By god's grace and through our labors, we have kept the faith and stayed the course. And today, we stand among you as a free and democratic Asian republic. Clearly, our experience underlines the now conventional truth that democracy is not an easy course to follow. It is messy and noisy. It tests the mettle of politicians, statesmen and the citizens themselves.
Consensus comes only after long debates and sometimes conflict.
And it gives no guarantees of success in the primordial challenge of engineering economic development and social progress. Philippine democracy has served as our engine for economic growth. We have grown as a nation in freedom. The criteria for democracy are various. It demands the rule of law and fully functioning legal systems.