Ramon Magsaysay

“ We need men of integrity and faith like Rizal and Del Pilar; men of action like Bonifacio; men of inflexible patriotism like Mabini. We need their zeal, their self-reliance, their capacity for work, their devotion to service, their ability to lose themselves in the common cause of building a nation. ”

“ Our courts must be freed from political and other baneful influences, so that they may function with the same integrity and impartially which have made our Supreme Court the fortress of law and justice. ”

“ Democracy becomes meaningless if it fails to satisfy the primary needs of the common man, if it cannot give him freedom from fear and freedom from want. His happiness and security are the only foundations on which a strong republic can be built. ”

“ Your mandate was a clear and urgent command to establish for our people a government based upon honesty and morality; a government sensitive to your needs, dedicated to your best interests, and inspired by our highest ideals of man's liberty. ”

“ The office of the President is the highest in the land. It can be the humblest also, if we regard it — as we must — in the light of basic democratic principles. The first of these principles is the declaration of the Constitution that "sovereignty resides in the people and all government authority emanates from them." This simply means that all of us in public office are but servants of the people. ”

“ Heretofore, social justice has raised fervent but frustrated hopes in the hearts of our less fortunate citizens. We must not permit social justice to be an empty phrase in our Constitution. We must bring it to life — for all.
In consonance with this purpose, my administration shall take positive, energetic measures to improve the living conditions of our fellow citizens in the barrios and neglected rural areas and of laborer in our urban and industrial centers. ”

“ The legislative power vested by the Constitution in the elected representatives of the people will, I trust, operate vigorously to prosecute our common program of honest, efficient and constructive government. As Executive, I look forward to intimate cooperation with the members of Congress, particularly with those statesmen who have stood guard over the rights and liberties of our people. ”

“ His happiness and security shall be foremost among the goals of my administration.
We must develop the national economy so that it may better satisfy the material needs of our people. The benefits of any economic or industrial development program shall be channeled first to our common people, so that their living standards shall be raised.
While I shall give priority to our domestic problems, my administration will not neglect our international responsibilities. We cannot escape the fact that, today, the destinies of nations are closely linked. ”

“ The problems and opportunities ahead of us set the measure of the effort we must exert in the years to come. We must have unity to solve our problems, cooperation to exploit our opportunities. I urge you to forego partisan differences whenever the national interest clearly demands united action. We must not be distracted from our work. ”

“ No effect will be spared, no element of cooperation will be withheld in strengthening and safeguarding our physical security. We are prepared to live up to all our obligations under our Mutual Defense Treaty with the United States. To our Asian brothers, we send our fraternal greetings. They are beset by problems of the same nature and complexity as those that confront us. We invite them to share our experience in finding solutions to those problems through democratic means. ”

“ It is my hope that we can exchange experiences and information on methods that each of us has found most effectrve in subduing illiteracy, poverty, disease, under-productivity, and other common evils which have afflicted our countries of past generations. ”