FULL SPEECH: President Marcos delivers speech at the 17th Meeting of the Intergovernmental Relations Body (IGRB)

Manila Bulletin

President Marcos delivers his speech as he leads the 17th Meeting of the National Government - Bangsamoro Government Intergovernmental Relations Body (IGRB) in Pasay City on Thursday, Feb. 8.  Subscribe to the Manila Bulletin Online channel! - https://www.youtube.com/TheManilaBulletin  Visit our website at http://mb.com.ph Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/manilabulletin  Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/manila_bulletin Instagram: https://instagram.com/manilabulletin Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@manilabulletin  #ManilaBulletinOnline #ManilaBulletin #LatestNews

Transcript

00:00 Ladies and gentlemen, the President of the Republic of the Philippines, His Excellency

00:07 Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr.

00:18 Thank you very much, Secretary Amina Pangandaman, for your introduction.

00:23 Please take your seats.

00:26 The Presidential Advisor on Peace, Reconciliation, and Unity, Secretary Charlie Galvez, Jr.,

00:35 Senator Lauren Legarda, the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim in the Now Chief Minister,

00:44 Minister Ahud Ibrahim, Basic, Higher, and Technical Education Minister, Mujahid Iqbal,

00:54 the Deputy Chief Minister, Ali Sulaiman, esteemed members of the Bangsamoro government, fellow

01:01 workers in government, other distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon.

01:09 Today I join you, brothers and sisters, in the observance of the Laylatul Isra wal Miraj,

01:18 or the night journey and ascension of Prophet Muhammad into heaven at a period in his life

01:24 when he was facing intense hardship.

01:27 This meeting of the national government and Bangsamoro government Intergovernmental Relations

01:32 Body, or IGRB, the sixth under my administration, and the first meeting for this year, reaffirms

01:40 our shared commitment not just to peace, but to peace with progress.

01:48 It builds on the gains of the past, fueled by mutual trust, guided by lessons learned,

01:55 and inspired by the many wins which give us the confidence that our shared vision for

02:01 the Bangsamoro will be fully realized.

02:07 That we have been pursuing our commitments with urgency is shown in the activation of

02:11 all the seven mechanisms of the IGRB in less than two years.

02:17 We are acting with dispatch, not because of the deadlines that we have set for ourselves,

02:23 but because the people battered by war for years should not be denied their destiny to

02:29 live in peace.

02:32 The IGRB discussions, I understand, were frank and forthright.

02:38 And that, my friends, is how peace is forged, through the honest exchange of ideas.

02:44 It is also how peace is made durable, by allowing all parties to speak with candor.

02:51 This democratic hallmark of finding common ground through consensus, not conflict, is

02:57 what also led to the rich harvest of Bangsamoro and apted laws.

03:02 I congratulate the Bangsamoro Transitional Authority for passing the Bangsamoro Administrative

03:11 Code, the Bangsamoro Civil Service Code, the Bangsamoro Education Code, the Bangsamoro

03:18 Electoral Code, the Bangsamoro Local Governance Code.

03:23 For these are the major pillars in strengthening the rule of law upon which peace is founded.

03:30 These will be the institutions to which you will hold fast as you build your government

03:38 and you bring our people to progress.

03:42 I would even venture to say that Bagong Pilipinas is incomplete without a Bangsamoro rising

03:49 along within it.

03:51 At meron nga tayong mga bagong programa upang makamit natin lahat ng tunay na kaundaran

04:02 at kapayapaan para sa Bangsamoro.

04:05 The peace we are enjoying has not only won the hearts of our people but recognition around

04:10 the world.

04:11 Last November, we signed and exchanged diplomatic notes with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida of

04:17 Japan on the non-project grant aid for the acquisition of $6.8 million worth of construction

04:25 equipment for road network improvement and disaster quick response operation in BARMM.

04:35 In July last year, we signed the guidelines of the joint award of petroleum service contracts

04:41 and coal operating contracts in BARMM.

04:47 This is one of the many activities that will guarantee an important kind of security for

04:52 BARMM and that is energy security because the painful truth is that a politically empowered

04:58 people living in darkness are not fully empowered at all.

05:03 What I have mentioned are on top of the continuing engagements of the United Nations, of JICA,

05:09 the European Union, on programs that strengthen governance institutions, public services,

05:15 and financial administration.

05:18 Another feather in your cap is the success of the Bangsamoro Board of Investments in

05:23 generating 3.3 billion pesos worth of investments in the last three months of 2023 which will

05:31 employ 1,927 workers.

05:36 And I am sure these are just a few entries into your thick catalog of achievements.

05:42 They just highlight the things that matter most to our people for whom we are walking

05:48 the hard but high road to peace.

05:51 Because peace is neither found in the documents that we exchange, nor in the elegant prose

05:57 of our agreements, nor in the minutes of these meetings.

06:01 Peace to our people is found in jobs created, schools open, farms irrigated, new hospitals

06:08 opened, roads constructed, businesses launched.

06:13 To us, there is only one true peace when the bloody tally of war is replaced with a scoreboard

06:19 of development.

06:21 And that scoreboard shows that peace has won, that the war is over.

06:27 The preparations we have made will be tested in May 2025 when we will hold the very first

06:33 elections for the BARMM Parliament.

06:36 Giving the vote to the people to choose their leaders is the logical succession, evolution

06:43 to the grant of self-rule to your land.

06:47 I urge all of you, and we will be by your side, to make this very historic election,

06:54 this very historical and important event a success.

06:58 Let us show the world that it is peaceful and it is credible.

07:05 On this, let me be blunt, that perhaps we must remind ourselves that we are now operating

07:14 under different rules and that we cannot allow forces outside of the democratic process to

07:24 deviate our dreams and our aspirations from a democratic process.

07:32 Let us not allow even one single voter to be disenfranchised by violence, by intimidation,

07:42 or by bribery.

07:44 That is the job we have in front of us.

07:47 And after the elections, it will be a new chapter for BARMM.

07:51 I face the future with optimism.

07:53 What gives me hope is the belief that you have prepared well.

07:57 You are right.

07:59 You are ready.

08:00 And so this early, let me commend the peacekeepers who are here for their untiring spadework

08:06 for building out of the ashes of war the magnificent edifice of peace that is BARMM, building it

08:13 brick by brick.

08:15 And as we mark this historic day, let us never forget the debt that we owe to those who perished

08:22 during the long night from all sides, brothers all, combatants and civilians whose blood

08:28 nourished the land so peace can finally bloom.

08:33 But above all, we owe this to our children, to our grandchildren, that the horrors and

08:38 the harrows of the past must never visit them again.

08:43 That as brothers and sisters united under one nation, we can forge a better future in

08:48 a kinder society where opportunities reward hard work, dreams can come true, and peace

08:57 with justice will reign.

08:59 A stronger BARMM means a stronger Mindanao.

09:03 A stronger Mindanao means a stronger Philippines, bringing us closer to achieving our agendas.

09:16 I congratulate you once again.

09:19 I thank you and I wish you all the best in all your endeavors.

09:24 Mabuhay and BARMM, mabuhay and mabuhay to the new Philippines.

09:27 Thank you very much.

09:29 [END]

Category

Transcript

Recommended