Speech
of
His Excellency Fidel V. Ramos
President of the Philippines
At the third Conference of ASEAN Information Ministers

[Held at Heroes’ Hall, Malacañang, December 16, 1993]

Sharing information

OVER the past 26 years, we have labored together in ASEAN to identify our common aspirations and interests within the context of man’s universal search for peace, progress and brotherhood.

Today, with the dismantling of forces and power blocs that had kept the world in a state of anxiety and conflict, we are witnessing rapid changes that are transforming not only the global political landscape but also the systems that affect agriculture, business and finance, trade arrangements, people’s lifestyles and even our own world of communications and information.

ASEAN’s formidable potential

We all belong to the most economically dynamic region in the world—whose combined population of 350 million spreads over more than three million square kilometers of land and water and offers tremendous potential for continued growth and sustainable development.

This great force is the foremost instrument through which we can advance our common concerns for more vigorous economic development, for the spread of human knowledge and information, for closer social cohesion and for greater cultural growth and harmony. In short, we have a formidable potential to help raise the level of human achievement not just in our national communities but throughout the world.

I am delighted to learn that the working committees on information and culture have been meeting regularly and have been pursuing our objective to strengthen the collaboration of our national working groups. This confirms that we can attain progress only by pooling our expertise and resources in a spirit of mutual interdependence.

Nowhere is this truer than in the field of information and communication, particularly in what has been described as the “electronic highways” of radio and television, which reach out to the remotest corners of the world and affect just about every aspect of the social, economic, political and cultural life of nations. The revolution in information and communications technology has broadened human horizons to a degree unheard of in the past.

The coming of the Pacific Age

Because of this vast potential to conquer the once formidable barriers of geography and time, race and culture, we must redouble our efforts to ensure that this revolution in technology will result in providing the poor and underprivileged—the teeming masses of humanity that make up close to one half of our region—with the resources and access to the fruits of progress.

In the near term, the ASEAN information ministries must speed up the implementation of key projects such as cultural program exchanges, workshops for television broadcasters and for news and public affairs programs, inter-ASEAN news coverage, and documentaries on investment opportunities.

As you map out information strategies for the long term, ASEAN should expand its regional concerns and interests to include new exigencies that the advent of the coming century may bring.

The recently concluded Conference of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation offers untold possibilities for information exchange and collaboration as this affects human development and progress.

Our ASEAN ministers and leaders should take full advantage of the fact that trade and investment within Asia and the Pacific are weaving a new pattern of human and commercial relationships. The development of the Asia-Pacific Rim countries depends on their ability to promote more open trade and investment in the area and to increase cooperation on issues that require regional solutions.

The reported agreement on GATT as of yesterday ushers in even brighter opportunities for expanded world trade which must be pushed by all—through cooperation on high-tech information.

Of vital importance for ASEAN is the preparation of key economic database for use in national policy formulation by governments. Such database will not be completely useful unless it considers such factors as our interaction with other regional groups like the North American Free Trade Agreement and the European Union.

For our part, I am proud to state that the Philippine Government is moving toward the institutionalization of an integrated and comprehensive database that would enhance the collation, analysis and dissemination of information.

Information and progress

Clearly information exchange is a catalytic force that enables human societies and nations to understand the changes taking place in our world. These rapid developments all over the world should be assessed by effectively using relevant information, thereby speeding up the attainment of the sustained progress that we all seek.

The following are vital considerations:

First, we must view such changes, as well as future developments, as something that is not separate from the mainstream of human evolution. Information is no longer the exclusive prerogative of a particular social or economic class. In our time it has become the patrimony of all, regardless of class, creed or color. It should, therefore, reflect as comprehensively and as accurately as possible the broad spectrum of society’s concerns, including those in the remotest communities.

Second, information should also relate to culture and the environment. Their preservation should merit the highest concern of the peoples and governments of ASEAN. Once lost or destroyed, our cultural heritage and the environment may never again be replaced. Neither must they be sacrificed purely for political advantage or material profit.

Vehicles of friendship and understanding

Third, all information policies, programs and strategies must serve as effective vehicles of friendship and understanding. They should, therefore, contribute positively to the development of human brotherhood. We must redirect our goals and programs to fulfill the innate desire of our peoples to know more about one another, to appreciate better our shared history and culture and to benefit mutually from the assurance of a peaceful and orderly world community.

Fourth, all endeavors related to information should provide us with a higher perspective of what we seek to achieve not only in specific material terms but also in the realm of values, in assessing the impact of events on the quality of life, and in determining our roles in the universe. Material progress becomes, in the end, meaningless if it brings no moral and spiritual fulfillment to the individual.

It is my fervent hope that this Third Conference of ASEAN Information Ministers will result not only in a triumph of socioeconomic development and scientific advance, but also in the institutionalization of the spirit of cooperation, friendship and understanding among the peoples of ASEAN and the world. May your conference enrich and raise the quality of life in ASEAN.