Former president of the philippines Quotes

We cannot free ourselves unless we move forward united in a single desire.

I want our people to be like a molave tree, strong and resilient, standing on the hillsides, unafraid of the rising tide, lighting and the storm, confident of its strength.

This country [the Philippines] is like a pyramid, like a tower.

It is made up of millions of stones... . And the foundation stone of this pyramid is the common man.

General Otis is proclaimed American Military Governor of the Philippines and I protest a thousand times and with all the force in my soul against such pretension.

We have to change the system. The system is very rotten. The executive is corrupt, the Congress is corrupt, the judiciary is corrupt. ... So what's left We really have to have a radical and surgical change to bring back the image of our country.

Our military offensive is indispensable, since force must be met by force.

But our social offensive is the extra weapon which the enemy cannot produce. Here the enemy meets democracy's strongest element-the ability to realize and satisfy the needs of its people without taking from them their freedom and dignity as human beings.

Between our way of life and communism there can be no peace, no paralyzing coexistence, no gray neutralism. There can only be conflict-total and without reconciliation.

Our expertise is solar energy and we don't want to focus on other forms and we never push for solar form everywhere like say in upper hill areas where eco-hydro or biogas is more viable.

I will prove my innocence, ... I guarantee the Filipino people that I will be vindicated because the truth is on my side.

The truth will come out in the end.

Why should I resign ... First of all, I am not guilty of any of these charges. Second, we have a constitution to follow.

The difference between both is that social entrepreneurship has a much more financial transparency. There is no financial viability and that is where a corporate sector makes a difference because we maintain a balance between both the financial status and the social service.

My detention has been worth every second if only to prove my innocence to those who truly matter most my countrymen.

Peace, ... is crucial, because my government aims to hasten Mindanao's development by transforming it into the country's food basket.

Energy Engineering started first in IIT Kharagpur in 1983 and mine was the third batch. It was definitely not a popular course. It was basically an amalgamation of nuclear, mechanical, chemical engineering, etc. But I don't think it was a big factor because if we look, most of them joined the IT sectors and not the energy sector.

Comparatively there is a much more awareness about energy resources in other countries and especially in the US and European countries. Also people there are much more serious about what they do. Here, people are more concerned about getting a 'degree' rather than this.

The problem is the policy makers don't have practitioners in the policy team.

You won't make an IT policy without consulting a Narayan Murthy or Nandan Nilekani. But for energy, people think they know everything and they know what to do for it. That's how the policies are created in Delhi and that needs to change.

Philippine President Joseph Estrada said he was saddened by the conviction.

It's very unfortunate and what happened is saddening, ... If he really is innocent, then the day will come that his name will be cleared.

I would rather have a country run like hell by Filipinos than a country run like heaven by the Americans, because however a bad Filipino government might be, we can always change it.

My loyalty to my party ends where my loyalty to my country begins.

There is only one government in the Philippines and that is how it will stay.

I hope that the truth shall eventually give me back my freedom.

Through the ballot, we can defend our democracy from the threat of dictatorship.

I believe that he who has less in life should have more in law.

I'm convinced I will be cleared of all these charges that were unfairly leveled against me.

Guns alone are not the answer. We must provide hope for young people for better housing, clothing, and food; and if we do, the radicals will wither away

The mistake the world is making with the simple peoples is to try and hurry them into political concepts they don't understand and aren't prepared to cope with. I know. I am a peasant myself. ... I say, Spit on the big, fancy schemes. I want all the little things first. Then perhaps we can get on to the bigger things.

Substantial progress was made in spreading our foreign trade to other areas.

Our total trade with Northwest Europe in the first 8 months of last year was 42.3 per cent above the corresponding period the year previous, and our total trade with Asia was up 13.5 per cent. For the first time since 1919, the United States in the first 8 months of 1956 accounted for less than 60 percent of our total trade.

The downsides of globalization are indeed painful, .

.. But taking the bigger pills against its ills is superior to living inside a sterile bubble.

My term ends in June 2004 and I have no intention to change that.

If you look at a farmer and his daily expenditure on existing energy services, it is much higher on an incremental delta basis. And then there is an emotional cost of not providing their kids with the right to educate. If you calculate these costs in economic terms and create a financing mechanism for them to buy it, the emotional delta cost is much higher compared to their household.

You buy a car or any other thing when you see someone else having it.

So people will only buy a thing when they see a system in somebody's house and that takes time. The corporate people have taken the poor people for a ride. So that needs to break and the trust needs to be created that this system will actually work.

I prefer a government run like hell by Filipinos to a government run like heaven by Americans.