INTRODUCTION
I am delighted to be here in the Visayas today — a region that will be very much in the focus of the world’s attention as we celebrate, tomorrow, the 50th anniversary of the landing of General MacArthur in the Visayas — in a province called Leyte.

This region’s history has been inextricably linked with that of our nation and people as a whole, since the earliest times. It was here where the Spaniards first set foot, and met the mettle of Visayan men-at-arms. It was here where the American colonial forces, and the Japanese invaders after them, encountered some of their worst defeats.

Visayas has given the nation some of its finest leaders and statesmen, such as President Sergio Osmeña of Cebu, President Carlos P. Garcia of Bohol, President Manuel A. Roxas of Capiz and Vice-President Fernando Lopez of Iloilo.

Visayas is home to incumbent senators and cabinet secretaries like Secretary Drilon who comes from Iloilo, Secretary Alcala from Negros Oriental, and Senators Osmeña and Herrera from Cebu.

I am particularly happy to note that Negros Occidental has been very well and very ably represented in my administration by such distinguished men as Secretaries Garilao, Alunan, de Ocampo and PNB Chairman, Presidential Adviser Lacson, among many others.
RICH IN HISTORY AND RESOURCES
Here we are, then, in a region rich in both history and resources. It can look back to a proud past; it can celebrate the gracefulness of its people and the graciousness of their customs. But it can also stand on the industry, the fortitude, and the creativity of its people — and look forward from there.

Food, of course, always outlasts and is always more pleasant to contemplate than politics, and so I should mention that — beyond the region and even abroad — Visayas has become famous for its batchoy, danggit, piaya, biscocho, mangoes and cashew.

it is home as well to piña fiber with which we make the finest barongs, and to vast fishing resources, and, of course, sugar for the world.
VISAYAS, INCORPORATED
This conference here today — with its theme of “one vision, one voice, Visayas Incorporated” — brings the past and the future, and the different ethno-linguistic groups in the Visayas, together. Out of this crucial meeting must come the synergy that you will need to compete even more successfully in the economy of the Philippines and the world.

You can begin by taking realistic and careful stock of your situation. You do not have the geographical advantage of Mindanao’s proximity to Malaysia, Brunei and Indonesia, or northern Luzon’s nearness to Hong Kong, China, Korea, Japan and Taiwan.

Thus, it makes good economic sense to look at Visayas as one regional economic unit and market, and to develop strategies that will integrate the region into an economic dynamo.

Let me be very clear about this: everywhere in the world today, given the rapid and dramatic changes in the global economy, the tendency is towards integration — joining hands, pooling and sharing resources together, sacrificing parochial interests for the common and general good.

The old adage about unity in strength has never been truer — or, as you say here, ang kusog, ara sa pagbinuligay. Small economic units which cannot possibly survive and flourish in the powerful currents of national and global business can do so by coming and standing together.

We can no longer afford to be bothered and derailed by narrow intra-regional rivalries, and narrow and petty politicking — not when our chief competitors, here in Southeast Asia as in the global sphere — have pulled themselves together. Unity will bring more than the intrinsic rewards of good-neighborliness; unity also means good business.

I am happy to see that the Visayan businessmen and the region’s political leaders are now talking and thinking as one.

More and more, the private sector has made its impact felt on the development of the Visayas. With capable chambers of commerce like those in Cebu and Bacolod, Visayan private enterprise has led — as it should — the growth of the whole Visayas area.

I particularly commend the Metro Bacolod Chamber of Commerce and Industry which is inaugurating their one-stop shop business center today in Bacolod. And I encourage the other Visayan chambers in Bohol, Leyte, Samar, Iloilo, Aklan, and Negros Oriental, as well as those in Luzon and Mindanao, to follow their example.

This is what I mean by private sector initiative. Ultimately, it is you who must translate the thrusts of government policy into concrete and viable projects.

Our job in government is to create the right policy environment for business to prosper. We can help you make the initial connections, such as I have sought to do on my visits abroad. But the follow-through depends on you — and with it, the economic welfare of your communities.

Because of your central location in our country, you are well-positioned to participate directly in the Asia-Pacific economy and indeed, the world.

Mactan has become our most important and best-equipped international airport outside of Manila. Thus, Cebu has been able to come into its own, without constant need of going through manila’s circuitous and congested commercial channels.

To encourage this trend even further in other places, my administration will invite the entry of more feeder airlines to augment pal’s local air traffic. I have already directed the Department of Transportation and Communications to finalize their plans and studies on upgrading all the local airports in the region to make them competitive for international tourism, to include the Bacolod Airport.

I encourage and support the master plan being proposed by the private sector whereby Cebu will be designated the transportation hub for international trade and tourism for all of the Visayas.

Accordingly, I urge that a new Visayas regional master plan be adopted with synergy in mind to lessen overlapping of infrastructure activities in our three Visayan regions. The provinces in Visayas should integrate and position themselves vis-a-vis what they feel are their competitive niches in the overall plan for Visayas.

A re-thinking of the economic development plan for the three regions will have to be undertaken. With government’s limited resources, a One-Visayas approach will be more cost-effective than a three-region approach.

And it is encouraging to note that through the initiatives of both the Bacolod city government and the private sector, negotiations are underway with two foreign investors willing to undertake build-operate-and-transfer projects in the development of a Bacolod seaport and airport.

The development of domestic ports should be suitably complemented by the construction of more farm-to-market roads which is primarily local government’s responsibility under our local government code.

If we wish to promote economic growth nationwide, we must pay particular attention to the development of the rural areas. More than half of all Filipinos live in the countryside, and our traditional urban centers are already suffering from being unduly burdened with a high concentration of people and their demands for basic services. Thus, pursuant to the objectives of “Philippines 2000!!!”, we have launched the Countryside Agro-Industrial Development Strategy (CAIDS). To implement this, we identified and set up Regional Agro-Industrial Centers (RAICS) as growth poles in the different regions.

These RAICS in Central, Western and Eastern Visayas have energized countryside development in terms of new business and new jobs created, resulting in the growth of combined gross regional product.

You are well-blessed in other respects.

The energy situation in your region is relatively stable due to the abundant supply of the Tongonan Geothermal Power Plant in Leyte, with actual capacity of 112.5 megawatts vis-a-vis the Eastern Visayas’ peak demand of only 82 megawatts.

Thus, the excess power supply of 30.5 megawatts will be channeled to Cebu in 1996. The Palinpinon Geothermal Plant in Negros Oriental, which also produces 112.5 megawatts, feeds the whole island of Negros and portions of Panay and Cebu.

By 1996, it should be able to generate an additional 80 megawatts that will also be supplied to Cebu and elsewhere.

Aside from new geothermal projects in Leyte, we have two very worthy ongoing geothermal projects in the municipalities of Murcia and Bago in the central part of Negros Occidental. Steam drilling has been completed, and these plants should add 40 megawatts to the total capacity of Palinpinon.

Your famous Mambucal resort in Murcia should now be developed jointly by government and the private sector as a showcase of how eco-tourism and geothermal power can co-exist — safely, greenly, cleanly, and profitably. The generation of indigenous sources of energy should result in the lowering of the cost of electricity where this is generated.

Let me commit our participation by directing the allocation of p20 million from the DOT, DILG and Office of the President’s budgets to make this happen — on condition that local government units and especially the private sector give and do their share.

In telecommunications, our policy of liberalization and deregulation has begun to pay off already.

One conglomerate, Islacom, has been given the franchise to service the Visayas region.

There is, however, still much to be done, but the challenge to the Visayas because of the scope of the job is how to exploit the opportunities now open to entrepreneurs in telecommunications.
THE AGRIBUSINESS SECTOR
The agribusiness sector is another of your most significant contributions to development. Fully 80% of total sugar produced comes from the Visayas, particularly negros occidental which supplies 60% of the country’s total produce.

i understand that the sugar industry leadership has united, behind the process of preparing a master plan for the medium and long-term viability and growth of the sugar industry.

this master plan envisions a re-engineering of the sugar industry by developing downstream industries, to add higher value to raw sugar. Rest assured that my constant efforts will include the sugar industry’s diversification program as part of my package of economic proposals to encourage foreign investments into the sugar industry.

You have requested us to provide safety nets to make the industry competitive under GATT and AFTA — namely irrigation, roads, airports, seaports and additional research and development funds for the sugar industry.

You have my commitment that our departments of agriculture, and of trade and industry — and myself personally — will work closely with the leaders of sugar industry to insure that your proposals will be part of the p90 billion Medium-Term Agricultural Development Plan.

Furthermore, NIA has been directed to review its present policy on irrigation development for rice and corn to encourage the production of high value crops, and to improve the efficiency of sugar production.
CLOSING
In closing, let me remind you of what government must, can and will do:

We should put the basic infrastructure in place, provide an atmosphere conducive to investments, listen and respond to the business sector’s initiatives, and promote complementation among the different provinces and regions.

The rest is up to you of the private sector. And I have every reason to believe, from what I have seen, that you will very well succeed in making history here in the Visayas again — a history marked by entrepreneurial daring and innovation, self-confidence, competitiveness, and unity behind our common regional and national goals. Kaya natin ito!

Thank you and good day.