Good evening my
friends. It's good to be Filipino, eh?
I want to talk to
you about our country. About our history and future. And about who we are as a
nation.
Lets start with the basics. We are an Asian
country. Let's make that clear. We are not European, although we are a
playground for Europeans and we hosted Spanish marauders for several centuries. We
are not Middle Eastern, although Filipinos work in homes and offices across the Middle
East. We are not Canadian although we speak English better than those Quebec
rebels do. We are not Mexican although Mexicans box pretty damn well, too.
We are not American, for sure. And we are not America's little orphan brother.
We are the Republic of the Philippines.
And we are an Asian
country.
So today I want to
speak to three audiences. First, I want to speak to our Asian neighbors, our friends and our rivals in the peaceful competition for markets and goods and travel in this exciting part of the world. Second, I want to speak to Americans and their friends, the Europeans - those we term "Western Nations". And, finally, I want to speak to you, my fellow Filipino citizens.
Long live the Republic!
Although we are an
Asian nation, our racial heritage is mixed. It's about as mixed as it can get.
Native Filipinos have been here since
before some of our volcanoes broke from the earth. They are older than a hundred Enriles stacked end to end. And being at the heart of trade and commerce in Asia, we have had many visitors. Some stayed longer than we wanted, but that happens with some guests, eh?
And the visitors mixed with the native Filipinos. Chinese, Malaysian,
Indonesian, Moro, Spanish, American, African and who knows what else. People
are surprised to look at us and see brown, eh? That is the bias, really, the
discrimination of the Western world, is it not, to think that the mixing of all
the races of the world should somehow turn up white?
Well, that is also
the error of many cosmetics companies, too, but I don't begrudge them making a
little money on colors they deem stylish.
But we are brown. If
you blend all the nationalities of the world, as we have done in the
Philippines, we get what we are. Brown. So those of you who are not brown,
kindly set aside this notion that your color is the color of the world. It is
not. We, the Filipino, are the natural color of this world.
Let me be very candid here. Our history is rich
with conquest. Unfortunately, we were on the underside of that conquest much of
the time. We of the hills and lands were no match for the military powers of
Spain and the US and Japan. But we fought and bled with the best of them, with
guns and knives and bare fists.
Our families have known of the tragedies of war.
And we don't like such tragedies.
We prefer peace. So
let it be known, let all our neighbors and friends know, we are a peaceful land.
But we aspire to
something we have never had as a nation.
We aspire to walk
alone. To stand independent as a nation equal to all. Better than none, worse
than none. Equal to all.
And we are
passionate about doing that. We have been occupied by foreign lands and we want
to be rid of foreign occupancy.
If our good friend
China fails to understand why we are adamant about our territory, about our
seas, we would encourage them to understand that we are angry about our past,
about the abuses brought to our shores by militaristic conquerors of the past.
We are determined to stand free, to claim what is ours, and to rule it our way.
If our good friend
America fails to understand why we throw off the suffocating presence of
foreign warships, or rise up in anger when one sails into a precious reef, we
would encourage America to understand that we yearn to stand alone. To be masters
of our own destiny. To be rid of foreign influence either real, or imagined.
To business people
around the world. If our corporate ownership rules seem defensive to you, limiting
foreign ownership to 40 percent, we would encourage you to understand that we
are not for sale to anybody. That we are wary of those who would take control
of our valued businesses and take the profits and run. We are through with
being used for other people's well-being, and discarded. Perhaps there will be
a day when our economy is strong enough to warrant a higher foreign ownership
percentage. But this is not that day. We believe the determined among you will
find a way to work with Filipinos and with Filipino corporations to make money. And in that way, you will participate in the blossoming of a vibrant economy in Asia.
When we are more secure, we can take more risks.
To my fellow
citizens, my brown and beautiful and peaceful people, I say this. Corruption and ignorance
are as powerful as any foreign occupancy at stopping our growth and our
progress. If we look at the history of the Philippines, we can see that
our wealth has been controlled by the landed few. The dynasties, the
landowners, the big business owners. I am from such a dynastic family myself.
We have captured the road leading to power and influence, and become occupiers
of our own nation.
This must stop. It
is as oppressive as foreign armies and navies. We must open up government and
business opportunities to more Filipinos. Those Filipinos from any family, with
or without land, with or without name, who aspire to work hard and work smart to get ahead. Ambition
is not a bad word. It is a good word, and it ought not be reserved only for
those of name and land.
To the churches of this land, you are a part
of our heritage and the values we possess. We thank you for standing firm as the conscience of our nation. But, frankly, we hope you will minister to the
whole of our peoples and not limit yourselves to one political spectrum or
another. Politics is a divisive business, and those churches that engage
directly in political battles subject our people to unnecessary choices, to
vote for the good of the Philippines, or to vote for their faith. The churches
must accept that we are a nation of many people, many ideas, many faiths. The
job of the State is to work for all, no matter the faith. So we ask church
leaders to respect our State obligation to serve those of every faith, and even
non-faiths.
We are a
conservative nation, yet we too often live secret lives that are not
conservative. We slip under too many radars, abuse too many laws, carry too
many guns, exert too much violence as a way to solve problems. Violence does
not solve problems. And disobeying rules is a cancer that leads to more and more
rule-breaking until soon we forget what it means to live for the good of the
community.
That is what laws
are for. The good of the community.
And we ignore them
too often.
So we, as Filipinos,
need both greater freedom and opportunity, to compete for better jobs and more prosperity. And we
need greater discipline, to do this honestly. Because discipline is best for
the community of Filipinos.
So to the leaders of
foreign nations, I say, respect our sovereignty. We are passionate about
defending it. We will defend it to the death.
To those who would
use and abuse the Philippines, we say, no more. We will govern our own affairs.
We will do this in partnership with others when we share the same goals. But we
will not bow to the whims and wills of nations that do not respect our right to
self-determination.
And to our people, I
say, rise! Stand up and stand for certain principles.
Stand for the
freedoms we cherish, to speak openly and compete fairly for opportunities and
prosperity. And stand up for discipline, for the strength it takes to obey the
laws and give a little of ourselves to the community of Filipinos.
It's a great day to be Filipino. It is indeed. Thank you, and may God bless the Republic of the Philippines!
