Speech
of
His Excellency Fidel V. Ramos
President of the Philippines
During the 97th anniversary of Independence Day

[Delivered at the Quirino Grandstand, Rizal Park, Manila, June 12, 1995]

Our time has come

WE GATHER HERE TODAY, just as we have gathered here before, to commemorate Aguinaldo’s proclamation of Philippine Independence at Kawit, Cavite, 97 years ago.

At Kawit our revolutionary forebears proclaimed—not a Filipino nation fully recognized by other nations—but the right and resolve of our people to be an independent state in their own land.

That First Republic did not last. But the historic affirmation of Filipino nationhood lived on—enduring many years of denial by foreign powers until finally achieved.

Every generation of our people since 1898 has been in turn a trustee of this Filipino dream of independence. So it is with the generations living today.

Building a free society

To Apolinario Mabini, the essential task of nationhood was “to form a noble and free society, taking reason as the only standard for action, justice as the only end and honest work as the only means.”

Over the past 97 years, it has sometimes seemed as though Filipinos were not equal to this task and this proud legacy—that we have not been prudent heirs to the generation of young men and women who audaciously founded this first Asian republic.

We have castigated ourselves—not just for failing as the “showcase of democracy in Asia”—but, even more, for falling behind our neighbors’ march to progress.

But now the story is changing.

Today, through hard work and resolute action, we are a nation resurgent and advancing. Yesterday’s economic laggard is on the move. Structural reforms, carried out across the board, have revived the economy and thrust it into the forefront of growth and development in Asia-Pacific.

Democracy’s failed showcase is once again serving as a beacon of freedom and progress. The international community is hearing our distinctive message that a developing country can advance to sustained progress of democratic means—without recourse to authoritarianism.

The Philippines’ turn

All these are but the beginning—the early fruits of three years of our collective effort. Looking down the road before us, there is much, much more we can accomplish.

My beloved countrymen: I am confident that, finally, our turn has come to rise as a dynamic and progressive country in the Asia-Pacific region.

Over the past decade, we have seen many of our neighbors rise one after the other to take their place in the ranks of newly industrializing countries.

Now, I say to all: Our time has come.

We can make this happen if we continue on the path of resolute reform and national strengthening that has marked our advance during these past three years.

United action, accelerated united action, is the key.

We will aspire to decrease the numbers of our poor by making more jobs available to them as they are increasingly brought into the mainstream of economic benefit.

We will strive to transform our rural areas into net contributors to national development.

We will strive to link our communities together with more modern infrastructures, transport, communications, water and power.

And we will devote more resources to improving the quality of life in our country starting in our 19 poorest provinces.

Beyond partisanship

This is a vision of our country that is beyond partisanship—because its realization will redound to the benefit of all.

I am certain that during the next three years we can all work productively as members of the same national team—together seeking solely our country’s development and our people’s welfare.

We can fulfill these goals by inspiring our people—especially the young—with a sense of excitement, a sense of commitment, and a sense of rising national capability in meeting the challenges we face.

Our society is changing much faster and more pervasively than many of us realize.

A generational change is occurring in our politics much faster than traditional politicians have anticipated.

There is a collective yearning to achieve and to compete among our people today. They really want to see our country develop, and they want to make their own individual contributions to the total effort.

If we mobilize this idealism, it will redound to the transformation and growth of our beloved Philippines. It is said that each generation sees farther into the future because it stands on the shoulders of preceding generations. If so, today’s young Filipinos can already see the nation we can become in the twenty-first century.

Never has there been a time when so much could be done by our people.

Never has there been a time when our people are in a position to show that they can contribute to and interact profitably with the world community.

Ito po ang ating maaaring ipagmalaki ngayon—sa Kawit, sa Malacañang, sa Rizal Park, sa buong bansa at sa buong daigdig: “Ang galing ng Pilipino: dakila, magiting, nagkakaisa.”

Indeed, whatever greatness, glory or nobility we can claim for ourselves as a people comes from our unity, from those instances in our history when we rallied behind the one flag, the one anthem, the one spirit of our nationhood.

An act of faith

Such a moment came 97 years ago, when the Filipino people established, by revolutionary proclamation, the first democratic republic in Asia. That proclamation was an act of faith in the lightness and necessity of our long quest for liberty and self-determination.

Tungkulin natin ngayon na ipagtanggol ang kalayaang iyon, at higit pa roon ay gamitin ito upang mapabuti ang kalagayan ng lahat nating mga kababayan.

To all our beloved countrymen throughout the length and breadth of our archipelago, as well as to our brothers and sisters who live and work abroad and to all other peoples of the world, I extend a resounding “Mabuhay!” (Long Life!) and fervent prayers for your enduring peace, happiness and success.