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Address by President Arroyo of the Philippines
Launch of the Human Development Report 2002
Address by President Arroyo
Launch of the Human Development Report 2002
Ceremonial Hall, Malacanang
Manila, Philippines
24 July 2002
THANK YOU VERY MUCH SECRETARY CANLAS, MY MINISTER OF ECONOMIC PLANNING.
MR. MARK MALLOCH BROWN, UNDP ADMINISTRATOR; MS. SAKIKO FUKUDO PARR, CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR AUTHORSHIP OF THE HUMAN DEVELOPMENT REPORT 2002; MR. DIALLO; MINISTER RAMOS HORTA; EXCELLENCIES OF THE DIPLOMATIC CORPS AND REPRESENTATIVES OF OTHER INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS; OFFICIALS OF THE PHILIPPINE GOVERNMENT INCLUDING CONGRESSMAN ABDULLAH DIMAPORO AND MAYOR FRANKLIN QUIJANO; LADIES AND GENTLEMEN:
IT IS AN HONOR FOR THE PHILIPPINES TO HOST THE LAUNCHING OF THE HUMAN DEVELOPMENT REPORT 2002. MR. DIALLO SAID THAT THIS IS BEING HELD IN 70 COUNTRIES ALL OVER THE WORLD BUT ONLY IN ONE COUNTRY DO WE HAVE THE HEAD OF THE UNDP PRESIDING OVER THE LAUNCHING. THIS IS THE MAIN LAUNCHING OF THE HUMAN DEVELOPMENT REPORT IN THE PHILIPPINES. I WOULD LIKE TO BELIEVE THAT THIS IS A RECOGNITION OF THE PHILIPPINES' EMPHASIS ON HUMAN DEVELOPMENT, AND THE PHILIPPINES' PIONEERING ADOPTION OF THE HUMAN DEVELOPMENT INDEX AS AN OFFICIAL MEASURE OF THE PEOPLE'S WELFARE.
IT IS ALSO AN HONOR TO HAVE WITH US TODAY TWO GUESTS WHO HAVE CONTRIBUTED MUCH TO THE STRUGGLE FOR HUMAN FREEDOM AND DEMOCRACY -- MARK MALLOCH BROWN, WHO WAS VERY MUCH A PART OF WHAT BECAME EDSA 1, AND MINISTER RAMOS HORTA, THE FATHER OF EAST TIMOR INDEPENDENCE.
TWO DAYS AGO, PROVIDENTIALLY, I DELIVERED MY STATE OF THE NATION ADDRESS BEFORE CONGRESS. IN THAT ADDRESS, I CALLED FOR THE BUILDING OF A STRONG REPUBLIC. I DID NOT SAY "STRONG STATE," I SAID "STRONG REPUBLIC" BECAUSE A REPUBLIC IS A DEMOCRACY.
ONE OF THE ESSENTIAL FEATURES OF THE STRONG REPUBLIC IS THAT IT STANDS FOR THE INTERESTS OF THE PEOPLE RATHER THAN OF A POWERFUL MINORITY.
AS BOTH MR. BROWN AND MINISTER HORTA CAN ATTEST BY THEIR OWN CONTRIBUTIONS TO FREEDOM, A REPUBLIC DOES NOT EXIST BY THE MERE FACT OF DECLARING ITSELF TO BE SO. MR. BROWN'S STATEMENT IN FACT SAID THAT THERE ARE MANY GOVERNMENTS WHO HAVE BEEN DEMOCRATICALLY ELECTED BUT ARE NOT YET TRULY FUNCTIONING DEMOCRACIES.
A REPUBLIC MUST BE SO IN FACT, IN REALITY, AND AS A HUMAN DEVELOPMENT REPORT STRESSES ESPECIALLY IN THE DIFFERENCE IT MAKES FOR THE BETTER IN THE LIVES OF CITIZENS.
MY EXPERIENCE IN GOVERNANCE IN THE LAST YEAR AND A HALF TELLS ME THAT MY COUNTRY NEEDS A STRONG REPUBLIC TO GUARANTEE HUMAN DEVELOPMENT.
A STRONG REPUBLIC INVOLVES A PAINSTAKING PROCESS OF STRENGTHENING INSTITUTIONS AND COMMUNITIES.
IT IS A PROCESS THAT ADVANCES ONLY ON A BROAD PLATFORM OF SHARED ETHICAL VALUES, A FIRM CONSENSUS TO SERVE COMMON INTERESTS AND A COMMON VISION OF A NATIONAL FUTURE.
YOU, WHO ARE MEMBERS OF THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY, THE U.N. FAMILY, THE HUMAN DEVELOPMENT ADVOCATES, YOU ARE OUR PARTNERS IN THIS VISION.
THE IDEA THAT PEOPLE SHOULD BE AT THE CENTER OF DEVELOPMENT TOOK ROOT MAINLY THROUGH THE ADVOCACY OF THE UNITED NATIONS AND ITS MEMBER STATES. I CONGRATULATE THE UNDP, UNDER THE LEADERSHIP OF MR. MARK MALLOCH BROWN, FOR GIVING FLESH TO THIS ADVOCACY IN THE HUMAN DEVELOPMENT REPORT.
THE LAST TIME I WAS WITH MR. BROWN WE WERE BOTH IN WASHINGTON, HE WAS THEN WITH THE WORLD BANK BUT ABOUT TO LEAVE THE WORLD BANK TO HEAD THE UNDP. AND I WAS TELLING HIM THAT I WAS NOT SURPRISED BECAUSE DURING THAT TIME WHEN I WAS IN WASHINGTON AS VICE PRESIDENT I ALREADY SAW THAT THE WORLD BANK WAS VEERING AWAY FROM THE OLD PARADIGM OF THE IMF WORLD BANK SO AND SO; THAT IT WAS MOVING MORE TOWARDS HUMAN DEVELOPMENT THAN THE USUAL PARADIGMS OF STRUCTURAL REFORM, ETC., ETC. AND WE WERE SAYING BEFORE THAT, YEARS BEFORE THAT, WE WERE SAYING THAT THE WORLD BANK IMF ARE NOT AS SENSITIVE TO THE NEEDS OF DEVELOPING COUNTRIES AS THE UNDP. AND THEN WE SO CHANGES IN THE WORLD BANK, AND THEN WE SAW MR. BROWN IN THE UNDP. I SAID NOW I UNDERSTAND THE METAMORPHOSIS OF THE WORLD BANK AND WE SHOULD THANK MR. BROWN FOR THAT.
IN 1986 WE RESTORED DEMOCRATIC POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS UNDER THE PRESIDENCY OF OUR HEROINE, CORAZON AQUINO. FILIPINOS ARE FOREVER GRATEFUL FOR HER COURAGE AND LEADERSHIP.
PHILIPPINE PEOPLE POWER REVERBERATED IN OTHER SHORES. IN ASIA, WE HAD SOUTH KOREA, INDONESIA, AND, VERY RECENTLY, EAST TIMOR.
WE PAY TRIBUTE TODAY TO EAST TIMOR AND ITS PEOPLE, REPRESENTED BY NOBEL LAUREATE AND FOREIGN MINISTER JOSE RAMOS HORTA WHO KNOWS THE PHILIPPINES VERY WELL.
MINISTER RAMOS HORTA ONCE SAID THAT "DEMOCRACY AND HUMAN RIGHTS ARE NOT AN INVENTION OF THE WEST." WE WHOLEHEARTEDLY AGREE. THE PHILIPPINES ESTABLISHED ITS FIRST REPUBLIC MORE THAN A HUNDRED YEARS AGO, THE FIRST IN ASIA IN 1898 BEFORE THE AMERICANS OCCUPIED OUR COUNTRY.
BUT OUR WORK TO BUILD A STRONG REPUBLIC IS NOT A MONOPOLY OF THE EAST OR THE WEST. IT IS NOT EVEN A MONOPOLY OF GOVERNMENTS. CIVIL SOCIETY IS EQUALLY ASCENDANT. THE HUMAN DEVELOPMENT REPORT EMPHASIZES THE EXPANDING ROLE OF CIVIL SOCIETY IN DEEPENING DEMOCRACY. THIS IS VERY TRUE FOR THE PHILIPPINES, FOR OUR NATION AND OUR REPUBLIC.
YET AMID GLOBALIZATION AND THE INFORMATION REVOLUTION, PEOPLE ARE ASKING: IF WEALTH IS BEING CREATED, WHY DO POVERTY AND INEQUALITY STILL PERVADE?
THE ADVOCATES OF FREE MARKETS MUST PUT IN PLACE INNOVATIVE DEMOCRATIC POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS, AND SEEK TO BROADEN AND DEEPEN THESE TO ALLAY APPREHENSIONS THAT GLOBALIZATION SETS BACK SOCIAL PROGRESS AND DEEPENS HUMAN MISERY.
INSTITUTIONS FOR GOVERNANCE MUST FIGHT ILLITERACY, DISEASE, HUNGER, INJUSTICE.
THE HUMAN DEVELOPMENT REPORT QUOTES U.N. SECRETARY GENERAL KOFI ANNAN: "GOOD GOVERNANCE IS PERHAPS THE SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT FACTOR IN ERADICATING POVERTY AND PROMOTING DEVELOPMENT." I AGREE WITH SECRETARY GENERAL KOFI ANNAN.
IN MY VIEW, GOOD GOVERNANCE RESTS ON THREE PILLARS. FIRST, A SOUND MORAL FOUNDATION TO GUIDE OUR LEADERSHIP AT ALL LEVELS. SECOND, A PHILOSOPHY OF TRANSPARENCY IN ALL GOVERNMENT ACTIONS. THIRD, AN ETHIC OF EFFECTIVE IMPLEMENTATION THROUGHOUT THE BUREAUCRACY.
THE THIRD PILLAR, THE ETHIC OF EFFECTIVE IMPLEMENTATION THROUGHOUT THE BUREAUCRACY IS ONE OF THE ESSENTIAL FEATURES OF A STRONG REPUBLIC.
A STRONG REPUBLIC MUST HAVE EFFECTIVE INSTITUTIONS TO PROTECT THE WEAK.
TO HELP COUNTRIES DEVELOP THESE EFFECTIVE INSTITUTIONS, I COMMEND THE HUMAN DEVELOPMENT REPORT FOR COMING UP WITH AN UPDATED SCORECARD ON THE PROGRESS OF COUNTRIES IN MEETING THE MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS OF POVERTY REDUCTION. IT IS A GOOD WAY OF KEEPING TRACK OF OUR SHARED OBLIGATIONS NOT ONLY AS GOVERNMENTS BUT AS NATIONS.
I AM HAPPY TO LEARN THAT THE PHILIPPINES IS ON TRACK IN OUR MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS. BASED ON THE ESTABLISHED TREND, WE WOULD BE ABLE TO MEET BY 2015 THE GOALS OF, AMONG OTHERS, CUTTING INTO HALF THE PROPORTION OF PEOPLE WITHOUT ACCESS TO SAFE DRINKING WATER; ACHIEVE UNIVERSAL PRIMARY EDUCATION; ACHIEVE GENDER EQUALITY IN PRIMARY SCHOOLS; AND, REDUCE UNDER-FIVE MORTALITY BY TWO-THIRDS. I SHALL MONITOR THESE VARIABLES PERIODICALLY. I HAVE SAID TO SECRETARY CANLAS, MY PLANNING MINISTER THAT THESE ARE GOOD INDICATORS THAT WE MUST MONITOR IN ORDER TO ENSURE THAT WE STAY ON TRACK IN FIGHTING POVERTY.
I SHALL ALSO WORK WITH MY CABINET TO DEVELOP POLICIES AND PROGRAMS THAT WILL ENABLE THE PHILIPPINES TO CATCH UP WITH THE GOALS OF REDUCING THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO ARE IN EXTREME POVERTY AND THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO ARE SUFFERING FROM HUNGER. AGAIN, THESE ARE TWO IMPORTANT VARIABLES THAT WE MUST CONSCIOUSLY AND CONSCIENTIOUSLY WORK FOR.
OUR NATIONAL AMBITION IS TO WIN THE BATTLE AGAINST POVERTY WITHIN THE DECADE. THAT MEANS EVEN EARLIER THAN THE PROJECTION OF THE HUMAN DEVELOPMENT REPORT OF 2015. I HAVE BEEN DISCUSSING WITH MY ECONOMIC MANAGERS HOW WE CAN MEASURE OUR PROGRESS. I THANK THE HUMAN DEVELOPMENT REPORT FOR PROVIDING US WITH THE MEANINGFUL MEASURES THAT CAN GIVE US, SUGGEST TO US, THE SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES THAT TOGETHER SPELL OUT A VICTORY AGAINST POVERTY.
TWO WEEKS AGO, WE LAUNCHED THE PHILIPPINE DEVELOPMENT REPORT 2002, AND I'D LIKE TO RECOGNIZE HERE DANTE CANLAS' PREDECESSOR, FORMER PLANNING SECRETARY WINNIE MONSOD WHO'S BEEN WORKING ON THAT. THE THEME WAS "WORK AND WELL-BEING." THE THEME TODAY IS "DEEPENING DEMOCRACY IN A FRAGMENTED WORLD."
THE THEMES COMBINED HIGHLIGHT THE IMPLICATIONS OF POLITICS AND GOVERNANCE ON JOBS, POVERTY AND HUMAN DEVELOPMENT. THEY PARTNER WELL WITH A STRONG REPUBLIC.
WE HOPE TO MAINTAIN OUR INCREASING HUMAN DEVELOPMENT INDEX IN THE COMING YEARS.
THIS WE HOPE TO ACHIEVE WITH THE HELP OF UNDP AND THE INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE COMMUNITY. UNDP IS A TRUSTED PARTNER, AND WE LOOK FORWARD TO CONTINUED COOPERATION IN PEACE AND DEVELOPMENT.
WE ALSO CALL ON THE DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE COMMUNITY NOT ONLY TO INVEST IN THE GROWTH OF MARKETS BUT ALSO IN THE GROWTH OF DEMOCRACY.
AT THE SAME TIME, OUR COMMON COMMITMENT TO DEEPEN DEMOCRACY AT NATIONAL LEVELS SHOULD BE MIRRORED IN THE PRACTICES OF GOVERNANCE AT THE GLOBAL LEVEL.
THE DOHA ROUND UNDER THE WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION MUST RESPOND TO THE CLAMOR OF DEVELOPING MEMBER COUNTRIES FOR EXPANDED MARKET ACCESS.
THIS WILL EMPOWER DEVELOPING COUNTRIES TO BUILD THEIR STRONG REPUBLICS.
A STRONG REPUBLIC IS AN EDIFICE THAT SHELTERS THE WEAK AND WEATHERS THE STORM. IT IS AN EDIFICE THAT ENABLES PEOPLE TO BE THEIR BEST.
THIS IS THE HEART OF HUMAN DEVELOPMENT: EXPANDING THE OPPORTUNITIES FOR PEOPLE TO LEAD LIVES OF VALUE TO THEMSELVES AND TO OTHERS.
AS YOUR REPORT SO APTLY STATES, "FUNDAMENTAL TO ENLARGING HUMAN CHOICES IS BUILDING HUMAN CAPACITIES: THE RANGE OF THINGS THAT PEOPLE CAN DO OR BE."
WE URGE THE LEADERS OF THE DEVELOPED WORLD, AND THE VARIOUS AGENCIES RESPONSIBLE FOR PROMOTING INTERNATIONAL PEACE, FREEDOM, AND PROSPERITY -- TO BE OUR EXEMPLARS AND LEADERS.
WE MUST ALL MOVE FORWARD AND SEEK TO HELP ONE ANOTHER BUILD OUR STRONG REPUBLICS IN OUR OWN NATIONS SO THAT WE CAN STRENGTHEN THE WEAK AMONG US AND MAKE THEM ALL EQUALLY STRONG HOPEFULLY BEFORE 2015.
THANK YOU.
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