An ideology of development

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Part of The Republic

Title: An ideology of development
Language: English
Subject: Marcos, Ferdinand Emmanuel E., Sr., 1917-1989 -- Speeches, addresses, etc.
Rights
Abstract: [Excerpts from the Former President Ferdinand Marcos' keynote address at a symposium on development, sponsored by the Department of Public Information, Maharlika Hall, Malacanang, on June 8, Philippine Independence Day.]
Fulltext: The Nation MUSLIM MISSION First-hand look at Mindanao World Muslim League delegation calls on President Marcos at Malacanang Members of a fact-finding mission from the World Muslim League have seen for themselves the conditions obtaining in Mindanao and are con vinced of the sincerity of government efforts to improve the lot of Muslim Filipinos. The mission, headed by Datu Syed Ibrahim Alsagof, reported their im pressions to President Marcos after visiting the country’s second largest island last week. They observed at close range the development program now being unriWM^^rtaken in Mindanao. They talked extensively not only with government officials but with Muslim leaders and plain citizens. The Muslims spoke highly of the President’s concern for their welfare, the mission members reported. The visit was an offshoot of the Muslim World League conference held in Benghazi, Libya, last March. During that conference, Libya introduced a resolution condemning the Philippines for alleged extermination of the Mus lims in Mindanao. But the delegations from Indonesia, Malaysia, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia succeeded in blunting the Libyan move and persuaded the conference to send a fact-finding mission to the Philippines instead. Philippine Ambassador Yusuf Abuba kar, himself a Muslim, also explained at the conference the government’s efforts to resolve the Mindanao prob lem, including the massive infusion of funds for the socio-economic develop ment of the area. When the mission arrived in Manila, the President welcomed them in Mala canang, the presidential residence, and assured them that the Philippines was exhausting all means to integrate the Filipino Muslim population into the country’s political and economic mainstream. He appealed for their cooperation in effecting assimilation and asked them what they could do to help strengthen Muslim-Christian rela tions. “I am very happy you are here and I hope you will help us cure this illness in the hearts of our people, this anger, this bitterness and this im patience,” the President said. Both the government and the military, the Pres ident added, were dealing with the problem with “patience and under standing.” The mission also included Moham med Asad Shahab, Jamal Miyan and Mohammed Almontasar Alkittani. They were accompanied by Saudi Arabian Ambassador Aquil Moham med Aquil and Mohammed Raya Miri, attache. In his talk with the mission, the President explained what the govern ment had been doing to uplift the conditions of the Muslims. He pointed out that: • The government had increased the number of Muslim scholars in colleges and universities from 2,000 to 4,000. • He had instructed the University of the Philippines to set up a center for Islamic studies. • The government had set aside extensive areas of public lands in Mindanao for distribution to landless Muslims and that titles to disputed lands were being clarified so these would no longer be a cause of trouble irrthe area. ' * 1 < ' • Many of the provinces in Min danao have Muslim governors, con gressmen, and mayors although there are numerous Christians residing in these areas. • Wherever possible, Christian mili tary officers are withdrawn and re placed with Muslims, while in other areas, one Muslim officer or enlisted man is assigned for every Christian in the unit. On the same occasion, Executive Secretary Alejandro Melchor, overall coordinator of the Mindanao program, gave the details of the implementation of the infrastructure and economic development projects for Mindanao. Among these are the construction of road networks throughout the island, development of airports and piers, grant of liberal government loans to farmers and fishermen, permission for a limited resumption of barter trade in the Sulu-Zamboanga-Basilan area, the use of Arabic in the government’s in formation and education programs and the continuing “policy of attraction” to misguided elements. During the delegation’s visit, the President extended, for the second time in four months, deadline on amnesty granted to those who had committed certain acts punishable un der the Revised Penal Code. The extension covered several Mindanao provinces. Also extended was the amnesty for violators of the anti subversion law. The deadline for the amnesty, granted under Presidental Decree No. 95, was originally set on Feb. 28. This was later extended to March 15 and again to July 15. Thus far, more than 600 persons in Mindanao have availed themselves of this amnesty. This was the second time since last year that tne Muslim world had sent a mission to Mindanao. The first was in July, 1972. The mission, composed of diplomats from Arab countries, was, dispatched 'to investigate Libya's charge that the Philippines was waging a genocidal war against the Muslims. The delegation made an on-the-spot survey and left convinced that the problem was basically the result of age-old economic and land disputes. THE PRESIDENT SPEAKS An ideology of development Excerpts from the President's keynote address at a symposium on develop ment, sponsored by the Department of Public Information, Mahar lika Hall, Malacanang, on June 8, eve of Philip pine Independence Day: The first phase of any revolution is stability. Development follows. The strategy for development I have mapped out. The priorities are clear. While we aim at the balanced agro-industrial economy, we attend first to agriculture. There is a world shortage of agricultural products. Not only cereals or staples but abaca and sugar are' in short supply. So our strategy is confirmed by the anxieties of the world. We develop our industry but reemphasize agriculture. I have often said that if I am asked what would be the answer to our problems, the answer would be pro duction. If every man, woman or child produced some product or service, then the country would be pros perous. It sounds simple but this is in truth the entire meaning and purpose of development. The purpose or objective, strategy and mechanics having been clarified, let me speak of the Ideology of Development. The subject of this symposium is one which exercises the intellectual and moral energies of men in this century. There is no people in the world today, whether rich or poor, that is unconcerned with the grand issue of development. And it is not by accident that the United Nations has declared the Seventies the “Second Development Decade.” The approach to development is what separates the rich from the poor peoples of the world. For the rich, the problem, is how to realize the promise of abundance, how to improve “the quality of life.” What certain Western intellectuals call Consciousness III re veals the serious thought that utopian ism is no longer impracticable in post-industrial, or super-rich, societies. But for the poor peoples, who com prise two-thirds of humanity, the de velopment experience translates itself in terms of survival and sheer existence; it has yet to be perceived in the radical humanist concepts of the industrialized world. The President delivering keynote address at symposium on development. Development, of course, is a pro cess that occurs in conditions as we find them, and not as we want them to be. We have to achieve material advancement within the context of the world political economy, under orientations and conditions estab lished by the revolution in communi cation. In sum, we exercise our human will and reason, we pursue our goals, under the pitiless scrutiny of what Macluhan calls “the global village.” This radically influences the acts of the poor peoples of the world, a burden which the present rich peoples did not have to bear in a similar stage of their development. And there is, above all, the over whelming pressure of ideologies — ideologies which are not indigenous — passing severe judgment on the efforts of the developing nations. On the one hand, capitalism; on the other hand, socialism or communism. Each ideo logy presents itself as the model at the same time that it denounces the other. We cannot ignore this pressure, or we can only ignore it on the basis of the confidence of our people. Let us recall the uniqueness of the revolution — of the 20th century — variously called the “revolution of rising expectations” or the “revolu tion of change” — characteristically the century of the poor. Before us, national development was achieved, or had to be achieved, through the ex ploitation of man by man.... It can be said, although a little oversimplified, that the humanist tradition of Western development was underwritten by the blood, or to be less colorful, the mis-development of colonized peo ples. This is a procedure, however, that can no longer be repeated. Not because this is absolutely impossible, since colonialism can take subtle (Turn to page 3) Page 2 16 June 1973 THE REPUBLIC The Nation Air pollution has been a burning issue in industrialized countries for the past several years. In many cases, it has ceased to be just an issue and has instead developed into a full blown crisis. Stack emissions from industrial plants and exhaust from motor vehicles have so filled the atmosphere with smog that, in some cities, people choke or get bedridden with respira tory diseases. Consequently, heavily industrialized nations spend millions in a desperate effort to check the problem. Japan, to cite one example, allocates a big slice of her budget for the installation of anti-pollution devices in industrial areas. Financing pollution control may not be such a big burden for wealthy countries. For developing nations, the task can be very demanding. But the challenge has not stopped them from adopting measures to prevent and control this modern-day scourge. In the Philippines, the following facts have emerged from studies initiated by the national government: Among the types of industry operating and contributing to air pollution are factories, sugar centrals, chemical and fertilizer plants, beve rages, cigar and cigarette factories, soap and detergent factories, pharma ceutical plants, tanneries, food pro cessing plants, power plants, ceramics, steel and galvanizing plants, and found ries. With regard to motor vehicles, another pollution agent, there were, as of June 30 last year, 604,853 regis tered vehicles, of which 112,259 were public buses and jeepneys and 492,594 private vehicles. Of the total, 289,232 or nearly 40 percent were registered in Greater Manila, 38,762 and 250,470 of them for public and private transportation, respectively. These motor vehicles in Greater Manila were packed into only 2,063 kilometers of roads representing 2.8 percent of the total 75,532 kilometers of roads in the country. Complaints against industries range from smoke, dust, fumes and odor. POLLUTION Solving a modern-day scourge Pollutants from motor vehicles in clude unbumed hydro-carbon from gasoline, carbon monoxide, parti culates, lead, oxidants (like ozone), alcohols (from gasoline combustion). The National Water and Air Pollution Control Commission (NWAPCC) has been monitoring, sampling and testing air pollutants in Quiapo, one of Manila’s busiest commercial and transportation districts. Initial findings by the com mission indicate 15 to 20 ppm (parts per million) of carbon monoxide are emitted by motor vehicles daily. This is within tolerable limits — there’s no smog to irritate the eyes. (About 150 ppm of carbon monoxide would make a commuter feel dizzy and nauseous.) Although pollution associated with emissions from motor vehicles are within tolerable limits, this may not be true as regards stack emissions from industrial plants. There were, as of the end of June 1972, 281 firms surveyed and 117 factories sampled for stack emissions in Greater Manila. Seventy-five factories sampled by the NWAPCC were found to have been contributing 2.55 tons of particulates and 7.55 tons of sulfur dioxide a day. The NWAPCC says there is a strong correlation between air pollution and respiratory diseases. This finding is corroborated by ecological studies abroad. While pollution does not yet present a very grave danger to health and environment in the Philippines, the country considers it a must to conduct scientific studies and find ways to curb the problem at its early stage. TheNWAPCC, for instance, aside from its monitoring service in Quiapo, has sent fact-finding missions to the cities of Iligan, Cebu and Davao where many industrial firms manufacturing cement, chemicals and steel products have been set up. To supplement its studies, the com mission trades data with other coun tries making similar investigation. In one specific gesture, the government hosted a one-week seminar on air pollution recently. The seminar, initiated by the World Health Organization, was held May 22 to 28, attended by 23 delegates from Australia, Fiji, Guam, Hong Kong, the Khmer Republic, Laos, Malaysia, New Zeland, Papua, New Guinea, the Phil ippines, South Korea, Singapore and South Vietnam. It ended just one week before the observance of World Environment Day on June 5. Speeches, reports and deliberations in the seminar focused on industrial emission and its health hazards. As a point of reference, the dele gates noted that the construction of industrial plants in highly developed nations was not tied up with urban planning. This has resulted in a serious ecological imbalance. Many factories were built in the heart of cities or along the nerve centers of highly populated rural sectors —thus posing grave danger to the inhabitants. This drawback must not be repeated in developing countries, the conferees warned. Proper locations for new plants must consider the topo graphical and meteorological con ditions. The emerging philosophy is that, although free enterprise governs the opening of industrial firms, the gov ernment must regulate the location and operation of these establishments. Or, in consultation with the govern ment, industrial companies should adopt self-regulatory measures to con trol industrial emission. Preventive legislation, preferred over punitive ones, should ensure the screening of all industrial permits, installation of anti-pollution devices and the envisioned operations of new plants, Technical experts, seminar speakers stressed, can be hired to determine the invisible pollutant, the most dangerous of all. The installation of anti-pollution equipment entails cost —a deterrent to the control program. The plan can pay off if financial incentives, such as accelerated depreciation rates are given for the setting up of anti pollution devices. The specific measures proposed in the seminar departed from what simi lar conferences had taken up. Earlier symposiums held in Europe merely discussed causes and scientific control techniques without proposing detailed legislation. 'rhe WHO seminar took a step further. The participants concluded for instance, that where pollution is caused or is likely to be caused by a specific industrial activity, the polluter should pay. The national government, even before the WHO seminar, had announced three broad policies aimed at pollution control: dispersal of in dustries, prohibition of pollutive in dustries in Greater Manila, and zoning plans for urban areas to delimit places where industry would be allowed to operate. __ The anti-pollution program presents a big challenge to developing nations specially those trying to hasten their pace toward industrialization. Al though hard-pressed with capital and modern equipment, they have, how ever, arrived at the proper perspective for diagnosing the causes of pollution and have taken the necessary, initial steps toward its prevention and con trol. An ideology... (From page 2) forms, but because the historical ex perience of hitherto colonized peoples unequivocally rejects it. We will not inflict on others what had been in flicted on us. To radical critics, the procedure I have just described is characteristic of capitalist development. The alter native, however, is internal exploita tion, what Salvador de Madariaga has suggested as a “society colonizing its own people.” This seems to have been the method of development adopted by the two major communist powers. Capitalist nations criticize com munist nations for imperializing the Balkan states and colonizing their peoples, a charge that is not, however, original: this remains the communist critique of capitalist societies. Mean while, the great capitalist and com munist societies have achieved devel opment on their own terms .... Is there a third way to develop ment, a way that is non-exploitative? Perhaps, there is, and it may be the mission of this symposium to find it and enunciate it to our people. But I should think that you will not try and evade the fact that there is no royal road to progress. We can reject ex ploitation, but we cannot escape hard ship. We shall be humane but we cannot be “tender-minded.” We must at all times persuade but we cannot be confined to mere exhortation and rhetoric. I said that the development of the poor peoples has to occur in a world torn by fiercely competing ideologies, despite the necessary accommodations of international politics. I would, therefore, think, that the aim of this symposium is to arrive at an ideology of development. It has been said many times that the Filipino people are in need of an ideology, a philosophy that unites them in common thought and effort. I think, however, that the thoughts of our great patriots, statesmen, soldiers, intellectuals and artists, contain the elements of a national ideology. But development is an end, a project, an objective; it is not an ideology in itself. I say this lest we lead our people to the false notion that national develop ment is the ideology and so elect one which puts national power above the welfare of the individual on the theory that a rich nation auto matically makes for rich citizens. It is not our intention to make our people individual servitors of the state. They must work for and achieve nation^ development, to their best abilities and the sacrifices they are willing to make, as a means of realizing their full potentialities as human beings. In this, on the eve of the seventy fifth anniversary of our independence, we must understand that every genera tion brings forth a new Filipino. There was a new Filipino for the Propaganda Movement and a new Filipino for the Revolution; a new Filipino for the Commonwealth. But we speak of the New Filipino, not because we want to exalt this generation above the rest, but because we are aware that the new Filipino is a product of the Modem Age of Man, the motto of which is “anything is-possible.” It does not mean, however, that anything is per missible. There are three fundamental characteristics of this Modern Age. Firstly, is that the science and techno logy of mankind has made poverty morally and practically indefensible. Secondly, that the exercise of human will and reason under insuperable odds is by no means a fruitless exer cise; the historical experience of other peoples and nations is proof of this. Thirdly, the contraction of the world into “a village” demands a restructur ing of the world order. The Filipinos, whatever their cir cumstances, have arrived at a cons ciousness of what their world is. To be a Filipino at this stage of our national history is to be faced with the total pressure of a world in change. The unrealized hopes, the unreleased ener gies, of generations before him, the dreams and aspirations of those who fought every revolt and every war in the name of a society different from what had been, now come to con front, possibly with a vengeance, all the living generations of today’s Phil ippines. This, then, is the moral and histori cal context of your symposium. The tendency is to think of development in strictly economic terms. The truth is that development is a human deci sion, a decision of civilization, on the one hand, and a political decision, on the other. We should not think that there is technique or science on one extreme, and human considerations on another. Science and humanism go together. Development will be achieved by scientific means, this is understood, but it is human beings who will use science for the desired ends of human community. THE REPUBLIC 16 June 1973 Page 3
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