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Speech of His Excellency
President Joseph Ejercito Estrada
Reception to be hosted by Mayor Brown
City Hall Rotunda, San Francisco
7:00 p.m., July 25, 2000
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I AM VERY PLEASED TO BE HERE TODAY IN THE BEAUTIFUL CITY OF SAN FRANCISO, AS I BRING WARM GREETINGS FROM THE PHILIPPINES. AS YOU KNOW, THERE IS A LONG HISTORY OF KINSHIP BETWEEN OUR COUNTRY AND SAN FRANCISCO. AFTER ALL, HISTORICAL RECORDS SHOW THAT FILIPINOS CAME TO THIS CITY AS EARLY AS 1595, AS SAILORS ABOARD THE SAN AGUSTIN, WHICH WAS SHIPWRECKED NEAR POINT REYES BY THE MOUTH OF THE SAN FRANCISCO BAY. IT, THEREFORE, BRINGS ME PARTICULAR PLEASURE TO BE ABLE TO TAKE PART IN THIS CONTINUING ENDEAVOR TO DEEPEN AND STRENGTHEN OUR HISTORIC TIES.
I AM GRATEFUL TO MAYOR WILLIE BROWN, THE SAN FRANSCISO-MANILA SISTER CITY COMMITTEE, THE COMMONWEALTH CLUB, AND THE WORLD AFFAIRS COUNCIL FOR GIVING ME THE OPPORTUNITY TO BRING YOU NEWS ABOUT THE PHILIPPINES. BEING OUR VERY GOOD FRIEND, I KNOW YOU ARE VERY MUCH CONCERNED ABOUT WHAT IS ALLEGED TO BE HAPPENING IN OUR COUNTRY. LET ME THEN TAKE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO TELL YOU WHAT IS ACTUALLY TAKING PLACE: THAT THE PHILIPPINES, UNDER MY ADMINISTRATION, REMAINS ON TRACK IN REALIZING IT S VISION OF SUSTAINABLE GROWTH WITH SOCIAL EQUITY.

WHILE OUR ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE LAST YEAR APPEARED TO LAG BEHIND THOSE OF OTHER ASIAN COUNTRIES, WE WERE NONETHELESS ONE OF THREE ECONOMIES THAT HAVE EXCEEDED THEIR PRE-CRISIS OUTPUT LEVELS, THE OTHER TWO BEING SINGAPORE AND SOUTH KOREA.

IN 1999, OUR GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT INCREASED TO 3.3 PERCENT FROM 0.5 PERCENT A EYAR AGO. IN THE FIRST QUARTER OF THIS YEAR, GROSS NATIONAL PRODUCT REACHED 3.45 PERCENT, COMPARED WITH 1.5 PERCENT FOR THE SAME PERIOD LAST YEAR. WE CONTINUED TO LEAD ASEAN WITH THE HIGHEST EXPORT GROWTH RATE OF 30 PERCENT.

THESE ECONOMIC GAINS REFLECT WIDELY SHARED OPTIMISM OVER OUR ECONOMIC RECOVERY. AT THE SAME TIME, THEY HAVE CONTRIBUTED TO THE IMPROVEMENT OF THE LIVING CONDITIONS OF OUR PEOPLE.

OVER A MILLION JOBS WERE CREATED LAST YEAR ALONE, REDUCING THE AVERAGE UNEMPLOYMENT FROM 10.1 PERCENT IN 1998 TO 9.7 PERCENT. BIG AMERICAN COMPANIES LIKE AMERICA ONLINE, ORACLE AND FEDERAL EXPRESS HAVE RECOGNIZED THE STABILITY OF THE PHILIPPINE ECONOMY AND HAVE INVESTED HEAVILY IN THE COUNTRY.

EXCEPT FOR ISOLATED CASES OF VIOLENCE INITIATED BY TERRORIST ELEMENTS IN THE ISLANDS OF BASILAN AND SULU IN MINDANAO, WE HAVE CONTAINED CRIMINALITY IN THE PHILIPPINES. WE HAVE CAPTURED CAMP ABUBAKAR, WHICH THE SEPARATIST MORO ISLAMIC LIBERATION FRONT, OR MILF, HAD CLAIMED TO BE IMPREGNABLE. SO, ALL THE MILF CAMPS ARE NOW IN THE HANDS OF GOVERNMENT FORCES. WE REMAIN COMMITTEED TO THE CAUSE OF PEACE, AS WE REITERATE OUR WILLINGNESS TO TALK TO THE MILF WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF MAINTANING THE TERRITORIAL INTEGRITY OF THE REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES

THESE FACTS ARE UNASSAILABLE AND SERVE TO CONFIRM THAT, DESPITE THE ODDS, WE HAVE TRIUMPHED. THE FILIPINOS HAVE ONCE AGAIN PREVAILED OVER ADVERSITY, AND EMERGED AS A PEOPLE EMPOWERED.

THE EMERGENCE OF THE FILIPINO AS AN EMPOWERED PEOPLE IS NOT SOMETHING CONFINED TO OUR NATIONAL BORDERS. IN OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD THAT I HAVE VISITED, AND PARTICULARLY HERE IN THE UNITED STATES, I HAVE SEEN FOR MYSELF HOW THE FILIPINOS HAVE MADE SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE COUNTRIES WHERE THEY LIVE.

SINCE THEY 1900'S, FILIPINOS HAVE HELPED BUILD THE INFRASTRUCTURE OF U.S. INDUSTRIES AS THE MAJOR LABOR FORCE IN AGRIBUSINESS IN HAWAII AND THE WEST COAST. IN THE LAST TWO OR THREE DECADES, NEW IMMIGRANTS FROM THE PHILIPPINES HAVE CHANGED THE PROFILE OF THE FILIPINO COMMUNITY IN AMERICA, AS WE SENT PROFESSIONALS AND HIGHLY-SKILLED PERSONNEL TO MEET THE DEMANDS OF THE U.S. ECONOMY

TODAY, YOU CAN FEEL THE PRESENCE OF THE FILIPINO AMERICAN COMMUNITY IN PRACTICALLY ALL ASPECTS OF AMERICAN LIFE, AS WE SEE FILIPINOS IN GOVERNMENT, IN BUSINESS AND INDUSTRY, IN THE MEDICAL PROFESSION, IN THE KNOWLEDGE BASED INDUSTRY, AND IN THE SERVICE SECTORS.

THE RESULTS OF THE RECENT U.S. CENSUS MAY CONFIRM THAT WE ARE THE LARGEST ASIAN-AMERICAN COMMUNITY IN CALIFORNIA. WE HAVE THE HIGHEST AVERAGE FAMILY INCOME AMONG ALL ASIAN IMMIGRANTS. WE HAVE ELECTED A GOVERNOR IN HAWAII, A STATE REPRESENTATIVE IN WASHINGTON STATE, AND A NUMBER OF MAYORS IN CALIFORNIA LIKE HENRY MANAYAN, MICHAEL GUINGONA AND EDUARDO MANUEL. WE ARE IN THE CITY COUNCILS AND THE NATIONAL FEDERATION OF FILIPINO AMERICAN ASSOCIATIONS DESCRIBES IT, "THE FILIPINO AMERICAN NOW SITS AT THE TABLE OF POWER."

YET, THIS RE-ENGINEERING OF THE FILIPINO AMERICAN FROM A SILENT MINORITY TO A POTENT POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC FORCE IS A RESULT OF TWO FACTORS. THESE ARE THE AWAKENING OF THE FILIPINO COMMUNITY TO THE STRENGTHS INHERENT IN THEIR ABILITY AND NUMBERS, AND THE RECOGNITION AND SUPPORT AFFORDED BY THE MAINSTREAM COMMUNITY. THE FILIPINO AMERICANS HAVE MADE THEIR CONTRIBUTIONS TO THEIR SECOND HOMELAND AND THEY HAVE BEEN REWARDED BY RECOGNITION AND FRIENDSHIP.

I AM GRATEFUL TO MAYOR BROWN OF THE GREAT CITY OF SAN FRANCISCO FOR GIVING THIS MARVELOUS RECEPTION. I ALSO COMMEND HIM FOR BEING A FRIEND WHO HAS ALWAYS RECOGNIZED THE FILIPINO AMERICAN'S CONTRIBUTIONS TO SOCIETY. HE, IN TURN, HAS WON THE HEARTS OF MANY FILIPINOS, NOT TO MENTION ONE SPECIAL FILIPINA, MRS. BLANCHE VITERO BROWN.

MAY I ALSO TAKE THE OPPORTUNITY TO EXPRESS MY APPRECIATION TO THE SAN FRANCISCO-MANILA SISTER CITY COMMITTEE, THE COMMONWEALTH CLUB, AND THE WORLD AFFAIRS COUNCIL FOR CONTINUING TO PROVIDE OPPORTUNITIES FOR DIALOGUE AND INTERACTION WITH THE PHILIPPINES.

TONIGHT, I SEE BEFORE ME A SHINING EXAMPLE OF WHAT WE CAN DO WHEN WE WORK TOGETHER. SO, TO MY COUNTRYMEN AND OUR FRIENDS, LET US CARRY ON OUR PROUD TRADITION OF PARTNERSHIP AND FRIENDSHIP. LET US CONTINUE TO WORK TOGETHER, ALONGSIDE EACH OTHER, AS WE BUILD A BETTER SAN FRANCISCO, A BETTER PHILIPPINES, AND A BETTER WORLD, FOR US AND FOR THE FUTURE.

THANK YOU AND MABUHAY!

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