Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo

“ The world of the 21st century that our youth will inherit is truly a new economy, where relentless forces such as capital market flows and advances in information and communications technology create both peril and opportunity. ”

“ I am certain that pride will reign supreme as Filipinos recall the heroism and sacrifices and prayers of Jaime Cardinal Sin, Presidents Corazon Aquino and Fidel Ramos, Chief Justice Davide, the legislators who fought the good fight in congress, the leaders whose principles were beyond negotiation, the witnesses in the impeachment trial who did not count the cost of testifying, the youth and students who walked out of their classroom to be at EDSA, the generals in the Armed Forces and the Philippine National Police, and the Filipino out there who stood up to be counted in these troubled times. ”

“ For to this day, poverty remains our national problem. We need to complete what Andres Bonifacio began. The ultimate solution to poverty has both a political and an economic aspect. Let me first talk about the political aspect.
In doing so, I will refer to one of my core beliefs, that of the need for new politics. Politics and political power as traditionally practiced and used in the Philippines are among the roots of the social and economic inequities that characterize our national problems. ”

“ To tap the opportunities, we need an economic philosophy of transparency and private enterprise, for these are the catalysts that nurture the entrepreneurial spirit to be globally competitive.
To extend the opportunities to our rural countryside, we must create a modernized and socially equitable agricultural sector. ”

“ We should promote solid traits such as work ethic and a dignified lifestyle, matching action to rhetoric performing, rather than grandstanding. The first of my core beliefs pertains to the elimination of poverty. ”