Filipino businessmen must have the ability to compete freely in the global economy.

The Philippines and the U.S. have had a strong relationship with each other for a very long time now. We have a shared history. We have shared values, democracy, freedom, and we have been in all the wars together in modern history, the World War, Second World War, Cold War, Vietnam, Korea, now the war on terrorism.

The military is very constitutionalist, and I have my faith in them and in the cooler heads of the people.

I am very grateful to our Muslim population. One of the things we've been doing is stepping up our inter-faith dialogue with the Muslim population. And I think that helped very much in their support for me.

Optimism is infectious, and opportunity irresistible. Progress follows progress. Someone, even government, just has to get it started.

In the time one is given, the steward must make the most of the talents one is given by the Lord.

On the economy, the U.S. cumulatively is our most important investor, most important trading partner, most important sort of tourists, and we have now a tie that will... a link that will be here for many, many years to come, and that is the big Philippine-American community in the United States - three million of them.