INTRODUCTION
To visit the Asian Institute of Management (AIM) Is for me already a privilege at any time. So you can only imagine my sense of elation and gratitude when you in the AIM community honor me in this way.

When Fil Alfonso first told me about the proposed Fidel V. Ramos Research Chair in Policy Studies, it was so unexpected that I blurted: “Thanks for the chair, but what I really need right now is a bed!”

Levity aside, this institution of learning couldn’t have done me a greater honor, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Some of you in the AIM community have been running double time during the past six years, as many of the rest of us have also been doing in order that our collective achievement in turning around the so-called “Asia’s basket case” will be sustained, and remain what it has become — a model for democracies this side of the world.

While some of our neighbors are being pummeled by political, International Monetary Fund (IMF) and other pressures, the IMF has left us be in our self-reliance. In this distemper visiting Asia, I do not think I am off the mark if I say that the Philippines has come out ahead — indeed as the least ill-humored or tempestuous of the lot.

And it would not be far from the truth when I assert that right now, in much the same way that we celebrated the centennial of our independence, we are in fact enjoying our political stability and economic viability — unlike many of our competitors.
RECLAIMING THE REGIME OF PEACE
Upon my accession to the presidency, I told our people that our country was not at war with no one in the world. Yet, I said then that we must fight the moral equivalent of war against the problems of our nation: poverty, unemployment, crime and insurgency, and that we should strive for nothing less than to win the future.

That was the military man in me speaking. And so, indeed, many have been the battles we have waged during my term — not the least of which was our persistent pursuit of peace with all the disaffected groups in our society — the leftist, rightist and secessionist rebels.

Let us reflect a moment on these peace initiatives, because peace is the foundation of everything the nation has gained during my watch. We have moved from a regime of contentiousness to one of peace. The leftist rebels who had prided themselves in waging the longest insurgency in the world are talking with our representatives. The sector in the military that had specialized in seasonal heroics has been engaged in more creative activities towards nation building. And the peace agreement in Mindanao is being enhanced by a sustained development process.

More importantly, Mindanao is now viewed as a viable investment setting, making possible a number of economic arrangements with our neighbors, most notably in the Brunei-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA). And what Quezon long ago described as “the land of promise” is finally being redeemed as the 20th century comes to a close.

The relation between policy and progress is almost as simple as a mathematical equation. With peace, we have been able to devote more of our attention and resources to the tasks of development. With peace, we have attained the political stability so critical to investment, enterprise and productivity. With peace, we have left behind us the albatross of being a nation at war with itself.
DEMOCRACY AS THE INFRASTRUCTURE FOR DEVELOPMENT
As we reclaimed the regime of peace, we also built the infrastructure for our modernization and sustainable development. I can say this now with honest confidence and with great pride that it is there for us to take full advantage of. We have created magnets of opportunity for our foreign investors which in turn translate into more business and employment opportunities for our people in the regions.

Our active and articulate participation in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) propels us to play a more competitive role in seeking and creating strategic linkages with other economies as we have opened the door to liberalization. Our special economic zones in Clark and Subic, the Calabarzon, the North Quad, Cebu-Mactan, Socsksargen, among others, have made an impressive show in the volume of investments and revenue generation with every locator moving in, because of the hospitable climate we have put in place in these real — not ‘virtual’ — corridors of growth and development.

And we have done our utmost to move our country into the global information highway, so that it can keep pace with the rest of the world. With the power and telecommunications capacities now at par with international standards, we have no more reason to tarry. And given the smooth transition of leadership recently concluded, we can only hope for the good to become better, and when we have become better, for us to strive to be the best.

You will remember that once, a certain senior statesman in the region had lectured us that we should give up some of our freedoms. And that we should temper our love for freedom in order to calibrate our surge to prosperity. Today, you and I stand proud before the world — proud that we did not have to — and that we will not have to tamper with the Filipinos’ freedom-loving nature — at all.

The fact is that in choosing democracy over authoritarianism, we are on the right side of history. We have not only proven that democracy and development are compatible with each other, but are indeed, mutually supportive — and that a democratic society can make its own economic miracle. We are also discovering today — amidst the severities of the Asian crisis — that democracy and markets go together, that democracy is the natural complement of the global economy, that democracy is the future.

To win our future then, we must continue to adhere to the ways of our democracy. The challenges of policy in our democracy must ever be resolved through the norms of democratic politics — by open debate, by consultation, then by consensus, and finally, by competitive and transparent implementation. For truly there is no better way.

The authoritarian way may get policy decisions faster, but it doesn’t follow that those decisions will stand the test of time.

The democratic way may take longer to arrive at the right policy. But when it does, we can be sure that it will have the nation’s support.
AIM AND THE POWER OF ANALYSIS
I could not be prouder for this honor you do me today, yet I believe its significance goes far beyond personal recognition. Its transcendent meaning is to affirm the idea that national success in our time depends on the power of analysis and clear thinking. It reminds us that institutions of learning, think tanks and policy studies centers matter greatly in the making of a better nation and a better world.

For not everything is politics. Problems must be carefully analyzed so that we can arrive at effective solutions. Policies must be the product of careful review and study. Programs must meet the test of targets and performance.

As I leave office, I am confident that this habit of mind is taking root in our country and that it would lead to a culture of excellence. I feel certain that our collective effort and our achievements during the past few years will be carried through and pursued not only by the next government but also by learning institutions like the Asian Institute of Management and fora like Washington SyCip policy forum.

I am fully aware that since its founding, the AIM has been unrelenting in its drive to equip Asia’s leader-managers for the difficult task of management in Asia-Pacific into the next millennium. And to retain our cutting edge, I know that the policy forum has spearheaded relevant undertakings on global competitiveness, trade facilitation and information technology, politics and governance with emphasis on the citizen as customer, and many others.

These are initiatives that have paralleled my own, and therefore, the fact that the FVR Chair will be awarded to a team rather than to a single person cannot be more appropriate. For everything that we now enjoy has been realized through sheer teamwork and concerted group effort and, in no small measure, had been mobilized with the support of the aim and other pillars of academe, the business community, the non-government and people’s organizations from the basic sectors.

Exactly six years ago to this day, when I was still euphoric after my proclamation as winner in the 1992 election, I was profuse in expressing my gratitude to those whom I referred to as my “Post-Election Supporters”. Today, I am just as profuse in expressing my appreciation to you, my “After June 30 Supporters”. With you and the FVR Research Chair in Policy Studies which you have so generously created, I am more than ever hopeful that the vision of a pole-vaulting Philippine tiger will be fulfilled.

Mabuhay ang sambayanang Pilipino!

Maraming salamat at mabuhay kayong lahat!