Ferdinand Marcos

“ We must renew the vision of greatness for our country.
This is a vision of our people rising above the routine to face formidable challenge and overcome them. It means the rigorous pursuit of excellence.
It is a government that acts as the guardian of the law's majesty, the source of justice to the weak and solace to the underprivileged, a ready friend and protector of the common man and a sensitive instrument of his advancement and not captivity. ”

“ Frugality with government funds and resources must be developed into a habit at every level of the government. High public officials must themselves set the example.
One of the most galling of our inherited problems is that of lawlessness. Syndicated crime has been spawned by smuggling. The democratic rule of law has lost all meaning and majesty, since all men know that public officials combine with unscrupulous businessmen to defraud the government and the public – with absolute impunity. ”

“ Before today we had squandered the energies and resourcefulness of our people. In the government we saw a crippling hesitancy and timidity to face the facts of our times and to boldly provide the initiative.
We cannot afford to rest on the shock of our perceptions, nor on the outrage even of our painful admission of the facts. We shall have to restore into our life the vitality, which had been corroded by our complacency. ”

“ The sovereignty of the republic has never before been so derided and mocked as when the lawless elements, the smuggling syndicates and their protectors, disavow the power of laws and of our government over them. This is the climate for criminality. Popular faith in the government deteriorates. ”

“ Our people have come to a point of despair. I know this for I have personally met many of you. I have heard the cries of thousands and clasped hands in brotherhood with millions of you. I know the face of despair and I know the face of hunger because I have seen it in our barrios, huts and hovels all over our land. ”

“ We have ceased to value order as a social virtue. Law, we have learned successfully to flaunt. We have become past masters at devising slogans for the sake of recorders of history but not for those who would live by them in terms of honor and dignity. ”

“ Today, as never before, we need a new orientation toward Asian; we must intensity the cultural identity with our ancient kin, and make common cause with them in our drive toward prosperity and peace. For this we shall require the understanding of ourselves and of Asia that exceeds acquaintance; we require the kind of knowledge that can only be gained through unabating scholarship on our histories, cultures, social forces and aspirations, and through more active interaction with our friends and neighbors.
What threatens humanity in another area threatens our society as well. ”

“ Long have we depended upon the people. In every crisis, we call upon our citizens to bear the burden of sacrifice. Now, let the people depend upon us. The economic viability of the government and of the nation requires immediate retrenchment. ”

“ It is a vision of the jungles opening up to the farmers' tractor and plow, and the wilderness claimed for agriculture and the support of human life, the mountains yield their boundless treasure, rows of factories turning the harvest of our fields into thorough products. ”

“ We have come upon a phase of our history when ideas are only a veneer for greed and power in public and private affairs, when devotion to duty and dedication to a public trust are to be weighed at all times against private advantages and personal gain, and when loyalties can be traded in the open market. ”

“ The Filipino today lives in a world that is increasingly Asians as well as African. Asia claims one- half of all humanity, and this half lives on a little over one- sixth of the earth's habitable surface. Africa's millions are also now coming to their own. Recent events have shown the willingness of our Asian friends to build a bridge to us. We can do no less than to build a strong foundation at our end. ”

“ Our social policy will seek to broaden the base of our democracy. Our forefathers built a democratic republic on an extremely narrow social and economic base. The task of our generation is to broaden this base continuously. We must spread opportunities for higher income for all. ”

“ The human person is unique in creation. Of all organisms, it is he that develops proportion in to the demands made upon his abilities. That is true of individuals and I hold it to be true of the nations. ”

“ We cannot, therefore, merely contemplate the risks of our century without coming into any decision on our own. Whenever there is a fight for freedom we cannot remain aloof from it. But whatever decision we shall have to make shall be determined by our own interests tempered by the reasonability of that patriotic position in relation to the international cause. ”

“ There are no funds available for public works and little of the appropriations for our national government fro the present fiscal year. Industry is at a stand still. Local manufacturing firms have been compelled to close or reduce their capacity. ”

“ Unemployment has increased. Prices of essential commodities and service remain unstable. The availability of rice remains uncertain. Very recently the transportation companies with the sanction of the Public service Commission hiked their fares on the plea of survival. ”