NEW YORK – Making his debut on world stage, President Benigno S. Aquino III on Friday (Saturday, Manila time) pushed for a “global people power” to battle inequality among humanity and make a better life possible for all.

Speaking at the 65th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), President Aquino said for so many times in their history, the Filipino people have shown that in unity, nothing is impossible.

“We call it People Power. It is my earnest hope – and in the greatest interest of humanity – that we harness the energies of dialogue, solidarity, and communal responsibility, so that a global people power toward equitable progress may be achieved,” said President Aquino, who also emphasized that the United Nations was founded on the belief that in collective action lies collective security.

It was through people power that the Filipinos managed to peacefully bring to an end two decades of the Marcos dictatorship and catapult his mother, the late President Corazon C. Aquino, to the presidency.

“It is when nations reach across their borders that the immense problems of our age begin to be manageable,” especially so that along with globalization, the challenges that we face have become globalized as well.

“Climate change, pandemics, terrorism and weapons of mass destruction, transnational organized crime such as human trafficking and the illicit drug trade; the continuing vulnerability of migrants, women, persons with disabilities, and the poor; and the challenges posed by increasingly interconnected economies all call for a further strengthening of international cooperation,” President Aquino said.

“All of us here, representing our respective nations, are stewards entrusted with the well-being of our respective peoples. We are also called to be responsible and responsive members of the community of nations. Clearly, we are already aware that the problem of one poses a problem for all. Any solution, then, depends on us recognizing that each of our nations does not exist in a vacuum, but rather, in an increasingly interdependent global milieu,” he added.

The President further noted, “The central revelation here is that for humanity to progress, all nations must progress as one,” adding: “The quest for universal human dignity should not be defined by geographical, racial, or cultural boundaries, nor should it be set back by our desires to move our own nations forward. Global progress means equitable progress.”

He said as the basic principle of social justice is also the most basic humanitarian challenge of our times, the wealth of nations must therefore become an instrument to move the world further along the straight and righteous path of compassion and communal responsibility, he said.

While the message clearly states that there are those who need help, and acting with compassion toward those who need help is a response that is both humane and necessary, combating inequality still remains one of the greatest challenges even as we are now in the global stage.

President Aquino told his fellow leaders, the concept of vulnerability and inequality is all too clear in the global effort to address climate change and that those who stand to lose much, if not everything, from the effects of man-induced climatic conditions are those who did little to cause it.

“There is an enormous need to ensure, as a matter of justice, that countries, particularly the vulnerable, are assisted in their adaptation and disaster risk-reduction efforts and are provided the necessary resources to build climate-resilient communities.

This should go hand-in-hand with ambitious commitments by major economies to significantly reduce global greenhouse gas emissions.

President Aquino said while some of his fellow leaders may say that they have already given mightily of their resources, the world however, does not need to see flood and famine to them that there is so much more that must be given, because there are so many more who deserve the hope of a better life.

According to Aquino, the most immediate focus of cooperation demanded of world leaders today is to collectively ensure that the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDG) will be achieved by all in the remaining five years.

He said what he is saying may be a daunting task, but every world leader is aware that national resolve has to be complemented by bilateral, regional and multilateral cooperation.

“Rising to the challenges of our era requires, within each of our countries, a strengthened regulatory system. This does not mean a cumbersome, intrusive government, but rather a government that allows private enterprise to thrive, while ensuring that they remain cognizant of their social responsibilities, and empowers them, in turn, toward fulfilling these responsibilities,” according to President Aquino.

Many governments are tackling this challenge, including the government of the Philippines. And in response to this, the president said it is his administration’s commitment “to channel the gains we might reap from Public Private Partnerships into social services, like those in health, education, and poverty alleviation.”

“Across boundaries, the battle against inequality requires a balanced approach from those in authority: to be conscious of our responsibilities to our own people, and of our duties to regions and the globe. Already we are witnessing a rethinking of traditional paradigms, a shifting of our focus towards ensuring that the global system does not leave anyone behind,” he told his fellow leaders.

President Aquino went further to say that while the Philippines continues to benefit from the compassion of those who are more able to help, “this does not mean that we, or our friends in the developing world, will be entirely dependent on the largesse of the developed world.”

“We will not be passive players in our quest for development. My nation remains active in the G77 and other efforts toward enhancing South-South cooperation, and articulating and promoting our collective economic interests,” he said, adding, “This is what our people put us in power for. This is what the world expects of us as leaders – to be exemplars of what it is to be compassionate human beings, and vanguards of hope for our common humanity.”

Ban Ki-moon welcomes RP role in global peace
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon welcomed the Philippines’ active role in the promotion of global peace and security.

Meeting for the first time here at the 65th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), President Benigno Aquino III and the UN chief discussed the country’s leading role in the areas of peacekeeping and nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation.

President Aquino had told Ban that the Philippines remains ready to support the UN peacekeeping operations.

The Philippines is the third largest troop contributing country to the UN peacekeeping force in Southeast Asia and 23rd worldwide.

The President also expressed the country’s commitment to continue playing a vital role in building on the success of the 2010 Review Conference of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

During their meeting, President Aquino and the UN chief also discussed the Philippines’ progress in meeting the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), a set of eight time-bound, concrete and specific targets aimed at significantly reducing, if not decisively eradicating poverty by 2015.

With only five years left until the deadline to its targets, the 4th MDG progress report indicated that the Philippines is likely to meet the goals on food poverty; gender equality in education; child mortality; malaria morbidity; detection and treatment success and cure rates of tuberculosis cases; and access to sanitary toilet facilities.