Life is dynamic.  After the February election of 1986, when Corazon C. Aquino perceptively won the votes but lost the counting – LABAN decided to go on a boycott campaign: no patronage of any goods from companies controlled by the dictatorship:  UCPB, Merlaco, Nasutra etc.  One day before EDSA I broke into the open, we had a big meeting at the Ateneo where people from slums and residencies across Metro Manila gathered to intensify the bang for boycott.  I spoke before that big gathering – I said – ‘mag boycott tayo – sa lahat ng kumpanya na kontrolado ng pamahalaan.  Gaya ng Meralco.  Kontrolado ng Malacañang iyan.  Nagpapalakas lamang sa diktadura.  Kaya wag tayong magbayad ng electric bill.  Di nila pwedeng putulin ang kuryente sapagkat kampi natin ang hustisya ng bayan.  At marami tayong abogadong handang tumulong sa atin – Huwag magbayad ng electric bill!’

The next day EDSA I erupted.  Cory was installed President on Wednesday of the week following the dramatic triumph of people power.  Two days later she called me and said ‘Tito, I need you to take over Meralco.  Am appointing you President of Meralco!’

So I became President of Meralco for ten days – and one of the first things I did was to address another big meeting of the people.  ‘Kailangan magbayad sa kuryente.  Bago na ang buhay.  Magbayad na tayo!’

In 1991 I voted against the extension of the U.S. bases.  In 1999 I voted against the Visiting Forces Agreement.  We lost and brought the battle to the Supreme Court.  We lost again.  On January 20, 2001 Gloria Macapagal Arroyo was sworn in as President of the Republic.  She appointed me Secretary of Foreign Affairs.  When I assumed office – one of the issues I had to resolve was the Balikatan Exercise of the Visiting Forces Agreement.  As secretary of the DFA, I had almost forgotten that by law I had to oversee Balikatan – the very essence of the Visiting Forces Agreement I had vigorously opposed in the Senate.

But we accept realities rationally.  I am not anti American, only pro Filipino.  When I voted against the U.S. Bases, for example, I did not believe the doomsday scenario meant no more employment for thousands of our countrymen.  On the contrary, I envisioned self-reliance to result.  True enough -- employment more than doubled and investments kept coming – and the economy kept on growing until the financial crisis of 1997.  Mabuhay ang Filipino!  And when Balikatan was proposed for Basilan, I had reservations which I took up with the President.  She then suggested that I help craft the Terms of Reference that would guide the Exercises.  I did.  And now… as we look back we see that it was a fruitful exercise.  The U.S. officers and men helped to train our soldiers with the use of night visions and snipers rifles and sophisticated weapons even as we taught them local techniques in jungle fighting.  The U.S. forces did not engage in combat, only advise – and the results show that they adhered to the Terms of Reference.  In decimating the local bandits combat was undertaken by naval seals of the Armed Forces of the Philippines not by Americans.  The latest encounter did not happen by accident.  It was the result of detailed planning, verified intelligence, and thorough preparation.  When Abu Sabaya and his men boarded their boat to escape – the Filipino naval seals were already positioned.  After watching the attempt with night visions, the naval ship spurted from its hideaway – and rammed the bandits’ boat.  It was a one sided battle in favor of our nation’s law enforcers.

The Basilan exercise was a success.  Both AFP and U.S. soldiers adhered to the terms of reference.  They were intended to limit combat to Philippine soldiers, and it was our own who engaged the Abu Sayaff terrorists.  The terms were meant to restrict the conflict to that group alone, not widen the same to other organizations like the MILF with whom we have negotiations for peace, and the action was so limited.  Basilan Balikatan therefore showed that we can have joint exercise with a foreign ally to promote national interest.  I am not anti-American, only pro-Filipino.  Mabuhay ang mga nag participate sa Balikatan.

Mindanao – land of blood, land of hope.  We must break down the barriers of bias and suspicion between our Christian and Muslim brothers before it worsens into a state of open conflict similar – God forbid – to the bloodbath in the Middle East.  There are allegations of links between locals and Al-Queda.  So far only foreigners have been positively identified: Khalid Mohammed, Ramzi Yousef and Hashim Murad, and Khalifa, the relative of Bin Laden – all came to the Philippines in the early 90’s but all left the country on or before 1995.  Fathur Al Ghozi, also a foreigner, was arrested for the illegal possession of explosives used in the December 2000 bombings in Metro Manila.  Intelligence is still investigating carefully and thoroughly further possible connection since allegations of links with locals if true could lead to awesome consequences.  Two weeks ago a government official went to Hawaii and was thoroughly searched including the soles of his feet.  He did not begrudge the search as the same was part of security – but what he detested were actuations that led him to believe that he was being thoroughly frisked because he was a Filipino from the South.

We in the DFA are calling for a national meet between clergy, the academe, and civic leaders of Christians and Muslims alike to reach out and have a better understanding of the challenge – not only to prevent potential conflict from flaring in Mindanao – but also because we have almost one million OFWs in the Middle East.  To attain peace we must sow it – in the hearts and minds of people in Mindanao who live there side by side.
 
Other vital challenges to the nation remains.  For example – the kidnappings and robberies spawned by the searing example of the Abus.  Organized gangs kidnap and rob foreigners and Filipinos alike.  They desecrate our quest for law and order, make a mockery of individual rights.  These gangs must be stopped.

In the early thirties, Chicago was plagued by similar gangs led by the infamous Al Capone.  He boasted that he had judges and policemen in his payroll.  He touted his illegal power.  Blood drenched the city.  He seemed immune to capture.  He said he could beat any rap, defeat any police adversary.  Until a man whose integrity and courage in the person of Eliot Ness was harnessed by the government.  Eliot Ness and his carefully selected group fought valiantly, and in the beginning they were bested by the tainted tactics of Al Capone.  Until one day an obscure but brave auditor was able to trace the illegal millions of dollars amassed by Al Capone.  They made the daring arrest – and despite attempts to bribe the jury – even if the prosecutors could not file charges of murder or illegal breach of the prohibition law then in force – they got him for tax evasion – because the written records told the true but sordid story.  Capone was sentenced to prison and died a broken man.

We should do the same here.  Somewhere amongst the law enforcers, there is an Eliot Ness.  And when he comes, the entire citizenry must give support: with power to select the men, with adequate equipment, and intelligence fund.  Responsible directly to the President.  Accountable only to the President for the wise use of intelligence funds for assets like those used by the Philippine Navy in the last encounter in Basilan with the Abu Sayaffs.

In Foreign Affairs, we have pursued principles adopted by the President who formulates policy.  We have, for example, in every ASEAN forum amongst foreign ministers stressed the need to settle the disputes in the Spratleys and South China seas in an amicable manner thru diplomacy and negotiations.  Except for some reservations it is safe to assert that all nations involved in the dispute – including China – have agreed in principles to the same.

When the time comes, we can show China that the Scarborough Shoal – which is really an island – endowed with bountiful marine life, truly belongs to the Philippines because aerial sights when magnified show that Scarborough is linked to Zambales as a continental shelf.  There exists evidence that during Spanish times Scarborough was named Bajo de Masinloc after the town of Upper Masinloc which was one of the bigger towns in Zambales during those days.

As far as the Spratleys are concerned we can sit down with other nations involved and ask them – instead of maintaining semi-belligerent occupations of islands -- to pursue joint peaceful endeavors like common research and use of marine resources for an equitable sharing – not only for the good of the region but for the benefit of mankind.

But one of our main challenges springs from the needs of almost eight million Filipino workers and residents abroad.  The Philippines pursues the principle of patria potesta.  We care for our citizens when they go abroad, and our civil law follows them whenever they go.  We not only care.  We protect and defend them.

Wherever you travel abroad you invariably see the Filipino worker.  In Asia.  In Australia.  In America.  In Africa.  Almost eight million of them.  I visit them wherever I can.  Even as they strive for a better life in a foreign land – they remain Filipino in their minds and hearts, in spirit and substance.  They eat sinigang and bagoong, lumpia and pancit and adobo, and drink tuba or its equivalent.  I have seen how they live in distant places, and in the living room of a humble apartment, the Filipino who hosted me displayed his favorite guitar.  He told me that almost every evening after work, he would sit and strum the guitar and sing his favorite songs, sometimes kundimans, oftentimes love songs – pang romansa!

In every gathering of Filipinos abroad they open up and I listen to their concerns.  And I tell them that their quest for a better life abroad, driven by need, is only temporary.  Other nationals of other nations now rich and prosperous also underwent the pains of migration.  Ireland in the early years was struck by the black potato famine and people could not eat that main staple.  Many became hungry and poor and thousands fled the homeland in quest of a better life.  Quite a number went to America where their forefathers bred the Irish cops of New York and men in Massachusetts like John F. Kennedy.  A similar migration was experienced by the Japanese.  In the early years, before they opened up, many were poor, and many left the nation to seek a better life.  Some went to Hawaii and California, some to Peru where the father of Mr. Fujimori sired the future president of that nation.  China herself, now looming as an awakened economic giant, was once poor and downtrodden.  At the turn of the 20th century gunboat diplomacy forced her to concede choice territories to foreign powers who sliced up the richer portion of China like a watermelon amongst themselves.  The Chinese were derided.  They claimed that the coolie was good only as hewer of wood and carrier of water.  The people sank into deeper poverties, and many were forced to migrate.  They went to Singapore and Malaysia and Indonesia.  They went to the Philippines, to Binondo and Pampanga and Sulu.  Women of clod feet worked as domestic amahs, men sold bottles and wares.  They were poor and they suffered.  But by dint of hard work and honest toil and the proverbial frugality symbolized by lugaw – they became rich and prosperous: Henry Sy, George Ty, Lucio Tan – Titans who now can afford to invest in the homeland of their fathers.

So I tell the Filipino gatherings abroad: yours is a worthy cause.  Even now there are already a number of Filipinos amongst you who have prospered and advanced their skills and professions.  Who knows that amongst you will rise the equivalent of a Bill Gates?  And if the Irish can, if Japan can, and if China can, cannot the Philippines also prosper?  If men like Lucio Tan and Henry Sy and George Ty overcame poverty and obscurity cannot you also move our nation forward and help overcome adversities?

The Filipino abroad has shown resiliency and self-reliance.  We in the DFA have crafted a program to help him mobilize savings for his own welfare.

Bonds are usually issued for institutional investors involving large sums of money by the millions.  In consultation with the OFWs we have crafted and coordinated a program with the Department of Finance whereby the National Treasury will issue in Manila one hundred dollar denominated bonds.  The Overseas Filipino can invest.  It will mean savings for them with guaranteed returns, principal plus interest and some social benefits like life insurance, accidental death benefits, training for skills upgrading and entrepreneurship.  Underwriters for the program are three banks: Hongkong Shanghai Bank, Metro Bank, Land Bank.  We seek to implement starting next month.

To complement this program, the DFA, in coordination with HUDCC, has lain out housing projects principally for the Overseas Filipino Investor.  The proceeds from the bonds go to the national treasury but the OFW investor if he so chooses can convert his bond within or after the term of three years either for a housing unit or a small business for himself and family.  We will start this program within 60 days of this year.

We are making a bid to enhance the world competitiveness of Filipino seafarers who comprise 20% of the total seafaring manpower of the world maritime industry.

In September this year we are holding the first ever National Seafarers Convention organized in order to prepare a Magna Carta for Filipino Seafarers.  International meetings as part of this Convention have already been successfully held in Rotterdam and will take place in Hamburg, Kaohshiung, Philadelphia, and Abu Dhabi.
 
In the political sphere the OFWs have asked for their right to vote and be accorded dual citizenship.  The approval by congress seems assured.  There are difficulties but they can be overcome.

But even if we empower the OFWs, even if we strengthen the military and build an effective national police, we do not build the nation unless we primarily address the economy and the social and spiritual needs of the Filipino here.

We must develop.  We must grow.  Not just in numbers but in quality production.  We must use all our native resources optimally and sustainably to feed, clothe, house, educate our own people.  We must give our children hope that their own country will offer them opportunities to fulfill their dreams for the good life.

We must not forget that this is the point of development.  The objective is not to feed shrimps, bananas, mangoes, pineapples to the wealthy of this world, or copper and timber to their industries.  Our people in the long run do not exist to become their maids and the yayahs of their children, or to be the seamstresses of their clothes.

The object of our economic policy must be to provide our people and our present and future children the hope and real opportunity to lead full, human lives.  The point of exports is the import of the resources to provide our country with the capital and the materials and the technical and other services precisely to accomplish that objective.

Development is integration.  As signatories in the World Trade Organization we along with other developing countries are asked to integrate our economies into the global trading system.  But we cannot integrate into the world system if our many communities are not first integrated into an effective national system.  Our resources must provide affordable food, clothing and shelter for our people.  This means having the complement of industries to process our raw products into finished goods to meet local needs.  Exports make sense only when they offer a means of achieving this primordial objective with greater gains for all our people.  Not merely for the profits of a few.

Development is integration.  The Philippines, as an archipelago, is second only to Indonesia as the largest cluster of islands in the world.  Islands have unique problems in achieving integration.  Our nation is not a homogeneous whole.  It is a conglomeration of diverse communities at different levels of development.  Basilan, for example, is different from Northern Mindanao and the rest of the country.  For it to become an integral part of the global system, it must first become integrated into our national economy.  For its people to participate to their advantage in the world trading system, they must become part of a richer network of internal trade with the rest of the country.

We must integrate the resources of Basilan into the rest of the nation – in providing food and livelihood for its own people as well as raw materials for industry there or elsewhere in the country.  It grows rubber that can be processed there or sold to Bukidnon which in turn might process them into footwear for local use as well as for export.  Its coastal communities grow sea-weeds that are the raw material for refined carageenan.  This material can be processed with plants built in Basilan or elsewhere in the country for food or as binding material for packaging of IT products like computer chips and semi conductors.  In all instances, a long chain of domestic values added to the products give out incomes for communities along the way.

The ultimate answer to terrorism is to integrate the marginalized into a sustainably developing nation.  Jobs not guns.

We must teach our farmers to build from what we have.  The DFA pursuant to policy of maximizing potential gains is encouraging the people in Guimaras to grow more mangoes, to sell more to Australia and the U.S.  And we are shaping foreign assistance and ODA to modernize agriculture, to teach our farmers how to grow high valued crops and our fishermen new methods of fishing.

We must face the looming challenge of WTO.

According to Joseph Stiglitz, a distinguished Economics Professor of Columbia University “Globalization is an unfair game, with the rules written by rich advanced industrial countries for rich industrial countries”.

The U.S. subsidizes her agricultural exports by $20 billion dollar a year, Japan by $30 billion, EU by $60 billion.  A developing nation like the Philippines has zero export subsidy.

Export subsidy consists of payment to farmers of inputs like fertilizers and seed costs, market price and promotion, research and development, farm infrastructures.  When some nations interested in promoting palm or corn oil conducted a campaign to state that coco oil was afflicted by Afla Toxin and therefore carenogenic, they were telling the public that our coconut oil was harmful , better to switch to palm or corn oil they were extending export subsidy to their products against ours.  They were eventually proven wrong but it cost us plenty.

And in this uneven playing field – the rich nations wrote the rules of WTO in a more distorted manner.  Developed countries are expected to bring down export subsidies to 20% of gross agricultural value in six years but developing nations must bring down subsidies if any to only 13% in ten years.  In dollar terms, Japan has a floor ceiling of $3 billion dollars, U.S. $19.1 billion, European Union $60 billion.  A developing nation like ours will have an effective ceiling of only $400 million dollars – but we have no money.  The NFA has barely one billion pesos a year for palay.  And we do not export rice.  No money, no level playing field, no fair trade in a supposed free trade.

The rich nations must grant special and differential treatment.  They must give meaning to the Doha declaration.  Access.  Capacity building.  Time to adjust.  We must not be asked to unduly lower tariffs while rich countries increase theirs.  We should not be pressured to admit products – especially products that prejudice if not kill our farmers – when advanced nations even now are increasing export subsidies.  We should be given time to integrate our own domestic essential products before we integrate with World Trade Rules.

We build the nation by building the Filipino.  We must, thru information technology, empower his mind and body.  Not just the students but farmers and fisherfolks and workers as well.

Just as vital – is the challenge to renew the spirit of the Filipino – against corruption, against despair, against a creeping sense of helplessness because of the mounting problems facing us.

It was Father Horacio de la Costa who said that the Filipino may be poor and oppressed – but he possesses two precious gems: his faith and his music.  Faith in God preserved to overcome the forces of evil.  Music in his kundimans – to sing and say to the world, I am a Filipino.  I have this land of seven thousand islands.  My forefathers were honest, hardworking.  In their time public office meant real public service and sacrifice.  They were not corrupt, they did not kidnap, they did not rob.  They were dedicated.  Therefore as long as I can win back honesty in my heart, as long as I am willing to empower my mind anew and work as hard as my brothers who labor abroad – I can speak the truth and spurn deception – and one day I shall overcome – and one day I shall stand and proudly say – I am a Filipino!

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*Address by Vice President & Secretary of Foreign Affairs Teofisto T. Guingona, Jr. at the Manila Overseas Press Club (MOPC) "Vice-President's Night", 27 June 2002, at the Centennial Pavilion of the Manila Hotel.