This year no doubt was filled with very serious problems – natural and man-made. We started the year with the threat of SARS, which, thanks to the quick thinking and action of this administration, did not spread in the country as it did in China and Canada. There was also the MV San Nicolas tragedy, which left a little over 20 people dead and hundreds of families in shock. Typhoon "Harurot" and "Chedeng," which caused massive floods, collectively left more than 25,000 families homeless and about 150 million pesos in agricultural and infrastructure damages. The landslide that happened in Leyte recently and the resulting death toll is a loud reminder to us that we cannot go on messing with our environment and senselessly cutting down the forests without paying the cost in human life. We should not forget the rash of terrorist bombings in Maguidanao, Koronadal City in South Cotabato and the Muslim District in Tibungco in South Cotabato where three mosques were bombed, and the Davao airport bombing which left many innocent people dead and injured. It’s a continuing call to Filipinos that we should never put our guard down in the fight against terrorism. The capture of Commander Robot, on the other hand, is a big boost for the country because of the positive international publicity we received.
It’s good to know that NAKTF is doing its best to prevent terrorist threats this holiday season by increasing the number of checkpoints. By the way, NAKTF and Police Anti-Crime Emergency Response units have done a great job in capturing one of Betti Sy’s kidnappers. It’s a strong indication that the long arm of the law is still at work. Of course, there’s the Oakwood mutiny and the NAIA Tower II take-over, which left the country, particularly the business sector, in a state of uncertainty and paralysis for many months. All these happened amid the muddy backdrop of fighting among and within political parties and mudslinging between the administration and the opposition, which caused the country to be numb, desperate and confused. But no matter how seemingly hopeless many Filipinos have become, no doomsday prophet can say with finality the Philippines will die. To borrow from Mark Twain – "The death of the Philippines is greatly exaggerated."
For hundreds of years, this country has seen and experienced tragedy after tragedy after tragedy, far worse than what we are experiencing today. Still we are here – moving on despite the present problems. Compared to most countries in Asia whose history is not as rich as ours, we can proudly say we’ve been there, done that. We’ve been through war and revolution with Spain, Japan and the Americans. Our war against foreign domination produced one of the most diverse group of heroes, thinkers and martyrs other Asian countries will never get the chance of having, like Jose Rizal, Andres Bonifacio, and Emilio Aguinaldo, to name a few. Today, Japan and the United States remain as our strongest trade partners and allies, while Spain is a well-loved tourist spot of Filipinos. Natural disasters like Typhoon "Yoling" and the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo were no doubt devastating, but it never broke the resiliency of the Filipino people. Pampanga and the neighboring provinces affected by the blast are now back on their feet. Some of the worst eruptions in Philippine history were made by Taal Volcano, but the communities surrounding it like Tanauan, Bauan and Lipa are now bustling with business. For over thirty years, the war in Mindanao has not ceased, but in no way did it stop our Muslim brothers from doing business. Many foreign and local investors are still eyeing Mindanao as the "Breadbasket of Asia." The Abu Sayyaf tried to destroy the image of Mindanao and the Islamic community in general, but after 9-11, with the help of the United States particularly George W. Bush, we have been able to effectively neutralize them.
Because of the good economic fundamentals and policies, the Philippines was able to rise above the 1997 Asian economic crisis, which left other Asian economies almost crippled. Today, the country’s dollar reserves remain at 16 billion US dollars, enough to pay for 4.7 months worth of imports. This is a good sign to investors that we are not totally out of business since the government has enough money to pay for maturing debt obligations, perhaps due to some fiscal management. It may be the lowest in Asia, but we?re getting by. It was also reported that a sugar crisis may hit Negros Occidental soon, but on the other hand, 120,000 metric tons of Philippine sugar would be exported to the United States next year. Some IT firms are looking at property development in Cavite along the same time. This simply means that despite the present problems, we are not at a standstill. Just are there are bad times, there will surely be good times. It may take us a longer period of time to do so, but we will definitely get there. As my father, who was a doctor, used to tell all of us, his children, many years ago when there were so many negatives going on – "There will always be a Philippines."
New Year means turning a new leaf. There are many cynics in this country today, especially from the upper crust of society, that are saying there is very little hope for Filipinos. Or worse, an FPJ victory would surely bring about the death of the Philippines. On the contrary, I believe it’s the silver lining that should signal to all of us that we must all change – change for the better. Ambassador Frank Ricciardone told us during The Philippine STAR Christmas party last week that "Twelve months from now, this country will be better off than today no matter who is elected President." Frankly, I tend to agree with Frank, not because he’s the US Ambassador, but because I strongly believe we will survive as a nation no matter what happens. History has proven this to be true.