A GLOBALLY COMPETITIVE PHILIPPINES IN OUR LIFETIME* By REP.

JACK ENRILE
(1ST Dist-Cagayan)

DIOS MARHAY NA ALDAW PO SA INDO GABOS. GOOD AFTERNOON TO ALL. ARAM KO PO NAGKAIGWA NING

KALAMIDAD IGDI SA BICOL, LALO NA SA PROBINSYA KAN ALBAY. MABANGOB ANG ALBAY, MABANGON ANG BICOL. SIRING NING SATUYANG BANWA-AN KATIBAADAN

MATINDOG GIRARAY PARA HATUBANGON ANG SARO PANG PAG-ANGAT. {BABANGON ANG ALBAY, BABANGON ANG BICOL TULAD
NG ATING BAYAN, SA BAWAT PAGSUBOK AY MULING TUMATAYO PARA HARAPIN ANG ISA PANG HAMON.}

THAT HAS BEEN OUR

Speech delivered before the 20th South Luzon Area Business Conference, Camarines Convention Center, Pili, Camarines Sur. August 26, 2011.
*

NARRATIVE AS A NATION AND THAT HAS MADE US STRONG OVER TIME. ON BEHALF OF THE GREAT PROVINCE OF CAGAYAN, LOCATED AT THE NORTHERNMOST TIP OF THIS BEAUTIFUL NATION, THE LAND OF ILOCANOS AND IBANAGS, LET ME EXPRESS MY DEEPEST GRATITUDE TO REGIONAL GOVERNOR FOR REGION 4A, EDUARDO NICOLAS III AND OUR HOST, CAMSUR CHAMBER OF COMMERCE PRESIDENT JEREMIE LO, FOR THE PRIVILEGE OF ADDRESSING THIS CONVENTION. I WOULDNT BE STANDING BEFORE YOU HAD IT NOT BEEN FOR AN ENRILE WHO HAS SERVED THIS NATION FOR THE PAST 45 YEARS. I AM HERE BECAUSE OF THAT

GOODWILL AND THE YEARS OF SERVICE TOWARDS NATION BUILDING. YES, ENRILE IS THE PERSON WHO ONCE SAID:

GUSTO KO HAPPY KA! THOUGH WE ARE NOT IN THE TOP 10 WEALTHIEST COUNTRIES IN ASIA, THE PHILIPPINES IS 14TH OUT OF 143 NATIONS IN THE WORLDS HAPPIEST PLACES INDEX OF 2009.1 THE HAPPY PLANET INDEX (HPI) IS A

RANKING BASED ON LIFE EXPECTANCY (71 YEARS OLD), PEOPLES HAPPINESS WITH THEIR LIVES (55% OF FILIPINOS ARE APARENTLY THRILLED WITH THEIRS), AND

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT. INDEED, GUSTO KO HAPPY KAYO! WHEN I LEARNED I WOULD BE A SPEAKER IN THIS CONFERENCE, I ASKED MYSELF WHAT WOULD A CAGAYANO TELL THE BIGGEST AND MOST PROGRESSIVE REGION IN THE COUNTRY TODAY? WHAT WILL A CAGAYANO TELL A BICOLANO, WHO IS TRYING TO REBUILD HIS BEAUTIFUL

New Economic Foundation, 2009.

PROVINCE AFTER SEVERAL CALAMITIES?

I HOPE I CAN

TICKLE YOUR IMAGINATION INTO ONCE BELIEVING AGAIN.

CALABARZON

IS

HOME

TO

13,802,219

FILIPINOS,

OCCUPYING 16,558 KM2 OF LAND. CALABARZON IS A VITAL COG TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF OUR NATION.

HISTORICALLY, REGION IV-A HAD A VERY IMPORTANT ROLE IN THE MAKING OF OUR NATION. PHILIPPINE

INDEPENDENCE WAS HELD BY THE FIRST PHILIPPINE PRESIDENT, GEN. EMILIO AGUINALDO, IN CAVITE ON JUNE 12, 1898.

PEOPLE FROM BATANGAS, CAVITE AND LAGUNA WERE A PART OF THOSE WHO FIRST REVOLTED AGAINST THE SPANIARDS FOR FREEDOM. WHILE THE PHILIPPINES'

NATIONAL HERO, DR. JOSE P. RIZAL, HIS BROTHER, PACIANO

RIZAL AND VICENTE LIM WERE ALSO BORN IN CALAMBA CITY. APOLINARIO BATANGAS MABINI, WAS BORN IN TANAUAN CITY,

INTERESTINGLY, THE EIGHT PRIMARY RAYS OF THE SUN FOUND IN THE PHILIPPINE FLAG REPRESENT THE FIRST EIGHT PROVINCES (BATANGAS, BULACAN, CAVITE, LAGUNA, MANILA, NUEVA ECIJA, PAMPANGA, AND TARLAC) THAT SOUGHT INDEPENDENCE FROM SPAIN AND WERE PLACED UNDER MARTIAL LAW BY THE SPANIARDS AT THE START OF THE PHILIPPINE REVOLUTION OF 1896. BICOL REGION, WITH A POPULATION OF

APPROXIMATELY 5,109,798 AND A LAND AREA OF 18,114 KM2, IS VOLCANIC IN ORIGIN AND PART OF THE PACIFIC RING OF FIRE. VOLCANISM IS EVIDENT BY THE NUMBER OF

VOLCANOES, HOT SPRINGS, CRATER LAKES THAT DOT THE AREA. MAYON VOLCANO IS THE MOST PROMINENT OF THE SEVERAL VOLCANOES IN THE PROVINCE, AND FAMOUS FOR ITS ALMOST PERFECT CONICAL SHAPE. THE SOUTHERNMOST TIP OF THE PENINSULA IS DOMINATED BY BULUSAN VOLCANO, THE OTHER ACTIVE VOLCANO IN THE REGION. TIWI IN ALBAY AND BACON, SORSOGON ARE THE SITES OF TWO MAJOR GEOTHERMAL FIELDS THAT CONTRIBUTE SUBSTANTIALLY TO THE LUZON POWER GRID. THEREBY LIES THE IMPORTANCE OF BICOL TO REGION 4A, PRINCIPALLY. AGRICULTURE, FISHING, MINING AND TOURISM ARE ITS COMPETITIVE EDGE. LONG BEFORE ANY WESTERNERS REACHED THE REGION, THE ANCIENT BICOLS ALREADY HAD A CULTURE OF THEIR

OWN. THEY CALLED THEIR LAND IBALON, POSSIBLY AFTER THEIR CHIEFTAIN-DATU GAT ABAAL, WHO RULED THE INHABITED TERRITORIES FROM HIS SEAT OF POWER AT SAWANGAN ON THE MOUTH OF MAKABALO RIVER WHICH IS NOW THE PRESENT DAY LEGAZPI CITY. THE SWORD AND THE CROSS OF SPAIN REACHED IBALON IN 1570 WHEN PART OF LEGASPIS URDANETA

EXPEDITIONARY FORCE HEADED BY TWO AUGUSTINIAN FRIARS, FR. ALONZO JIMENEZ AND FR. JUAN ORCA LANDED AT THE SOUTHWESTERN COAST OF THE WESTERN PENINSULA. THEY NAMED THE SOUTHERN PART OF THE PENINSULA TIERRA DE IBALON AND THE NORTHERN PART, TIERRA DE CAMARINES. TIERRA DE IBALON IS ALSO REFERRED TO AS THE FIRST CHRISTIAN SETTLEMENT IN THE ISLAND OF

LUZON. WHAT IS THE IMPORTANCE OF BICOL TO CAGAYAN AND REGION 4A? VISAYAS BICOL IS THE GATEWAY OF LUZON TO THE MINDANAO AND IS WITHIN THE

AND

INTERNATIONAL SEAS, HENCE, IT IS THE GATEWAY TO THE PACIFIC. LOCATED IN THE HEART OF THE INDUSTRIALIZED COUNTRIES, THE PLACE WOULD SERVE AS A JUMPING BOARD FOR MARKET AND BUSINESS IN THE PACIFIC RIM, EUROPE, AND THE UNITED STATES. BICOL IS ACCESSIBLE BY LAND FROM MANILA AND THE REST OF LUZON THRU THE MAHARLIKA AND QUIRINO HIGHWAYS. FROM THE VISAYAS AND MINDANAO ISLANDS, IT CAN BE REACHED VIA THE MATNOG FERRY TERMINAL. MANILA IS ABOUT 10 HOURS AWAY FROM LEGASPI CITY. IT IS

SERVICED BY MAJOR BUS LINES TRAVERSING THE MANILABICOL ROUTE. RECENTLY, WE HAVE REHABILITATED THE

TRAINS TO BICOL AND A TRIAL RUN WAS MADE. CAGAYAN, ON THE OTHER HAND, WOULDNT BE THE LAND OF SMILING BEAUTY IF IT HAS LESS TO OFFER. THE UNTRAVELED TRAILS AND UNDISCOVERED PATHS CAGAYAN HAS TO OFFER IS WORTH THE TRAVEL TO THE NORTHERN TIP OF LUZON WHERE, STANDING BY CAPE ENGANO LIGHTHOUSE, ONE CAN SEE THE SPECTACLE OF THE SUN MEETING THE SKY AND THE SEA. AS YOU KNOW, APARRI SITS AT THE MOUTH OF THE CAGAYAN RIVER, THE LONGEST RIVER IN THE PHILIPPINES, ABOUT 55 MILES NORTH OF TUGUEGARAO, OUR PROVINCIAL CAPITAL. TO WATCH THE WAVES BREAK ON THE PIER ON A

WINDY DAY AND THE CAGAYAN RIVER EMPTY INTO THE BABUYAN CHANNEL IS A POWERFUL SIGHT. THE RIVER IS SO WIDE THERE THAT YOU CAN HARDLY SEE THE OTHER SIDE. THERE IS EVEN A POINT ALONG MAHARLIKA HIGHWAY WHERE IT MEETS THE SEA.

APARRI WAS ALSO THEN A JAPANESE TRADING POST ESTABLISHED IN 1405 AND BECAUSE OF ITS LOCATION WAS ESTABLISHED AS ONE OF THE MAJOR PORTS OF THE GALLEON TRADE ON MAY 11, 1680 BECAUSE IT IS LOCATED AT THE MOUTH OF THE MIGHTY CAGAYAN RIVER TOWARDS THE FLOURISHING CITY OF THEN NUEVA SEGOVIA. WE ALSO HAVE HISTORY AND THE RICHNESS OF CULTURE OF EARLY SETTLERS KNOWN AS IBANAGS.

CLEARLY,

HISTORY,

TOURISM

AND

COMPARATIVE

10

ADVANTAGE ARE THERE IN THE THREE REGIONS. WE JUST NEED TO SPUR INVESTMENTS AND GET THESE REGIONS MOVING TOWARDS THE GOAL OF DEVELOPMENT.

WHETHER IN REGION 4A, REGION 5 OR REGION 2, WE HAVE NARRATIVES TO TELL, FROM THE ECONOMY, TO OUR SHARED HISTORY AND OUR DISTINCT ADVANTAGES AS REGIONS AND PROVINCES.

SA

ATING

KOLABORASYON

SA

HINAHARAP

AY

MAPAPAGTIBAY NATIN ANG ISANG SAMAHAN NA PUEDENG MATAYO RIN SA IBAT IBANG LALAWIGAN. WE CAN LEARN FROM EACH OTHER AND TOGETHER, BUILD THIS NATION. I DO NOT DOUBT THAT. I BELIEVE IN THE RESILIENCY AND HARDWORK OF THE FILIPINO SPIRIT. WE BELIEVE IN THIS NATION, THAT IS WHY WE ARE HERE TRYING TO EXPLORE

11

THE POSSIBILITIES EACH REGION HAS TO OFFER.

MY FRIENDS, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, WHEREVER ONE MAY BE IN THIS COUNTRY OF OURS, THE FIRST REPUBLIC AND THE BEACON OF DEMOCRACY IN ASIA IS A LAND OF BEAUTY AND SMILES; OF THE RICHNESS OF HERITAGE AND HISTORY; OF BRIGHT SUNRISES AND SERENE SUNSETS. AS AN ARCHIPELAGO, STRADDLING BETWEEN THE EAST AND THE WEST, OUR FUTURE WILL BE A LOT BETTER IF WE ONLY PLOD ON AND MOVE FORWARD. YES WE SHOULD

LEARN FROM THE PAST AND WE SHOULD NEVER FORGET THE PAST; BUT WE SHOULD NOT BE PRISONERS OF THE SAME PAST THAT PREVENTS US FROM PURSUING OUR COLLECTIVE DESTINY, AND THAT IS, A PHILIPPINES THAT CAN PROVIDE A SAFE AND PROGRESSIVE HAVEN TO ALL 90 MILLION FILIPINOS

12

AND SO MANY MILLIONS MORE OF OVERSEAS FILIPINO WORKERS. AS SUCH, WE NEED TO GROW FASTER, AIM HIGHER TO BE GLOBALLY COMPETITIVE. SUSTAINED. THE GROWTH HAS TO BE

BUT BEFORE WE DO SO, WE HAVE TO LOOK

AFTER EVERY JUAN DELA CRUZ AND TEACH THEM HOW TO TAKE CARE OF THEIR NEEDS AND NOT JUST GIVE THEM DOLE OUTS BECAUSE YOU AND I KNOW, THAT THAT IS NOT THE WAY TO GO. IT HAS NEVER BEEN THE WAY TO GO.

FILIPINOS ARE NOT MENDICANTS, WE TOIL FOR WHAT IS DUE EVERY MAN AND WOMAN. OUR NATION IS THE 12TH MOST POPULOUS COUNTRY IN THE WORLD AND BARRING ANY STATE INTERVENTION, WE

13

WILL PROBABLY BE THE 10TH OR THE 9TH BY 2030.2 THAT MEANS ANYONE INTERESTED TO BE PRESIDENT OF THIS COUNTRY WILL HAVE TO CONTEND WITH OUR POPULATION HOWEVER YOU LOOK AT IT. WHEN WE LOOK AT

DEMOGRAPHICS WE INVARIABLY ALSO NEED TO ASSESS OUR FINANCIAL CAPACITY TO FEED SUCH HUMONGOUS GROWTH AS A PERCENTAGE OF OUR GDP. THOUGH WE DIFFER ON HOW TO HANDLE OUR POPULATION GROWTH LET US AGREE TO ALWAYS MAINTAIN A CONTINUING CONVERSATION, SUCH AS WHAT IS ALSO NEEDED DOWN SOUTH. WE CANNOT STOP; WE SHOULD NOT STOP BECAUSE WE HAVE TO FINALLY PUT AN END TO THE LONG YEARS OF RAMBLINGS IN MINDANAO THAT HAS CAUSED SO MUCH DESTRUCTION IN TERMS OF

Arangkada Philippines 2010.

14

PROPERTIES AND SO MUCH DEATH IN TERMS OF LIVES. AND YET THE JURY IS STILL OUT THERE ON THE IMPACT OF SUCH VIOLENCE TO FUTURE GENERATIONS OF MUSLIM YOUTHS. LET IT ALSO BE SAID THAT WE SHOULD INSULATE OUR ECONOMY FROM FURTHER POLITICAL RISKS SO THAT EVEN AS WE CHANGE ADMINISTRATIONS, WE BUILD ON THE GAINS OF THE PREVIOUS. WE OWE THAT MUCH TO OUR PEOPLE AND YOU, TO YOUR INVESTORS. OVER THE LAST FIVE DECADES, OUR COUNTRY HAS LAGGED TOO LONG, LOSING COMPETITIVENESS, DESPITE ITS IMMENSE POTENTIAL AND LOCATION IN THE FASTEST GROWING REGION OF THE WORLD, WHERE 60% OF

HUMANITY RESIDES.

WE NEED TO COMPETE AND BEING

COMPETITIVE WOULD MEAN MOVING THE SCALE OF OUR

15

ECONOMIC GROWTH TO MORE THAN WHAT WE ARE TARGETING PRESENTLY. A PALTRY 5% GROWTH RATE IS THAT LEVEL WOULD STILL

NOTHING TO BE PROUD OF.

PRODUCE A BOOM-BUST CYCLE CHARACTERISTIC OF OUR COUNTRYS ECONOMIC HISTORY OF THE PAST FIVE DECADES. APART FROM OUR GROWTH RATE, WE NEED TO CREATE MORE JOBS AND INCREASE THE PER CAPITA INCOME (PCI) OF EACH AND EVERY FILIPINO. SOME SAY IT CANT BE DONE. I DARE SAY, YES WE CAN. SOME SAY IT IS AN IMPOSSIBILITY, I DARE SAY LET US NEVER CEASE TO DREAM. WE CANNOT JUST WALK TOWARDS DEVELOPMENT; WE NEED TO MAKE A DASH FOR IT. LET ME TELL YOU WHY. IN 1960, OUR PER CAPITA INCOME WAS SECOND TO JAPAN. BY 2009, INDONESIANS PCI PASSED THE PHILIPPINES

16

AND IT HAS BEEN SAID THAT BY 2014 VIETNAM WILL SURPASS US THEREBY GIVING THE PHILIPPINES THE LOWEST PCI OF THE ASEAN-6.3 OUR ECONOMY IS NOT CREATING ENOUGH HIGH

QUALITY JOBS FOR THE GROWING POPULATION AND TO ENSURE SIGNIFICANT ECONOMIC GROWTH. FORCE OF 39 MILLION, 36 MILLION ARE OF A LABOR EMPLOYED.

UNEMPLOYMENT STANDS AT 6.9% AND UNDEREMPLOYMENT AT 17.9%. OVER NINE MILLION FILIPINOS WOULD LIKE TO WORK MORE OR WOULD LIKE TO HAVE SOME FULL OR PART TIME WORK. OVER OF THE LAST DECADE, AN ENTER

ANNUAL

AVERAGE

846,000

PERSONS

OUR WORKFORCE. AS THE ECONOMY DOES NOT CREATE

Ibid.

17

ENOUGH

JOBS,

SOME

GO

ABROAD

AND

SOME

ARE

UNEMPLOYED.4 AND WE ARE LOOKING AT THOSE ENTERING THE WORK FORCE AFTER A FOUR-YEAR COLLEGE DEGREE. HOW ABOUT OUT-OF-SCHOOL YOUTH OR OSY? THEY TOO

HAVE NEEDS; THEY TOO HAVE DREAMS; THEY TOO ARE PART OF OUR COMMUNITIES. THIS REPRESENTATION HAS PROPOSED FOR EACH PROVINCE TO DO A BASELINE SURVEY ON THE ACADEMIC INSTITUTIONS GRADUATES IT THEY HAS, THE NATURE THE AND KIND OF AND

PRODUCE,

BUSINESSES

INDUSTRIES BEING PROMOTED, AND THE COMPETITIVE EDGE IT HAS SO THERE IS A TOTAL FIT IN WHAT WE DO. WE SHOULD PRODUCE GRADUATES NEEDED BY THE LOCAL,

Ibid.

18

PROVINCIAL ECONOMY AND NOT BY NATIONAL CAPITAL REGION. WE SHOULD LOCALIZE DEVELOPMENT AND IN THE CHAIN OF PROGRESS, BUILD STRONGER FOUNDATIONS. WE LEARNED THAT FROM THE UNLEASHING OF ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL POWERS GRANTED BY THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT CODE TO VISIONARY LOCAL LEADERS, CORRIDORS OF DEVELOPMENT SPRANG FORTH. OTHERS MAY NOT BE ABLE TO RIDE THE WAVE, BUT IT IS TIME WE HELP THEM SO THERE IS NO PROVINCE LEFT BEHIND. WE ARE AN ARCHIPELAGO. THE SUN AND BEACHES ARE NATURAL TO US. IMAGINE, IF YOU WILL, BORDERS AND BAYS BUILT IN PROVINCES THAT ARE NOT LAND LOCKED AND CAN BE MINI HONGKONGS AND SINGAPORES. IMAGINE PROVINCES OR REGIONS PUSHING THEIR STAKES AND OVERTAKING THE

19

NATIONAL CAPITAL REGION. BATTLECRY!

THAT SHOULD BE OUR

FOR NCR IS NOT THE PHILIPPINES AND THE

PHILIPPINES IS NOT NCR. YES, THE REMITTANCES HAVE INCREASED BY 187% IN 9 YEARS TO APPROACH US$20 BILLION AND WILL SOON BE THE COUNTRYS LARGEST SOURCE OF FOREIGN CAPITAL.5 BUT WHAT HAPPENS IF THEIR HOST NATIONS EXPERIENCE POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC UPHEAVALS, OR EVEN JUST NATURAL DISASTERS? OR VERY RECENTLY, A U.S. RATINGS DOWNGRADE? OUR COUNTRY MUST BE READY TO ABSORB THEM BACK AND ADJUST ITS ECONOMIC POLICIES IF NECESSARY. I AM SORRY TO SAY THAT WE ARE NOT AT ALL READY. I THEREFORE CHALLENGE YOU, CAPTAINS OF

5Ibid.

20

INDUSTRY TO HELP GOVERNMENT IN THIS REGARD.

THE

STRUCTURAL TRANSFORMATION HAS TO COME FROM YOU BECAUSE THE STATE CAN ONLY LEVEL THE PLAYING FIELD. YOU HAVE TO RUN WITH THE BULL OR BE GORGED. EXPERTS HAVE SAID THAT FOR THE PHILIPPINES TO BE COMPETITIVE, WE MUST HAVE AN ANNUAL GROWTH RATE OF 11.6% TO REACH A PER CAPITA INCOME OF US$12,000 BY 2030 ASSUMING THAT THE PRESENT POPULATION GROWTH RATE OF 2% DECLINES TO 1.5%.6 AS A FORMER CEO OF THE JAKA GROUP OF COMPANIES, I VIEW SUCH A

RECOMMENDATION AS A TALL ORDER.

BUT A CEO

WOULDNT WANT ALL GOOD NEWS FROM HIS STAFF. WE NEED REAL FIELD RESULTS AND DATA TO SAY THAT WE

Ibid.

21

HAVE COMMENCED OUR DASH TO PROGRESS, THAT THE STATE OF OUR NATION IS STRONG. ASPIRING TOWARDS THAT STATE OF STABLE YET RAPID GROWTH, WOULD MEAN TWO GENERATIONS OF

CONSISTENT, PREDICTABLE AND SUSTAINABLE POLICIES OVER THREE ADMINISTRATIONS, THE PRESENT UNTIL 2016, 2022 AND 2028. MAHIRAP PO KAYA YAN? MAHIRAP BA PARA SA ATING LIDERATO ANG IPAGPATULOY ANG MGA PROGRAMA NA NAKADULOT NG KAUNLARAN NUON? DAPAT PO SIGURO MATUTO NA ANG MGA NAHALAL NA IPAGPATULOY ANG NARARAPAT AT HINDI IPASANTABI MULI ANG MGA

PROGRAMANG NAKILALA SA NAKARAANG ADMINISTRASYON. WE SHOULD HAVE MATURE POLITICS SO THAT WE MATURE AS A NATION. WE HAVE SEEN THAT ECONOMICS CAN

22

WITHSTAND

OUR

POLITICAL

DIFFERENCES.

LET

US

THEREFORE HARNESS OUR ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL ENERGIES TO TAKE CARE OF THE PEOPLE BY THE

PERIPHERIES, THOSE WHO HAVE FALLEN THROUGH THE CRACKS. THEY DESERVE GOVERNMENT SUPPORT. AND TO THOSE WHO ARE ABLE, LET US CARRY THE LOAD AS CITIZENSHIP AND FOLLOWERSHIP NECESSITATE. ARANGKADA PHILIPPINES 2010, OF WHICH SOME OF YOU WERE CONSULTED, IS A CLEAR BLUEPRINT TOWARDS THAT DIRECTION. THE SAID PLAN IDENTIFIED SEVEN SECTORS

WHERE WE HAVE COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGES AND HIGH GROWTH AND EMPLOYMENT POTENTIAL, THESE ARE: AGRIBUSINESS, PROCESS 2) INFORMATION 3) 1)

TECHNOLOGY-BUSINESS INDUSTRIES, 4)

OUTSOURCING,

CREATIVE

23

INFRASTRUCTURE, 5) MANUFACTURING AND LOGISTICS, 6) MINING AND 7) TOURISM, MEDICAL TRAVEL AND

RETIREMENT. AGRIBUSINESS, IN PARTICULAR AGRICULTURE IS

CLOSEST TO MY HEART. LAST 7 DECEMBER 2010 I DELIVERED A PRIVILEGED SPEECH ON FOOD SOVERIEGNTY AT THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. WALA PONG DAPAT

MAGUTOM SA SARILING BAYAN. BUT IF WE JUST STOP AND LOOK AROUND, WE SEE FILIPINOS LIVING IN KARITONS, UNDER BRIDGES, BETWEEN WALLS OF ESTEROS. WE SEE

TEENS SNIFFING RUGBY ALONG EDSA AT 10 IN THE MORNING. WE SEE KIDS CARRYING A PAIL OF WATER DURING RAINY DAYS, WANTING TO CLEAN THE WINDSHIELD OF YOUR VEHICLE. I AM NOT AN ARDENT BELIEVER OF

24

CONDITIONAL CASH TRANSFER BECAUSE IT IS OUTRIGHT MENDICANCY. BUT SURELY, TEACHING THEM HOW TO FISH FOOD FOR WORK DATES BACK TO BIBLICAL TIMES. PROVIDING FOOD FIRST TO FILIPINOS, ESPECIALLY THOSE WHO HAVE LESS IN LIFE IS THE NUMBER ONE ORDER OF THE DAY OF ANY GOVERNMENT OR ANY PRESIDENT. AGRICULTURE IS EXTREMELY VULNERABLE TO CLIMATE CHANGE. HIGHER TEMPERATURES EVENTUALLY REDUCE YIELDS OF DESIRABLE CROPS WHILE ENCOURAGING WEED AND PEST PROLIFERATION. CHANGES IN PRECIPITATION PATTERNS INCREASE THE LIKELIHOOD OF SHORT-RUN CROP FAILURES AND LONG-RUN PRODUCTION DECLINES.

ALTHOUGH THERE WILL BE GAINS IN SOME CROPS IN SOME REGIONS OF THE WORLD, THE OVERALL IMPACT OF CLIMATE

25

CHANGE ON AGRICULTURE IS EXPECTED TO BE NEGATIVE, THREATENING GLOBAL FOOD SECURITY.7 POPULATIONS IN THE DEVELOPING WORLD, WHICH ARE ALREADY VULNERABLE AND FOOD INSECURE, ARE LIKELY TO BE THE MOST SERIOUSLY AFFECTED. IN 2005, NEARLY HALF OF THE ECONOMICALLY ACTIVE POPULATION IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES2.5 BILLION PEOPLERELIED ON AGRICULTURE FOR ITS LIVELIHOOD. TODAY, 75 PERCENT OF THE WORLDS POOR LIVE IN RURAL AREAS.8 THE INTERNATIONAL FOOD POLICY AND RESEARCH INSTITUTE (IFPRI) HAS STUDIED AND CONCLUSIVELY

DETERMINED THAT AGRICULTURE AND HUMAN WELLBEING WILL BE NEGATIVELY AFFECTED BY CLIMATE
International Food Policy Research Institute. Climate Change: Impact on Agriculture and Costs of Adaptation. Food Policy Report. 2009. 8 Ibid.
7

26

CHANGE.9

LET ME CITE TO YOU THEIR FINDINGS: 1) IN

DEVELOPING COUNTRIES, CLIMATE CHANGE WILL CAUSE YIELD DECLINES FOR THE MOST IMPORTANT CROPS. SOUTH ASIA WILL BE HARD HIT; 2) CLIMATE CHANGE WILL HAVE VARYING EFFECTS ON IRRIGATED YIELDS ACROSS REGIONS, BUT IRRIGATED YIELDS FOR ALL CROPS IN SOUTH ASIA WILL EXPERIENCE LARGE DECLINES; 3) CLIMATE CHANGE WILL RESULT IN ADDITIONAL PRICE INCREASES FOR THE MOST IMPORTANT AGRICULTURAL CROPSRICE, WHEAT, MAIZE, AND SOYBEANS. HIGHER FEED PRICES WILL RESULT IN

HIGHER MEAT PRICES. AS A RESULT, CLIMATE CHANGE WILL REDUCE THE GROWTH IN MEAT CONSUMPTION SLIGHTLY AND CAUSE A MORE SUBSTANTIAL FALL IN CEREALS

Ibid.

27

CONSUMPTION; 4) CALORIE AVAILABILITY IN 2050 WILL NOT ONLY BE LOWER, IT WILL ACTUALLY DECLINE RELATIVE TO 2000 LEVELS THROUGHOUT THE DEVELOPING WORLD; 5) BY 2050, THE DECLINE IN CALORIE AVAILABILITY WILL INCREASE CHILD MALNUTRITION BY 20 PERCENT THUS NEGATING MUCH OF THE IMPROVEMENTS IN CHILD NOURISHMENT LEVELS.10 CLIMATE CHANGE WOULD THEREFORE REQUIRE

AGGRESSIVE AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTIVITY INVESTMENTS. BETWEEN SEVEN TO TEN BILLION DOLLARS ARE NEEDED TO RAISE CALORIE CONSUMPTION ENOUGH TO OFFSET THE NEGATIVE IMPACT OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON THE HEALTH AND WELL-BEING OF CHILDREN. SO WHY NOT A PPP ON

10

Ibid.

28

AGRICULTURE TO AUGMENT THE COSTS OF ADAPTATION? THIS IS BASIC. THIS IS FOOD FOR FILIPINOS AND HEALTH FOR FILIPINOS. TEN YEARS AFTER EPIRA, WE STILL HAVE THE HIGHEST RATE IN ASIA AT Php8.14 PER KWH. WE NEED TO TOTALLY LIBERALIZE THE ENERGY SECTOR IN THE SAME MANNER WE DID SO WITH THE TELCOS DURING THE 1990s. WE NEED TO ACCEPT THE REALITY THAT WITH A FLAT TAX, WE CAN COLLECT MORE AND THAT THE TAX IS NOT USED AS A TOOL TO PENALIZE GROWTH AND ADVANCEMENT OF INDUSTRIES. IF WE IMPOSE THE SAME TAX RATES ON ALL INCOME EARNERS, IT WOULD REDUCE TAX OBLIGATION OF SOME SECTORS MAKING IT EASIER TO PAY TAXES AND SHORE

29

UP

REVENUE

COLLECTION.

SIMPLE

POLICIES

AND

STRAIGTFORWARD SOLUTIONS.
WE NEED TO COMPETE WITH THE BEST AND LEARN

FROM THE BEST. IT MIGHT BE INCREMENTAL BUT AT THE END THERE IS PREDICTABILITY, CONSISTENCY AND

SUSTAINABILITY. WE LIKEWISE NEED TO REVIEW OUR MACRECONOMIC STRATEGIES. AS POINTED OUT BY A NOTED ECONOMIST11 RECENTLY MOST RECOMMENDATIONS BEING CONSIDERED DWELLED TOO MUCH ON INCREASING TAX COLLECTIONS, INCREASING STATE SPENDING, STABILIZING THE NATIONAL BUDGET AND REDUCING CORRUPTION, YET "NO COUNTRY

11

George Mason University economics professor John Nye in a lecture sponsored by the Asia United Bank, 1 August 2011.

30

HAS

GONE

FROM

POOR

TO

RICH

WITH

THESE

MACROECONOMIC CHANGES. ON THIS NIGHT GRATEFUL OF THE YEARS OF PUBLIC SERVICE THAT ALLOWS ME TO SHINE UNDER SUCH FLOODS OF LIGHT, I ASK YOU TO STILL BE PROUD OF BEING FILIPINOS. GOVERNMENT CANNOT SOLVE ALL PROBLEMS, SO LET US BEGIN OUR COLLECTIVE TASK. COMMUNITY, FAITH AND SERVICE SHOULD DEFINE US, ME IN POLITICS, AND YOU, CAPTAINS OF INDUSTRY. FAITH SHOULD NOT DIVIDE US IN PURSUING WHAT WE MUST AT THIS TIME: A DECENT SHOT AT LIFE FOR EVERY FILIPINO. IT CANNOT BE THAT ANYTHING GOES. I HAVE FAITH ON SIMPLE DREAMS AND AN ARDENT BELIEF ON SMALL MIRACLES OF SOMEDAY BEING A NATION

31

THAT CAN PROVIDE WHAT EVERY JUAN DELA CRUZ NEEDS: A JOB, DECENT HOUSING, THREE NUTRITIOUS MEALS A DAY, RELEVANT EDUCATION UP TO COLLEGE, AND HEALTHCARE THAT COVERS SENIOR CITIZENS WHO HAVE MOULDED THIS NATION IN THEIR YOUNGER YEARS. SIMPLE DREAMS, SIMPLE WANTS. IF WE DO WHAT WE MUST DOWE CAN RECLAIM A NATION RIZAL, BONIFACIO, MABINI AND OUR HEROES FOUGHT FOR WITH THEIR BLOOD. IN THIS 150 YEARS OF RIZALS BIRTH LET ME END BY QUOTING A LINE IN NOLI ME TANGERE: I DIE WITHOUT SEEING THE DAWN BRIGHTEN OVER MY NATIVE LAND.YOU WHO HAVE IT TO SEE, WELCOME IT--AND FORGET NOT THOSE WHO HAVE FALLEN DURING THE NIGHT! LET IT NOT BE SAID WE FAILED OUR FOREBEARS.

32

MAGANDANG GABI AT MABUHAY ANG PILIPINAS!

33