Speech
of
His Excellency Fidel V. Ramos
President of the Philippines
During the President’s Night with the Manila Overseas Press Club

[Delivered at the Manila Hotel, May 11, 1995]

A strong vote
to win the future

I COMMEND the Manila Overseas Press Club and your energetic president, Pepe Rodriguez, for your timing of this year’s President’s Night for today—three days after the May 8 elections. You have virtually dictated my topic for me—last Monday’s elections and their meaning for the Ramos Administration and the nation.

Clausewitz speaks of the “fog of war”—which in the current time frame may also be called the “fog of politics.” But one of your members told me that if we wait too long for the fog to clear before talking about the elections, what you of the press would be writing would not be journalism, but history.

Unofficial election results

The senatorial election results, which are still largely incomplete (about 40 percent only of the votes have been locally counted and canvassed), are mirrored in the House and local elections.

Out of 204 seats being contested in the House of Representatives, the coalition has won or is leading in about 180 seats, or about 89 percent. (Of these, LAKAS by itself accounts for some 129 seats.)

Out of the 76 governorships being contested, around 65, or 85 percent, appear to have been won by the coalition. (Of these LAKAS alone accounts for about 54 seats.)

Out of the 74 city and Metropolitan Manila mayoral seats contested, the coalition has won or is substantially leading in around 62 seats, or around 83 percent of the positions contested. (Of these, LAKAS alone accounts for about 50 seats.)

Finally in the race for mayor in 1,530 municipalities, we foresee the coalition winning 80-85 percent of the seats.

A virtually every level of the balloting—from national to town level—the Administration party and its coalition partners have increased the number of seats they occupied before the May 8 elections.

It would appear therefore that the LAKAS and its coalition partners have carried the day of the polls and the Ramos Presidency has received a new and broader mandate from our people. This is a clear signal to go ahead full steam with our reform and development program for the country.

Vindication of democracy and Philippines 2000

Naturally, I could not be more pleased by this popular endorsement of my Administration. But I must say that I am just as happy with the credibility and relatively orderly conduct of the elections—and the growing political maturity of our electorate that these qualities imply.

The electoral process is the bedrock of the democratic system. Our democracy may still be miles away from the ideal, but we continue to correct its shortcomings. And it passes what Karl Popper has called the “bottom-line” test for democracy—that through the popular vote, we can change our rulers without recourse to violence and bloodshed.

In saying this, I do not gloss over the fact that some 50 of our countrymen have died in election-related and terrorist-connected incidents since Sunday alone. These instances of violence are deplorable and tragic. Even so, let us note that they have not caused a failure of election—even in those localities where violence occurred, except for Talipao, Sulu.

In certain places like Cavite—where in 1992 much political violence occurred—the balloting this time was peaceful, and has produced a peaceful change of leadership. This is a significant advance for our democracy.

Of all the positive things now being said by the foreign media and foreign observers about the Philippines today, nothing makes me prouder than their recognition that we Filipinos are proving today that democracy can make development happen. We remember well how we were called “the failed showcase of democracy in Asia,” and were unceremoniously used by some Asian leaders as the illustration that “democracy is detrimental to development.”

Time magazine in its current issue pays us the generous compliment that we are “rewriting the book on Asian economic development.”

Effective change in a democracy

Our achievements may not yet approximate what our more prosperous Asia-Pacific neighbors have done; but there is no question about the correctness of the route we are taking and the gains we have made. We have chosen to develop by creative patience, creative determination and creative consensus-building—accepting that although these may be a slower process, they would also ensure that the economic and social programs and institutions we build are more enduring, more dependable and more productive.

For two years now we have made major reforms and speeded up growth through democratic consensus and political will. Our business community and managerial and labor force are emerging as more competitive players in an environment of free-market reforms and democratic space. And Government is improving in the delivery of basic public services—though there is still great room for improvement.

In rejecting elections, one of the few remaining Communist leaders once said: “Do any of you believe that we can solve our country’s problems in five years? That is why we do not have this nonsense of elections.”

Another saying applies to some observers of the Philippine scene—the cynics, nonbelievers, doomsayers and do-nothings—“He who watches the clouds will never plant, and he who waits for the wind will never reap.”

Yet I submit that in less than three years, we have already changed the very face of our country—not only resolving many chronic problems but energizing the drive toward development. And this would not have happened without our dramatic turn toward democracy in February 1986 by way of our People Power Revolution.

The new mandate given by our people in last Monday’s elections will enable us to take our reform and development program one crucial stage further.

By June 30 this year, I shall be completing the first half—the first three years—of my watch. During this earlier period, the stress was on macroeconomic reforms to open up the economy and level the field for market competition. We have taken Government off the back of business, and focused its attention on building public works and upgrading our social capital. In this way, investments have poured into the economy and the latent dynamism of Filipino industry has been unleashed.

The second stage of reform

As I enter the final three years of my Presidency, the country faces what development economists call “the second stage of reform.” This is the compelling need to improve the capacity and performance of government in the development process. We must upgrade the organization, operations and finances of the public sector so that Government can do its essential tasks more effectively. This is why I shall be asking the Tenth Congress to put our human resource development programs and tax and tariff reforms at the top of its agenda when it meets in late July.

Government must deliver the basic public services and build the infrastructure so necessary to development. And it must effectively intervene for the benefit of those segments of our population who are the poorest of the poor.

Even as we endeavor to raise State capacity, we must continue to spur private investments in the economy, encourage exports and productivity and enhance our competitive advantage in terms of a more capable labor force.

Only through efficiency built into both the public and private sectors can the economy and the country take off into real modernization. Only then can we truly be as productive and competitive as our neighbors in Asia.

Everybody wins

We can now embark on this road to reform because of the resounding affirmative vote for our future directions expressed in the recent elections. Our people have seen what progress we have made these past three years—and they want to do more on a sustainable basis.

Finally, I hope that the Administration coalition and the political opposition can work together more closely in the days, months and years to come.

Democratic elections are never a winner-take-all affair. The opposition is vital to the making of policy, and its review of performance is part of a formula where everyone wins something. Although some things still divide us, let us not forget that many more concerns unite us—not the least our common desire to see this country prosper and its people to live in peace.