"Religion is one thing, and science another. What if they conflict? Religion is a matter of faith. Faith always gives satisfaction, whereas the truth does not always do so. As for me, I follow Anatole France who enjoins us to keep religion in one compartment of our head and skepticism in another."

"If by sticking to the moral principles you have followed all your life, you jeopardize your happiness and that of others, throw over your principles. Principles for principles' sake -that is not wisdom; that is obstinacy. Principles should be fluid because life is fluid.""

"The time has come when we should have a critical, official, monumental edition of all of Rizal's works, with illustrations contributed by Luna about other artists of ours... When every Filipino home shall contain such a national work, stimulative of autonomous sentiments...then the Philippines will be spiritually and practically independent."

"Lazy geniuses! There are no such men. Laziness and genius never go hand in hand. Each excludes the other. Laziness is the best proof of the absence of genius."

"When I left the University of Santo Tomas, I had but a smattering of Spanish. My friends made sport of me. What keen mortification did I suffer at my ignorance! One day, no longer able to stand the jeerings of my friends, I made up my mind to learn Spanish. I purchased a dozen good novels and began to read. I did not spend hours over a grammar, but just kept on reading, taking care to remember the idioms. In the meantime my library grew. At the end of three years my knowledge of Spanish and of literature in general was far beyond that of my friends. It was then my turn to laugh!"

"We Filipinos are the most promising people in the world. We have unheard-of-possibilities. There have never been a people similarly situated. Here we are in the Orient with our Oriental thoughts and sentiments, but living amid a civilization more Western than was ever known in The East. The Philippines is the only country where East meets West. The Filipino is a true cosmopolitan. From him the world may expect something new and distinctive."

"Today’s events are tomorrow’s history, yet events seen by the naked eye lack the depth and breadth of human struggles, triumphs and suffering. Writing history is writing the soul of the past... so that the present generation may learn from past mistakes, be inspired by their ancestor’s sacrifices, and take responsibility for the future."

"The Philippines is in a strategic position. It is both East and West, right and left, rich and poor. We are neither here nor there."

"She spent money. No question about that...She is a world-class spender. She is a world-class shopper."

"A cunning child with a remarkable gift for both self-delusion and self-preservation. Marcos, who turned 75 last week, always maintained her childlike sense of entitlement, despite the harsh realities of life."

"I'm like Robin Hood. I rob the rich to make these projects come alive... not really rob. It's done with a smile."

"I'm the Imelda Marcos of sunglasses."

"The best compliment I ever got in my life came from Chairman Mao of China. When I went there, at a time when nobody wanted to touch China with a 10-foot pole, Mao told me that I'm beautiful because I'm a natural, and he said natural is perfection. So, no character assassination can diminish me and my perfection."

"I've always maintained that the only things to uphold are the good, the true and the beautiful. We have to reject what's ugly."

"Thank God I never lost that childlike innocence and the purity of vision and naivete. …That childlike innocence was most useful, because if I was a bit wiser, I wouldn't have been able to do anything, perhaps. So I'm glad I was not smart."

"’Who is Imelda?’ I come from a third world country, third class province. And I was orphaned—and look, Imelda made it. If Imelda made it everyone can make it. At this age and stage I feel so good I’m still ready to fly.”"

"I am my little people's star and slave. When I go out into the barrios, I get dressed because I know my little people want to see a star. Other presidents' wives have gone to the barrios wearing housedresses and slippers. That's not what people want to see. People want someone they can love, someone to set an example."

"I seem to be able to only see the positive things in life and the beautiful things in life and when I see, for instance, garbage or ugliness, then I turn my back or I seem to be able to skip it."

"It is not expensive to be beautiful. It takes only a little effort to be presentable and beautiful. But it takes some effort. And unfortunately people think of beauty as luxury, beauty as frivolity, ... or extravagance. Beauty is a discipline, beauty is art, is harmony, in the ideological sense and in the theological sense, beauty is God and love made real. And the ultimate reach in this world is beauty."

"We never had such a violation of human rights. In fact, we have had no human rights case here in the Philippines, even to this day."

"When you reach a certain level of leadership, people cannot be neutral with you. They either love, love, love you, or hate, hate, hate you."

"It so coincided that Marcos had money. After the Bretton Woods agreement he started buying gold from Fort Knox. Three thousand tons, then 4,000 tons. I have documents for these: 7,000 tons. Marcos was so smart. He had it all. It's funny; America didn't understand him."

"Filipinos don't wallow in what is miserable and ugly. They recycle the bad into things of beauty."

"They went into my closets looking for skeletons, but thank God, all they found were shoes, beautiful shoes."

"I would have to ask the public to choose between a culture of hate or a culture of love. I am sure our poor will pick the latter. With the Marcos assets, we could regain this value of sharing love with one another."

"My grandchildren are growing up and they could not understand why the Marcoses are still being crucified although we keep on telling them that we did not steal from the Filipino people."

"I will not say sorry and be pardoned for doing a godly act."

"I have never been a material girl. My father always told me never to love anything that cannot love you back."

"Ferdinand had foresight and unbelievable luck. His success actually bordered on fiction."

"I was born ostentatious. They will list my name in the dictionary someday. They will use 'Imeldific' to mean ostentatious extravagance."

"Funny, I never shopped. Even my jewelry — not a piece of my jewelry I bought for me."

"President Marcos was investing in precious metals long before he entered politics."

"When they see me holding fish, they can see that I am comfortable with kings as well as with paupers."

"Diligence, hard work, foresight, entrepreneurship and God's blessing."

"If you know how rich you are, you are not rich. But me, I am not aware of the extent of my wealth. That's how rich we are."

"The Philippines is where Asia wears a smile. Beautiful products can only be made by happy people."

"And though love has brought me down Love is still around Finding all its ways to those whose hearts are brave enough to try Coz love is always ready to defy, All unwilling things that this life may bring. Though at times may seem to lose its faith And die when things turn wrong But love is still my reason to go on."