Speech
of
His Excellency Fidel V. Ramos
President of the Philippines
At the veterans’ assembly organized by the Veterans Federation of the Philippines

[Delivered at the Folk Arts Theater, CCP Complex, Roxas Boulevard, Manila, July 19, 1996]

Veterans for peace
and development

WE VETERANS gather in this way because of our shared experience in the many battlefields of human conflict. We may be separated in terms of age and many of us may have fought in different wars—but in knowing history when it is written in blood, we are comrades all. And we share what others can only imagine.

It confers great meaning on this annual veterans’ assembly to see encouraging progress on many fronts. There is progress in the affairs of the nation, as we see the economy turn around and move toward real growth and development.

Progress in the quest for peace

There is progress in the quest for peace in our country, as we have witnessed in recent weeks in the form of a substantial breakthrough in the negotiations for enduring peace and sustainable development in Mindanao.

And there is progress in our labors to improve the lot of our veterans. We have monitored news that the U.S. Congress is moving closer to the passage of a resolution that will finally recognize the services of Filipino World War II veterans.

Let me focus on the last point for a moment because I know how important this is to the sense of justice and self-esteem not just of our World War II veterans but of all members of the Veterans’ Federation of the Philippines.

More than half a century has passed since the end of the Second World War when thousands of Filipino soldiers saw action and when many lost their lives for the cause of freedom.

Yet for some reason which most Filipinos cannot understand, the United States of America—whose flag flew over our country and who brought us into the war—has not given due recognition to the sacrifices of Filipino World War II veterans.

Bullets ask no questions

Representative Bob Filner, a consistent and stouthearted advocate and champion of justice for Filipino veterans, has spoken recently for them before the U.S. Congress: “It is truly hard to believe that Filipino World War II veterans have been kept waiting for over 50 years for the recognition they deserve. Many have already died, and in 16 years, there will no longer be any of these veterans alive.

“The bullets in World War II did not ask if their target was an American or Filipino soldier. Both Filipino soldiers and soldiers from the United States mainland fought side by side against a common enemy. We must act now to redress the wrongs these Filipino veterans have suffered.”

The concurrent resolution of the U.S. Congress, which Brigadier General Tagumpay Nañadiego (ret.), our veterans’ man in Washington, D.C., says may be passed soon, is one important step in the process of redress.

Even more important is the passage of the proposed Filipino Veterans’ Equity Act, which will give our veterans the full benefits they deserve. Difficulty still attends the passage of this bill—not for want of support of veterans’ groups in the U.S. but because of the climate of budget cutting that pervades the U.S. legislature.

In short, there is still some work to do. What I can assure you is that my Administration will not rest until this injustice is fully corrected. And we will consider all measures and venues to ensure the redemption of this debt to our veterans.

We must never surrender this campaign for U.S. recognition because in our country we look upon our veterans not as relics of bygone wars. We regard them as active partners in the quest for a better future for our people and our country.

Veterans are not citizens who are merely pensioned off and paraded around during commemorations, anniversaries and other red-letter days. Many of us continue to play an active role in our community and national affairs—lending wisdom, experience, courage and caring in building peace and progress.

You will recall that through Executive Order 201 series of 1994, I created an Advisory Council on Veterans’ Affairs under the cochairmanship of the Undersecretary of National Defense for Veterans and Reserve Affairs and the president of the Veterans’ Federation of the Philippines to expedite the formulation and execution of programs and projects for veterans’ welfare.

Expanding aid to veterans

Many veterans’ agencies have prospered dramatically during the past few years. I have been advised that the Philippine Veterans Bank has attained tremendous growth and now ranks 53 among the 1,000 biggest taxpayers to the Government.

The Board of Trustees of the Veterans of World War II has been contributing to the rehabilitation of the Veterans Memorial Medical Center and has been supporting the activities of the veterans’ foundation.

It has also been reported to me that the Philippine Veterans’ Investment Development Corporation (PHIVIDEC), through its participation in the AFP Simba Armored Car Project, has started to gain ground.

The PHIVIDEC Industrial Authority in Northern Mindanao has continued to make progress.

The Filipino War Veterans’ Foundation, which I was honored to organize and which now has the First Lady as fund campaign chairman, is now financially capable and has expanded assistance to needy veterans in cooperation usually with the Veterans Memorial Medical Center. Most of the assistance rendered by these agencies to veterans is in the area of hospitalization and medical care.

Maximizing benefit payments

On matters that are on direct impact to veterans, you are aware that about three weeks ago, on the recommendation of the Secretary of National Defense, I ordered that pension be paid to you at the full rate of P2,000 a month effective July 1,1996.

I have been informed that your checks for this month which were readied as early as the middle of June still bear the previous amount of P1,750. I assure you the differential of P250 will follow in a separate check.

I have constituted a committee, headed by the Secretary of Finance—whose name is also de Ocampo—to find ways and means to pay the differentials which have been accumulating since 1994 and to formulate a system that will ensure that your benefits are paid regularly and adequately according to law. The leaders of the Veterans’ Federation of the Philippines participate actively in this committee.

The mandate of the committee is to formulate proposals on packaging a consistent and equitable stream of benefits to support our veterans.

The primary consideration taken into account by the committee’s technical task force is to maximize the pension and benefit payments provided for under Republic Act 6948, as amended by Republic Act 7696, with the least adverse impact on the fiscal position of the National Government. You will recall that starting in 1993 and during the Ramos Administration the substantial increases in benefits for Filipino veterans especially for those 65 years and above have been coming steadily.

As veterans, however, we do not only look at our personal situation; we are always mindful of the larger picture that is our country—mindful always as in the past, at present and in the future—of the security, stability and progress of our beloved Philippines.

It should therefore come as good news to you that we are making definite progress in resolving the various internal conflicts that have haunted our country for years.

In Mindanao we are on the verge of fully concluding the 25-year-old separatist conflict that had taken thousands of lives and stunted the growth of our southern regions. Much progress has also been achieved on the CPP/NPA/NDF peace front and former military rebels have already returned to the mainstream of our law-abiding civil society.

Support our peace initiative

As we meet here today, there are some who are still trying to derail and delay the peace process. All kinds of questions are being raised against the proposed peace agreement—especially the establishment of the Southern Philippines Council for Peace and Development. Anxieties and fears are being raised so as to fan public opposition to the agreement.

Nevertheless, based on the Mindanao-wide sampling of sectoral and political opinion, I am confident that the great majority of our people will support this peace and development formula.

The majority in the affected areas will support it. Our Armed Forces and National Police—who have had to bear the brunt of the fighting—will support it. And I now ask you, the veterans—will you support it? Peace remains our foremost objective. And we have never come closer to achieving a just peace in Mindanao than we are now.

If it is said by some that the agreement involves a compromise with the Moro National Liberation Front—the original Muslim rebels—let us on our part say that this is part of the price that must be paid in order to give peace a chance and to forge a win-win solution to sustainable development.

In return for justice, peace and progress in Mindanao—which includes our most depressed areas—the MNLF has expressed its willingness to change. For the first time, it has shown its willingness to give up its campaign for a separate state. And nothing demonstrates this more clearly than Chairman Nur Misuari’s decision to run for governor of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao in a constitutional, democratic, electoral process.

A historic opportunity

We have now before us a historic opportunity to finally break the decades-old conflict in Mindanao that has already cost us so much in terms of lives, time, good will and resources, and to turn the animosities it has engendered into a lasting unity. We need such a unity not only to achieve peace but also to open the way for the full and unimpeded development of that part of our country and the Philippines as a whole.

The democratic process must always be ascendant in our efforts and I thank the Veterans’ Federation of the Philippines for supporting this principle. I want the peace process to move forward under the force of democracy. I am also confident that all of us in this hall today prefer the possibilities of peace and development to a return to conflict and bloody violence.

Certainly, none of us wish the peace process to be set back by emotionalism and preconceived biases that may be based on religious and ethnic differences.

With peace attained in the South, we can release the full resources and energies of our land of promise for national development and strengthening.

With peace attained there, we can harness Government and private resources for economic effort and social cohesion.

With peace achieved, we can apply our budget to the modernization of the Armed Forces and the Philippine National Police, and to better afford the payment of adequate benefits to war veterans and the elderly. So when the time comes for me to step down in 1998, I can leave secure in the belief that our country is truly on a self-sustaining path to growth and social equity—that our country is stable politically—that young Filipinos will have a better future—that the Philippines will enter the new century stronger than when we began my presidency in 1992.

I am certain that this is not just my dream. This is also yours because you, my fellow veterans, my fellow senior citizens, have been my steadfast and loyal partners in the quest for peace and progress. You have been consistent in giving me the support that enabled me to stand strong when the fight was hard and the obstacles many

Give peace a chance to work

Once again I appeal to you and our people to give peace a chance to do its work in the southern Philippines. Let us cast aside our fears and together look toward the vision of lasting peace and development for all peoples of Mindanao.

We live in rapidly changing times, and changing times call for innovative ways of dealing with conflicts and problems. As the leader of our nation, it is my responsibility to create conditions under which our people can work in peace, for the lasting benefit of our country.

Let us create a new structure of progress by bringing to the people the spirit of sharing, giving, integrating and uniting. Let us bring to the forefront the spirit of solidarity in order that we may become one truly progressive, cohesive, national society.

Now, when we stand so close to total victory over national decline and stagnation, we cannot relax our guard. We must march on—as a solid front into a just and abundant future.

Let the measure of our personal fulfillment and vindication be—as always—the security and the well-being of our people and our country.