Speech
of
His Excellency Fidel V. Ramos
President of the Philippines
At the awarding ceremonies for the 1995 and 1996 The Outstanding Young Filipinos (TOYF)

[Delivered at the Ceremonial Hall, Malacañang, February 3, 1997]

The young
global Filipino

TODAY WE HONOR a new breed of leaders for the new millennium, models for our young Filipinos—young men and young women of the future.

There is a long and illustrious line of exemplary young Filipinos who have preceded our awardees today. They date back to our revolutionary past and even much earlier, when to be outstanding was to incur risk to oneself and one’s family.

Young Filipinos have made their mark in all aspects of our national life—in government, business and industry, science and technology, the media, culture and the arts, the military, public policy and social activism.

Defining the model

The selection of the 1995 and 1996 TOYF awardees departed from the past in that the criteria now include an international dimension. Our awardees are being recognized not only for their achievements here but for their accomplishments abroad manifested by the international application of their craft or expertise. Common to all our awardees is their contribution to defining the model of the new global Filipino.

This, I believe, is truly the way of the future—the way to look, and the way to go. If there is anything that our efforts and our early successes these past few years have taught us, it is that the Filipino can achieve the full potential of his or her talent, energy and creativity. Our destiny as a nation is ours to create and to realize.

Our talented young people remain intimately connected to the vast and complex networks of the world, and rightly so. For no nation can possibly prosper in the coming century entirely on its own. This is why we have maintained and strengthened our relationships with our neighbors, friends and partners around the world, through such productive forums as the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

To distinguish ourselves in the world

All these proceed from a vision that you and I have chosen to craft together four years ago. You made that choice with me—to win the future, to empower the Filipino, to engage, to compete and to distinguish ourselves in the world.

What may have seem hopeful rhetoric then has become a vigorous reality. That same promise, I am sure, will be realized by our awardees today.

I commend not only these bright young people, but also the organizers—the board of judges, the TOYM Foundation, the Gerry Roxas Foundation, Far East Bank and Trust Company and the Philippine Jaycees—for sustaining this praiseworthy project and its salutary objectives.

Equally deserving of our recognition and praise are the people behind these young Filipino men and women—the people who have modeled, inspired and challenged them daily to be their best. I refer to none other than the parents, spouses and families of our honorees.

The TOYF is a tradition well worth nurturing and preserving for so long as the integrity and the quality of its choices are as impeccable and sterling as they have always been.

As we move on from year to year toward a better and brighter Philippines, young citizens need role models to inspire and drive them. This is what the TOYF stands for, and this tradition, we must maintain, enhances and renews regularly.

Achievement and success without values and without sharing are hollow and self-serving. The young men and women whom we award today deserve that honor not because they have sought acclaim for themselves, but because their talents and their sacrifices have improved the lives of countless others.

The culture of selflessness, be it in time of crisis or normalcy, is the core value that unifies a nation. It may so happen that you—our young leaders here—may have different ideas about the Filipino future, and how we should get there. But as long as you keep the interests of our people—especially the poor, the weak, the disadvantaged and the powerless—it is the common good that shall prevail.

On behalf of the many Filipinos whose lives you have touched and benefited, and of the Government and our people at large, I thank you now. And I thank you now, knowing that you have many more years of service and achievement ahead.

These awards are not a culmination, but a midpoint, a waystation on the road toward an even more fulfilling future.

A tribute to those unsung heroes

This ritual of getting together for the TOYF also honors the other unsung young Filipino achievers in those fields you represent and the young Filipinos who have managed to give and to do their best within the humbleness of their birth and social status.

I speak here also of our overseas Filipino workers, who are our bagong bayani. I speak also of our young men and women in uniform who have chosen to devote the best years of their lives to keeping the peace and upholding the law, so that you and I might live and work more safely and more securely.

They, too, deserve our recognition and gratitude.

As your President, I challenge you, the TOYF honorees of 1995 and 1996, to embody the spirit of our great heroes, by helping to prepare many more young Filipinos to follow in your footsteps—to lead others in doing as you have done.

In this you have my pledge of support, and my assurance that I share in your values and visions.

Thinking minds, caring hearts, strong hands

As I end, let me express my wish that the TOYF organizers lead in supporting and sustaining the projects undertaken by the TOYF awardees. In the TOYF and the former TOYM awardees, you have the country’s strongest network of thinking minds, caring hearts and strong hands.

For you the awardees today—as for the nation itself—the best, indeed, is yet to come. We look forward with great hope and eagerness to what you shall be doing these next few years to prove further that you were wisely chosen, and that you will continue to achieve.