President of the Republic of the Philippines

Her Excellency

PRESIDENT GLORIA MACAPAGAL-ARROYO

JULY 23, 2007

Thank you. Thank you very much Speaker De Venecia, Senate President Villar, other newly elected leaders of both Houses, congratulations to you, Senators and Congressmen and Congresswomen. Vice President De Castro, former President Ramos, Chief Justice Puno, our host Mayor, Mayor Sonny Belmonte, other government officials, members of the Diplomatic Corps, ladies and gentlemen.

We meet here today to inaugurate a new Congress after a fresh election. I congratulate every elected official, from municipal to provincial to Congress on hard fought and successful campaigns.

Tapos na ang halalan at pamumulitika; panahon na para maglingkod nang walang damot, mamuno nang walang pangamba maliban sa kagalingan ng bayan, and to govern with wisdom, compassion, vision and patriotism.

Hangarin kong mapabilang ang Pilipinas sa mayayamang bansa sa loob ng dalawampung taon. By then poverty shall have been marginalized; and the marginalized raised to a robust middle class.

We will have achieved the hallmarks of a modern society, where institutions are strong.

By 2010, the Philippines should be well on its way to achieving that vision.

With the tax reforms of the last Congress, and I thanked the last Congress, we have turned around our macroeconomic condition through fiscal discipline, toward a balanced budget. Binabayaran ang utang, pababa ang interes, at paakyat ang pondo para sa progreso ng sambayanang Pilipino!!! Maraming salamat ulit sa nakaraang Congress.

We have been investing hundreds of billions in human and physical infrastructure. The next three years will see record levels of well thought out and generous funding for the following priorities:

First, investments in physical, intellectual, legal and security infrastructure to increase business confidence. Imprastraktura para sa negosyo at trabaho. Isang milyong trabaho taon-taon.

Second, investments in a stronger and wider social safety net - murang gamot, abot-kayang pabahay, eskwelang primera klase, mga gurong mas magaling at mas malaki ang kita, mga librong de-kalidad, more scholarships for gifted students, and language instruction to maintain our lead in English proficiency. Dunong at kalusugan ang susi sa kasaganaan.

Third, investments in bringing peace to Mindanao; in crushing terrorism wherever it threatens regardless of ideology; and in putting a stop to human rights abuses whatever the excuse.

We pay tribute to the fearless fourteen who were savagely massacred at Tipo-Tipo trying to pursue a peaceful and progressive Philippines. We will not disappoint their hopes. We will not waste their sacrifice. We will not be swayed from the course we have set in this conflict for peace with justice throughout our land.

We have created a Philippine model for reconciliation built on inter-faith dialogue, expanded public works and more responsive social services. These investments show both sides in the Mindanao conflict that they have more at stake in common; and a greater reason to be together than hang apart, including being together isolating the terrorists.

Imprastraktura ang haliging nagtitindig hindi lamang ng kapayapaan kundi ng ating buong makabagong ekonomiya: mga kalsada, tulay, paliparan, public parks and power plants.

Last year I unveiled the Super Regions - Mindanao, Central Philippines, North Luzon Agribusiness Quadrangle, Luzon Urban Beltway and the Cyber Corridor - to spread development away from an inequitable concentration in Metro Manila. Hindi lamang Maynila ang Pilipinas.

The Super Regions was not a gimmick for the occasion but the blueprint for building a future.

In Mindanao, our food basket, I said we would prioritize agribusiness investments. And I am happy to see that the latest survey in June shows the hunger rate has sharply gone down nationwide. We have done that.

The Departments of Agriculture, Agrarian Reform, and Environment and Natural Resources will devote 30 percent of their program budgets to Mindanao. DAR will move to Davao.

Dapat maging daan sa tagumpay sa agribusiness ang reporma sa lupa. Done right, reform will democratize success, as Ramon Magsaysay and Diosdado Macapagal envisioned. We must reform agrarian reform so it can transform beneficiaries into agribusinessmen and other agribusiness women.

Sa gayon, dadami pa ang mga tampok na magsasaka gaya ng mga nagwagi ng Gawad Saka, sina Ananias Cuado ng Comval at Demetrio Tabelon ng Butuan; at Nelson Taladhay ng Sultan Kudarat, pangunahing agrarian reform beneficiary ng 2007. We also have outstanding farmers from the other superregions, like Joseph Fernando and Heherson Pagulayan, Nestor Bautista, Joseph Lomibao, Arturo Marcaida, Peter Uy, Arturo Pasacas and Glenn Saludar.

Sa anim na taon nagtayo tayo at nag-ayos ng patubig para sa isang milyong ektarya sa buong bansa - pinakamalaki sa matagal na panahon.

Magtatayo tayo ng mariculture o palaisdaan sa dagat. Isa rito ay ilalagay natin sa Sibutu. Hiling ito ni Nur Jaafar.

Para sa buong bansa naglaan tayo ng P3 billion para sa tatlong libong kilometro ng farm to market roads. Sanlibong kilometro sa Mindanao. Gawa na ang tatlong daan.

The road and RORO network has cut the cost of bringing agribusiness products from Mindanao to Luzon. A 10-wheeler used to pay P32 thousand from Dapitan to Batangas. Now it pays P11 thousand. Fresh fish that cost P20 thousand a ton to move, now travels at P14 thousand.

Construction is criss-crossing Mindanao: Dapitan-Dakak to bring Cely Carreon’s paradise closer to civilization; Sibuco-Siraway-Siocon-Baliguian; Dinagat Island Network, a baptismal gift for Glenda Ecleo’s new province; the 66-kilometer Manay-Mati section of Davao-Surigao; and Maguindanao-Lebak, Sim Datumanong’s brainchild when he headed DPWH.

We want better airports, new bridges and ample energy for Mindanao’s rising economy.

The Dipolog and Pagadian airports will be improved by year’s end. Also the Cotabato airport. No doubt eagerly awaited by Au Cerilles, Rolando Yebes, Digs Dilangalen, Ros Labadlabad and Victor Yu, and Mayors Evelyn Uy and Sammy Co.

Last July 10 we inaugurated the P1.7 billion, 900 meter bridge in Butuan, built on the initiative of Mayor Boy Daku Plaza, near the P4 billion second-generation flood control project that we also built. The first was built by my father after the great Butuan flood of the 1960’s. Kailangan ipagtanggol ang kapaligiran at mamamayan sa sakuna.

In Agusan del Norte, I hope Edel Amante will be happy with our plans to pilot micro agribusiness in Jabonga.

On July 8, Ozamis Airport opened, bankrolled partly by Leo Ocampos, Aldo Parojinog and Hermie Ramiro’s congressional fund. Now, that’s the kind of pork that has good cholesterol.

At that occasion the MOU was signed for the Pangil Bay Bridge that will connect Ozamis to Lanao del Norte and Iligan. As urged by Bobby Dimaporo, I declared Mt. Inayawan Range a protected nature park. On Mayor Lawrence Cruz’s recommendation, I instruct DPWH to build the Iligan Circumferential Road.

In 2001, we opened a solar plant in Cagayan de Oro. Still, Mindanao faced a 100-megawatt gap by 2009 out now a 210-megawatt clean coal plant in Phividec will fill that gap. We count on Oca Moreno and Tinex Jaraula to continue providing a good investment climate.

We thank Miriam Defensor-Santiago and Migz Zubiri for sponsoring the Biofuels Law in the last Congress. We now have 160 thousand hectares of jatropha nurseries in Bukidnon and 30,000 in General Santos. Jatropha is a 100% substitute for diesel, with only 5% of its emission.

Mindanao’s energy challenge lies not in generating power but in power lines. Terrorists target transmission towers. We must resolutely apply the Human Security Act. This act was first filed by Johnny Enrile in 1996, 3 years after the first World Trade Center bombing, 4 years before the Rizal Day bombing and 5 years before 9/11. He ably crafted the final Senate version with Senate President Manny Villar and Nene Pimentel.

Let’s now go to Central Philippines, our tourism super region:

• We protect its natural wonders and provide the means to travel to those wonders.
• For Boracay, the leading overall destination, the Kalibo Airport is now international with an instrument landing system as we said last year. Next is an P80 million terminal on request of Joben Miraflores.
• The Aklan-Libertad-Pandan Road, waiting for Japan to approve the contractors, will connect Boracay to the nature park we declared in Northwest Panay Peninsula. We are improving other Panay roads and building the road from the Iloilo Airport which we inaugurated in Santa Barbara to Iloilo and the Metro Radial Road that Mayor Jerry Trenas asked for when we inaugurated the airport, Art Defensor conceived the airport when he was governor, Governor Neil Tupaz midwifed its delivery when we inaugurated the airport, I said .
• Iloilo connects to Guimaras via Jordan Wharf. We thank Congress for the P900 million oil spill calamity fund to save the environment of Guimaras. I thank once again the previous Congress. It is back on its feet. The other side of the island will connect to Bacolod soon because we started building the Sibunag RORO Port last May on recommendation of Governor, now Congressman, Rahman Nava.
• Bacolod-Silay Airport, near the nature park we declared in Northern Negros, is completed and just awaiting the access road requested by Monico Puentavella.
• We awarded the contract for upgrading the Dumaguete airport as I reported to George Arnaiz last week.
• Boracay investors are expanding in Palawan, whose Tubbataha Reefs we declared a nature park. After the Puerto Princesa-Roxas Road last year, we opened Taytay-El Nido in March. The P1 billion Taytay-Roxas section is ongoing. San Vicente airstrip and Busuanga Airport are under construction. And Mayor Hagedorn is reminding us to work on the Puerto Princesa terminal.
• Under construction are airport aprons of the surfing edens: Governor Ben Evardone’s pet project in Guiuan and Lalo Matugas’s home town in Siargao.
• A 100-megawatt energy gap looms in the Visayas in 2009. The Korea Electric plant in Cebu will plug in 200 megawatts only in 2010 so there’s a one year gap. Meantime three power barges will supply 100 megawatts and the Panay diesel power plant will increase its run from 70 megawatts to 100.
• In Central Cebu, we proclaimed a nature park. From Cebu, the top destination for foreign tourists, they can easily radiate to other destinations. Optimism is infectious, and opportunity irresistible. Progress follows progress. Someone, even government, just has to get it started.
• Going south, Cebu connects to Tubigon and on to Ubay, Jagna and Panglao through the Bohol Circumferential Road that we inaugurated last May 9. The local government has acquired 85 percent of the land for the international airport on Panglao Island, now a tourism destination of its own.
• Ubay links to Maasin RORO Port which was completed last October. Now I hope there will be more divers for Mian Mercado.
• Jagna RORO Port opened last May 9. It will connect to Loloy Romualdo’s Mambajao in November, and on to Guinsiliban, the gateway to Mindanao.
• Going north from Cebu City, we take the North Coastal Road to Daanbantayan which was recommended to us by Gwen Garcia. Heavy traffic will ease when the P1.2 billion Mandaue-Consolacion Bridge opens. This will be good not only for Malapascua tourism but also for Nitoy Durano’s industrial city of Danao.
• Daanbantayan, Benhur Salimbangon’s home port, connects to Naval, Maripipi, or Esperanza, which started construction last May. We aim to finish all three RORO Ports next year.
• Esperanza will link by road to Aroroy in 2009. I’ll be there with Lina Seachon and Tony Kho for the inauguration. Please invite me.
• Last May, I switched on the lights of Masbate in a Palace ceremony. But the long-term solution will come next year when a new power plant will serve half a million customers on the beautiful but isolated island of Masbate.

From Aroroy we can go to Claveria, whose RORO ramp is under construction. On to Pasacao where RORO operations started in 2002. That’s Bong Bravo of Claveria. This brings us to Bicol, including Mt Isarog Park.

• Mt. Isarog feeds the Bicol River. For the next three years we are funding the Bicol River Basin and Watershed with the World Bank at $15 million for irrigation, flood control and water conservation. For Bicol, we have given P7 billion for the Bicol Calamity and Rehabilitation Effort, that is the biggest one-time calamity fund release in our history. At last, Bicol is getting its rightful share.
• And, so is the North Luzon Agribusiness Quadrangle:
• We are building 1,000 kilometers of farm-to-market roads; 200 are done. Ngayong tapos na ang election ban, pinapaspasan ang trabaho para sa nalalabing target.
• Halsema Highway from Mount Data to Bontoc and the Tabuk-Tinglayan Road are being built. If you look the chart, there is something incomplete in between.
• So that the Cordillera LGUs can build more of their much-needed roads, I ask Congress to require companies to pay directly to the LGUs their share of the natural wealth. I hope, Governor Dalog hears that.
• Nagtatayo tayo ng mga paliparan para sa mga produkto ng agribusiness.
• Noong 2005 nagka-airport sa Baler. Sunod ang airport sa Casiguran. At kalsada sa pagitan.
• There were no takers in the bidding for to upgrade the Batanes runways so ATO will get it done before the end of the year with the support of DPWH and Governor Telesforo Castillejos.
• Joe de Venecia and Mayor Nani Braganza are asking for an airport in Alaminos. Will do.
• The Cagayan Economic Zone Authority and the private sector expanded the San Vicente naval airstrip, so we don’t have need to build Lallo.
• Sa Lallo naman mayroon tayong inaprobahan na agribusiness ecozone. Ang mga agribusiness ecozone ay payo ni Pangulong Ramos. Chief Justice Puno, I am happy to see you here. It is the first time that a Chief Justice attended.
• The Tarlac-La Union Toll Road will be advertised for private sector BOT bidding this August.
• Poro Point’s international terminal started construction early this year. The Bagabag airport is being lengthened. We are spreading the cheer across the political spectrum from Vic Ortega to Caloy Padilla. Inuuna ang bansa, at itinatabi ang politika.
• Some towns in Nueva Vizcaya, Quirino, and Isabela are included in the geo-hazard mapping we have done for 700 cities and towns all over the country to protect the environment.
• The Bangui Bay Wind Power Project which was put up when Bongbong Marcos was governor, is now expanding. Sa paggamit ng hangin, nababawasan ang kailangang langis sa enerhiya.
• And now the Luzon Urban Beltway, our top magnet for industry and investment:
• This quarter we start the P5 billion Mt. Pinatubo Hazard Urgent Mitigation Project that will protect San Fernando City, Sasmuan, Guagua and my home town Lubao from flooding.
• The Subic-Clark-Tarlac Express Road is in its final stages. This first-world road will cut travel time between Clark and Subic from two hours to 30 minutes. Gagawa tayo ng interchange sa Porac, bayan ni Lito Lapid.
• Last Thursday with Dick Gordon we inaugurated the container port that will make Subic together with Clark one of the best international service and logistics centers in the region.

Clark airport got its approach control radar in April. It now has 50 international flights and 50 cargo flights a week, the second busiest after NAIA. We want more airline service centers there. Now, speaking of NAIA, I’m sure everyone wants to know about NAIA Terminal 3. The ceiling that fell wasn’t the only thing in danger of falling. There are more serious dangers from construction and structural defects. We cannot risk the grim consequences of a major earthquake. But NAIA is accelerating the remediation, completion and opening of the terminal. Public safety comes first.

• Since public safety comes first, I ask Congress to create the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines.
• Last year, I said we would connect North and South Expressways through C-5. Ginagawa na ang C-5 bandang Katipunan. Kausap na ang UP para sa bagong daan patungong Commonwealth, na kasulukuyang pinapalapad at North Avenue. Sa kabilang dulo ng Mindanao Avenue, binibili na ang lupa para sa bagong daan mula Barangay Talipapa hanggang Malinta at tuloy sa NLEX. Sana bumawas ang trapik pa-North Manila.
• We just broke ground to continue the Skyway up to Alabang. In a year the fast train from Caloocan to Alabang will be serving thousands daily. From Alabang to Santo Tomas the South Luzon Expressway is currently being widened. And by March, Ricky Reyes SLEX will reach Batangas Port.
• The Coastal Road to Bong Revilla’s province is finally under construction.
• Our investment in vital infrastructure is already bearing fruit, such as the $1-billion Hanjin shipbuilding facility, said to be the largest in the world, and the $1-billion Texas Instruments microchip plant in Clark. Maging ex-OFW at ex-tambay kapwang nakahanap ng trabaho sa mga malalaking puhunan na ito.
• As we build industry, we must ensure people have clean air to breathe. We have closed 88 firms for polluting the environment. Gaya ng sabi ko, una ang kaligatasan ng publiko.
• We proclaimed a critical habitat within the coastal lagoon of Las Pinas and Paranaque.
• Maynilad’s new owners have invested P7 billion to bring clean and, at last, running water to Paranaque, Parola and elsewhere. Manila Water did a similar P2 billion project for Antipolo.
• Gumagawa tayo ng septage tank sa Antipolo sa halagang P600 million na maglilinis ng sewage bago ito dumaloy sa mga estero, gaya ng tinayo ng Manila Water sa Taguig at sa San Mateo.
• Matapos ang maraming taong usapan, ang ating administrasyon ang nakapagsimula ng Flood Control Project sa Kalookan, Malabon, Navotas at Valenzuela (CAMANAVA).
• On energy, Luzon needs 150 megawatts more by 2010. This is covered by the 350-megawatt, $350 million expansion of the Pagbilao plant by Marubeni and Tokyo Electric, part of their $4 billion that constitutes the biggest Japanese investment in Philippine history.
• We count on the Governor Raffy Nantes and the people of Quezon to somehow to reduce the cost of electricity. I ask Congress to amend the Electric Power Industry Reform Act for open access and more competition.

The Cyber Corridor encompasses centers of technology and learning running the length of all the super regions, from Baguio to Clark to Metro Manila to Cebu to Davao and neighboring areas.

The Philippines ranks among top off-shoring hubs in the world because of cost competitiveness and more importantly our highly trainable, English proficient, IT-enabled management and manpower.

IT ability won for Warren Ambat of Baguio City High the most innovative teacher and leadership award in Cambodia last February, topping contestants from 70 countries, congratulations to our contestants, women.

Information technology will help the BIR bring in more taxes in the coming months. Its Revenue Watch Dashboard will monitor revenue collections in real time from the national level down to the examiners. The LGU Revenue Assurance shares information between the BIR and the LGUs to uncover fraud and non-payment, before heads would roll per Danny Suarez’s Attrition Law.

While our strength in contact centers is well-established, we are now focused on growing the higher value-added services, including accounting, legal, human resources and administrative services.

And, so that no Taiwan tremor can cut off our cyber services from their global clients, PLDT and Globe are investing P47 billion in new international broadband links through other regional hubs for redundancy in our cyber space.

The business services sector has become the fastest growing in the economy providing 400,000 jobs compared to 8,000 in 2000. By 2010 the forecast is one million jobs earning $12 billion, the same amount remitted by our overseas Filipinos today.

On Safety Net and Education

Last year I said that in today’s global economy, knowledge is the greatest creator of wealth. Mahusay na edukasyon ang pinakamabuting pamana natin sa ating mga anak. Yun din ang tanging pamana na ayon sa batas kailangang ibigay sa bawat mamamayan.

This year, we are investing more for education: P150 billion, P29 billion more than last year.

And, last year government and private sector built 15,000 classrooms instead of the usual 6,000.

Noon, isang libro bawat limang mag-aaral. Ngayon, tig-isang aklat na bawat grade schooler.

One third of our public high schools now have Internet access, with private sector support.

We have a scarcity of public high schools but a surplus of private high schools. So instead of building more high schools, we give more high school scholarships - 600,000 scholars this year.

For College, we launched a P4 billion fund for college loans, to increase beneficiaries from 40,000 to 200,000.

And for teachers, we have created more than 50,000 teaching positions. But we have to improve their training.

Benefits, too. Salamat, dating Senador Tessie Oreta at dating Congressman Dodong Gullas, na di na kailangan ng mga guro maghabol sa Maynila ng sweldo at pension. Pinoproseso na sa rehiyon sa regionalization ng payroll.

Teachers and all other national government employees get a raise effective end of this month.

Sa TESDA, bukod sa mga sariling kurso nagbibigay ito ng mga scholarship sa vocational schools: P600 million noong isang taon, P1 billion ngayon. May P1 bilyon pa ang DOLE.

We are investing P3 billion in science and engineering research and development technology, including scholarships for masters and doctoral degrees programs in engineering in seven universities. Upgrade know-how and learning, and Filipino talent is unbeatable.

Proof is biochemist Baldomero Olivera of the University of Utah who was named Scientist of the Year by the Harvard Foundation.

In the International Math and Science Olympiad 2006 in Jakarta, Robert Buendia of Cavite Central School and Wilson Alba of San Beda Alabang won the gold. Congratulations, guys. Six Filipinos bagged the awards at the Intel Young Scientists Competition in New Mexico last May: Ivy Ventura, Mara Villaverde, Hester Mana Umayam and Janine Santiago of Philippine Science High; Melvin Barroa of Capiz National High, congratulations, Melvin; and Luigi John Suarez of Benedicto National High. Congratulations naman. Last week Filipino students topbilled by Amiel Sy of the Philippine Science High dominated the Mathematics World Contest in Hong Kong. Congratulations, Amiel. Congratulations Philippine Science High School. Earlier this month Diona Aquino of the Presidential Management Staff won with her team from UP the Youth Innovation Competition on Global Governance in Shanghai.

Ito ay malaking kunsuwelo sa atin. We have spent more on human capital formation than ever in the past. Why? Because if government of the people and by the people is not for them as well, it is a mockery of democracy.

May malaking pag-angat ang kalagayan ng maralita, gaya ng trabaho, pag-aaral at pagamot. Look at the chart on new poor fare.

Sa unang pagkakataon, gumastos ang Philhealth ng higit P3 bilyon sa paospital ng maralita.

Noong 2001 sinabi kong hahatiin natin ang presyo ng gamot na madalas bilhin ng madla. Ngayon sampung libong Botika ng Barangay ang nagtitinda ng murang gamot. Ang paracetamol na tatlong piso sa labas ay piso lamang sa Botika ng Barangay. Ang antibiotic na binibenta ng mga pangunahing parmasya sa P20 ay P2 lamang.

Kaya sa isang survey, halos kalahati ang nagsabing abot-kaya ang gamot, kumpara sa 11% noong 1999.

So we can spread this even more, I ask Congress to pass the Cheaper Medicines Bill that was almost enacted in June. Almost is not good enough. Let’s help Mar Roxas, Ferge Biron and Teddy Boy Locsin give our people meaningful, affordable choices, from abroad and here in the Philippines.

I also ask Congress to pass legislation that brings improved long term care for our senior citizens. Asahan natin si Ed Angara.

Si Noli de Castro na isa pang kampeon ng senior citizens ay namumuno ng ating programa sa pabahay. Congratulations, Noli. The low interest rates for housing are unprecedented. Naglaan ang Pag-IBIG ng P25 billion na pautang, six times the amount when we started it in 2001. P50 billion pa ang ilalaan hanggang 2010.

On Terrorism and Human Rights

We fight terrorism. It threatens our sovereign, democratic, compassionate and decent way of life.

Therefore, in the fight against lawless violence, we must uphold these values. It is never right and always wrong to fight terror with terror.

I ask Congress…I urge you to enact laws to transform state response to political violence: First, laws to protect witnesses from lawbreakers and law enforcers. Second, laws to guarantee swift justice from more empowered special courts. Third, laws to impose harsher penalties for political killings. Fourth, laws reserving the harshest penalties for the rogue elements in the uniformed services who betray public trust and bring shame to the greater number of their colleagues who are patriotic.

We must wipe this stain from our democratic record.

Ngunit pangunahin pakikibaka pa rin para sa karapatan ang pagpapalaya ng masa sa gutom at kahirapan.

Together with economic prosperity is the need to strengthen our institutions of government. Let’s start with election reform. We have long provided funds for computerization. We look forward to the modernization of voting, counting and canvassing.

We can disagree on political goals but never on the conduct of democratic elections. I ask Congress to fund poll watchdogs. And to enact a stronger law against election-related violence.

We must weed out corruption and build a strong system of justice that the people can trust. We have provided unprecedented billions for anti-graft efforts. Thus the Ombudsman’s conviction rate hit 77% this year, from 6% in 2002. We implemented lifestyle checks, dormant for half a century. Taun-taon dose-dosenang opisyal ang nasususpinde, napapatalsik o kinakasuhan dahil labis-labis sa suweldo ang gastos at ari-arian nila.

Firms who were asked for bribes in taxes, permits and licenses dropped from one-third to one-half. Contract bribes are also down. Graft won’t be eliminated overnight but we are making progress.

In Conclusion

What I have outlined today is just a sampler of our P1.7 trillion Medium Term Public Investment Program. How will we fund all these? P1 trillion from state revenues, with tax reforms and firm orders to BIR and Customs to hit their targets. P300 billion from state corporations. The balance from government financial institutions, private sector investments, local government equity and our bilateral and multilateral partners.

Our new confidence and momentum for progress have imbued our foreign relations, with the ASEAN Summit last year and the coming ASEAN Regional Forum, with increased assistance from our allies and with continued support for our peace and security efforts in Mindanao.

We were able to strengthen our economy because of the fiscal reforms that we adopted at such great cost to me in public disapproval. But I would rather be right than popular.

Our fundamentals are paying off in huge leaps in investment. Anim na milyong trabaho ang nalikha sa anim na taon, most in sustainable enterprises. Sa lakas ng piso, bumagal ang pagtaas ng bilihin.

It is my ardent wish that most of the vision I have outlined will be fully achieved when I step down. It is my unshakeable resolve that the fundamentals of this vision will by then be permanently rooted, its progress well advanced and its direction firmly fixed with our reforms already bearing fruit. All that will remain for my successor is to gather the harvest. He or she will have an easier time of it than I did.

They say the campaign for the next election started on May 15, the day after the last. Fine.

I stand in the way of no one’s ambition. I only ask that no one stand in the way of the people’s well being and the nation’s progress.

The time for facing off is over. The time is here for facing forward to a better future our people so desperately want and richly deserve.

Uulitin ko: Hindi ako sagabal sa ambisyon ninuman.

But make no mistake. I will not stand idly when anyone gets in the way of the national interest and tries to block the national vision. From where I sit, I can tell you, a President is always as strong as she wants to be.

Pagpalain tayo ng Diyos at ang dakilang gawaing hinaharap natin. The state of the nation is strong. Inyong lingkod, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, Pangulo ng Republika ng Pilipinas.

State of the Nation Address of Her Excellency President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, 24 July 2006, Plenary Hall, Batasang Pambansa

Thank you.

Thank you, Speaker de Venecia. Congratulations, Senate President Manny Villar; Vice-President Noli de Castro; President Ramos; Chief Justice Panganiban; Members of the diplomatic corps; Senators; Congressmen and Congresswomen; Other officials, ladies and gentlemen.

Sa araw na ito, nakatuon ang isip natin sa ating mga kababayan sa Lebanon. Nasa kuko sila ngayon ng malagim na paglala ng digmaan. Kahapon lamang, sinalubong natin ang unang dalawang-daang Pilipinong lumikas doon. Limang-daan pa ang mauuwi natin sa susunod na apat na araw.

Sa ating mga OFW, tunay kayong mga bagong bayani. Sa inyong paglilingkod sa pamilya, sa ating bayan at sa Diyos, maraming salamat.

Sa ating mga kababayan, a journey of a thousand miles does not begin with a single step. It starts with the first step, with gathering the means to complete it successfully. Those means are now at hand.

To my friends in Congress who, in the face of grave political consequences, championed and passed some of the most severe and critical fiscal reforms to save our economy, maraming salamat. You are the true friends of the Filipino people. For the real challenge has never been to blame but to fix what is wrong in our country and our economy.

Dahil sa inyo, sa wakas may pondo na tayo, hindi lamang para ibayad sa interes, kundi para sa edukasyon, mas mabuting tulay at kalsada, pagbigay kalinga sa kalusugan at higit na trabaho sa ating bansa. Now, we have the money to pay down our debt and to build up our country.

To the civil servants who rose to the challenge of turning a weakening economy to a strong republic, through more vigorous tax collection and more vigilant action against corruption, maraming salamat. We have achieved record revenue collections. We are lining up corrupt officials to face the consequences of their misdeeds. And finally earned the respect of the international community as a serious and viable state for our fiscal discipline and billions of pesos in annual interest savings that are now going into necessary public investments.

To our men and women in the armed services, the huge and deep core of your loyalty has earned the nation’s accolade. The few mutineers have been condemned by the people. They and their partisan cohorts and funders are being brought to justice. Sa nakararaming kawal at pulis na nagtaguyod ng watawat at Saligang Batas, maraming salamat.

And at a time when we must each, as individuals and as communities, take greater responsibility, our local government officials man the frontline of change: change for greater accountability, for better service and more responsiveness to their constituents. Sa inyong lahat, mga local government officials, maraming salamat.

Higit sa lahat, salamat sa sambayanang Pilipino, para sa inyong mga sakripisyo, sa inyong tiyaga, for believing, in the face of the greatest hardships, in our ability to surmount the obstacles to the future you deserve; you who have resisted persistent if not pathetic calls for despair instead of faith, for anarchy instead of harmony, salamat, salamat, taus- pusong pasasalamat.

So I stand before you today to deliver a state of the nation that is focused on what the people want; the people want to know the plan to put us on the path to prosperity.

I am not here to talk about politics; I am here to talk about what the people want; details on the state of the nation and what their government is doing to make progress every single day.

Sama-sama nating isusulong ang bansa patungo sa kinabukasang nagniningning.

Gaya ng nakikita sa graph na ito, dahil sa ating reporma sa ekonomiya, we now have the funds to address social inequity and economic disparity. Too many … masyadong marami, ang mamamayang nagugutom. Hindi ako hihinto hanggang magtagumpay ang ating laban sa kahirapan.

We now have the funds to stamp out terrorism and lawless violence.

May pondo na tayo para labanan ang katiwalian.

Our reforms have earned us P1 billion from the U.S. Millennium Challenge Account for more investigators, prosecutors, and new technology to fight corruption. We are matching this with another billion from our fiscal savings.

We now have the funds for constitutional and electoral changes. Sa kasalukuyang sistema, napakabagal ng proseso, at bukas sa labis na pagtutunggali, at sikil ang lalawigan at mamamayan sa paghahari ng Imperial Manila. Panahon nang ibalik ang kapangyarihan sa taumbayan at lalawigan. For surely, there must be a better way to do politics, so that those who lose elections do not make the country pay for their frustrated ambitions. There must be a better way so that those who win the nation’s mandate to govern can work without delay and whimsical obstruction. There must be a better way.

Meanwhile, now we can fund the Medium Term Public Investment Program.

Sumusulong na ang ating plano na may tatlong yugto. Una, ang makaahon sa mga dekada ng utang at kapos ng pondo. Nagawa na natin ito. Ikalawang yugto, ang pagbabalik sa taumbayan ang mas malaking kita ng pamahalaan: upang makapagpundar ng kalinga sa kalusugan, edukasyon at trabaho na kailangang-kailangan ng mamamayan. Ginagawa na rin natin ito. And finally, Phase Three: to invest in the natural advantages and natural resources of each section of our nation so that when harnessed together, the major economic regions of the nation are larger than the sum of its parts.

We will enhance the competitive advantage of the natural “super regions” of the Philippines: the North Luzon Agribusiness Quadrangle, the Metro Luzon Urban Beltway, Central Philippines, Mindanao and the Cyber Corridor.

In North Luzon, we will prioritize agribusiness investments. The agricultural and fisheries potential of the Cordilleras, Ilocandia, and Cagayan Valley can feed Luzon affordably. And nearness to North Asia holds the rich promise of agricultural exports and tourism.

My father built the Halsema Highway from Baguio to Bontoc, and the Bagabag airport in Nueva Vizcaya to access the Ifugao rice terraces, which by the way, the UNESCO has recently praised for the way we have carried out our heritage preservation policy. We have rehabilitated the Baguio to Mount Data leg of the highway and the rest of Halsema will now follow. We will upgrade the Bagabag airport and build a new one in Lallo, Cagayan, which will connect to Cordillera by upgrading the Tabuk-Tuguegarao Road.

Sa Tabuk, Kalinga, noong Abril, tumanggap ng titulo sa lupa ang ilang matatanda, pagkatapos nilang naghintay ng dalawampung taon mula noong napirmahan ang Mount Data Accord ng gobyerno at ng Cordillera People’s Liberation Army. May isang matanda, suot ang lumang uniporme ng CPLA. Pumila, hila-hila ang isang binatilyo. Sabi niya, “This is not for me but for him.” Agad inabot ang titulo sa apo. Narito ngayon si Ginoong Ama Balunggay at ang kaniyang apo si Jacob.

And our post-harvest support shall continue, like the cold chain that we set up in 2004 for La Trinidad, Benguet under Mayor Nestor Fongwan. It consisted of a refrigerated storage facility and refrigerated trucks to deliver vegetables to Metro Manila. Nais kong tumaas ang kita ng mga magsasaka, at ang ina ng bawat tahanan ay makabili ng mura at sariwang gulay para sa kaniyang mga anak.

So that the people will know how well their money is spent, Benguet and its towns of Bakun, Bokod and Itogon have rolled out the new electronic government accounting system in their jurisdictions.

If Ifugao was able to cut its poverty in half in the first three years of our administration, from 56 to 28%, congratulations. We hope that through these programs, the other provinces can replicate the success of Ifugao. Hangad nating dumami ang mga taga-Cordillera sa mga propesyon na tinitingalaan ng bayan, gaya ng mga abogadong gaya nina Maurice Domogan at Romeo Brawner. Ibig din nating makapaghanda ang Cordillera sa awtonomiya pagdating ng pederalismo, ayon nawa sa pagbabago ng Saligang Batas.

Sa Dagupan, inilunsad na ng mga kolehiyo gaya ng Northwestern Lyceum University and ladderized system of education. Sa ganitong sistema, magagamit sa unibersidad and mga kursong kinuha sa vocational school at ang karanasan sa trabaho.

We will expand President Ramos’ flagship San Roque Multipurpose Dam with the massive Agno River Project. Another major project is the Banaoang Irrigation. We allocate P200 million a month for small irrigation projects like those in the flood control plan of the Region II Development Council headed by Bishop Ramon Villena. Plus another P200 million a month for farm to market roads.

Also in the works is an international airport in Poro, La Union and the improvement of the two airports in Batanes as recommended by Governor Vic Gato. Ilocos Sur will have a seaport in Salomague while the Cagayan Zone Authority will better the one in Port Irene.

To save dollars, windmills in Batanes and Ilocos Norte turn megawinds into megawatts. When Army Commander Romy Tolentino was North Luzon commander, he became a soldier-farmer, planting jatropha as yet another alternative fuel.

The Metro Luzon Urban Beltway spans most of Central Luzon, Metro Manila, Calabarzon, Mindoro and Marinduque. It must be a globally competitive urban, industrial and services center, because it produces more than half of the country’s GDP.

To be world-class we invest in five comprehensive strategies for global competitiveness:

1. Make food plentiful and affordable to keep our labor cost globally competitive.
2. Reduce the cost of electricity to make our factories regionally competitive. 3. Modernize infrastructure at least cost to efficiently transport goods and people.
3. Mobilize, upgrade and disseminate knowledge and technologies for productivity.
4. Reduce red tape in all agencies to cut business costs.

The most prohibitive red tape is in our outmoded Constitution. We need Constitutional change to bring our rules of investment into the new millennium

The new public bidding process has been shortened to 45 days for infrastructure, and 26 days for supplies, as of today. Even before this, Metro Manila firms paying bribes for public contracts declined from 57% in 2003 to 46 today. Congratulations, Metro Manila

Machine readable electronic passports will enhance the credibility of Philippine travel documents, improve the mobility and increase the prospects of Philippine business and labor.

Legitimate mobility is hampered by human trafficking. Through the support of the USAID, we have convicted human traffickers with the Tongco spouses who were sentenced in a Quezon City court last December. These accomplishments removed us from the from the priority anti-trafficking watchlist.

To lower power costs we introduced the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market last month. Let’s give it a chance to work. And we would like big power consumers like electronics, our number one exports, to avail of lower power rates from the National Power Corporation. On coco-biodiesel, we now have enough capacity for the proposed 1% blend just waiting to be passed into law.

The Subic-Clark corridor is on its way to a competitive international logistics center. This will be my legacy to my cabalens, jointly with Lito and Mark Lapid, Rey Aquino, Ana Bondoc, Blue Boy Nepomuceno, my son Mikey and Tarzan Lazatin. We jumpstarted it with giant investments in the Subic Seaport, the Clark Airport, and the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway.

And to bring the beltway to the west we will connect the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Road to Dingalan Port through Nueva Ecija, and the Marikina- Infanta Road to the port of Real.

Upang ibsan ang pagod ng mga empleyadong namamasahe sa trapiko sa Kalakhang Maynila, mangangapital tayo sa mga expressway at tren.

We will have a continuous highway from Clark to Metro Manila to Batangas Port. Tapo?Vs na iyong expressway mula Clark hanggang Maynila. Sa ngayon wala nang isang oras ang biyahe mula Clark hanggang Monumento. Ngayon iiwasan natin ang trapiko mula Monumento, dahil idudugtong natin ang North Expressway sa C-5. Tutulong si Sonny Belmonte sa right-of-way. Ang C-5 naman ay konektado na sa South Luzon Expressway. Ang South Luzon Expressway ay pinapalapad naman hanggang Calamba. Sa Agosto, pahahabain ito hanggang Batangas. We will also build the Coastal Road to Bacoor, which has become urban under Jesse Castillo.

Pagdurugtungin natin ang MRT at LRT mula Monumento hanggang North EDSA upang mabuo ang biyahe paikot sa Kamaynilaan, at maibsan ang trapik. We will construct the Northrail to Clark and the Southrail to Lucena and on to Bicol, and upgrade the link between them. We will also extend the LRT to Bacoor. Sa pagbilis ng biyahe patungo at palabaas ng Metro Manila, makakatira ang manggagawa sa mas mura at maaliwalas na lalawigan.

Maayos na ang kapaligiran sa riles ng tren sa South Superhighway. Masaya ang mga pamilyang hinatid namin ni Vice President Noli de Castro sa kanilang bago at permanenteng relokasyon. Teddy Boy Locsin said it hadn’t been done before, and couldn’t be done at all. Well, Teddy?

Ngayon gagawin ito sa Maynila, si Lito Atienza ang bahala.

We thank China for agreeing to fund these housing needs. Huwaran ng ating programang pabahay para sa mahihirap ang mga proyekto ng Iglesia ni Kristo at Gawad Kalinga.

Ngunit kapos sa tubig ang mga taga-West Zone ng Kamaynilaan. Kaya bibigyan natin ng prayoridad hindi lamang ang edukasyon, koryente, enerhiya at kalusugan, kundi tubig din. We are setting up a 300 million liters per day pumping station for Muntinlupa, Las Pinas and Paranaque.

We will build a roll-on-roll-roll-off port system to link Lucena, Quezon to Boac, Marinduque, like the Batangas-Mindoro RORO.

Sa ganitong mga proyekto, palalakasin natin ang ekonomiya ng mga barangay at lalawigan. And we will end the long oppression of barangays by rebel terrorists who kill without qualms, even their own. Sa mga lalawigang sakop ng 7th Division, nakikibaka sa kalaban si Jovito Palparan. Hindi siya aatras hanggang makawala sa gabi ng kilabot ang mga pamayanan at maka-ahon sa bukang-liwayway ng hustisya at kalayaan.

In the harshest possible terms I condemn political killings. We together stopped judicial executions with the abolition of the death penalty. We urge witnesses to come forward. Together we will stop extrajudicial executions.

Central Philippines has the competitive edge in tourism in its natural wonders and the extraordinary hospitality of its people. The area sweeps across Palawan and Romblon, the Visayas and Bicol, plus the northern Mindanao islands of Camiguin, Siargao and Dapitan. Topbilled by Boracay, Cebu, Bohol and Palawan, it attracts more than half of the foreign tourists to the Philippines. It is also the center of geothermal power in the country, which we continue to develop.

The priority here is tourism investments. Coming soon for superstar Boracay are an instrument landing system for the Kalibo airport and a P3 billion private investment in a San Jose, Romblon airport, plus good roads to spillover destinations all over Panay.

In Cebu, Gwen Garcia is constructing a world-class convention center for the ASEAN and East Asian Summits in December.

Helping our infrastructure upgrading, is the fall in bribery for public sector contracts in Metro Cebu, from 62% of companies in 2004 to 47 today. Congratulations to Cardinal Vidal for shepherding his flock and to Metro Cebu Mayors Osmena, Ouano and Fernandez, and Metro Cebu representatives del Mar, Cuenco, Gullas and Soon-Ruiz.

Bohol became a destination distinct from Cebu since it defeated the terrorist insurgency with community initiatives led by the power tandem of Rico Aumentado and General Johnny Gomez, now the NCR Commander. It now merits its own international airport, just as our country deserves a world-class Constitution strongly supported by Governor Aumentado and the league of local authorities.

Tourism in Palawan requires the upgrading of the airports of Puerto Princesa, Busuanga, San Vicente (hometown of Congressman Alvarez that’s why he’s clapping) and the building of a new one in Balabac; as well as a continuous road backbone from El Nido to Bataraza.

We will lengthen the Dumaguete runway for tourism as well as electronics. Valencia, Oriental Negros could attract semiconductor firms with power rates subsidized by the geothermal field of Palimpinon. Negros will also advance energy independence with ethanol projects in San Carlos City and Tamlang Valley, once the biofuel law is passed. (You have done your part, Migs)

We will serve Guimaras by the airport being built in Santa Barbara, Iloilo and by a new RORO port in Sibunag. We will link Sipalay via Silay airport funded by the national government and Kabankalan airport being built by its local government. Thank you.

For Bicol’s whalesharks, beaches and, of course, Mount Mayon, we have started acquiring the right of way for an international airport in Daraga, Albay. We will provide the means to the perfect surfs of the Pacific by upgrading the airports of Siargao, Guiuan and Tacloban.

We will widen the road to Dakak in Dapitan, and RORO will connect Siquijor to Santander, Cebu; Camiguin to Jagna, Bohol; Ubay, Bohol to Maasin, Southern Leyte, for diving in Limasawa.

We will bring Masbate and Biliran into the RORO Eastern Nautical Highway from Surigao through Leyte through Naval and Maripipi in Biliran through Esperanza, Aroroy and Burias Island in Masbate and on to Bicol. The much-awaited 10-megawatt generator set arrived in Masbate last Saturday. It is ready to power up the province before the end of the month.

Camiguin, Romblon and Camarines Norte got out of the list of poorest provinces in 2003. With tourism these provinces can become rich.

Also winning the war against poverty and calamity, undaunted by unimaginable catastrophe, the valiant people of Southern Leyte, under the leadership of Rosette Lerias and Oging Mercado (our Rudy Guliani) are rebuilding the lives of Saint Bernard and San Francisco from their tragic mudslides. Yesterday, I asked the Japanese government to help Southern Leyte implement an integrated management approach to deal with their critical ecosystem, like the one the World Bank has approved for the Bicol River Basin.

Mindanao is our priority for agribusiness investments in the south. Mindanao is mostly fertile and largely typhoon-free, exporting coconut products and high value crops, and from its waters come 40% of the country’s fish catch. Our investment priorities mirror those for North Luzon, and more because Mindanao has the poorest regions and poorest provinces and because we have to spend on a logistics system linking it to the north.

In 2003 we introduced the RORO from Zamboanga del Norte through Negros, Panay and Mindoro to Batangas. This system has slashed travel time from Mindanao to Luzon from 36 hours to 24 hours, and freight cost by 30 percent, so crucial to food shipments. Now we will develop more routes like the one from Cagayan de Oro through Camiguin, Bohol, Cebu and Masbate to Bicol, the Central Nautical Highway.

Also in 2003, Sulu, Lanao del Sur, and Tawitawi registered double-digit declines in poverty incidence from the year 2000. Congratulations.

Kitang-kita ang pag-ibayo ng mga isla ng Sulu, Basilan at Tawi-Tawi. Nagbukas ang Jollibee sa Basilan. The Balikatan exercises with the United States, combined with the US GEM program and other donor-assisted projects, have no doubt contributed to this.

Sa Sulu, isang araw ng Mayo, umuulan, nagwakas ang isang mahabang pagtutunggali nang pumasok ang mga kawal at sibilyan sa Kampong Bitan-ag sa Panamao na hawak ng mga rebelde. Nagyakapan at nagkamayan ang dalawang panig. Dahil sa matinding pagnanais para sa kapayapaan ni Marine General Ben Dolorfino, naganap ang pagkakasundo. Gayon natapos ang isang madugong kabanata. Congratulations, General Ben Dolorfino.

Susi sa anumang pag-ibayo ang malakas na suporta at ma-abilidad na liderato ng pamahalaang local. Halimbawa, iyong “from arms to farms¿¿ ni Governor Ben Loong ng Sulu, with his caravan of tractors literally invading former rebel camps in his province. Congratulations.

Mahigit isang linggong nakaraan, dumating sa “Eleven Islands” ang daan-daang rebeldeng at kanilang pamilya, sa pamumuno ng dating MNLF Commander na si Aribari Samson. Dito sa mga pulo na kilalang “no man’s island,” dati nagtatago ang mga rebelde at criminal. Ngayon sa tulong ng isang programa ng United Nations, nagtayo tayo ng dalawang daang tahanan at panibagong buhay para sa pangkat ni Samson. Thank you for giving peace a chance. Congratulations, Commander Samson.

I take this occasion to express our gratitude to the donor community from the US, the Organization of the Islamic Conference and the European Union, Australia, Japan, our ASEAN neighbors, the multilaterals and the rest of the world. Thank you for helping us in our peace process.

If we can harness the forces of good in our nation, the positive force at work here at home and those from abroad such as the US, Malaysia, the OIC and others, we shall prevail in Mindanao with a peace agreement that brings freedom and hope to all Filipinos. With this peace, we would reap dividends in resources invested in agribusiness, not aggression, to build up, not tear down, the Philippine south.

Among the possible peace dividends would be pro-poor road projects like the Siocon-Sirawai-Sibuco-Baligyan Road in Zamboanga del Norte; the Lebak to Maguindanao which Sim Datumanong started when he was Secretary of Public Works; the Dinagat Island road network in Surigao Del Norte; the Hawilian-Salug-Sinakungan barangay road in Agusan del Sur; the Pangil Bay Bridge; and the Surigao-Davao Road, which we want to be as beautiful as the Bukidnon Highway completed during the administration of Joe Zubiri and the term of Migs Zubiri.

Mindanao’s number one export, coconuts, has been growing continuously for the last three years, at the rate of 10% a year. The coconut farmers deserve a portion of the peace dividend. I invite Congress and the Bishops-Ulama-Priests-Pastors-Farmer-Lumad Conference led by Archbishop Fernando Capalla to help me ensure their rightful share.

On top of peace and investment, progress also demands good governance. I congratulate Donkoy Emano for the drop in reports of corruption for public contracts in Cagayan de Oro from 65% of firms last year to 38 this year. Also Rudy Duterte and the other leaders of Metro Davao led by Majority Leader Boy Nograles for a similar drop, 57% last year to 49 now. Things are coming together for Mindanao, a prelude to their readiness for eventual federalism.

The Cyber Corridor will boost telecommunications, technology and education. The corridor runs the length of all the super regions, from Baguio to Cebu to Davao. The cities of Davao, Tagum and Samal Island Garden all operate electronic government accounting systems. There are many wings now to the corridor because enterprising local executives like L-Ray Villafuerte and Jerry Trenas have aggressively attracted call centers to their jurisdictions (Congratulations, Jerry) In this corridor, the English and information and communication technology skills of the youth give them a competitive edge in call centers and other business process outsourcing.

In 2001, in this hall, we hailed ICT as a key growth sector. So we built up telecommunications infrastructure and opened the market for Internet phone calls. Today international calls cost 6 cents a minute, down from 40 cents. From 2,000 BPO workers in 2001, we now have 200,000.

I had coffee with some call center agents last Labor Day. Lyn, a new college graduate, told me, “Now I don’t have to leave the country in order for me to help my family. Salamat po.” I was so touched, Lyn by your comments. With these structural reforms, we not only found jobs, but kept families intact. Thank God, I thought, or someone might also try to impeach me for violating Article 15 of the Constitution on the solidarity of the family as the foundation of the nation.

As Louie Villafuerte argues, to step into the future, a country that wants to be a player in the global economy needs bold and well-funded research and development initiatives of its own. To this end, we will continuously increase the budget for science and technology, and education. For in today’s global economy, knowledge is the greatest creator of wealth.

In summary, I named only a few priorities to illustrate that on many fronts, your government is working, and working well. Our economy is now growing over the longest period in the last quarter-century: 22 consecutive quarters of growth. Umakyat ng mahigit tatlumpung porsyento ang kita ng pinakamahihirap na pamilya sa unang tatlong taon ng ating panunungkulan, at bumaba ang dami ng maralita sa 25% ng mga pamilya, mula 28%, katumbas ng dalawang milyong katao na lumaya sa kahirapan. According to Thornton and Punongbayan, 70% of medium-sized business owners are optimistic, the fifth most optimistic among 30 countries, just behind India, Ireland, South Africa and China.

Bickering in politics may delay, but not derail the initiatives that need to be taken on our pro-poor, pro-growth, and pro-peace agenda. Regardless of the fate of the national budget, we must automate our election process. Local governments must get their rightful share of revenues. I ask Congress to pass a supplemental budget to effect this.

We are a great people. We have honest students and honest cops. We have scaled the heights of Mount Everest, dominated the Southeast Asian games, we have won international beauty titles, and of course punched our way to triumph in the boxing world. Our people compete and win every day in every imaginable job throughout the world. Individually, we’ve taken the world on and won; together, we must take on the challenge of creating a new, peaceful, humane and competitive nation and prevail.

For those who want to pick up old fights, we’re game but what a waste of time. Why not join hands instead? Join hands in the biggest challenge of all, where we all win or we all lose: the battle for the survival and progress of our one and only country.

After three years, eleven months, and six days, I shall relinquish the Presidency, with much if not all that I have outlined completed. I do not want it said then that, in the end, I defeated my enemies. I would rather have it said that all of us, you and I, friends and foes today, achieved together a country progressive, prosperous and united.

Thank you. Mabuhay!

Every year, we meet on this day in this great hall to celebrate democracy and take stock of the nation: the country and its condition; the government and its performance; the people and their well-being.

Ours is a country divided; the story of our nation is a tale of two Philippines; Almost, as it were, two countries under the same name.

One is the Philippines whose economy, after long years of cumulative national endeavor, is now poised for take off. The other is the Philippines whose political system, after equally long years of degeneration, has become a hindrance to progress.

As a country on the verge of take-off, our storyline would surprise many at home and abroad. The story includes an economy that grew more than 6 percent last year and that has continued to work in the teeth of the biggest oil price hikes in history, while generating four million jobs in the last four years.

The story includes marked improvements in tax collections, infrastructure housing construction, shelter, security for the urban poor and indigenous peoples, and rice productivity.

The story includes 69 million beneficiaries of health care insurance, including 30 million indigents, whose re-enrollment started early this year and is still ongoing.

That same story, over four years, saw the drug menace cut in half, the rash of kidnappings become a thing of the past, and insurgency in the South abated.

This story should work itself out as one about an economy as resilient and full of potential as its people are patient and hardworking, guided by a government–with the executive and the legislative hand-in-hand–that is able to pass a no-nonsense budget and make the tough decisions to put our fiscal house in order.

I specially refer to our recent titanic struggle to enact the three laws that comprised the biggest fiscal package in our history, the biggest revenue increase in a generation that will break the vicious cycle of financing development by borrowing and having to borrow again just to service those loans. This is the one reform that will snap the chain that has bound our future to a profligate past and the debt-burdened present. The Filipino’s strong sense of family has given Congress a stronger resolve not to pass on today’s debt, and bankrupt our children and grandchildren tomorrow. That struggle has done the House and the Senate great honor. Congratulations.

Abroad, the story continues. We¹ve worked long and hard to restore our country to the prominent place it once held as co-founder of the United Nations and the Free World’s first line of defense in the East. We won a seat in the UN Security Council, where we presided over the landmark resolution calling for democracy in Iraq. The Philippines chaired the historic conference on interfaith cooperation for peace at the UN, the fruit of a bold and creative initiative by your Speaker of the House.

We head the APEC anti-terrorism task force. Our victories in the war on terror have been acknowledged by no less than president bush before the US National Defense University. The Jemaah Islamiyah and the Abu Sayyaf can only pick up the pieces of its broken backbone in Mindanao.

We¹ve worked with the Organization of the Islamic Conference to forge peace with our Muslim brothers. Eighty percent of our peace talks with them have been completed. Permanent peace in Mindanao is within reach.

Indeed, our story as a country on the verge of take off is real. Analysts need only to look at our stock market, and even the peso-dollar exchange rate, to sense the strong anticipation of significant improvements, if only we would overcome the tendency to be our own worst enemy.

Thus, with investors both here and abroad in mind, i invite you all to join me in sending them a strong message from this great hall: We will not waver in our commitment to economic reform and fiscal discipline, whatever the political cost.

The other message to send is that we will address the burden that the other Philippine story imposes on our anticipated take-off. I refer to the story of how our political system has now become a hindrance to our national progress.

Over the years, our political system has degenerated to the extent that it is difficult for anyone to make any headway yet keep his hands clean. To be sure, the system is still capable of achieving great reforms. But, by and large, our political system has betrayed its promise to each new generation of Filipinos, not a few of whom are voting with their feet, going abroad and leaving that system behind.

Perhaps we politicians have done our best; But maybe our best is not enough, given the present system. Perhaps we have strained the present political system to its final limit.

It is time to turn to the people, bring them into government — and change the way that government is done.

The people want government that works for them at every level. They want good government that begins at their doorstep in the barangay [village-ed], and does not end before the closed door of a bureaucrat in Metro Manila.

The system clearly needs fundamental change, and the sooner the better. It’s time to start the great debate on charter change.

We must address such questions as how much more government is needed for the greater safety and economic security of our people, and how much less government is more conducive to free enterprise and economic progress.

The mode of Charter change is the exclusive prerogative of Congress. But a constituent assembly may well give our people the quickest reforms.

I shall work with Congress, civil society groups and local government executives who are convinced that Charter changes are needed to enable the country to surmount the unprecedented challenges of the 21st century.

I take this opportunity to acknowledge the local government executives who have brought about an LGU power revolution through transformative leadership.

The economic progress and social stability of the provinces, along with the increasing self-reliance and efficiency of political developments and public services there, make a compelling case for federalism.

Perhaps it’s time to take the power from the center to the countryside that feeds it.

I recognize that our form of government will be the decision of the body constituted to undertake Charter change. But we should consider that legislation could be quickened and laws made more responsive to the people under a parliamentary system, similar to that of our progressive neighbors in the region.

But even as we make a serious start in Charter change, i hope we can still work together on other initiatives to the lasting benefit of our people.

In the area of education, we’ve spent our increased resources on better trained teachers in more classrooms, teaching students in more effective ways. We¹ve laid a strong foundation by building almost 30,000 classrooms in the past four years, providing computer access to more than 3,000 high schools, and beginning a “healthy start” breakfast program for our young school children.

I ask Congress to pass the Pre-Need Code to rehabilitate, reform and regulate the pre-need educational programs that worked so well in the past as a major vehicle for youth education entitlement.

College education is the great Filipino dream. But in a world of rapid technological change, getting a job or keeping it depends as much on how well one reasons as how well one uses his hands. I have issued E.O. 358 so that hours spent in vocational training can be credited towards a college degree. That will combine job readiness with the dream of a college education while increasing the competitiveness of our nation.

But our competitiveness is greatly endangered today by the global oil crisis. I call on Congress to pass legislation encouraging renewable and indigenous energy.

In the area of national security, I urge the swift passage of an anti-terrorism law that will protect rather than subvert, enhance rather than weaken, the rights and liberties that terrorism precisely threatens with extinction.

These examples serve to highlight that there is much work to be done.

Now is not the time for divisiveness, and while there’s no avoiding partisan politics, there can be a determined effort by all sides to limit the collateral damage on a country poised for take-off.

Let¹s call on the Lord. Let us ask Him for the grace to make us worthy of His healing our land.

Alam kong tayong lahat ay naghahangad ng isang makabuluhang pagbabago para sa ating bayan. Tayong lahat ay nagsisikap para matamo ang kapayapaan at kaunlaran. Kung kaya’t ako’y nakikiusap na tulungan ninyo ako, para sa kapakanan ng taong bayan.

We may disagree among ourselves but let us never lose sight of that greater battle for one people, one country, one Philippines.

Not the country of this or that president but the Philippines of our shared and passionate affections.

Maraming salamat sa inyong lahat.

Thank you Mr. De Venecia,  Vice-President Noli de Castro, President Fidel Ramos, Senate President Drilon, Chief Justice Davide and the justices of the Supreme Court, honorable members of the Senate and  the House of Representatives, His Excellency Archbishop Franco and the excellencies of the  diplomatic corps, members of the Cabinet, commanders of the Armed Forces, officers and  members of the Philippine National Police, fellow workers in government, distinguished  guests, ladies and gentlemen.

Angelo de la Cruz is home.

We did it! Congratulations to the Filipino people.

Samakatwid, ipabatid sa lahat, mula sa pook at panahong ito sa bawat Pilipino, saanman naroroon…

You have a government — indeed, you have a country — that cares. Your life is held more dearly than international acclaim. And you have a president who is your friend.

Why was Angelo de la Cruz saved? Because I stuck to my oath. Since I first became  president in 2001, my declared foreign policy focus has been to protect the vital  interests of the nation, including our eight million overseas Filipinos.

And I cannot apologize for being a protector of my people.

The difference of a few weeks, for a pullout already decided on, could not justify sacrifice of a human life.

Sacrificing Angelo de la Cruz would have been a pointless provocation; it would have put  the lives of a million and a half Filipinos in the middle east at risk, by making them  part of the war.

Wars are for combatants. As I speak soldiers are being held hostage by communist insurgents but they don’t expect to be released except by the compassion of their captors or a military operation.

We have been fighting the longest running communist insurgency in history. We have been coming to grips with fundamentalist terrorism long before 9/11.

As the leader of the nation, I say in behalf of the Filipino people to the world: we are  strong and principled believers in democracy. Four generations of fighting Filipinos have ceaselessly struggled against totalitarians and terrorists, for our freedom, for the freedom of our people and the people of the world.

We have fought the enemy, and taken as good as we gave– not from a safe distance but in close quarters. Bataan and Corregidor, Korea and Vietnam, East Timor, Kosovo, Liberia, to name a few.

When I opted to save Angelo de la Cruz, I was reflecting whether one life should be sacrificed for no pressing reason or saved by accelerating an ongoing pullout.

I did not sacrifice policy to save a human life. I applied policy for that purpose. The Philippines has no policy that demands sacrifice of human lives.

Ask yourselves this: if Angelo de la Cruz had been sacrificed, what would change-for the better in Iraq today?

Having saved one Filipino from a painful and pointless death, we must seize the unity we attained to improve our government and save our economy.

Pinapangako ko ang isang bagong direksyon: Mamamayan muna. Ang taong bayan ang pinakamalaki nating yaman. Ngunit madalas, kaunti lang ang atensyon na binibigay sa  kanilang pag-unlad. Di tuloy matawid ang agwat ng mayaman at mahirap. Di tuloy mapa-abot  sa lahat ang biyaya ng demokrasya.

I want to create economic opportunity at home and abroad. I don’t want just one or the other. I want both.

But it can only be done with-focus, with energy, and with a common purpose to do that  which still lies within our power: Put our economic house back in working order before it  finds itself beyond hope of repair and doomed to share the fate of failed nations.

We made a headstart in the last three years; we must take bolder steps forward in the next six.

Inflation is under control. The ordinary housewife has been buying her rice and fish at stable prices.

New investments, foreign and better yet domestic, were made. Three million more of our people found jobs in the last three years compared to half a million in the three years before that.

Malaki ang pag-unlad sa pangunahing pangangailangan– malinis na tubig, health insurance, tirahan, paaralan, aklat.

We beat down crime, we are breaking up the drug and kidnapping syndicates, we are mopping up the stragglers. The people are safer in the streets, in their homes, and in their  places of work.

Every government in the world is at war with its own corruption; we have made lifestyle checks a lethal weapon, and adopted procurement reforms to take the fight forward.

Thanks to many of you, I emerged from the last election with more votes than any previous president.

As a further sign of the people’s overwhelming support, they gave me a huge majority in Congress, and among the local governments.

This is a new day, with a new direction, and a renewed confidence in what we can achieve together.

I am determined to prove that this tremendous show of faith and confidence is well deserved.

The season of bitter partisanship is over; the season of service is upon us all, majority, minority; opposition, administration.

In my inaugural address, I laid down a 10-point agenda for the next six years — not  utopia but something practical we can achieve and accomplish on time.

What I did promise was that my term would be the irreversible turning point.

Ipinangangako ko iiwanan na natin ang ligalig at alinlangan.

At the end of my term, the question will not longer be whether we can compete but where else in the world shall we take an indisputable competitive advantage.

The next six years we hope is when we finally get things right.

Is there something about that goal we cannot all agree on? Is there a reason we cannot all work together?

All that’s needed is to clear away a couple of obstacles, as I intend to do with five key reform packages: (1) job creation through economic growth, (2) anti-corruption through good government, (3) social justice and basic needs, (4) education and youth opportunity  and (5) energy independence and savings.

Tough decisions will have to be made. It’s going to be tough love from here on. It must be tougher on those who’ve had it easy than on those who’ve had it tough already.

Humarap din sa problema ang mga karatig bansa.

Ang kanilang sekreto’y pagkakaisa ng mamamayan, suporta sa liderato, at sakripisyo ng bawat isa.

We must bear the pain and share the pain to enjoy the gain together.

Those with more must sacrifice more; those with less are already living lives of  self-sacrifice.

Maraming magsasabi: matagal na silang nagsa- sakripisyo. Ngunit hinihingi ko sa inyo:  konti pang sakripisyo.

We must wait with patience for the reforms to work. In the meantime, we must work more productively because world competition is keen and we want the jobs not only to come, but to stay.

Our most urgent problem is the budget deficit. Sometimes it’s unavoidable; but chronic deficits are always bad.

Sometimes stamping out deficits too vigorously can slow down growth. But ignoring them can  kill the economy. It sends the wrong signal that we don’t understand our fiscal predicament and will not help ourselves. This will drive away investments, exacerbate the deficit and hurt job growth.

Chronic deficits drastically reduce government’s ability to make those infrastructure investments that business needs to grow and create jobs.

Chronic deficits mean undertaking less social services that private charity will never provide but without which social war is inevitable. This is a sure fire formula for  national failure.

So–we must raise revenues, expand government services, yet cut costs — all at the same time. It boils down to right priorities.

The beauty of the fiscal problem is that all the solutions are known, though applying the right ones is tricky.

All the solutions require: toughness on the part of government, cooperation on the part of business, patience on the part of our people, and active support on the part of Congress.

All the solutions require profound, even personal changes. Politicians will need to focus on the job at hand rather than on their prospect of re-election.

The worst offender yet the hardest to pin down is corporate corruption. Businessmen must adopt an attitude of tax acceptance not tax avoidance. They must stop trying to outrun the tax collector. They must recognize that only a fiscally stronger government can create a more congenial business environment: greater security, better infrastructure, cheaper credit, more business.

My administration will undertake reforms to raise or save P100 billion. I ask Congress to pass eight revenue measures that will collect P80 billion more.

Alam kong maaasahan ko ang mga mambabatas. Upang burahin ang deficit. Upang ituloy ang magandang trabaho. At upang itaguyod ang saligan ng matapat na gobyerno at malakas na ekonomiya.

Investments in infrastructure and energy provide the greatest multiplier effect for growth  and job creation. Pag maganda ang imprastraktura gaya ng kalsada, tulay, pantalan, telepono, koryente, maraming mamumuhunan. Maraming magkakaroon ng trabaho.

We must achieve sufficient, efficient, cheap energy in the near term. We must be sure to  have the capacity to meet the demands of a growing economy, so as not to choke off growth when it comes, and thereby lose the opportunities that may not come again.

To this end, Napocor power generating plants and transmission lines must be privatized but not in a fire sale. Delivering electricity to virtually an entire country as big as ours  cannot possibly be worth nothing but the trouble of running it.

Napocor’s transmission systems will be sold on terms that recognize the lucrative monopoly  of its transmission grid. I ask Congress to pass the transco bill that already passed the  house in the 12th Congress.

Our investments in social justice and basic needs are as vital to our future as fiscal and macroeconomic reforms. A nation deeply divided will not stand. And it certainly will not move forward.

Our nation is divided by social and economic fault-lines. The tectonic plates may shift  with unthinkable consequences.

Some say that is it cheaper to die than to get well from an illness,  that it is impossible to find clean water in this rainfall country, that in this modern  day and age, part of the country still sits in darkness. This is a terrible waste and a  terrible shame.

Kaya ang aking agenda para sa maralita ay hanapbuhay; reporma sa lupa; tubig, gamot at koryente; pagtatanggol at kapangyarihan para sa mahina.

In fact, we will now be able to bring clean water to the entire country because during my previous term, you, Congress finally passed the Clean Water Act; because in my first days  as president in 2001 I signed the solid waste act; —thank you also for giving me that  opportunity — and because we are reforesting our watersheds.

The place to start now is livelihood, for 10 million Filipinos.

The growing industrial, service, and micro- enterprise sectors will take care of some, a thriving agri-business sector will keep more in the countryside rather than burdening a metro manila that is already cracking under the weight of overpopulation.

Land reform covers agrarian land, urban land, and ancestral domain land. I ask Congress to qualify farmland as bank collateral and reform the system of urban land title

ang kapangyarihan ng taong bayan ay puso ng demokrasya. Dapat kasama sila sa paghugis ng kanilang kapalaran.

Dadalhin ko ang aking mga reporma sa taong bayan. Ako’y magpapaliwanag, ako’y makikinig.

I have shown that government does care even for a single Filipino life. Now we must show that we care for the rest of the Filipino people, especially the weakest among us.

To adapt the words of Adam Smith to the information age, “the greatest improvement in  the productive powers of labor seems to have been the effects of a modern education.”

Economies have exhausted the possibilities of the division of labor; the way further forward now is a better-educated, more adaptable workforce.

We need to start early. And we need to maintain the highest educational standards. I ask Congress to legislate an extra year of studies not by adding a fifth year of high school  but by standardizing what is taught in barangay day care centers.

To expand youth opportunity, we need to focus on technical and vocational education; on strengthening English, science and technology — and love of country. As I said in my inaugural: it is not free markets but patriotism that makes countries strong.

There is a sense in which as a society we have failed the youth in their formative years,  in growing up normally and productively, in getting a good education, in learning the  habits of honesty and citizenship and civic discipline.

I ask the educational system, the parents, the church and pillars of the community to help shape a new culture of honesty, patriotism, respect, discipline and service for young Filipinos.

The roof cannot collapse when the value pillars of government and society are sound and strong.

I fervently support the judicial reforms being carried out by our supreme court.

I ask Congress for a law making the Ombudsman’s function as effective as Hong Kong’s independent commission against corruption.

Bureaucratic corruption with its numerous leakages is bad. So is government incompetence. Unlike in the private sector, where the free market punishes mistakes, government incompetence punishes only the public.

We have to tear away layers of inefficiency piled on by decades of political  accommodation: redundancy in the national service, waste in local governments, and  pointless procedures for getting done what isn’t needed anyway to secure the public  welfare. Just how does paying off the health inspector banish bacteria from a dirty kitchen?

By definition, public services are what the private sector will not do except for a price  the public cannot pay.

Where the private sector can do it better and cheaper, government may have to step aside. But the watchwords are better and cheaper. Where privatization only spells public pillage, government will continue to do the work.

But that’s no reason to spare public services from the test of competitive performance.

We will simplify procedures to eliminate fixers.

We will downsize the government, motivate excess employees to become entrepreneurs, and increase the pay of a lean and mean bureaucracy.

I have abolished eighty offices under the Office of the President. I will abolish thirty  more.

I ask Congress to pass a law on government re-engineering, with silver parachutes for redundant offices.

Once we have proved to our people that we have done what we can within the present structure of government, we can move on to changing the system to one that enhances our freedom and flexibility to do more.

I expect that next year, Congress will start considering the resolutions for charter change.

No one has a monopoly on right ideas. I am reaching out to all segments of society and all parties, be they with me or against me, to join me in those things that should be  everyone’s concern because they rise above politics to the level of patriotism.

I do not want a honeymoon period after which we can forget the country and go after each other again. I want a marriage not of convenience but of conviction, across the spectrum  of parties and groups, encompassing the range of intelligent political, religious and  economic views. I want a marriage for at least the life of this Congress.

I do not ask for unprincipled support because it will not hold.

I do ask for an end to unprincipled obstructionism because that always succeeds in defeating our best efforts.

Tunay nga na kahirapan at kawalan ng katarungan ang sagabal sa ating pag-unlad. Ngunit ang mga nagsusulsol sa mahihirap na manggulo ang sumisira sa ating kinabukasan.

So this must stop.

We must put a stop to that.

Every year, every president tells Congress that it is the last chance for meaningful change.

This time I will say it again, adding only that past presidents were right. And that each  time change doesn’t happen, makes change harder and less likely to happen the next time  around.

The time for change is well past due.

This time, let me say, let’s just do it!

Mabuhay ang pilipino!

Maraming salamat sa inyong lahat.

Delivered July 28, 2003, Batasan Pambansa (House of Representatives Complex), Quezon City

Thank you Speaker De Venecia.

Vice President Guingona; President Ramos; Senate President Drilon; Chief Justice Davide and the Associate Justices of the Supreme Court; distinguished members of the Senate and House of Representatives; His Excellency Archbishop Franco, and Excellencies of the Diplomatic Corps; members of the Cabinet; General Abaya and the officers of the Armed Forces; General Ebdane and the members of the police; fellow workers in government; ladies and gentlemen.

Yesterday, without bloodshed, without damage to property, and within a single day, we overcame an ill-conceived mutiny carried out by misguided military officers.

Such actions are deplorable and will be met with the full force of the law, including their political component.

Yet they signal an underlying problem that we must address. I am constituting an independent commission to investigate the roots of the mutiny and the provocations that inspired it. At the request of Defense Secretary Angelo Reyes, I am also constituting an independent commission to investigate the Davao bombing.

These will be matched by a PNP reform commission. I thank the national police for their solid support in yesterday’s crisis, and I am sure they themselves welcome a comprehensive reform that will cure the organization not only of the failures of the scale of the Al-Ghozi escape, but also the daily devils that are the kotong cops.

By now we should be at peace: at peace in the south, at peace in the countryside, safe in our homes and secure in our communities. But we remain at war. At war against terrorism. At war against corruption. At war against disease. At war against drugs, the greatest menace facing our country today.

Last five weeks, we’ve struck a major blow against the drug menace. Eight billion pesos in five weeks. It is a pity that a few days later after the penultimate success against the drug menace, we should find ourselves at war against destabilizers.

We cannot stay divided with so much we need to do together. I address myself not only to the joint houses here assembled, but to the nation-at-large.

I need you; we need each other.

Iyon ang aking sinabi nang naluklok ako bilang pangulo noong 2001. Sinabi ko noon na panahon na ng paghilom sa ating lipunan.

At sa aking unang State of the Nation Address, pinagdiinan ko ang mga batayang hangarin ng karaniwang pilipino: trabaho, pagkain sa bawat mesa, tahanan, edukasyon.

I gave my targets.

I am submitting to the Congress and to the nation a technical report of my government’s performance. In sum I can say, we delivered in great part on our commitments.

Hindi lumampas ang dalawang buwan pagkatapos noong State of the Nation Address, noong 9-11, nagbago ang mundo. Sa mga batayang hangaring trabaho, pagkain sa bawat mesa, tahanan, at edukasyon, ating idinagdag ang kapayapaan.

Ngunit dahil hindi pa matatag ang ating republika, hindi pa natin maaasahan na kung ang isang pangulo ay mag-uutos parang isang presidente ng isang korporasyon, ay maiintindihan at susunod kaagad ang mga institusyon at burokrasya. In a nation whose institutions are still fragile, a leader cannot run a developing country like a corporation.

For the practical purposes of most people, government exists to provide jobs, homes, education, peace, food on every table. And to do that adequately and dependably, government must possess the capacity to execute good policy and deliver basic services through strong and responsive institutions staffed by a competent and dedicated bureaucracy. In short, government must be the arm of a strong republic.

But a strong republic does not happen overnight; not even in two or three years. Nor does it happen once and for all.

In this setting, the first virtue of a modern leader is a constant sense of correct perspective, the capacity to retain her original focus, and plod on regardless.

She must stick to priorities that were carefully chosen, rather than dump them at every first issue that is recklessly raised.

I have stuck to my priorities: jobs, food on every table, homes, education, peace.

Many of our reforms have yet to bear fruit, but in the fullness of time our country will reap what was carefully picked, planted and nurtured. And it will be a harvest of plenty.

The harvest has in fact started.

Sa kapayaan:

We have hit hard at terrorism and, with the help of Speaker Joe De Venecia, made advances towards a negotiated peace on two fronts: the MILF and the NDF.

Sa susunod na linggo, magsisimula na ang pag-uusap ng peace panels ng gobyerno at milf tungo sa isang panghuling kasunduang pang-kapayapaan.

We will avail of the good offices of Malaysia in the search of a political solution to the conflict with the MILF, while looking to the help of the United States in the rehabilitation of conflict areas and the eradication of the roots of war.

We — all of us Filipinos — have to decide now, once and for all, whether we want peace or we want war. There is no way to peace. Peace is the way.

Subalit kung ipagpipilitan ng ilang mga kaaway ng ating republika ang digmaan, wala akong magagawa kung hindi tapatan sila upang ipagtanggol ang ating mga kababayan.

I thank the Senate for ratifying seven U.N. conventions against terrorism. I ask them to ratify the remaining five.

Hinihingi ko rin sa Kongreso na ipasa na ang Anti-Terrorism Law, at isama rito ang pagpataw ng mabigat na parusa sa kapabayaan sa pangangalaga ng mga pinaghihinalaang terorista.

Kasama ng terorismo, ang problema ng droga ang pinag-uugatan ng matinding pagkabahala ng mga mamamayan tungkol sa kanilang personal na kaligtasan.

Ang katiwaliang nilikha ng kalakal sa droga ay malalim ang lagos at bumabagtas sa lahat ng sector. Dapat nating kapootan ang walang pakundangang pagsira sa buhay ng ating mga mamamayan na maaaring humantong sa pagkawasak ng ating mga institusyong demokratiko.

Kapag nakakausap ko ang mga magulang ng mga drug addict, nawawasak ang aking puso, nguni’t lalong tumitibay ang loob ko na tama ang aking desisyong itaas ang antas ng ating paglaban sa bawal na gamot.

Dadalhin ko ang labang ito sa bawa’t lalawigan at lungsod hanggang umabot sa mga barangay upang kumatok tayo sa mga pinto ng bawa’t pamilyang Pilipino. This is one fight I am taking everywhere, if we have to knock on every door.

Maglulunsad tayo ng kampanya sa mga paaralan at mga komunidad para sagipin ang kabataan at bigyan ng bagong-buhay ang mga drug users at tiyaking hindi sila malulong muli!

Pipigain natin ang supply sa kalye sa paraang kahit na ang masalapi ay mahihirapang sustentuhan ang kanilang bisyo. Pipilayan natin ang operasyon ng mga drug lords at ng kanilang mga padrino sa mga pasilyo ng kapangyarihan.

I thank Congress for passing the Anti-Money Laundering Law, because it will help us interdict the money of the drug lords. I am now instructing the Secretary of Budget and management to allocate a 100 million pesos for its implementation.

Ito ang ating laban at tayo ay magtatagumpay.

Para sa mga big fish sa iligal na droga, mahirap na ang mag moratorium sa death penalty.

Ngunit sa ibang bagay, pro-life pa rin ako. I will veto any bill that will try to smuggle in abortion.

Tungkol sa edukasyon:

In 2001 I said that our English literacy gives us a competitive edge in ICT. I also said that to prepare the youth to be the next generation of knowledge workers, we will upgrade math and science teaching in basic education.

Kaya dinagdagan natin ang oras para sa math at English at pinag-ibayo ang laman ng science sa bagong curriculum.

Nagtayo tayo ng eskwelahan sa anim na raang barangay na dati’y walang paaralan.

Sinisimulan natin ang distance learning program o education tv para sa apat na raang pamayanang malayo at kulang ang guro.

At kagaya ni Senate President Franklin Drilon, samahan niyo akong magtayo ng silid-aralan sa lahat ng paaralang lumalampas sa sandaang mag-aaral bawat silid. In that way, we can once and for all close the perennial school building gap.

Tungkol sa tirahan:

Tayo ay nakapagtayo ng higit sandaan-libong bahay para sa mga maralita at halos dalawandaang libo para sa mga manggagawa.

Binigyan din natin ng katiyakan sa lupang tinitirikan ang halos tatlundaan-libong mahihirap na pamilya.

Pinagtibay natin ang ancestral domain ng mga katutubo sa mahigit tatlundaan animnapung libong ektarya ng lupain.

Tungkol sa pagkain sa bawat mesa:

Self-rated hunger according to the surveys has gone down to 6.6.% compared to 12.7% just before I became president.

Mayroon tayong pirmihang supply ng bigas sa halagang labing anim na piso bawat kilo para sa mahihirap.

At ayon sa masugid na pagmonitor ni Mar Roxas, ang ating Secretary of Trade, mula noong ako’y naging pangulo, nanatiling P8.50 ang halaga ng pangmasang sardinas, P11 ang mantikang lapad, P23 ang mantikang long-neck, P28 ang puting asukal, P23 ang brown sugar, P28 ang kondensada, P115 ang baboy, P90 ang manok, at P160 ang baka. Matatag itong mga presyo mula nang ako’y naging pangulo. Dahil dito, ngayon pinakamababa ang ating inflation rate sa loob ng dalawampung taon.

Malamang ito ay dahil ang aking administrasyon sa tulong ng Kongreso ay taun-taon gumugugol ng dalawampung bilyong piso para sa makataong modernisasyon ng agrikultura.

Namahagi tayo ng halos kalahating milyong ektarya sa ilalim ng reporma sa lupa. Mas marami pa tayong magagawa sa tatlumpu’t walong bilyong pisong inilaan para dito ng desisyon ng Korte Suprema tungkol sa nakaw na yaman.

I congratulate the Supreme Court for finally granting what has taken much too long to materialize: authorizing the allocation and use of private loot for laudable public purposes.

Hinihiling ko sa Kongreso na maglaan ng bagahi nitong pondo bilang kabayaran sa mga naging biktima ng paglabag sa karapatang pantao noong Martial Law.

Mas malaki rin ang maitutulong ng gobyerno sa mga magsasaka ng niyog ngayon na naresolba na pabor sa magsasaka ang kaso ng coco levy. Uulitin ko ang sinabi ko noon pang 2001, sisiguruhin ko na makikinabang sa coco levy ay ang mga maliliit na magnyo-niyog. Hindi ko sila pababayaang madehado.

I said that there could be a million new jobs in agriculture and fisheries. We have provided more than half of that number two-thirds into my term.

Ngunit upang mabuo ang isang milyon, kailangan isabatas natin ang panukalang gamitin ang bukirin bilang kolateral sa utang para lumawak ang daan sa rural credit at kapital.

To the countless incentives that Congress has granted to business, I’ve matched similar programs to give a similar break to the worker in the factory and in the farm.

I do not subscribe to trickle down economics and social policy. Those who have less in life should not have to scramble for crumbs at the feet of those with too much on the table.

Bilang pakikipag-ugnayan sa mga pinakamahirap ng ating bansa hinggil sa pinakamalubhang mga problema natin, dinalaw ko ang mga di-kilalang barangay.

Nawasak ang aking puso nang narinig kong namatay ang Calisaan quadruplets.

Lalong nakumbinsi akong pag-ibayuhin ang mga serbisyong pangkalusugan, gaya nang mabuti nating paglaban sa SARS.

Ngayon ang mga gamot na madalas gamitin ng mahihirap ay nabibili sa kalahating presyo sa mga ospital ng gobyerno.

Sa Philhealth insurance naman, bago ako naging pangulo, isa’t kalahating milyong maralita ang sakop. Ngayon, halos pitong milyon na.

Gusto kong palawakin ang mga ito, ang murang gamot, at dapat hangarin natin na lahat ng dukha ay masakop sa Philhealth. And to finance the universal coverage of Philhealth, I ask Congress to pass the bill on the indexation of sin taxes.

Tungkol sa trabaho:

Sinabi ko noong 2001 na upang dumami ang trabaho, kailangang isa-ayos ang klima para sa pamumuhunan.

Our economy grew by 4.4 percent GNP last year and 5.6 percent in the first quarter of this year. Only China and Vietnam did better.

Ang kahirapan ay unti-unting nagagapi. Self-rated poverty again according to the survey, is at its lowest percentage of the population in the last 16 years.

Foreign investments rose 26 percent in the first quarter compared to the same period last year.

But we need to reduce the risk of living, not to mention doing business here. Which is why yesterday’s rogues must go to jail.

We can reduce business costs by providing basic infrastructure: roads, transport and a more efficient and rationalized power sector.

Our road program is symbolized by the long-awaited expansion of the north expressway.

On mass transport, towards the end of this year, we will complete the loop of the light railway system of Metro Manila — from Santolan in Pasig towards Aurora Boulevard in Cubao, and on to Quiapo to Blumentritt on to Edsa in Pasay and back to Cubao.

Hindi tumaas ang pasahe mula noong una kong State of the Nation Address. Kaya mga jeepney drivers, nagpapasalamat ako, hindi ko kayo pababayaan.

To reduce transport costs from Mindanao to Luzon, we set up the nautical highway, a system where the cargo truck itself travels straight to its destination, making inter-island crossings on ferries, rather than loading and unloading at every port. This has reduced by 30 percent the transport costs of products from Mindanao like copra, rice, corn and vegetables.

Nagbigay tayo ng koryente sa mahigit tatlunlibo at anim na raang barangay. While in Metro Manila, a consumer using a 100 kilowatt hours paid P526.48 last May. Today, he pays P423.20, a drop of over a 100 pesos or 20 percent. His case is one of almost 2 million households benefitting from the lifeline rate program of the Energy Regulatory Commission. Another 119 electric cooperative franchise areas will also soon reduce their rates under the loan condonation program of the Electric Power Reform Act that you, Congress passed in 2001. That is why, believe me when I say that from having the second most expensive power in Asia-pacific, we now rank seventh.

But we will need 6,000 megawatts more of power over the next ten years. That is why we need to pass the TRANSCO Bill to maintain a favorable ranking as we take on this added capacity.

When we reduce business costs, the last should be wages, and the first should be red tape.

Kaya nagsasagawa ako ng sorpresang pagbisita sa mga tanggapan ng gobyerno, upang pasiglahin ang talagang nagsisikap at gisingin kung sino ang natutulog sa trabaho.

Pinalakas natin ang pambansang ekonomiya — agrikultura, maliliit na negosyo, pabahay — upang anumang mangyari sa dayuhang ekonomiya, matatag pa rin ang pilipinas.

Naglaan tayo ng sampung bilyong piso para sa murang pautang sa maliliit na negosyo. Nagamit na ito, kaya dadagdagan muli natin ng higit pa sa sampung bilyon.

Ang interest rates ay patuloy na bumababa.

Good monetary policy and fiscal discipline and balance are the key.

Our revenues surpassed the target by 21 billion pesos in the first five months of this year, driven by information technology, and helped by lifestyle checks, and 50 indictments and dismissals for graft and corruption.

Thus, we held the budget deficit in check at 22 percent below ceiling.

I thank Congress for passing our E-Procurement Law because it helps us hold down expenditures. Now, I ask Congress to complete the passage of the bills on Excise Tax Rationalization and the National Revenue Authority.

But we must reduce corruption not only among appointive but also among elective officials.

With full financial support to my government, the registration, counting, and transmission of votes in the May 2004 elections will be completely computerized.

Now, I ask congress to institute reforms in campaign finance to level the playing field and widen the choice of the electorate for worthy candidates.

The strength of our investment climate also rests in great part on the realities of the global and regional environment and on how we turn those realities to our advantage.

Our country has come much closer to re-attaining its strategic importance in geopolitics as an active and respected voice in international affairs.

The Filipino is now recognized as a truly global worker, both at home and abroad.

We have had the smallest number of strikes in the last 21 years.

Increasingly, the Philippines is being recognized as an ideal site for critical operations requiring a high-quality, English-educated work force.

Eight million Filipinos live and work abroad, in jobs where they enjoy the unbeatable comparative advantages of an English speaking education, advanced skills and a uniquely caring nature.

The Filipino will work anywhere because he is not afraid. Like Manny Pacquiao, given the chance to compete, he will take it and he will win. It was only fitting that because of your work in Congress, Overseas Filipino Workers were given the overseas voting right.

It was also fitting that I put in a new perspective on our relations with the United States, where three million Filipinos live and where I made a visit as their only state visitor for the year. The benefits of our engagement with the U.S. vastly outweigh any concerns about sovereign subordination. We should have the confidence to deal with other countries as equals — however rich, however strong, be they China, Japan, the members of the European union or the United States.

We have reached out to good friends and neighbors-such as Prime Minister Mahathir of Malaysia, and President Megawati of Indonesia — with the message that we must work together especially where democracy and security are concerned.

Ang panguluhan ay laging nahaharap sa mabibigat na suliranin.

Terrorism, drugs, SARS, OFWS, Mindanao, poverty, corruption, investments, destabilization — these come to mind as we review the crises and opportunities of the past year.

They sum up the problems we faced and the extraordinary responses that we made, surprising even ourselves and reviving faith in our future.

Barangay Vacante, Alcala, Pangasinan got the SARS, took the hit, fought on and valiantly overcame the crisis.

Barangay Inug-ug, Pagalungan, Maguindanao politely asked the MILF and the military to leave and take their fight elsewhere, thereby making their community a sanctuary of peace.

Si Sonny Ayao, umayaw sa giyera at naging community organizer kahit na s’ya ay naging MNLF sa edad na labindalawa, at pagkatapos maging Mujahideen sa loob ng dalawampu’t pitong taon.

The Filipinos of Kuwait, isolated by war but refusing to abandon their jobs, took care of themselves and the people around them during the Iraq conflict.

Teacher Josette Biyo of Iloilo, world champion in science and math teaching, has a planet in the solar system named after her.

Luz Lozada, 72 years old, ng San Isidro, Davao del Sur — hinirang na natatanging magsasaka. She is the image model of hybrid rice technology, the symbol of our agricultural modernization.

Police officers Cayetano Gannaban and Raul Graza fought off 20 rebels in a firefight in Quinapondan, Eastern Samar.

Police colonel Boysie Rosales, kilabot ng mga drug lords, tumanggi sa suhol na P35 million.

Hinahangaan ko ang gilas ng maraming Pilipino, ang malalim nating kaban ng kabayanihan at talino, ang ating matibay na kalooban upang mabuhay, maglingkod at mangibabaw.

Ang ating pangarap ay walang kabawas-bawas — isang matatag na republikang hindi matitinag ng makasariling interes, yumayabong sa mga gumaganang institusyon ng pamamahala, naglilingkod sa isang masipag na lipi saanman ito kailangan upang maibigay sa kanila ang karapat-dapat nilang tanggapin.

A life of leadership is a difficult one, with few pauses for comfort and relief. These days, I find that rare moment of joy in the company of my family — especially my granddaughter, Mikaela.

Just as I will do everything to make sure that the future will be kind to Mikaela and her generation, so must we all strive to turn our fears into a resolve to do right not just by ourselves, but by our children and grandchildren.

Nasa giyera tayo. Giyera laban sa terorismo. Giyera laban sa katiwalian. Giyera laban sa kasakitan. Giyera laban sa droga. Giyera laban sa distabilisasyon.

Sa ating sama-samang pakikipaglaban at pagtutulungan, tayo ay mangingibabaw at magwawagi.

No agtutunos tayo nga agtrabaho, agba leygi tayo.

Abe-abeng makilaban ampon mag-obra, mangibabo tamu.

Sa atong panaghiusa sa pagtrabaho ug pagbuntog sa mga kaaway, molampos gayod kita.

Sa aton pag-inupod sa mga ulubrahon kag sa pakipag-away, kita gid ang magpangibabaw.

Kasihan nawa ng Diyos ang Pilipinas.

Maraming salamat sa inyong lahat.