The Liberal Party will not stand by idly to witness the further deterioration of the social conditions of the majority in our society. It is our duty to present to our people a government and political leadership that they deserve. This is our foremost commitment to our people – that we bring forth a government committed to freedom and democracy and to the improvement of the quality of life of all Filipinos, especially the poor and disadvantaged.

He humbly offers the Filipino people an alternative to traditional politics and to misguided populism. We make a commitment to always maintaining allegiance to the principles of individual freedom and human rights, pluralism and participatory democracy, equality of opportunity and social justice, rule of law and good governance, international solidarity and nationalism in all our political actions. We present to the Filipino electorate a Vision of Philippines Society which draws inspiration from the ideals of our revolutionary forefathers who fought for democracy and self-determination based upon liberal values, yet prepared to face the many challenges facing our country as we approach a new millennium. We ask the people to join us in the steadfast struggle for reforms based on these principles.

The freedom of every individual is at the core of our beliefs. Liberals aims to build a society in which individual men and women are entitled to pursue their aims, develop their talents and fulfill their potential free from arbitrary interference, and are able to exercise real power over the institutions that govern their lives. The necessary condition for the creation of an environment in which individuals can genuinely prosper and to maximize their potential is by enabling them to take and use political power.

We believe that the power of the individual is best expressed and secured within communities. Communities help people not just to realize their rights, but to recognize their responsibilities to others and to broaden the common good. This is the necessary social framework without which individuals cannot truly flourish. The empowerment of individuals therefore also requires empowering the communities to which they belong.

The redistribution of power therefore involves an enlargement of opportunity, within a political and economic system that enables everyone to attain a high quality of life. This does not only mean increased material well being – as opportunities for a better life will be achieved through quality education improved social services and a healthy environment. Empowerment and opportunity are goals which should be applicable to all members of society, not just the privileged few. Providing real opportunities for the ‘underclass’, for example, is a major step in the crusade against poverty and deprivation which continues to be one of the key challenges facing the Philippines.

The task of government, whether local or national, is first and foremost to create the conditions in which communities and their citizens are enabled to achieve their own successes and to live their lives in the way in which they choose. In particular, government should guarantee the rights of citizenship to every individual, and encourage them to recognize their responsibilities, in three fields: Economic, Social and Political.

In economics, Liberals believe that the social market economy is best able to generate prosperity while guaranteeing the maximum degree of choice. Government’s task is to ensure that the market operates freely and efficiently, by promoting competition and preventing monopoly. It must also ensure that externalities – most importantly, environmental costs and benefits – which are currently excluded from the prices set by the market are fully integrated.

Government must also set a long-term framework for sustainable economic development within which the market can operate. While we believe that the free market is the best guarantee of responsiveness to choice and change, we also affirm that the market should be our servant not our master. This is why we see the role of government as crucial in making the market work properly, by creating the condition for success, promoting competition, breaking up monopolies and spreading information. Government has to be ready to make the investments which private enterprise will not.

The march to economic development must be made now and not at some future time. Economic growth and development will be anchored on a policy of genuine agrarian reform and true industrialization. Our goal will be to ensure that the Philippine economy will be competitive in the world market able to weather the storms attendant to the processes of globalization. Investments foreign and domestic, should translate to food on every family’s table, decent housing and medical care, and quality education for all. The delivery of basic social services to the people will always take precedence as the welfare of the majority shall never be sacrifices to gods of the global market.

In the social field, government has a key role to play in ensuring a high quality of life for every citizen. This involves ensuring that outcomes of the market that contradict the social goals we have set are countered or supplemented. We identify two purposes to social welfare: to give dignity, and to offer opportunity, to those who would otherwise lack them.

Everyone, therefore, should be entitled to a basic ‘entry ticket’ to society, not just a bare minimum of goods and services. Not everyone is equally able to complete in the market place, and many will need assistance with income support or in overcoming barriers to development not to their own making. Public goods which the market will not by itself provide comprehensively or sufficiently, such as transport infrastructure, defense, education and training, health care and environmental protection, must be delivered. In guaranteeing entitlements to these public services, government must always aim to maximize choice and opportunity for individuals, rather than treat them as the passive recipients of services with no views and no potential of their own.

In the political arena, the citizen should be able to exercise real power over the institutions and the people that deliver these economic and social entitlements. Decisions should be taken as near as possible to the communities and individuals they most effect. This applies not only to government, but also to work, where employees must be able to share success and participate in decision-making. Philippine democracy must be reformed so that all citizens, whatever their background or status, are able to hold their representatives fully to account. And the fundamental rights of the citizen must be protected from arbitrary interference from government through entrenched and effective mechanisms, such as the Bill of Rights.

Once these rights of citizenship – economic, social and political, are guaranteed, the full scope of every individual’s potential can be realized. A participatory and decentralized democracy will give rise to better decision-making and genuine empowerment. A skilled, flexible and committed workforce will lead to a prosperous and dynamic economy. Non-material activities, artistic, cultural and spiritual, will also flourish.]

This is our vision. It applies not just to our country but to the world. In many cases – such as in the case of environmental protection – international action will be required to realize our aims. Liberals remain uncompromisingly internationalist. We know that there is a limit to what the Philippines can achieve alone and we are committed to building in our global village the sort of society we strive for at home. This can be achieved by pursuing a foreign policy founded on the principles of mutual cooperation, political liberty and shared prosperity. Our government should therefore pursue these objectives abroad with the aim of sharing responsibility in tackling the global challenges of the future.