Former Pres. Ramos’ speech had penetrating points

Former President Fidel V. Ramos recently delivered a speech that had many relevant points in the situation we find ourselves today. His opening statement clearly stated that everything depends on everybody. "Citizenship," he said, "is neither a part-time job or a hobby. It is an everyday obligation." Then he noted that what we need is to create more potent Weapons of Mass Upliftment to combat our real enemies foremost of which are poverty, disunity, greed, selfishness, corruption, laziness and complacency. And all these must start with quality education. We have always maintained that the so-called four freedoms have to start with freedom from ignorance and that is just another name for education.

During the Spanish times, the King sent Sinibaldo de Mas to the Philippines to inform him of the actual situation here. This was at a time when the Filipinos had already made their first moves for independence. The first thing Sinibaldo de Mas recommended to the King was for him to grant the Philippine demands! Why? Because the literacy rate in the Philippines was even much higher than its Mother Country Spain.

In his speech, former President Ramos extensively quoted the findings of the International Institute for Management Development of Switzerland (IIMD) which stated that the Philippines’ strength was its working people. Its weakness on the other hand was corruption, poor infrastructure, in short. Our strength is people’s power; our weakness is the government it has elected. It is obvious, therefore, that what we need is good governance.

"Good governance," Ramos said, "must be developed and strengthened in the country and we Filipinos must begin nurturing this asset of good governance for our sustainable development and better future. To do this, we must raise our collective voices, mobilize our collective efforts, and use our collective votes."

Ramos sustained what we have always maintained. Our future depends on education. He said, "Right now, out of every 100 Filipino children, only 86 make it through the elementary grades, and only 44 ever finish high school.

"Yet, education has become the ultimate ladder of opportunity – for both individuals and for nations. This is why our country must face up to the burden of adequately educating all our young people – because quality basic education is imperative for our successful transition to the knowledge society.

"At the end, our university graduates will have to be measured against their foreign counterparts in the intensely competitive job market of the global economy.

"What each young Filipino will get out of education should, ideally, be an open and active mind that keeps one eager to discover things for one’s self. Indeed, an open and active mind is the best companion not only for one’s initial ventures in today’s competitive world – but for a lifetime!"