I AM happy to join all of you at this our first flag-raising ceremony for 2006.

The symbolism and the timing of this civic ritual are both significant and striking.

What are sacred and constant in this gathering are the two icons of our nationhood: The flag we honored and raised this morning, and the national anthem we just sung.

These two symbols have inspired and united Filipinos over the years – from the time of the Great Revolution over a century ago to the Filipino American War, and then to the War of Resistance during World War II.

The thread and the bond of our history

The flag and the anthem are the thread and the bond that unite our history and our nationhood.

They inspired Rizal, Bonifacio and Mabini, Antonio Luna and Gregorio del Pilar, to fight and die for our freedom.

The same flag – and the same anthem – exalted our soldiers who fought and died for our freedom in the trenches of Bataan, the rocks and tunnels of Corregidor, and the liberation of the Philippines in 1945.

This same flag – and the same anthem – now summon us to stand united and to advance together, to achieve even loftier tasks.

We must live for the same cause for which our greatest heroes died

The cause that our national heroes embraced we too must take up today.

It is no longer to win freedom and self-government, for freedom and self-government have been won.

Now the national cause is to ensure and enhance the quality of that freedom and self-government: It is to achieve human dignity and economic freedom for every Filipino.

Every day, we are witnesses to the new struggle – to the relentless efforts of our government and our people together to alleviate mass poverty; generate jobs; improve living standards; and widen access to education, health care, food security and shelter.

For as long as we remain united, our government can move the country forward, sustain the economy’s growth and generate real benefits for our people, especially the poor.

In 2005, we won great gains despite the political turmoil

In 2005 – notwithstanding the political storms – Government’s collective efforts, under the President’s leadership, coupled with the sacrifices of our work-people – particularly of our overseas contract workers – have scored impressive gains:

The Philippine peso has become Asia’s best-performing currency. It has also become the strongest currency not only in Asia but one of the best performers throughout the world. And, indeed the BSP expects the peso to hit the 52-to-the-dollar plateau in 2006 – particularly if the expandedVAT is raised to 12 percent by February.

Two million jobs were created in 2005 – thus improving the employment rate significantly.

Tourist arrivals reached almost two million just for the nine-month period ending September 30 – with three more tourist-heavy months to go.

Dollar remittances from Filipinos abroad reached a record level of US.8 billion within the 10-month period ending October, 2005. This figure is 27 percent higher than the US.9 billion of October 2004. We expect remittances to hit the US$ 11 to 12 billion mark for the whole of 2005.

Investments have greatly increased.

Net foreign borrowing has decreased appreciably.

The budget deficit has been considerably reduced. It is expected to end up below the 2005 target.

Inflation – which affects the poor more severely – has been tamed, and the prices of basic goods stabilized.

Our foreign-exchange reserves are at an all-time high, and our balance of payments for 2005 was positive.

Meanwhile, the national stock-market is bullish – its optimism buoyed up by gains particularly in mining and telecommunications stocks, despite "weaknesses" induced by political "instability."

Lastly, oil prices seem to be receding into a plateau of stability. A further reduction in prices at the gasoline-station level has just been announced for the first day of January.

For all these gains, we should give credit to the President. She proved her political courage in pushing for unpopular financial reforms – such as the expanded VAT – where a lesser leader would have succumbed to all the political pressure bearing down on her.

Hence, I do not find it at all surprising that, in the most recent survey by the Social Weather Stations, 85 percent of Filipinos across the country welcomed the New Year with hope in their hearts.

And it gladdens me no end that the most hopeful among those surveyed are Filipinos belonging to Income Class D – 87 percent of whom express hope and optimism for the future.

We continue to earn respect in the international community

In the international community, we continue to earn respect for our policy advocacies – in the General Assembly, in the Security Council, in APEC, in East Asia and in ASEAN.

I need not recount – at this time and place – details of these events, since all of you have been indispensable participants in these our collective undertakings.

To name only a few:

* Interfaith and intercultural dialogue

* The war against terrorism

* Peace Process and Peacekeeping

* Nuclear-arms ban and denuclearization

* Proliferation Security Initiative

* Human rights, particularly the rights of migrant workers

* Debt for Millennium Development Goals

* Unstable price of oil

* Democratization and multilateralism in Iraq

* Myanmar

Our advocacy of Interfaith Dialogue to isolate those who advocate terrorism, of Debt-for-Conversion for Millennium Development Goals and our leadership role in the global campaign against terrorism have gained widespread acceptance in the world community.

The President’s inclusion in TIME Magazine’s list of "People Who Mattered" in 2005 is a clear indication of our country’s growing prominence on the world stage.

In our pursuit of the three pillars of our foreign policy, we helped build stronger bilateral and regional security; strengthened our friendship with our ASEAN, East Asian, OIC and Western allies; and promoted the welfare of our Filipino workers, who are now to be found most everywhere in the world.

Our tasks for the New Year

In 2006, we face even more daunting tasks.

We must sustain our peace process; keep up the fight against terrorism; and sustain the vigor of economic, fiscal and political reform.

Within our Department, we must also improve even more our front-line services – particularly our passport issuance and our work on behalf of overseas Filipinos.

In 2006, as you know, our country is to host the ASEAN, APT and East Asia Summits and meetings – as well as the ASEAN Regional Forum and the BIMP-EAGA talks.

And I have no doubt that we will succeed in managing these events graciously and bring them all to successful conclusions.

Time and again, the President has called the men and women in the DFA "the best and the brightest in the public service."

Having worked with all of you since 2004, I agree fully with the President’s repeated statements: You are indeed the best and the brightest in the public service.

I also believe that with your dedication, experience and unrivaled talents, we can do even better this year than we did in 2004 and 2005.

Let us, then, gird ourselves for the challenges ahead – and go forth to do our best for our country and our people.

Manigong Bagong Taon sa Inyong Lahat!