President Elpidio Quirino, a true statesman

The late President Elpidio Quirino was quietly buried in the Libingan ng mga Bayani the other day. To our mind he excelled in different directions, in both domestic and foreign affairs. His total economic mobilization program under a regime of import and exchange controls catapulted this economy to the take-off stage.

In his inaugural address he promised that “in the next four years, there will be efficient delivery of public services, more stable public finances, and a broadening base of economic security for all… I repeat, our own program of economic development is essentially a program of self-help. We encourage our neighbors to do the same. We invite them to cooperate with us in an effort to coordinate the measures for our common full development. We must pull ourselves out of the treacherous morass of misery and want, and assume a new dignity in our international relations…:”