Pres. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's Speech during the 18th Visayas Annual Membership Meeting of the Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP)
Salon de España, Casino Español de Cebu, Cebu City, Cebu (22 February 2006)
Thank you.
Thank you, Bobby.
And I'd like to thank also John Domingo for inviting me to be here with you today. Thank you, Manny for all that PBSP and the PLDT have been doing to help the less fortunate of our brothers and sisters. And thank you Tita Maria Luisa for having been the president of PBSP for such a long time, for many years.
I'd like to greet also the officials of Cebu who are here with us on the presidential table: I see governor Gwen Garcia of the province of Cebu and Vice Mayor Rama of the City of Cebu. Ambassador Sutherland, a friend and partner of PBSP
And we have several members of the Cabinet here: there's Ace Durano of Tourism and Cerge Remonde of the Government Media, Gabby Claudio, our political adviser and Mike Defensor my Chief of Staff.
And I'd like to introduce somebody who will hopefully be very important in the life of the Philippine business for social progress in the years to come, the new resident of the United Nations, the new representative of the U.N. to the Philippines, Madame Nileema Noble. other members of PBSP, happy 18th anniversary to you all!
Eighteen years old here in Casino Español -- that was my mother's experience. My mother had her debut right in Casino Español when she was living here in Cebu.
Several members of our Cabinet are here with us today and also Madame Noble because before coming here we were in Southern Leyte. And we were absolutely crushed by sorrow at what has transpired. The loss of life of so many innocent men, women and children is almost too much to absorb.
As the leader of our nation, I come here today both heavy in heart but also heartened to meet with you, our partners in sustaining the economy and in alleviating the plight of the poor. Filipinos are hopeful, proud and generous and you of PBSP-Visayas represent what is best in the Filipino.
The PBSP is a great force for nation-building. I have known PBSP since the start when I was a young student in the private school in Ateneo. And now we have grown to more than 200 corporate members implementing almost 6,000 social development projects that have benefited some three million poor Filipino households all over the country.
I am familiar with your programs in the Visayas, especially the Olango island development program and the Samar resource management program. I remember when I was still a senator, I visited your Samar projects a few times and one time I had the honor of doing the ceremonial seeding of Maqueda Bay with you. I attended several of your Christmas tree parties and I remember the last one that I was able to attend as vice president when you announced that in the year coming you were going to start your project in Olango island.
And so when John invited me to be with you today I gladly agreed because I want to tell you that we appreciate -- the Filipino people, the communities I visited -- do appreciate what you are doing to them and in fact hope that you will find the means to be able to do more.
It's fitting that we hold this meeting during the 20th anniversary of EDSA 1 because you, PBSP -Visayas represent the mature meaning of people power. EDSA 1 has become an enduring part of our history and you honor the struggle of EDSA by bringing social justice to the people. You demonstrate the transformed and matured fight for economic and social justice since EDSA 1. You create positive change without going outside of the system.
And I remember that was the history of how PBSP was born. There was a lot of unrest at that time and a few businessmen with the social conscience decided what are we going to do to show that the system can work so that those who try to destroy the system will not be able to convince the poor of their arguments.
Indeed, the people are tired of continuous politics and want to settle into a system that is focused on fundamental and social reform without having to take to the streets to achieve that goal. Political revolution without economic revolution is meaningless and that was what you sought out to do 30 years ago, 35 years ago when PBSP was founded.
On my part, as president of our country, I have picked up the standard of EDSA 1 moving to free our nation of the petty politics which too often grips it. More importantly, with your support, the business community's support to our tax reforms, we have freed our nation from the grip of debt and an outdated economic model and launched a modern economy that invest in the people and will leave our nation stronger, not weaker.
I am not saying that the modern economy is already here. I am saying we have started to launch the modernization of our economy because we had been able to do the economic and tax reforms that can help us to fund the modernization of our economy. That is the legacy of EDSA 1 -- to free the people of poverty.
PBSP and the government and our international creditors and donors are partners in the battle against poverty, and we must pursue the gains we are beginning to realize from the surge of fiscal and economic reforms. Most of you are businessmen. In fact, that is what your name is -- Philippine Business for Social Progress. So you know what it all means that our peso is getting stronger and stronger; that investment has picked up no less than Manny Pangilinan is putting three billion pesos in Cebu City; there is a rising business outlook; inflation is under control; the budget deficit is way below target and therefore conversely savings are up; tourism is up. Congratulations! To Cebu son, Ace Durano. And of the 2.5 million tourist who came to the Philippines last year, one-half of them came to the Visayas; and the stock market remains bullish.
Our vision is permanent political and economic stability to take us to the threshold of the first world in 20 years. The men and women from the PBSP member companies have gone out from the comfort of your offices to share your time and resources to make PBSP and our entire country what it is today.
Earlier in the plane, we were talking about getting out of comfort zones. And 35 years ago, PBSP got out of its comfort zone. And now here you are with the PBSP -Visayas 18 years old and doing so much for the people of the Visayas and PBSP for the people of the Philippines.
And so, I wish the PBSP in the Visayas many more years in doing what you do best -- poverty reduction and doing other things as a leader in corporate citizenship.
Let us continue the fight against poverty.
And I was telling Tita Maria Luisa Perez-Rubio that -- well, Gabby knows this. Gabby is from Catbalogan, Gabby Claudio -- the people of Western Samar are very poor and yet it's a beautiful country. And PBSP has done something significant in bringing Maqueda bay back alive again. It had died for so many years because of wrong methods of fishing, illegal fishing, but it is alive again.
And I would like to see more people of the very poor province of Western Samar benefit from what PBSP is doing for Maqueda Bay.
So, when I get back to Manila -- that's why I'm mentioning Gabby Claudio here -- I will ask him to tell the manager of the presidential social fund to give my contribution to PBSP so that we will be able to expand your Maqueda bay project in order to help the poor of that area.
Maraming salamat and happy anniversary to all of you!
