Her Excellency Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
President, Republic of the Philippines
February 2, 2001

Thank you very much. Thank you very much for your very warm applause. Thank you Ric for your introduction, and thank you Dick for your very kind encouraging words of support. And to all of you, the other movers and shakers of the economy, my cabinet members, ladies and gentlemen.

Thank you very much for the opportunity to meet with you once again as Dick said forty-five days ago we were together. And everything I said then that I intend to do I still intend to do. However, I could not deliver exactly the same speech because you were all there anyway.

But indeed, I am very grateful that you have conveyed by your warm welcome and your words, your strong support for our efforts to revive the economy and to restore good governance. As Dick said, the last time we were together forty-five days ago was during the height of the political and economic crisis. But now forty-five days later, we see that crisis finally culminated in a swift and peaceful installation of a new government.

These have been trying times indeed for the Philippines. And we cannot forget that the concerns that led to the crisis pertained to the wrong kind of governance, and we cannot forget that during this crisis, the very integrity of our basic national institutions was put on trial.

But now confidence in our country and its future has been restored because of how the crisis was resolved. My faith that I mention then when we met forty-five days ago, in the ability of our society's strategic sectors to influence events towards a peaceful and constitutional solution has been justified. Direct democratic action by our courageous people resolved the leadership crisis in the most remarkable manner imaginable. We sent out a failed democracy without disrupting the constitutional order. Thus, despite the desperate efforts of those who seek to regain the spoils of power, we can look to what our priorities are today and for the future. But we must work doubly hard to restore our economy to the path of growth.

I would like to think the warm welcome you extended to me today indicates the high hopes and confidence you have in my new administration. Certainly, the high optimism in our economic prospects shown by respondents in the Makati Business Club's Executive Outlook Survey gives us high hopes that the captains of industry are ready to place your trust once again in investing in our country's future.

Let me also thank the captains of industry because of the commitment that you have made as communicated to me by Raul Concepcion. Where he said that 342 firms representing 150,100 workers have agreed not to lay-off their workers in the first quarter of this year as their contribution to bolstering the economy and promoting industrial peace during the first months of this administration. Thank you to the business sector.

Indeed, the business community of the Philippines has proven to be a highly strategic sector at this point in our fast-moving history. It is not only because you are the prime movers of the country's economy, but also because you have played a key role in the events that led to the peaceful and constitutional solution to the recent crisis. The time is ripe for us to rise from the crisis and swiftly put our house in order in the face of the daunting task of healing, unifying and rebuilding our nation.

When I addressed your joint membership meeting last December, and also in my oathtaking remarks last January 20th, I outlined what I consider to be my core beliefs, some of which I would like to reiterate today.

First, we should seek to win the battle against poverty within this decade, as I said before, this is our unfinished business from the past and dates back to the creation of our Republic, yet to this day as we enter the 21st century poverty remains our main national problem.

The world of the 21st century that our youth will inherit is truly a new economy, where relentless forces such as capital flows and advances in I.C.T.s create both peril and opportunity.

I also stated that to tap the opportunities we need an economic philosophy of transparency and free enterprise to nurture the entrepreneurial spirit to be globally competitive.

To extend the opportunities to the rural countryside, we must create a modernized and socially equitable agricultural sector.

To address the perils, we must give a social bias to balance our economic development, embodied in, listening to Bishop Villena, safety nets of a Bishop for sectors affected by globalization, and safeguards for our government.

Another core belief is that we need to improve moral standards in government and in society in order to provide a good foundation for good governance, so that our gains are not dissipated by corruption. As I have said before, good governance must be based on a sound moral foundation, a philosophy of transparency, and an ethic of effective implementation.

Hence, I have issued administrative Order No. 1 prohibiting all public officers and employees from entering into official transactions related to contracts, supplies, and appointments to positions with my relatives and the relatives of my husband, whether real, pretended or imaginary.

I hope to lead a capable government that meets the expectations of our people. But this cannot be government-as-usual. We need an energized bureaucracy, an honest and inspired leadership and a competent corps of dedicated professionals in the public service.

Members of my cabinet were recruited on the basis of track record of competence, good reputation and performance.

Some sectors are complaining about my administration's "recycling" of government officials from past administrations. The question to ask, I believe is, what is terribly wrong with recycling good people? What is terribly wrong with getting back Mar Roxas from the successor generation who has done a fine job at the DTI? At the time of our big budget deficit, what is terribly wrong with getting back Emy Boncodin who presided over a budget surplus in her time? What is terribly wrong with getting from the ranks of career economists- Dante Canlas? What is terribly wrong with enlisting the services of one of the honest politicians that the Philippines has ever seen - Bert Romulo? And what is terribly wrong with asking Rene de Villa who presided over a most instrumental in transforming the Armed Forces from what was then in the early days after EDSA 1 a fractious and politicized military to the professional military that saved the Constitution in EDSA 2?

What is wrong with getting into the peace process the man who knew the whole thing, the whole story from the very beginning and that is Ed Ermita? And another vein, what's wrong with getting Sim Datumanong and Bebot Alvarez in the cabinet? Aside from the cabinet leaders, they will increase the stakes, trust and support of the people of Mindanao in our programs and policies. The Mindanaoans have long been neglected and under-represented in the highest level of decision-making. This is one of the reasons why the bright promise of Mindanao has not been fulfilled. It is about time we make a bolder move in giving Mindanaoans not a token but a major role in the cabinet.

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