Speech
of
His Excellency Fidel V. Ramos
President of the Philippines
On the 96th anniversary of the Philippine Army

[Delivered at the Fort Bonifacio, March 24, 1993]

The future of the military

THERE ARE a few leading institutions in our country today that can justly claim to being older than the Republic itself. The Philippine Army, which began as the army of the revolution on March 24, 1897, in Tejeros, Cavite, is one of them.

It is now our turn to renew the struggle for freedom, this time freedom from want and freedom from fear. We have started to reinvigorate our nation so that the Philippines can proudly take its place in the community of nations as a capable and dependable partner and confidently face the challenge of the twenty-first century.

Our changing world

The Philippine Army has been the main implementer of the AFP’S counterinsurgency campaign. Indeed, it has acquitted itself remarkably in this role. Even as it continues to dislodge the remaining guerrilla fronts and mass base areas of the CPP-NPA, the strategic thrust of its campaign has shifted to a policy of attraction that puts emphasis on enhancing community relations and supporting development tasks without relinquishing its protective mission over our communities and the citizenry. This is pursuant to the strategic guidance I have given the Armed Forces to carry out an integrated approach that combines military operations with political action, economic development and social service.

Having reduced the threats to national security and pursuing a just and enduring peace through national unification, we have put in place a more stabilized environment that will be conducive to community development and nation building.

In the last 15 years our nation has seen great upheavals in which members of the military have been the principal players, sometimes on opposite sides of the battleground. But the will of the majority of the Filipino people has always prevailed, the rule of law upheld, democracy strengthened and people power enshrined. The EDSA people power revolution of February 1986, which resulted in the nonviolent overthrow of a dictatorship, restored the historic unity of the people with their Armed Forces, which was the same unity that propelled Philippine independence under Aguinaldo and his army of the revolution.

Discarded ideologies

In the last four years, momentous events have taken place in the world and our nation’s history. All the empires propped up by discarded ideologies have fallen. Communism and military adventurism have been rejected and replaced by democratic systems based on constitutionalism and free enterprise. New nations and alliances have arisen, each brimming with high hopes for enduring and sustained peace and prosperity. The overwhelming universal clamor for genuine and enduring peace with justice has negated the adventurism of various groups that have taken up arms to advance their narrow aims under the guise of revolutionary reform.

I have taken the initiative in reaching out to all dissidents, separatists and rebels fighting the Philippine state so that our people, for too long burdened by political divisiveness, may be unified into a democratic, capable and dynamic nation. But while we are prepared to listen, to dialogue and to negotiate, we must set aside our vested and partisan interests in favor of the people’s welfare and the nation’s stability.

We need peace and security so we can work, so we can grow. All over the world today, peoples and governments are realizing that the most important wars of this decade may be fought not on the field of military combat but in corporate boardrooms, the farms, the factories, the research laboratories, the schoolrooms and even community centers where livelihood must be maximized.

These are battles we must be productively engaged in. We have no choice but to grow and develop. The frightening alternative is national stagnation and the rule of the warlords, as we are now seeing in Somalia. The real enemies are poverty, pollution pressure, injustice, fear, ignorance, criminality, corruption and environmental decline.

If it is to perform this future role responsively, the Army must not only modernize its equipment and weaponry but also develop highly skilled, motivated citizen soldiers and military leaders, with a national orientation and a global outlook.

Economic development: the key to national stability

Among the highest priorities of Government is to revive, sustain and develop our economic viability and competitiveness as a nation.

From my meetings with the heads of state I have recently visited, I am firmly convinced that economic development is the key not only to the progress and well-being of our citizenry, but also to the peace and stability of our country. Poor and underdeveloped countries are most vulnerable to the threats to their national stability. The options for peace rather than conflict become more easily attainable if we are economically capable. Economic power now equates with national security and public welfare.

Indeed, the modernization of our Armed Forces and the strengthening of our defense posture depend on the revitalization of the national economy and the attainment of international competitiveness.

For this purpose, the Ramos Government has promulgated a Medium-term National Development Plan for 1993-98 called “Philippines 2000”. This is your battle cry and mine—Philippines 2000!” On this future battleground, our military must help the nation exploit the opportunities to bring the country to its desired goals of reform, change and sustainable development.

Traditionally, the formal purpose of the Armed Forces is to act against foreign enemies, but in reality they have other and varied functions. In many countries, particularly developing countries like our own, the armed forces have great social and economic significance. They stand as a symbol of unity and stability, and this is true in the Philippines.

The future of the military

They are an agent for modernization in contrast to armies in the Western world where the military has been for centuries the bulwark of tradition and conservatism. They are an army and institution for socialization and integration because they bring together members of varied ethnic and social groups. They are also an instrument for helping to manage the conflicts within our national society. And because of their system of discipline, they are a living example of the kind of discipline that poor and developing countries need in order to survive and grow.

Today, the prevailing concept of the military is an instrumental one. The military is an instrument of national policy to be used to strike and neutralize an enemy effectively. But as wars become more destructive, flexible response and limited warfare have become the new doctrines of the military.

The Armed Forces have a critical nation-building function. Our engineering units are employed in building infrastructures and in rehabilitating calamity areas. Military units provide assistance for health, education, peace and order, environmental protection programs throughout our vast archipelago in our remotest communities.

The great challenge

We are all committed to die for our country. But the equally great challenge lies in living and toiling for it in performing the practical though tedious tasks of building the nation into a stable, prosperous and competitive national society.

What we need as a people is faith in ourselves, direction in our efforts, determination to attain our national goals and solidarity to work continuously toward national progress. Under this Administration, the national leadership will provide the vision and the direction, and together we shall maintain the faith, enthusiasm and determination to march forward and achieve what is best for our people.

As we commemorate the 96th anniversary of the Philippine Army, I urge all our men and women in uniform, citizen-soldiers all, as well as all the civilian employees of the Philippine Army, as well as their families, the veterans and the retired soldiers, to set the example and serve as a source of pride and inspiration for the rest of the citizenry.

I congratulate you on your achievements in bringing honor and glory not only to the Army but to a greater extent to our country and people.

Today, let us be proud, as proud as the day when our forefathers formed 96 years ago the army of Philippine independence.