President Fidel V. Ramos is to open a joint session of the Philippine Congress next Monday with a state-of-the-nation speech expected to dwell on his plans for economic growth in this impoverished country.
Ramos will outline what he considers his chief achievements during his first year in office: peace talks that have sharply reduced armed conflict, the fragile start of an economic turnaround after two years of flat or negative growth, and a continuing purge of crooked cops and soldiers from the scandal-ridden armed forces.
