ERAP'S SPEECH AT NEXT PRESIDENT FORUM, LYCEUM OF RP CAMPUS
[PHOTO
AT LEFT - JOSEPH 'ERAP' ESTRADA Courtesy of the Erap website at
http://erap.ph/409/
MANILA, MARCH 1, 2010 (Copied & Pasted as-is from http://erap.ph/409/) 2010: Governance Agenda of the Next President
Speech of President Joseph E. Estrada 2010: Governance Agenda of the Next President Forum J.P. Laurel Freedom Hall, Lyceum of the Philippines Campus 1 PM, 20 January 2010
ISANG MAGANDANG UMAGA AT MABUHAY SA INYONG LAHAT!
BEFORE ANYTHING ELSE, I WOULD LIKE TO THANK AND CONGRATULATE THE ORGANIZERS FOR STAGING THIS FORUM AND GIVING NOT ONLY MYSELF BUT ALL THE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES THIS OPPORTUNITY TO PRESENT OUR PROGRAM OF GOVERNMENT FOR 2010.
AS YOU MAY HAVE OBSERVED, THE UPCOMING ELECTIONS ARE CRITICAL TO THE FUTURE OF OUR NATION NOT ONLY BECAUSE THE WORLD COMMUNITY FACES THE CHALLENGES OF THE FINANCIAL CRISIS AND CLIMATE CHANGE BUT BECAUSE THE NEXT PRESIDENT HAS THE ENORMOUS TASK OF REDEEMING THE NATION FROM THE CORRUPT IMAGE AND ECONOMIC DOWNFALL THAT WE HAVE SUFFERED IN NO SMALL PART DUE TO THE ANOMALIES UNDER THE PRESENT ADMINISTRATION…
… ANOMALIES THAT IN FACT BEGAN ON THIS VERY DAY IN 2001. IF YOU WOULD RECALL, JANUARY 20 WAS THE DAY THAT I WAS FORCED OUT OF MALACANANG.
YOU MAY HAVE EVEN PARTICIPATED IN THAT UNCONSTITUTIONAL OUSTER WHERE THE ELITE, CIVIL SOCIETY AND MEDIA PORTRAYED ME AS THE BAD GUY. BUT THOSE WHO KNOW ME KNOW THAT I AM NOT A BAD PERSON, IN FACT I HAVE BEEN KNOWN TO BE A PERSON WITH A KIND HEART.
THAT IS WHY EVEN IF SENATOR VILLAR, WHO IS HERE, RAILROADED MY IMPEACHMENT, I FORGAVE HIM AND I EVEN ENDORSED HIM FOR THE SENATE IN 2007. AND NOW HE IS A PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE.
THAT IS WHY EVEN IF THE AQUINOS, LED BY FORMER PRESIDENT CORY AQUINO, LED THE EDSA DOS RITES, I ALSO ENDORSED NOYNOY AQUINO IN 2007 WHEN HE RAN FOR SENATOR. TODAY, HE IS ALSO A PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE.
AND I HAVE FORGIVEN THEM BECAUSE IT SAYS IN THE LORD’S PRAYER, “FORGIVE US OUR SINS AS WE FORGIVE THOSE WHO SIN AGAINST US.” O, AKALA NIYO HINDI AKO NAGDARASAL. PRAYERS MUST BE REFLECTED NOT ONLY IN WORDS BUT ALSO IN YOUR DEEDS.
KAYA SIGURO MARAMI NANG NAGSISI AT NAG-APOLOGIZE PARA SA EDSA DOS.
THAT WAS ENOUGH VINDICATION FOR ME. AND PRESIDENT AQUINO, MAY SHE REST IN PEACE, WILL ALWAYS HAVE A SPECIAL PLACE IN MY HEART. EVEN IF SHE WAS ONE OF THOSE WHO FORCED ME OUT OF MALACANANG.
WAS EDSA DOS GOOD FOR THE COUNTRY? TO ANSWER THAT, WE MUST ANALYZE THE SITUATION OF OUR COUNTRY TODAY.
9 YEARS AFTER EDSA DOS, THIS PHILIPPINES HAS BECOME A NATION IDENTIFIED AS AMONG THE MOST CORRUPT IN THE REGION AND IN THE WORLD. THIS DATA IS NOT JUST FROM THE OPPOSITION BUT FROM RESPECTABLE INSTITUTIONS SUCH AS THE WORLD BANK.
9 YEARS AFTER EDSA DOS, THE PHILIPPINES HAS BECOME THE NUMBER ONE IMPORTER OF RICE. WE HAVE EVOLVED AS A NATION DEPENDENT ON IMPORTS, NOT ONLY FOR FINISHED PRODUCTS OR SIMILAR CONSUMER GOODS, BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY, FOR OUR OWN FOOD, FROM RICE TO FLOUR, MILK PRODUCTS, FRUITS, AND NOW, EVEN SUGAR.
WE HAVE BEEN TRANSFORMED INTO A NATION DEPENDENT ON THE REMITTANCES OF OUR OVERSEAS FILIPINO WORKERS INSTEAD OF THE STRENGTH OF OUR DOMESTIC ECONOMY.
WE HAVE ALSO BECOME A NATION WHERE SELF-RATED HUNGER BY THE POOR HAS REACHED UNPRECEDENTED LEVELS.
WE HAVE BEEN RECOGNIZED AS A NATION MARKED AND WARNED BY TRAVEL ADVISORIES IN THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY AS AMONG THOSE COUNTRIES THAT MUST BE AVOIDED BECAUSE OF RAMPANT KIDNAPPINGS AND OTHER CONTINUED INCIDENCES OF VIOLENCE. THIS HAS PROMPTED INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS SUCH AS THE REPORTERS WITHOUT BORDERS AND THE INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION OF JOURNALISTS TO DECLARE OUR COUNTRY AS THE MOST DANGEROUS PLACES FOR MEDIA WORKERS IN THE WORLD, NOW EVEN MORE DANGEROUS THAN IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN.
WE HAVE BECOME A WEAK AND SOFT STATE THAT IS UNABLE TO ENFORCE ITS LAWS, AND WHERE OUR GOVERNMENT HAS GIVEN US LAW, BUT HAS NOT GIVEN US ORDER.
SADLY, FOR THE PAST NINE YEARS, WE HAVE NOT MOVED FORWARD. WE HAVE ONLY MOVED BACKWARD. AND WE CONTINUE TO MOVE BACKWARD.
NOW YOU MIGHT ASK, WHY ERAP? AND WHY SHOULD WE ENTRUST THE FATE OF OUR COUNTRY TO ERAP NOW? IT IS BECAUSE, HUMILITY ASIDE, NO OTHER PRESIDENTIABLE UNDERSTANDS THIS COUNTRY AND ITS PROBLEMS BETTER THAN ERAP. AND IF YOU WILL EXAMINE THE LEGACY OF MY SHORT-LIVED ADMINISTRATION, YOU WILL AGREE WITH ME BECAUSE YOU WILL REALIZE THAT HAD THESE PROGRAMS UNDER THE ESTRADA ADMINISTRATION BEEN CONTINUED, THE PHILIPPINES WOULD BE IN A MUCH BETTER PLACE THAN IT IS IN TODAY.
IN MY ANALYSIS, AND IN THE ANALYSIS OF MY CABINET, WHO REMAIN INTACT TO THIS DAY, THE TOP 3 PROBLEMS OF THIS COUNTRY ARE FIRST, PEACE AND ORDER; SECOND, FOOD SECURITY; AND THIRD, GRAFT AND CORRUPTION. BECAUSE TWENTY MINUTES IS NOT ENOUGH TO DISCUSS ALL THE PROBLEMS OF THIS COUNTRY UNDER THIS ADMINISTRATION, I WILL FOCUS ON THESE THREE IMMEDIATE ISSUES THAT THE NEXT PRESIDENT MUST ADDRESS.
FIRST, PEACE AND ORDER. THIS HAS BECOME A TOP PRIORITY IN THE WAKE OF THE HORRIFIC MAGUINDANAO MASSACRE WHICH REVEALED HOW BOLD POLITICAL WARLORDS HAVE BECOME UNDER THIS PRESENT REGIME. THIS IS AN ABUSE OF GOVERNMENT THAT CANNOT IN ANY WAY BE TOLERATED.
THAT IS WHY ANARCHY WAS EXPERIENCED RECENTLY IN MAGUINDANAO. BECAUSE YOU CAN HAVE THE BEST LAWS, THE MOST IMPRESSIVE PROGRAM OF GOVERNMENT OR THE MOST COMPETENT AND QUALIFIED ECONOMISTS, BUT IF YOU DO NOT HAVE A CLIMATE OF PEACE AND ORDER, THEY WILL ALL FAIL.
UNDER THE ESTRADA ADMINISTRATION, PEACE AND ORDER WAS THE UTMOST PRIORITY. AND THERE WASPEACE AND ORDER.
THE ESTRADA ADMINISTRATION WAS ABLE TO CHECK AND DISMANTLE KIDNAPPING AND CARNAPPING GANGS AS WELL AS DRUG SYNDICATES IN METRO MANILA. NOTE THAT IT WAS UNDER THE ESTRADA REGIME WHEN OUR PHILIPPINE NATIONAL POLICE EARNED, FOR THE FIRST TIME, AN UNPRECEDENTED POSITIVE 52 PERCENT APPROVAL RATING AMONG OUR PEOPLE AS REFLECTED IN THE SURVEYS CONDUCTED AT THAT TIME.
OF COURSE WE WERE ABLE TO ACCOMPLISH THIS BECAUSE I HAD THE NECESSARY EXPERIENCE IN THIS FIELD. REMEMBER THAT BEFORE I BECAME PRESIDENT, NOT ONLY WAS I AN ACTION STAR, I WAS ALSO MAYOR OF SAN JUAN FOR 17 YEARS, AND DURING THAT TIME WE ACHIEVED PEACE AND ORDER IN A TOWN NOTORIOUS FOR CRIME; AND I WAS ALSO HEAD OF THE PRESIDENTIAL ANTI-CRIME COMMISSION AS VICE PRESIDENT.
NOW I AM PROUD THAT WE CAN SAY THAT THE ESTRADA ADMINISTRATION ALSO ACHIEVED PEACE IN MINDANAO. IN FACT, THAT IS THE ACHIEVEMENT THAT I AM PROUDEST OF BECAUSE WE HAD ALREADY LAID THE FOUNDATION FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND WOULD HAVE ACHIEVED MAKING MINDANAO THE FOOD BASKET OF THE PHILIPPINES HAD MY TERM NOT BEEN ABRUPTLY ENDED.
WE PRIORITIZED PEACE AND ORDER BECAUSE, CONTRARY TO THE ANALYSIS OF THOSE WHO DO NOT UNDERSTAND THE MINDANAO SITUATION IN FULL, THERE CAN BE NO INVESTORS AND THEREFORE NO ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT UNLESS THERE IS PEACE AND ORDER. IT IS BUT NATURAL FOR INVESTORS AND TOURISTS TO REFRAIN FROM COMING WHEN THERE ARE TRAVEL ADVISORIES TELLING THEM THAT MINDANAO IS NOT SAFE. EVEN THE MOST ASTUTE BUSINESSMAN WILL NOT PUT HIS MONEY IN MINDANAO IF HIS BUSINESS AND HIS EMPLOYEES’ LIVES ARE AT RISK BECAUSE OF ONGOING VIOLENCE AND TERRORISM.
THAT IS WHY WE NEED TO END THE SECCESIONIST MOVEMENT IN THE PHILIPPINES THAT HAS BEEN GOING ON FOR MORE THAN THIRTY YEARS, PERHAPS AMONG THE LONGEST IN THE WORLD. AT ANG NANGYAYARI, PEACE TALK, CEASEFIRE, TAPOS BAKBAKAN, BOMBINGS, KIDNAPPINGS, BURNING OF CHILDREN, BEHEADING OF PRIESTS, RAPE, AT NGAYON MAY MASS MURDER AT MASSACRE PA.
NOTE, HOWEVER, THAT MY ADMINISTRATION PRIORIZED NEGOTIATIONS BEFORE ENGAGING OUR TROOPS IN WAR. I AM NOT A WAR FREAK AND I DO NOT WANT WAR. NO LEADER DOES. BUT A PRESIDENT MUST ALWAYS NEGOTIATE FROM A POSITION OF STRENGTH. AND UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCE MUST YOU ENGAGE IN DISMEMBERMENT OF THE COUNTRY, AS WHAT ALMOST HAPPENED IF THE SUPREME COURT DID NOT INTERVENE IN THE CONTROVERSIAL MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT ON ANCESTRAL DOMAIN. TO MY MIND, THAT WAS TREASON.
I FIRMLY BELIEVE, THEN AND NOW, THAT WE ALL MUST SUBMIT ALLEGIANCE ONLY TO ONE GOVERNMENT, ONE FLAG AND ONE CONSTITUTION. WE HAVE ONLY ONE ARMED FORCES UNDER THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES WHO IS THE COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF. AND IT IS THE DUTY OF COMMANDER IN CHIEF TO PRESERVE AND PROTECT THE TERRITORIAL INTEGRITY OF THE PHILIPPINES AT ALL COST, WITHOUT ANY CONDITIONS OR COMPROMISE.
WE PURSUED PEACE NEGOTIATIONS WITH THE MILF BUT THESE AGREEMENTS WERE CONSTANTLY VIOLATED, JUST LIKE THEY ARE VIOLATING THE VARIOUS PEACE AGREEMENTS THEY FORGE WITH THE GOVERNMENT TODAY.
WHEN I WAS PRESIDENT, THEY TOOK OVER THE TALAYAAN MUNICIPAL HALL IN MAGUINDANAO; BOMBED A FERRY IN OZAMIZ CITY, KILLING 25 PEOPLE; TOOK OVER THE NARCISO RAMOS HIGHWAY; AND BURNED THE KAUSWAGAN TOWN HALL, KILLING SOLDIERS AND BURNING TO DEATH 3 CHILDREN.
SO WE HAD TO ACT, AND ACT DECISIVELY. AND SO I DECLARED AN ALL-OUT WAR. BECAUSE SOMETIMES WE MUST WAGE WAR IN ORDER TO ACHIEVE PEACE.
I AM PROUD THAT OUR MILITARY WAS ABLE TO OVERRUN THE 46 CAMPS OF THE MILF INCLUDING THEIR STRONGHOLD CAMP ABUBAKAR, WITHOUT NEEDING TO DECLARE MARTIAL LAW, WITHOUT NEEDING TO ASK FOR INTERNATIONAL FUNDING, WITH NOTHING BUT OUR DETERMINATION TO FINALLY ATTAIN PEACE IN MINDANAO. THAT WAS ONE SHINING MOMENT FOR OUR ARMED FORCES.
UNFORTUNATELY, WHEN I STEPPED DOWN, MY SUCCESSOR ALLOWED THE MILF TO RETURN. AND SO THE NEVER-ENDING PROCESS OF PEACE TALKS AND CEASEFIRES CONTINUE, BUT WORSE, OUR COUNTRYMEN IN MINDANAO ARE STILL VICTIMS OF THE VIOLENCE, THE TERROR AND THE KILLINGS.
AND THE END WAS NOWHERE IN SIGHT. JUST THESE PAST TWO YEARS, WE SAW THE KIDNAPPING OF JOURNALIST CES DRILON, THE ABDUCTION OF IRISH PRIEST MICHAEL SINNOTT; THE ABDUCTION OF RED CROSS VOLUNTEERS; AND THE JULY 2009 KILLINGS, TO NAME A FEW UNBELIEVABLE INCIDENCES. AFTER ALL THE PEACE TALKS AND AGREEMENTS, WE ARE BACK TO SQUARE 1: THE MILF IS BACK IN BUSINESS.
ASIDE FROM THE SECCESIONIST GROUP IN MINDANAO, WE ALSO HAVE TO CONTEND WITH THE INSURGENCY MOVEMENT OF ARMED COMMUNIST PARTISANS IN LUZON, VISAYAS AND EVEN PARTS OF MINDANAO. THIS COMMUNIST MOVEMENT HAS BEEN GOING ON FOR MORE THAN FIFTY YEARS.
NO INVESTOR OR BUSINESS WILL COME TO THE PHILIPPINES, ESPECIALLY IN THE RURAL AREAS IF THEY KNOW THAT THEY WILL BE SUBJECTED TO EXTORTION OR HARRASMENT. NO MAJOR ENTREPRENEUR WOULD DARE BUILD OR INVEST IN INFRASTRUCTURE FACILITIES KNOWING THAT POWER AND COMMUNICATION INSTALLATIONS ARE BEING BOMBED.
NO SOCIETY, NO COUNTRY, NO ECONOMY IN THE WHOLE WORLD CAN PROSPER WITHOUT PEACE AND ORDER. THAT IS BASIC. YOU DO NOT NEED TO HAVE A DOCTORATE IN ECONOMICS TO APPRECIATE THAT.
ANOTHER ISSUE THAT MUST BE A TOP PRIORITY OF THE NEXT PRESIDENT IS FOOD SECURITY.
IN THE COMING YEARS AND DECADES, FOOD AND FOOD PRODUCTION AND SUPPLY WILL INCREASINGLY OCCUPY THE AGENDA OF NATIONS. AS OF NOW, FOOD SCARCITY AND HIGH FOOD PRICES IN SOME COUNTRIES HAVE RESULTED IN RIOTS AND VIOLENCE. IT IS ALSO NOT FAR-FETCHED THAT WARS WILL BE LAUNCHED BECAUSE OF FOOD. WE CANNOT AND MUST NOT RELY ON IMPORTS FOR OUR FOOD SUPPLY. WE MUST PRODUCE FOOD.
WE MUST NOW PREPARE FOR THE LOOMING AND THREATENING CRISIS OF THE FOOD SUPPLY. FOOD SECURITY IS NOW IMPERILLED BY LOW LEVELS OF OUTPUT OF OUR AGRICULTURAL SECTOR AND AGGRAVATED BY THE IMPACT OF CLIMATE CHANGE, ENVIRONMENTAL DECAY AND ECOLOGICAL IMBALANCE.
KAHIT TAMBAK-TAMBAK ANG SUPPLY MO NG LANGIS, KAHIT MARAMI KANG PERA, KUNG WALA KA NAMANG PAGKAIN, AT WALA KA NANG MA-IMPORT NA PAGKAIN, PAPAANO KA MABUBUHAY? AS I SAID OFTEN, A HUNGRY STOMACH KNOWS NO LAW. SA SIKMURA KADALASAN NAGSISIMULA ANG MGA REBOLUSYON.
DURING MY ADMINISTRATION, I PAID ATTENTION TO THE GOALS OF FOOD SELF-SUFFICIENCY. FROM A DISMAL NEGATIVE 6 PERCENT OUTPUT OF OUR AGRICULTURAL SECTOR, WE WERE ABLE TO POST A POSITIVE 6 PERCENT FOR A TOTAL OF 12% GROWTH. OUR AGRICULTURAL MANAGERS THEN WERE EVEN OPTIMISTIC IF WE PURSUED THIS AGENDA VIGOROUSLY, IN SIX YEARS, WE WOULD REALIZE A GOOD MEASURE OF FOOD SELF-SUFFICENCY.
FARM OUTPUT GREW FROM NEGATIVE WHEN I STARTED MY TERM AS PRESIDENT TO A RECORD HIGH OF 6.6 PERCENT BY THE END OF 1999. THIS GROWTH IN FARM PRODUCTION BROUGHT DOWN INFLATION FROM 12 PERCENT AT THE BEGINNING OF MY TERM TO JUST OVER 3 PERCENT IN ONLY ONE YEAR.
DURING MY PRESIDENCY, WE ALSO LAUNCHED THE AGRIKULTURANG MAKAMASA PROGRAM WHICH YIELDED AN ALL-TIME HIGH OF 11.8 MILLION METRIC TONS OF PALAY OUTPUT. DESPITE THE EFFECTS OF THE EL NINO AND LA NINA PHENOMENA, THE AGRICULTURAL SECTOR ACHIEVED THEN A RECORD-BREAKING FARM GROWTH, IN FACT, THE HIGHEST IN TWENTY YEARS.
AS AN INCENTIVE, I EVEN GAVE FINANCIAL REWARDS TO PROVINCES THAT PRODUCED THE HIGHEST YIELD. WE ALSO GAVE ATTENTION TO FARM TO MARKET ROADS AS WELL AS IRRIGATION.
WE SOUGHT TO ENHANCE INVESTMENT IN AGRICULTURE AND IN THE RURAL AREAS WITH THE GOAL OF ENGENDERING AGRICULTURE AS A MAJOR SOURCE OF INCOME.
WE ENDEAVOURED TO DEVELOP A PROGRAM THAT WOULD EMPOWER SMALL FARMERS THRU SUSTAINED EDUCATION AND TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER. THIS IS COMPELLING BECAUSE ABOUT 40 PERCENT OF THE ENTIRE WORK FORCE OF OUR COUNTRY IS SUPPOSED TO BE FOUND IN OUR AGRICULTURE.
BUT THESE PROGRAMS WERE SET ASIDE WHEN I WAS FORCED TO STEP DOWN IN 2001. THE EFFECTS ARE CLEAR ENOUGH. AS AN EXAMPLE, IN 2001, OUR RICE IMPORTS WERE BROUGHT DOWN TO 639,000 METRIC TONS. COMPARE THIS TO 2008, WHERE RICE IMPORTS REACHED 2.4 MILLION METRIC TONS.
OUR ANNUAL IMPORTATION OF RICE HAS NOW REACHED 3 MILLION METRIC TONS AND REFLECTS THE FAILURE OF THIS GOVERNMENT TO ADDRESS OUR FOOD SECURITY PROBLEMS.
ACCORDING TO STUDIES BY FORMER SECRETARY OF BUDGET AND MANAGEMENT AND U.P. PROFESSOR BEN DIOKNO, THE FARM OUTPUT TARGET FOR 2009 HAS SLIPPED DOWN BY AS MUCH AS 2.5 PERCENT AS COMPARED TO THE 6 PERCENT FARM OUTPUT LEVEL DURING THE ESTRADA ADMINISTRATION IN 1999. AS YOU CAN SEE, WE ARE NOW HIGHLY DEPENDENT ON IMPORTS FOR OUR RICE SUPPLY. THIS WAS HIGHLIGHTED BY THE RICE AND FOOD SHORTAGE IN 2007.
THE REAL SCORE IS THAT UNDER THIS GOVERNMENT, THE PHILIPPINES HAS BECOME THE NUMBER ONE IMPORTER OF RICE IN THE WORLD.
MY PROGRAM NOW FOR FOOD SECURITY AND FOR AGRICULTURE WOULD HINGE IN THE FULL IMPLEMENTATION OF THE AGRI-AGRA LAW REQUIRING BANKS TO ALLOCATE AT LEAST 25 PERCENT OF THEIR YEARLY LOAN PORTFOLIO TO SMALL FARMERS AND AGRARIAN REFORM BENEFICIARIES.
WE MUST ALSO DEVELOP OUR POST-HARVEST FACILITIES AND INTRODUCE COMPREHENSIVE IRRIGATION SYSTEMS THAT WILL BE ADAPT TO NEW TECHNOLOGY AND TO BE BASED ON SMALL WATER SYSTEMS THAT ARE CHEAPER TO BUILD AND MAINTAIN.
WE MUST ALSO PROMOTE A MORE AGGRESSIVE RESEARCH AND DEVLOPMENT PROGRAM IN CROPS, POULTRY, LIVESTOCK, AQUACULTURE AND FISHERIES. I ALREADY SET THE BALL ROLLING WHEN THE CARABAO CENTER FROM A BILL I FILED WHEN I WAS SENATOR. THE CARABAO CENTER WAS ESTABLISHED TO DEVELOP HYBRID CARABAOS THAT WILL PRODUCE HIGHER YIELDS.
WE NEED TO PRODUCE BETTER HYBRIDS THAT WILL BRING US NEW GENERATIONS NOT ONLY OF SUPER CARABAOS, BUT OF SUPERCOWS AND SUPERGOATS WHICH CAN PRODUCE MILK SIX TO TEN TIMES MORE THAN WHAT PRESENT DOMESTIC LIVESTOCK ARE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING.
IYONG CARABAO LAW KO, PINAGTAWANAN NOON DAHIL BAKA TUNGKOL LANG DAW SA CARABAO ENGLISH. TODAY, THE CENTER BASED IN THE SCIENCE CITY OF MUNOZ IN NUEVA ECIJA HAVE DEVELOPED HYBRID VARIETIES WHICH WE HOPE COULD ALLEVIATE OUR IMPORTATION OF MILK AND MILK PRODUCTS WHICH ON THE AVERAGE AMOUNT TO FIVE HUNDRED MILLION U.S. DOLLARS ANNUALLY AND WHICH WE MUST REDUCE. THAT IS THE CARABAO ENGLISH I UNDERSTAND. AND THIS WE MUST ALSO ADOPT WITH CROPS AND IN AQUACULTURE.
WE MUST ALSO PAY A MORE PRONOUNCED ATTENTION TO THE AGRICULTURAL MODERNIZATION LAW WHICH HAS BEEN UNDER FUNDED AND HAS RESULTED IN LOW LEVEL OF SUPPORT FOR THE MODERNIZATION OF OUR AGRICULTURAL SECTOR.
FINALLY, WE MUST ADDRESS THE PROBLEM OF GRAFT AND CORRUPTION.
I HAD BEEN ACCUSED BY THIS GOVERNMENT OF CORRUPTION AND THEY EVEN ASSEMBLED A SPECIAL COURT WHICH WAS VERY OBVIOUSLY CREATED TO CONVICT ME. AND IT DID CONVICT ME. AND LESS THAN A MONTH LATER, ONE OF THE JUSTICES WHO CONVICTED ME WAS PROMOTED TO THE SUPREME COURT, FOLLOWED BY ANOTHER ONE. AND THE THIRD JUSTICE WAS MADE PRESIDING JUSTICE OF THE SANDIGANBAYAN.
IN THE 2009 SONA, IT WAS EVEN ALLEGED THAT THE ESTRADA ADMINISTRATION LEFT GOVERNMENT COFERS BANKRUPT. BUT U.P. PROF. LEONOR BRIONES, NOW A PROFESSOR AT THE U.P. NATIONAL COLLEGE OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION AND GOVERNANCE, WHO WAS NATIONAL TREASURER AT THAT TIME WILL TELL YOU AND CERTIFY THAT MY ADMINISTRATION DID NOT LEAVE THE GOVERNMENT BANKRUPT AND IN FACT LEFT 72 BILLION PESOS IN CASH AND 50 BILLION IN CENTRAL BANK RESERVES OR OVER 120 BILLION WHICH WAS TURNED OVER TO THE NEW ADMINISTRATION.
IN HINDSIGHT TODAY, AND PRECISELY BECAUSE OF FULL TRANSPARENCY, I AM PROUD TO SAY THAT NO CONTRACT STARTED DURING MY ADMINISTRATION WAS EVER THE SUBJECT OF ANY CORRUPTION ISSUE AND NEITHER ANY MEMBER OF MY CABINET WAS CHARGED WITH CORRUPTION. I SAW TO IT THAT OFFICIALS OF MY ADMINISTRATION UNDER STRONG SUSPICION OF WRONG-DOING BE REPLACED OR REMOVED.
WHEN I WAS REMOVED AS PRESIDENT AND WAS THEN INCARCERATED, THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE OF THIS ADMINISTRATION CREATED A SPECIAL TASK FORCE TO REVIEW THE CONTRACTS ENTERED INTO BY MY ADMINISTRATION. THE INTENTION WAS TO LOOK FOR ANOMALIES. BUT THEY WERE DISAPPOINTED. IT IS ON RECORD THAT THEY FOUND NO ANOMALOUS CONTRACTS. BECAUSE THERE WERE NONE.
THERE WERE NO FERTILIZER SCAMS; THERE WERE NO OVERPRICED BOULEVARDS AND BRIDGES; THERE WERE NO NBN-ZTE BROADBAND DEALS. WRISTBAND LANG SA KAMAY KO ANG NAKITA NILA.
THAT IS WHY THEY HAD TO PIN ME DOWN ON THESE JUETENG ALLEGATIONS BY CHAVIT SINGSON – ALLEGATIONS THAT THEY COULD LIKEWISE NOT PROVE. THE MONEY THAT ALLEGEDLY WENT TO ME IN FACT WENT THE ERAP MUSLIM YOUTH FOUNDATION, A FOUNDATION COMPRISED OF U.P. PROFESSORS WITH THE PURPOSE OF SUPPORTING THE UNDERPRIVILEGED MUSLIM YOUTH. BUT THAT IS ANOTHER STORY.
THE BOTTOMLINE IS, IT CAN BE SAID THAT THE ESTRADA REGIME WAS A TRANSPARENT ADMINISTRATION WITH A CLEAN RECORD.
HOW DID WE DO IT AND HOW SHOULD THE NEXT PRESIDENT DO IT? I CREATED AN ECONOMIC COORDINATING COUNCIL COMPRISED OF LEADERS OF THE PRIVATE SECTOR AND PROFESSIONALS WHO ARE KNOWN NOT JUST FOR THEIR COMPETENCE BUT FOR THEIR HONESTY AND INTEGRITY. THESE WERE WASHINGTON SYCIP, FORMER PRIME MINISTER CESAR VIRATA, VICENTE PATERNO, JAIME AUGUSTO ZOBEL AND FORMER CENTRAL BANK GOVERNOR GABRIEL SINGSON,.
BELIEVING THAT GOVERNANCE SHOULD BE ANCHORED ON FULL TRANSPARENCY TO BE GOOD AND EFFECTIVE, WE ESTABLISHED AND INSTITUTIONALIZED MECHANISMS THAT ALLOWED THE GOVERNMENT AND THE PRIVATE SECTOR TO CLOSELY CONSULT EACH OTHER AND TO CRITICALLY COLLABORATE ON NEEDED POLICY REFORMS. MY INSTRUCTIONS TO MY CABINET WAS TO CONSULT, LISTEN AND GET THE PULSE OF THEIR CONSTITUTENCIES.
IF YOU WILL RECALL, I REJECTED THE IMPSA CONTRACT AND REFUSED TO SIGN ANY PRIVATE SECTOR INITIATED PROJECT THAT WOULD INVOLVE FOREIGN LOANS REQUIRING A SOVEREIGN GUARANTEE FROM THE GOVERNMENT. SOVEREIGN GUARANTEES PROVIDE THAT THE GOVERNMENT WILL ASSUME RESPONSIBILITY OF A FOREIGN LOAN INCURRED BY A PRIVATE SECTOR CONTRACTOR IN CASE OF DEFAULTS IN PAYMENTS. I BELIEVED THAT THESE SOVEREIGN GURANTEE AGREEMENTS HAVE CONTRIBUTED TO OUR DEBT BURDEN.
THIS IS THE REASON WHY REFUSED TO SIGN THE IMPSA CONTRACT ON THE REHABILITATION OF A POWER PLANT, EVEN IF I WAS OFFERED A 14 MILLION DOLLAR BRIBE. LITTLE DID I KNOW THAT WITHIN TWO DAYS UPON THE ASSUMPTION OF THE NEW ADMINISTRATION, THEN JUSTICE SECRETARY NANI PEREZ WOULD ACCEPT A TWO MILLION DOLLAR BRIBE, PROVEN IN A PAPER TRAIL, WITH THE MONEY BEING SENT TO THE SENATE BY A SWISS BANK.
IT IS ALSO FOR THIS REASON WHY I CHOSE NOT TO APPROVE ANY INDEPENDENT POWER PRODUCER CONTRACT DURING MY ADMINISTRATION, IN CONTRAST TO MY PREDECESSORS AND MY SUCCESSOR.
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, WE MUST CONTAIN CORRUPTION BECAUSE THIS EVIL IS NOT ONLY THE BURDEN OF OUR CITIZENS, BUT THE SCOURGE OF GOOD BUSINESS AND ECONOMIC PRODUCTIVITY. CORRUPTION THRIVES BECAUSE THERE IS NO TRANSPARENCY AND OPENNESS IN GOVERNANCE.
AND TO THESE THREE TOP PRIORITIES, WE MUST ADD THE ULTIMATE GOAL OF ENDING POVERTY. KAYA NGA AKO NAKILALA BILANG ERAP PARA SA MAHIRAP.
REMEMBER THAT I WAS THE MILLENNIUM PRESIDENT WHO WENT TO NEW YORK TO SIGN AND CONFIRM OUR COUNTRY’S COMMITMENT TO THE MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS. ONE OF THESE GOALS IS TO HALVE POVERTY BY 2015.
IN THE YEAR 2000, WE STARTED OUR PROGRAM TO END POVERTY BY MEANS OF A SIMPLE FORMULA: CORRECT BUDGET PRIORITIZATION. THAT MEANS ALWAYS PRIORITIZING THE POOR IN THE NATIONAL BUDGET. AND THAT IS WHY, IT IS ON RECORD, THAT IT WAS THE ESTRADA ADMINSTRATION THAT GAVE THE HIGHEST BUDGETARY PRIORITY TO SOCIAL SERVICES, TO EDUCATION AND TO HEALTH. MORE THAN ANY OTHER POST-MARCOS ADMINISTRATION. YOU CAN CHECK THE RECORDS.
THAT IS THE LEGACY OF THE ESTRADA ADMINISTRATION AND THAT IS WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT FROM AN ESTRADA ADMINISTRATION IN 2010: BUDGET PRIORITIZATION THAT IS TRULY PRO-POOR; PEACE AND ORDER, ESPECIALLY PEACE IN MINDANAO; FOOD SECURITY AND AN AGRICULTURAL SECTOR THAT WE CAN BE PROUD OF; AND AN END TO GRAFT AND CORRUPTION BY HAVING A TRANSPARENT GOVERNMENT.
MEANWHILE THE LEGACY OF THIS PRESENT ADMINISTRATION IS THAT IT WILL LEAVE A DEBT THAT IS BIGGER THAN THE DEBT INCURRED BY PRESIDENT CORY, PRESIDENT RAMOS AND MYSELF COMBINED. WELL, THAT IS WHAT YOU GET FOR EDSA DOS.
MANY MORE CAN BE ADDED IN THIS PASSING DISCUSSION. BUT YOU GAVE ME TIME LIMITATIONS, WHICH IS WHY IT IS PERHAPS TIME TO CLOSE.
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, WE ARE LIVING TODAY IN A SOCIETY THAT IS INCREASINGLY MARKED BY FRUSTRATION, HOPELESSNESS AND ALIENATION AMONG CIVIC-MINDED CITIZENS WHO WOULD LIKE A RETURN TO THOSE DAYS OF PEACE AND TRANQUILITY, OF RESPECT FOR THE RULE OF LAW, OF ACCOUNTABILITY OF OUR LEADERS, AND OF SUSTAINABLE ECONOMIC GROWTH AND PRODUCTIVITY.
WE MUST AGREE ON WHAT WE MUST DO NOW OR SINK INTO THE RUBBLES OF HISTORY. FOR ME, THE FORMULA IS SIMPLE AND DOABLE, BUT CERTAINLY DIFFICULT AND CHALLENGING.
WE MUST ACT DECISIVELY TO ADDRESS THE PEACE AND ORDER SITUATION. WE MUST PREPARE FOR THE FAMINES OF THE FUTURE. AND WE CAN DO THIS IF WE HAVE A GOVERNMENT THAT IS FAIR, JUST, TRANSPARENT AND HONORABLE. ONLY THEN CAN WE RESTORE INVESTORS CONFIDENCE, AND RE-OPEN THE FAUCET OF FOREIGN INVESTMENT THAT HAS BEEN SHUT TIGHT FOR MANY YEARS. WE MUST MUSTER THE POLITICAL WILL TO ONCE AND FOR ALL CLEAN-UP OUR GOVERNMENT FROM THE SCOURGE OF CORRUPTION AND SELFISH INTERESTS.
THE GOOD BOOK SAYS THAT THERE IS A TIME FOR EVERYTHING UNDER THE SUN.A TIME FOR WAR, AND A TIME FOR PEACE; A TIME OF PLENTY, AND A TIME OF WANT; A TIME FOR HONOR; A TIME FOR FAIRNESS, FOR JUSTICE, FOR TRANSPARENCY. THERE IS, MOST OF ALL A TIME TO DO AWAY WITH THE SCOURGE OF CORRUPTION AND BEGIN TO EMBRACE COUNTRY AND PEOPLE FIRST, SHEDDING ALL SELFISH INTERESTS.
THIS WAS WHAT I HAD ENVISIONED FOR THE PEOPLE IN 1998 WHEN I BECAME PRESIDENT. IT IS STILL WHAT I AM DETERMINED TO DO TODAY AS I SEEK THE PRESIDENCY AGAIN. AND WITH THE POLITICAL WILL THAT I HAVE PROVED TO EXERCISE IN THE PAST, IT WILL AGAIN BE A TIME TO CORRECT THE INJUSTICES OF TODAY; TO MAKE THE FILIPINO LIVE BETTER AND TO SERVE THE PEOPLE FOR THE GREATEST GOOD OF THE GREATEST NUMBER THIS IS ALL I WANT, FOR GOD, FOR COUNTRY AND FOR THE FILIPINO PEOPLE.
MARAMING SALAMAT AT MAGANDANG ARAW SA INYONG LAHAT.