I lead the nation in paying homage and bidding farewell to our beloved former President Diosdado Pangan Macapagal. To his family -- on behalf of all our people -- I extend my deepest condolences.

The sense of loss we feel is leavened by the fact that we have come here not only to mourn the passing of one man -- of a father and friend to all -- but also to celebrate an exemplary life. He was a good man, an honest man; in his time, he led our people with great dignity, vigor and vision.

Even among true patriots - as he was - these qualities do not come so easily and all at once. In Macapagal they were logical and inseparable companions, the prerequisite virtues of any man or woman seeking his people's highest expression of their trust. It must be one of a president's saddest task - perhaps the saddest of all - to eulogize an outstanding predecessor. For, whatever presidents may have been in life, they are bound in the end by the uniqueness of an awesome responsibility thrust upon them by history. I feel distinctly honored to have followed in the footsteps of this great Filipino, who in some ways made governance both easier and in other ways more difficult for those who would come after him.

Easier, because - through such visionary initiatives as economic liberalization and his proposal for a Southeast Asian community - he blazed trails that have become familiar avenues for growth in our time.

More difficult, because he set an exacting standard of personal integrity, intelligence, and dedication to public service by which his successors have continued to be judged.

Adversity and concern for the common tao.

His personal achievements are even more remarkable, given the extreme adversity under which they were gained. As the poor boy from a small town who became his country's president, he turned a fantasy into a dream, and the dream into inspiring reality.

His mother was a laundrywoman, his father a part-time farmer and occasional playwright. The family slept off their hunger. And yet, a more powerful hunger burned in young Dadong's mind - the love of learning, perhaps his one great indulgence, and his mosts precious legacy to his children.

He would go on to finish at or near the top of his classes, and later in life would earn a doctorate. He would become a congressman, and then vice president, finally assuming the presidency at a time of great economic and political upheaval.

The public record of his presidency is the catalogue of a leader boldly defining his nation's destiny and the way to its attainment.

That way, he believed, pointed outward in terms of economic liberalization and a constructive engagement with other nations and economies in the region and the world.

It also pointed inward, in terms of policies to uplift the lot of the common Filipino - Landmark policies that would include those on land reform, the minimum wage, rural banking and rural health.

The very naming of his "socio-economic program" tells us how integrated these measures were in his vision of a "new era" for the Philippines.

Restoring our identity

In a more symbolic way, he restored a vital element of our national identity by overseeing the celebration of our national day on the more historically valid date. He may have been poor but he was certainly not parochial, gaining a firsthand understanding of the world in his early years with the foreign service.

Later this experience would convince him of the natural community between and among the Malaya, Philippines, and Indonesia -- bringing forth his vision of Maphilindo, a precursor of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Yet he remained keenly aware of the Philippines' fundamental interests, raising the Philippine claim to Sabah to a matter of national concern.

For some of these groundbreaking measures, President Macapagal would be scored and savaged by his critics. A confirmed champion of free enterprise, President Macapagal would find himself in the role of a reformist in a culture highly resistant to change. Through all the tempests that swirled around him, he stood on a simple but exacting principle, this is what he vowed, and I quote:

"We shall lead the way by means of personal example. We assure our people that despite the lack of appreciation and encouragement from cynical critics, we shall conduct our office with absolute rectitude, without enriching ourselves even by one dishonest centavo."

The parallels: Then and now.

When I think of the many and obvious parallels between the challenges of President Macapagal's times and ours, I feel comforted and emboldened by that example -- by the moral courage that informed his every action, and which must be our standard and inspiration.

Those of us so privileged to march forward to another century -- under the very banners of economic growth, regional cooperation, internal peace and stability and social justice that President Macapagal himself unfurled -- will do so knowing that this pioneer had cleared the way before them.

To his everlasting credit, he remained busy and helpful in state matters during his twilight years -- as a participating adviser or member of my administration's national centennial commission and national security council.

His vision of the brighter Filipino future shall soon become our reality, and Diosdado Macapagal will live in our memory as one who bestowed that legacy.

God bless his soul, and God strenghten us all!


Eulogy of President Fidel V. Ramos at the state funeral to honor his excellency, the late President Diosdado P. Macapagal, Ceremonial Hall, Malacanang, Manila on April 26, 1997.