"With the PDUS, we can build a new generation of national security leaders who are ready not only for today’s problems, but also for the challenges of the future."

"Security goes beyond arms; it is about trust, preparedness, and shared responsibility."

"We will continue to foster a transparent and responsible work environment, grounded in the public trust that we are privileged to serve."

"Let us work continuously, conscientiously, and collectively - moving and transforming our nation and society from a state of fragility to one of agility."

"I would be doing Filipinos injustice if I did not work hard to be able to address their concerns, respond to their needs and protect their rights and welfare."

"To unsettle the comfortable who can look upon suffering and remain unmoved. And to reach those who hold fast to their humanity, that they may know they do not stand alone in defending what gives life its worth: dignity and justice."

"We are a nation that tells its children: Ang edukasyon ang pinakadakilang daan tungo sa pagkakapantay-pantay (Education is the greatest path toward equality)."

"Kung patas ang talino, dapat patas din ang pagkakataon (If talent is equal, opportunity should be equal as well)."

"Ang tunay na tagumpay ay ang makita ang ating mga kabataan na nakapagtapos, at nakahanap ng landas tungo sa isang marangal na buhay (The true measure of success is seeing our youth complete their education and build a path toward a dignified future)."

"You have to communicate in a certain way. You don't just enter social media for your own benefit."

"Sometimes a joke is much better than a punch line because it illumines the situation, gives you a worldview of the situation taking place in our country."

"My only purpose is to serve out the rest of my life."

"What our country needs is a sense of shared destiny."

"We are rich in natural resources, we are rich in people resources. And yet we hear from analysts and economists we are the poorest in Asia."

"Why are we so poor? Everybody wants to have the money of the government in his own pocket."

"I have said this before, and I will say it again: All things work for good to those who love God."

"I may not be a genius, but my opponents are certifiable idiots."

"I eat death threats for breakfast."

"Maybe they will be happy because on one hand I might die and then they could get rid of me. But on the other hand, I might survive and then I will get rid of them."

"This is goodbye. I shall not importune you any longer. I shall fade into the night like Batman."

"Stop molesting me, you mongoloids!"

"Eat, blank, and die.”"

"I will never quit! I will never stop! I will never withdraw!""

"This man, contrary to logic and common sense, hopes to evade criminal prosecution and public outrage over his plunder, by resurrecting campaign dirt against me which are over 21 years old!”"

"Discombobulated moral retardates!"

"No, I don’t want to watch these clowns. I die a thousand deaths every time a corrupt politician appears”"

"Entering politics is a fate worse than death."

"When the spark of greatness leads to an act of self-giving, we cross the threshold of heroism."

"Consider the candle. When it spreads its light, it does not diminish. Makisindi man tayo sa kandila, hindi mawawala ang ilaw ng pinagsindihan natin. Nakadaragdag ang ilaw. (Even if we light a second candle from another, the light from the first candle is not lost. The light shines even brighter.) Light is one of the few things we can give away and yet still always have."

"Once, I traveled to Palawan, and I was given a parrot to take home. We put the parrot in a cage. It was supposed to talk after two years. But my children, who were brought up valuing freedom, wanted to release the bird. So one fine morning, we opened the cage door for the parrot to fly free. On the first day, the parrot refused to leave the cage. On the second day, the parrot approached the open door, but still refused to leave. On the third day, the parrot finally went out, but it soon returned to the safety of the cage again. It was only on the fourth day that the parrot flew away. We never saw the parrot again. In the same way, when we are encumbered with too much centralized authority and too many rules, we succumb to learned helplessness. Only after trying hard can we learn to fly and to use our wings again."

"Women are capable of a higher ethical standard than men. While 65% of the Filipino bureaucracy is composed of women, only 20% of graft and corruption cases involve women. Men, who comprise 35% of the bureaucracy, are involved in 80% of graft and corruption cases. The higher ethical standard of women should be a source of societal transformation."

"Read, read and read for when you read, you stand on the shoulders of giants, you see farther than the rest."

"Never lie. Lying never pays. Don’t make your life difficult by lying. When you lie, you have to create different versions of the story to different people. Make your life easier by seeking and telling the truth."

"Equal opportunity should be given to all and special privileges for none."

"A strong republic does not make a strong nation. Strong people make a strong nation. It’s not the strong republic that makes strong people."

"We often forget that it is people who are important. Political pragmatism cannot replace the caring for and nurturing of people. Money and influence cannot replace truth or principle."

"There is no place in a democracy for humiliating people as a policy instrument."

"Transparency is the way to fight graft and corruption."

"In Filipino: Sa kaunting aral, kaunting sipag, kaunting dasal, walang hindi magagawa kahit mayroong hadlang. Sa kaunting aral, kaunting sipag, kaunting dasal, walang hindi magagawa ang taong may pagkukusa. (With a little education, a little hard work, a little prayer, there is nothing that cannot be done even if there are obstacles. With a little education, a little hard work, a little prayer, there is nothing that a person with initiative cannot do.)"

"The people is the final arbiter. Politics is won in one day."

"I think the three people here tonight can end the elections today – if they just agree with each other."

"The Greeks tell us that the law should not be like a spider’s web that can catch only flies. Instead the law should be a chain of words strong enough to imprison even the powerful."

"I have developed a healthy suspicion of power. We want dispersal of power, dispersal of participation, and dispersal of development and human resources."

"Leadership today should be like the leadership of an orchestra conductor. The conductor may not know how to play the piano, but with a wave of a hand, he or she can tell the piano player to play pianissimo. The conductor may not know how to play the violin, but with the wave of a hand, he or she can tell the violin player to play fortissimo. The conductor may not know how to play a clarinet, but he or she can bring out the best from the clarinet player. The leader, like the conductor, draws out talent from everybody and creates a symphony out of everybody’s best efforts."

"If I must err, I prefer to err on the side of action and decision, not on the side of inaction and indecision."

"If we are good teachers, our students will not need us anymore when they learn to fly away on their wings. Our success as teachers is measured precisely by the independence that our students have learned from us."

"The problem with lies is they do not only quarrel with the truth. They also quarrel among themselves."

"Two brothers lived in a town beset by a capre (monster). The older brother went off to fight the monster, but he never came back. A year later, the younger brother found the monster and killed it. As it lay on the ground, the monster transformed into his older brother. The lesson here is that we must not become the enemy that we fight."

"We cannot criticize the Emperor for having no clothes if we ourselves are naked."