On this day, December 30, our national hero Jose Rizal gave his life on this hallowed ground — the ideal manifestation of love of country and dedication to the service of our people. It was therefore fitting that the framers of our Constitution should decree that the highest official of the land shall be called upon to assume office on this historical occasion, With deep humility, I accept the nation's call to duty.
Bound by the oath I have just taken, I am resolved that I shall be the president not only of the members of my party but of all political groups; I shall be president not only of the rich but more so of the poor and I shall be president not only of one sector but of all the people.
The primary function of the president is not to dispense favors but to dispense justice. The presidential oath of office contains the special pledge to "do justice to every man." These shall not remain empty words, for with God's help, I shall do justice to every citizen, no matter how exalted or how humble may be his station in life.
As we open a new era in the life of our nation, let us measure the tasks before us and set forth our goals. Our aims are twofold: first, to solve the immediate problems of the present and, second, to build materially and spiritually for the future.
Our first mission is the solution of the problem of corruption. We assume leadership at a time when our nation is in the throes of a moral degeneration unprecedented in our national history. Never within the span of human memory has gralt peflmeated every level of government. The solution of this problem shall call for the exercise of the tremendous persuasive power of the presidency. I shall consider it, therefore, my duty to set a personal example in honesty and uprightness. We must prove that ours is not a nation of hopeless grafters but a race of good and decent men and women.
I intend to do more than this. Among the appropriate measure., I shall take to insure the eradication of this social cancer is to assum moral and political responsibility for the general state of public moral ity in the country.
Our second mission is to attain self-sufficiency in the staple food of our people, namely, rice and corn. The elemental needs of every people are food, clothing, and shelter. We shall give impetus to indus tries that will provide clothing for our population at reasonable prices In collaboration wi th private enterprise, we shall invigorate the n tional housing program and devote particular attention to proper hous ing for our countrymen who earn the lowest income and the indigents who live under subhuman conditions.
While attending to the people's need for adequate clothing and shelter, the urgent emphasis shall be on their need for staple food With the cooperation of Congress, we shall launch and implement ,I rice and corn program that shall bring about sufficiency in the produ tion of these cereals and make them available at prices within the reach of the masses.
The basic national problem is the poverty of the masses. Our third mission, therefore, is the creation of conditions that will provide more income for our people — income for those who have none, and more income for those whose earnings are inadequate for their elemental needs. Millions of our people are unemployed and millions more are underemployed. We must rectify this situation to help our people at tain a higher level of living and create the domestic buying power that can help generate prosperity. Unless solved in time, this problem will worsen to the point of disaster in view of our population explosion.
The permanent solution to this problem is the rapid and sound utilization of our vast and rich natural resources in order to create opportunities for employment. We believe that the effective accomplish. ment of this task should be left to the citizens themselves, that is, to private enterprise. But the government can and should help. Our Administration shall extend this help. Within the maximum financial capacity of the government, we shall initiate and carry out a program to help solve unemployment and underemployment through massive productive and labor-intensive projects calculated to create multiple job opportunities while at the same time increasing the production, productivity and wealth of the land.