NUCD-UMDP into an active instrument for national progress.

Let me assure you that party expansion, once in full gear, shall not be attained at the expense of those who have already served and sacrificed for the coalition (applause). On the contrary, they shall play significant roles in building closer linkages between the office of the president and the party rank and file. And each one will have a role to play according to the goals that we have set out to accomplish.

Our nation’s history teaches us that the bureaucracy, however efficient and well-meaning, is virtually ineffective whenever left alone to fight the war against poverty. But with a party to organize the effort and marshal government’s resources as representatives of the people, the outcome could be decidedly different.

A party, with its vast network, touching base with the people, offers many distinct advantages apart from providing democratic groundswell and a popular base.

First, we shall be guided in making decisions upon consultations with our people on what they need and wish to have.

Second, we shall be more effective in rallying people behind government’s initiatives in response to local needs and national concerns.

And third, we shall be able to help disperse more equitably the opportunities and fruits of progress which we now foresee.

My ascension to office coincides with the centennial of the founding of the revolutionary Katipunan in the twilight of Spain’s colonial rule.

The times in which we live need no less than the revolutionary spirit of our freedom fighters a hundred years ago. No longer under the tyranny of colonial rule, we are faring no better, however, than our forefathers centuries ago. For we continue to live under the tyranny of poverty.

Everywhere, the cry of our people is for survival. This is revealed, among many significant findings, in a post-election survey conducted by the respected Asia Research Organization.

For instance, three out of every four Filipinos or seventy five percent surveyed overwhelmingly said high prices and the high cost of living are our most serious problem, one that will severely test the mettle of my administration.

Our people are harassed by unemployment and lack of economic opportunities. They are chased by crime and delinquency even in what presumably are the familiar confines of their own neighborhoods.

The list of problems as shown by the aro research survey is long and reads like an indictment of our leaders, past and present. The crippling energy crisis, corruption in government, the insurgency, the lack of infrastructure, the lack of cheap housing, the lack of livelihood programs, poor education and health services constitute this very long list.

Failing to address these problems now or devoting our precious little time to unproductive political squabbles and grandstanding, we risk popular anger and (communal patience) or communal impatience which are dangerously edging over to their limits.

I need the cooperation of everyone, the party as well as the new congress to tackle these urgent concerns. Divided, we shall have every reason to fail. United, I have no doubt that we will succeed.

As I close, I am reminded of what American president Lyndon Johnson said in the high noon of his imperial presidency a quarter of a century ago.

Johnson said, “You’ve got to give it all you can, that first year. It doesn’t matter what kind of majority you came in with. You’ve got to get everything during that first year.” his vision opened the way to Washington’s great society legislation.

But certainly, we can do better than President Johnson and his great society. We can do better than the Kano! (applause)

As president, this is what i exactly intend to do. Facing us is a unique opportunity to be the nation’s unifying force as well as its catalyst for change.

Together, let us– the presidency and the LAKAS-NUCD-UMDP — make ourselves the engine of change to move this nation forward.

Mabuhay and ating coalition! (mabuhay/ applause)

Mabuhay ang ating partido! (mabuhay/applause)

Mabuhay ang Pilipinas! (mabuhay/ applause)

Mabuhay tayong lahat! (mabuhay/ applause)

At mga kababayan, huwag niyong kalimutan itong ating simbolo — thumbs up everybody.

Salamat po (applause).