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PGMA Speech during a Dinner Meeting with the FILUSA (Filipinos International of the U.S.A.) |
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Willard Ballroom, Willard Hotel, Washington, D.C., USA |
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29 July 2009 |
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Thank you. Thank you. Thank you very much Secretary Pamintuan for your introduction. I’m happy to be here with you tonight with an official delegation who will be meeting with their counterparts. We have here the Speaker of the House of Representatives Speaker Boy Nograles and several members of Congress who will be attending the various meetings with members of Congress tomorrow. We have here, of course, several Cabinet members who will be meeting with their counterparts headed by Foreign Affairs Secretary Bert Romulo and Executive Secretary Ed Ermita. We have with us also members of the Senate, Miriam is not here with us tonight but we have Lito Lapid here with us tonight. We have a governor, Governor Tet Garcia of Bataan, and we have two city mayors: Mayor of Marikina Marides Fernando and Mayor of Danao City Nitoy Durano. And of course, I’d like to greet the leaders of the Filipino community here headed by our Ambassador to Washington Willy Gaa. And Henry and Jackie, thank you so much, and all of you who came from everywhere Maryland, San Francisco, Virginia, of course, Washington. Magandang gabi sa inyong lahat. At king kekatang 60 percent ni attendance ngening bengi, mayap a bengi kekongan. (applause/cheering) Thank you. Thank you. Of course, we must also greet the other Filipinos from various parts of the country: sa mga kaigsuonan gikan sa Visayas ug Mindanao maayong gabii kaninyong tanan; sa indo gabos Bikolano, marhay nga bangi; sa mga kasimanwa sang akon bana nga ari naman subong, maayong gab-i sa inyo nga tanan; dagiti kakailyan ni mamang ko, naimbag a rabii yo amin. And, of course, congratulations to the Filipinos International of the United States of America or FILUSA here in Washington and sorrounding areas, and the other American organizations here tonight. Thank you very much for coming despite the very short notice and thank you for waiting. You know when we arrived in Canada a half an hour ahead of schedule, so I was so happy... Oh, we’ll arrive in Washington half an hour ahead of schedule instead combination of paper work and inclement weather along the way made us not leave half an hour ahead of schedule, not in _____ schedule it made as leave an hour and a half later than schedule, but thank you for waiting. I’m so sorry for that. Last month, I met with the FILUSA chapter in Los Angeles. And I congratulated your organization, as I congratulate now FILUSA-Washington D.C., as Jackie described it your efforts in helping unify the Filipino community here in the U.S. and in projecting the good news about the Philippines. And I’m happy about the launching tonight here in Washington your “Proudly Filipino” campaign. Congratulations! And as you have said, we are really very pleased to accept the invitation of President Obama to be the first leader from our region to meet with him at the White House. The Oval Office meeting with President Obama comes at a pivotal time for U.S. relations in Asia. We’re very hopeful that the Obama Administration will put America on the radar screen in Asia. The visit to the region by Secretary Clinton where she met with Secretary Romulo in Thailand and now the early outreach by President Obama sends strong signals that the U.S. is committed to a new, more robust engagement with the region. The fact that President Obama sought out the Philippines for this first opportunity is a testament to the strong and deep ties between our two nations. Kaya maganda yung placard ninyo, “Mabuhay RP-U.S. Relations!" Ayun, thank you for that. “Long Live our U.S.-Filipino Relations!” Yeah, thank you. The early invitation also reflects the ongoing relationship we have built up through a series of phone conversations and correspondences reaching back to when Senator Obama was the candidate for President. Our expectations for this trip are straightforward: to meet the new U.S. President and to advance the interests of the Philippines with our strongest friend and ally. The U.S. is essential to our economic, diplomatic and national security. We plan to ensure that these objectives remain front and center and on track between our two nations. High on our agenda will be peace and security issues, including ways to continue to strengthen regional cooperation on anti-terrorism. We will also discuss the global economic crisis that has swept the world and what we can do to mitigate the impact on the poor, especially in Asia and the Philippines. The other day, I delivered my State of the Nation Address. As we all know, the past twelve months had been a year for the history books. As you know more than I do because you experienced it personally, financial meltdown in the West spread throughout the world. Billions across the globe had been hurt. Tens of millions have lost their jobs. It has affected the Philippines as well. But, and Jackie said, your proposition tell the good news, the story of the Philippines in 2008 is that the country weathered a succession of global crises in fuel, in food, then in finance, and finally the economy in a global recession, but never losing focus and with economic fundamentals intact. A few days ago Moody’s upgraded our credit rating, in the middle of a global recession, citing the resilience of our economy. Therefore, I could say, the state of our nation is a strong economy. I want our Republic to be ready for first world in 20 years. And towards that vision, we, the senators, the congressmen, Speaker made key reforms. Our economic plan centers on putting people first. Higit sa lahat, ang layunin ng ating mga patakaran ay tulungan ang masisipag na karaniwang Pilipino. New tax revenues were put in place to help pay for better healthcare, more roads, and a strong education system. Housing policies were designed to lift up our poorer citizens so they can live and raise a family with dignity. Ang ating mga puhunan sa agrikultura ay naglalayong kilalanin ang atin mga magsasaka bilang backbone ng ating bansa, at bigyan sila ng mga modernong kagamitan to feed our nation and feed their own family. In 2008 up to early 2009, we were among only a few economies in Asia-Pacific that did not shrink, contrast that to 2001 when I first became President. Asia was then surging, our country was on the brink of bankruptcy. Now it’s the other way around. The world is in recession. Our country remain strong. Since 2001, our economy posted uninterrupted growth for 33 quarters, and more than doubled its size --in 2001 it was 76 billion dollars; in 2008 186 billion dollars, more than double what it was eight years ago. And the average GDP growth during our administration is the highest among all administrations in the last 43 years. From January 2001 to April 2009 we created eight million jobs --source of that, the National Statistics Office Labor for Survey. That is an average of a million a year more than at any other time in our history. Our foreign debt ratio we cut in half from 73 percent before I started to 32 percent of GDP. Kaya kung meron man tayong malaking kaaway na tinalo, walang iba kung hindi yung utang, yung foreign debt. Others conjured the demon of foreign debt. We exorcised foreign debt from our country. Our average inflation rate is the lowest since 1966. Sabi nga ni Governor Salceda sa akin, Joey Salceda who is an economist, “Alam mo, Ma’am, ang nakatalo lang sa record mo sa ekonomiya yung tatay mo, si President Diosdado Macapagal.” And last June, a month ago, inflation dropped to 1.5 percent. What do all these things mean? They mean that we have a strong economy in a strong fiscal position to withstand global shocks. And we were able to achieve this at the same time that we were building new modern infrastructure and completing unfinished ones. And the economy is more fair to the poor than ever before. Aside from that, we are building a sound base for the next generation. And International experts have taken note that we are safer from natural and man-made disasters. Sa hirap at ginhawa, ang ating bansa ay pinapatatag ninyo, ang ating Overseas Filipinos, kaya nagpapasalamat ako sa inyo. Kahit hindi gaanong lumalaki ang numero, eight million nung nagsimula ako bilang Presidente, more or less eight million pa rin ngayon. Iyong padala ninyong 16 billion dollars noong isang taon ay record. At itong taon, mas mataas pa kaysa sa record na ginawa noong isang taon. At pinakamalaking bahagi ng remittances ay nanggaling dito sa ating mga kababayan sa North America. Kaya maraming salamat sa inyo. But even as we honor you for your hard work at malasakit ninyo sa inyong bansa, sa ating bansa, we are doing our best to create good paying jobs at home, so that overseas work will just be a career choice, and not the only option for a hardworking Filipino. In fact, meron akong mga kaibigan na nasa Los Angeles. A lot of Filipinos in Los Angeles are doing well over the past years in real estate, eh pero ngayon bumagsak ang real estate. Well, they went back home and got into the real estate business and they’re doing better there. So, that was what I would want --that every Filipino has an option. You can be in America and be okey, and you can be in the Philippines and be okey --that is our ambition. Salamat. Meantime, meantime, as Jackie said, you have the usual critics in the opposition and also in the ideological groups of the left and the right. While we’re doing our best to create jobs, they’re also doing their best and their worst in trying to bring me down. And if you look at all their charges, the things I’ve never done any of the things that have scared them so much. They seem to be frightened by their own shadows. The noisiest critic of constitutional reform tirelessly and shamelessly attempted Cha-Cha when they thought they could take advantage of it. Now that they feel they cannot benefit from it, they oppose it. So, what is that? For bested interest versus national interest. I never declared Martial Law, but they’re running scared as if I did. Really in truth, what they are really afraid of is their own weakness in the face of this self-imagined threat. And I never expressed the desire to extend myself beyond my term. But many of those who accuse me of it were the ones who tried to cling like nails to their own posts. My term does not end until next year. And until then, with your support, I will fight for the ordinary Filipino. There is much to do as head of state up to the very last day. And I trust that the Filipino-American community, the FILUSA, the different organizations here will continue to support and have faith in the Philippines. So, I am so happy to be able to be with you tonight kahit na naghintay kayo --I feel so guilty about that --kahit na nagutom kayo, akala ko kumain na sana kayo bago... habang hinihintay ako, but thank you so much for waiting for me. Thank you what you’re saying --you support peace and progress in the Philippines. Maraming salamat sa inyong lahat. |
