Speech
of
His Excellency Fidel V. Ramos
President of the Philippines
At the 1992 Asian Management Awards

[Delivered at the Asian Institute of Management, February 18, 1993]

Joining East Asia
in the Pacific Age

FOR THE PAST 25 years the Asian Institute of Management has been training Asian managers for both private enterprise and the government sector. And for the past three years it has been presenting the Asian Management Awards to outstanding organizations in the region that have significantly contributed to their countries’ development.

The last time I was asked to hand out awards by the AIM was in 1990, as your Secretary of National Defense, when I attended the graduation exercises of my son-in-law, who is in the audience tonight. I handed out plaques of appreciation to members of the AIM community who demonstrated courage and steadfastness during the abortive coup of December 1989, which affected the AIM campus and Makati’s business district. It is not true, however, that classes continued to be held during the eight days that the rebels held Makati.

Socially responsible managers

I recall this event if only to draw a sharp contrast between the country’s present situation and that in late 1989. Indeed, we have gone a long, long way toward achieving political equilibrium and stability—both important requirements for achieving economic growth and progress.

Tonight, we honor seven Philippine organizations and several outstanding individuals whose exemplary management programs and teachings are paragons of excellence. Like their counterparts for these prestigious awards in other participating countries in East Asia, they symbolize not only AIM’s but our nation’s view of developing competent and socially responsible managers for Asian economies and societies.

The coming of the Pacific Age

It is now an accepted fact that our part of the world is setting the pace for prosperity. While others still suffer from economic stagnation, East Asia continues to grow in such a way that has led many to agree that the first part of the twenty-first century will be known as the Pacific Age. By the turn of the century our region is expected to account for almost half of global commerce. For 1993 alone while the forecast of world economic growth is at an average of 2.3 percent, the prediction for the average growth of Asia’s developing nations is about 7 percent, or triple that of the first figure.

In this situation, the Philippines cannot afford to be left behind again. We missed out in the first wave of Asia’s rapid economic growth in the late 1960’s, which saw the rise of Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong and South Korea as economic dragons. We missed out again in the eighties, when Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Southern China moved toward becoming industrializing economies. Now maybe is our last chance to join our neighbors in prosperity. That is why we are determined in the Philippines to achieve vigorous economic growth so that the country may bequeath a legacy of economic sufficiency and prosperity by the time my term as President ends, which coincides with the centennial of Philippine Independence in June 1998.

Given the backdrop of our country’s economic situation now, our goals may be considered ambitious, but we have no other alternative except to push them as vigorously and purposefully as we can.

By 1998 our per-capita income should reach U.S. $1,000 or more from where we are at about U.S. $730 and GNP growth a year should be at about ten percent in 1998.

We have begun to lay the foundations for achieving these goals. Our efforts at national unity and political stability are by this time well known because we have always said that this is a precondition to our economic recovery. We have reached out to all dissident groups in our society to join us in working for the common good. And we are addressing criminality firmly and frontally in the streets, so our citizenry can live and work in peace. We have also instituted unprecedented policy reforms within the economy in preparation for growth.

The Administration is priming the pump to the tune of at least P60 billion this year to pave the way for a fast-track public infrastructure building program. We are adopting measures that seek to dismantle monopolies and cartels just as we are privatizing the last big corporations from the era of crony capitalism. We have decisively moved to fully deregulate foreign exchange and considerably relax foreign investment regulations. We have been aggressive in our diplomatic and promotional efforts to attract foreign investments, trade and tourism, through visits to our Asian neighbors and the creation of an atmosphere that would be conducive to profitable economic cooperation.

Toward a better quality of life

My recent visits to Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore have generated some P5 billion in investments, trade and employment opportunities. Our tourism industry posted increases in 1992 in visitor arrivals by some 24 percent and in tourist receipts by some 34 percent over that of the year before.

We are establishing regional centers all over the Philippines where investors can be assured of profitable ventures and access to our skilled manpower pool. And we are resolving the critical power shortage as fast as possible to support industrialization and end the inconvenience of the residents of Metro Manila.

The bottom line of all of these initiatives is to create more national and personal wealth that will support the aspirations of our people who hope for a better quality of life. These measures that the Administration has been carrying out have not remained unnoticed. For instance, the London Economist group roundtable conference with Philippine officials and business leaders in Manila only last month came up with the following conclusions.

First, there is real leadership and more sense of purpose by the executive branch.

Second, the President has built a team of quality people who share his vision and are able to work together.

Third, there is now an attitudinal change in our country.

And fourth, the present Administration has taken a number of steps that have sent powerful and favorable signals to the world investment community.

Toward global competitiveness

I must emphasize here and now that the private sector carries an equally significant share of the responsibility for our economic growth, especially in promoting more direct foreign investment in our country. We also need the cooperation of our legislative, business and even judicial leaders if the Philippines should become competitive in a world where traditional polarities have become blurred but where new economic relationships are arising.

We still see in our midst many organizations that have insisted that Filipino industrialists be protected from the pressures of foreign competition. In fact, we still have 50-year-old infants in our industrial communities. The protective walls of tariff and subsidy are now crumbling in a new era of intensified intraregional trade. All over Asia, the era of protectionism is definitely ending. Countries around us have clearly demonstrated that economies develop most rapidly in a liberalized highly competitive environment. This is in fact the rationale for the ASEAN Free Trade Area, or AFTA. The rules of the marketplace are clear, consistent and absolute. In the seventies and the eighties the battle cry was “Innovate or Stagnate!” In this decade of the nanosecond nineties, the watchwords are “Innovate or Perish!”

So, if we seriously want to reduce the distance between us in the Philippines and the tiger economies of our region, our cooperative words should be focus and fast-track. We need to focus on those industries where we can sustain competitive advantage. And because time is not on our side, we need to work double time and move in a fast-forward mode.

We should, therefore, continue to develop an environment conducive to foreign investment, industrialization and the attainment of world-class competitiveness. Before we can even talk of capitalizing on our distinct competence in certain industries, the more basic question is, are we competitive?

The amount of foreign investments attracted by the country is one important barometer. According to the latest figures of our Board of Investments, aggregate foreign investments during the first five months of this Administration amounted to some $1.6 billion. This exceeded the total investments registered during the 12 previous months by more than US$600 million. But we are far from satisfied. We are acutely aware that so much work needs to be done to make the economic playing ground in our country truly competitive and attractive by today’s harsh standards. And I am confident that this is where organizations such as those which our awardees represent can lend their support to the entire effort.

Total human development

Besides global competitiveness our other major thrust for the next five years is total human development.

I am happy to note that AIM has been a significant contributor to the development of our human resources, particularly our economic planners and business managers. As an example in line with the Government’s program to privatize, particularly to convert Camp John Hay in Baguio into a human resource development or HRD center, AIM has entered into a partnership agreement with the Bases Conversion Development Authority (BCDA) to convert the Igorot Lodge at John Hay—the one near Tee No. 18 and Hall No. 1—into an AIM center for its top management development program.

The contemplated state-of-the-art training center by AIM can accommodate 50 to 60 in-house executive trainees. This program will enhance the image of not only John Hay but also AIM and optimize the use of its existing facilities. Indeed, AIM’s example is something similar institutions should emulate. If I am saying so many commercial things about AIM and the BCDA, do not forget I am now the country’s number-one and chief traveling salesman.

The Confucian ethic

Our policies and programs should draw on the distinctive competence of our people to enhance their competitive advantage. For example, we continue to produce some of the best software programmers and engineers in the world who are proficient in English, but we do not develop enough of them. We also have inherited from our forebears that special quality called the Confucian ethic. And this is common to many of the peoples that inhabit Asia and the Pacific. It consists of hard work, patience, thrift, respect for elders, respect for the law and discipline. And so these combined qualities found in the people of our country are in themselves significant, comparative advantages.

We have thus begun to reorient our educational system to greater emphasis on technical, scientific, vocational and communications skills that will enable us to capitalize on what we do best. But just as important as developing distinctive competence is getting our people’s commitment to the demands of national development.

We in Government and those in private enterprise must elicit and inspire that commitment from our people by providing them with opportunities where hard work and sacrifice for the greater good can pay off. In other words, we too must be committed to our people’s development. This in fact is what we call the economic empowerment of our people.

But how do we all achieve this?

First, we must believe in ordinary people’s capabilities and in their right to take part in the cultivation and reaping of the fruits of development.

Second, we must work and act together toward clear measurable goals leading to prosperity and equity.

Third, we must provide opportunities and support for our young people, small entrepreneurs and industrial pioneers who have the vision and ability larger than the ordinary and who resolve to take the risks required to achieve success.

Fourth, we must cultivate in our political system and bureaucracy the leadership and the value system that demonstrates the dignity inherent in public service as well as in the private sector. And among those values that we should always hold high is social responsibility.

Listen to the people

Fifth, let us listen to our people. Like the most successful corporate enterprises, the most progressive nations seem to be those that listen to their people and act on their people’s recommendations. This is the essence of people empowerment on which principle my Administration is anchored.

As your Chief Executive, I will look frequently for examples such as those provided by the outstanding organizations you have commended tonight. In a very meaningful way, these organizations and AIM itself demonstrate what we Filipinos are capable of as a nation and as an empowered people.