Speech
of
His Excellency Fidel V. Ramos
President of the Philippines
At the Lakas-NUCD-UMDP National Convention ’98
[Delivered at the Philsports Arena (ULTRA), Pasig, January 24, 1998]
A first-rate force
to lead the nation
WE MEET TODAY as a party united in our quest of the best for the Filipino—in our commitment to continue with the good that has been done—and yet to respond creatively and boldly to the challenges of a new century.
Today is a great and glorious day—for our party, for our people, for our country.
Today we have a fresh opportunity to take history—to take the future—in our hands.
Building on our victories
Partymates, friends:
Will we return to the mistakes, the shortcomings, the weaknesses, the divisions of the past?
Or will we press forward to expand and to build on the victories you and I have achieved?
This is the challenge we face today: the challenge to choose between inertia and initiative; between backtracking and fast-tracking; between the politics of promises and the politics of performance.
Not only you and I are facing these choices. Seventy million Filipinos are looking to us, the present leaders—the leaders of the Administration party—with the greatest expectations. Seventy million Filipinos are asking themselves if indeed they have found—in the Lakas-NUCD-UMDP—the very echo of their own voices, of their deepest and highest aspirations. Seventy million Filipinos will hold us accountable for our every word and every deed.
We have delivered on our promises
Are we still lacking for direction in our economic and political life—or have we found our footing—hit our stride—and made good progress toward our goal?
My friends, our record of these past five years of steady growth—of “Steady Eddie” growth—our record speaks for itself.
Over five years we have built an economy strong enough—resilient enough—to withstand a regional crisis that has already brought some of our neighbors to their knees.
Over five years we have secured peace in our most troubled regions—and brought new hope to our despairing countrymen—a peace that had eluded them for years and years.
Over five years we have reenergized our people—infusing them with a renewed self-confidence such as they had not felt since we deposed the dictatorship at EDSA
At EDSA in February 1986, the leaders of our recovered democracy promised the people a fresh start, a new season of growth under the skies of freedom.
But it took this Administration, six years after EDSA, to deliver on that promise.
The Ramos Administration took the risks and made the moves that have liberalized the economy—doing away with more than 40 years of the worst kind of protectionism, favoritism and cronyism.
We pushed for social reform—reaching out to the poorest of our people—and bringing them into a widening circle of development.
We invited vigorous foreign participation in our economy—through astute economic diplomacy and through fair investment incentives.
In other words, we brought our people to where they should have been 30 years ago—had earlier administrations dared to embark on a genuine program of freeing up our people’s talents and energies—of empowering them to act and to grow on their own behalf.
To the threshold of the 21st century
We brought our people to the threshold of the 21st century—not only in terms of calendar time—but in terms of a genuine opportunity to realize—within their lifetimes—the benefits of being part of a fully modernized nation. This is of paramount importance to our youth who must, in their time, seize the opportunities and take the initiatives—instead of being tied up with the same struggles that we, their elders, have undergone.
And this is why we must move on with reform—why we must ensure the transition of national leadership—from one proven performer to another.
Because the Presidency is a never-ending work of building a new home for the Filipino nation—a home where our people, under God, can live together—in freedom, dignity and prosperity—united as one nation at one with the world.
Not a jeep, but an LRT
Oo nga pala—by “performer,” I do not mean “actor.”
Kung may “jeep” ang iba riyan, tayo naman sa Lakas-NUCD-UMDP ay may “LRT”—ito ang Lakas Reform Transit na maghahatid sa ating ekonomiya at sa ating bayan sa kanilang maganda at maaliwalas na hantungan!
Hindi naman po sa minamaliit natin ang “jeep,” sapagkat may pakinabang na sasakyan din naman ito—tulad ng karitela at kalesa noong unang panahon. Ngunit tulad nga ng kalesa, napag-iiwanan din ito ng kaunlaran, sa ayaw man natin o sa gusto.
Kung gusto mong makarating mula Baclaran hanggang Monumento nang wala pang kalahating oras, magdi-dyip ka ba, o mag-e-LRT?
Sakay na tayong lahat sa Lakas Reform Transit!
This whole concept of the LRT versus the jeepney really goes to the heart of what we can offer our passengers—the Filipino people—and what the others cannot.
In the great race for global competitiveness—a race that has already begun—the only way to surge forward is to get rid of all excess baggage, to get ahead not only by one’s feet but also by one’s wits, to try new strategies and new routes.
This party we have created together is the vehicle that will take us to the forefront of that race.
Partymates, friends:
It has been a great privilege to lead this party these past six years.
Together we have accomplished a great deal.
Together we have weathered many typhoons and crises.
Together we have had triumphs—and setbacks.
Not all who were with us at the beginning are here with us today.
Not all have passed the rigorous tests of principle and faith—and of mutual loyalty—that bind all of us here.
So be it: this party will always be greater than its parts. It will always be greater than the individuals—including myself—who are its militants and workpeople.
A band of brothers
But what has emerged out of this party—what we have engendered out of our small band of brothers in 1992—is a first-rate force, truly a formidable “lakas,” a champion of democracy with development—development with democracy
Not a third-rate force—not a second-rate force—but a first-rate force for peace, for justice, for prosperity.
And nowhere is first-rate more evident than in our candidates for President, for Vice President, for Senator—our world-class team of proven performers.
As our candidates for Senator, we have chosen from among the best and the brightest of Filipinos—with a geographic bias for the Visayas and Mindanao.
As our candidate for Vice President, we have chosen Gloria Macapagal—a young but tested woman leader who is as charming a person as she is well versed in the economic and social reform concerns of our people.
As our candidate for President, we have chosen Jose Claveria de Venecia Jr.—a man who has been my partner in carrying out the reform programs of this Administration—my partner in the building of our party; and a leader skilled in the building of democratic consensus that leads to harmonious problem-solving.
To them we entrust our fortunes
In Joe de Venecia and Gloria Macapagal we have two outstanding Filipinos who have spent practically all their lives preparing for the responsibilities of high office.
To the two of them and to our 12 senatorial candidates, we gladly and freely entrust the fortunes of our party, our people and our nation.
To them I commend—with full confidence and optimism—the task of completing what you and I have begun.
Let everyone contribute to their victory—to our people’s victory.
As we celebrate the first hundred years of our independence, let us draw on the best of the past and present—to create the best of the future.