Ambassador Kenney’s Remarks at
the Ceremonial Signing of the Energy and Environment
Bilateral Assistance Agreement
Malacañang Palace, Manila
February 10, 2009

President Arroyo and U.S. Ambassador Kenney witness the signing by U.S. Agency for International Development-Philippines Director Jon Lindborg and Socio-Economic Planning Secretary Ralph Recto of the $73 million bilateral assistance agreement to support environment and energy programs in the Philippines.  Also, witnessing the signing are Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita (second, right, standing) and Environment Secretary Joselito Atienza (far right, standing).

As delivered

Your excellency President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, President of the Republic of the Philippines, Secretary Ermita, Secretary Recto, Cabinet Secretaries, friends and colleagues.  Magandang umaga po sa inyong lahat -- a pleasant good morning to all of you!

Today is a special day for all of us because it not only marks our continuing partnership; it marks our commitment to the future of our planet.  We’ve been working together for so many years on ways to make our countries safer and more prosperous.  And one of the most important things we do for the future is to make sure that we safeguard the great national resources, the great environment, that we have been given.

The Philippines has been called by some an environment superpower, a country blessed with natural resources.  I know the President and among many of us, we are divers or snorkelers, people who appreciate the extraordinary natural wonders.  But, with this great richness comes extraordinary responsibility to protect these resources, to pass them on to the next generation, to look for cleaner and greener ways to conduct business, to find cleaner and greener sources of energy.  This is a commitment not only our governments share -- as President Obama has recently said:  we must take the challenge for a prosperous and more sustainable planet -- but it is also a future and a commitment that our people share.  We have but one planet.  And we have an extraordinary responsibility to protect it. 

The agreement that we sign today marks going forward on a great partnership that we already share.  Through this partnership we brought light to many communities using renewable energy.  We’ve seen fishermen trained to teach people how to fish sustainably – to support their families while protecting the future of fish and future generations.  We’ve seen protection of watersheds.  We’ve seen market places where people learned how to dispose of their waste water.

And now we’ll go forward as Secretary Recto said, and do even more – to look for cleaner sources of energy, to try to bring clean energy to rural communities so that they have not only electricity, but also good environmental practice.  We’ll look for ways to teach our youth…we’ve been working on that already.  Our peace corps volunteers play a key role in that and we look forward to teaching the next generation to not only appreciate, but to conserve the great resources and beauties they have. 

This is a partnership we’re very proud of.  It is also a partnership we absolutely must maintain because the future of our planet depends on it.

Thank you very much to all of you for your commitment to natural resources, to their protection, to clean energy, and to our shared future.  Mabuhay!

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