When I was a congressman, I had occasion to talk to this group of students who were taking their seat. There were about 80 of them and I asked them, 'How many of you will be serving in the country once you graduate?' And, out of the 80, there were two that raised their hands. The rest were thinking of leaving.

Benigno Aquino III

Categorized in : Thinking Hands Country

I had a simple goal in life: to be true to my parents and our country as an honorable son, a caring brother, and a good citizen.

Benigno Aquino III

brother country son

My father offered his life so our democracy could live. My mother devoted her life to nurturing that democracy. I will dedicate my life to making our democracy reach its fullest potential: that of ensuring equality for all. My family has sacrificed much and I am willing to do this again if necessary.

Benigno Aquino III

democracy mother father

I was put into office by the people who believed in my idea that corruption is the root of poverty; that an end to corruption would mean an end to poverty.

Benigno Aquino III

roots mean ideas

The Philippines is strategically located and blessed with the greatest resource: its people, who are hard-working, very loyal, and very adaptive.

Benigno Aquino III

hard-work blessed people

The message has to be sent that if you commit a crime there has to be punishment.

Benigno Aquino III

punishment crime messages

Although I was born to famous parents, I know and feel the problems of ordinary citizens.

Benigno Aquino III

citizens parent ordinary

Tourism is a crucial industry that could employ millions of Filipinos, skilled and unskilled alike, cross those 7,107 islands of the Philippines. From the current projection of 3.3 million tourist arrivals in 2010, our aim is to eventually attract 6 million tourists. In the process, we expect to create 3 million jobs in the next six years.

Benigno Aquino III

islands jobs years

I remove a lot of the pressure from myself by saying I'm not competing with my parents. They are the persons who taught me my ideology. They actively practiced what they preached. They're the exemplars and the role models. So how does one compete with a mentor?

Benigno Aquino III

mentor role-models parent

I'm not concentrated or concerned with any other factors rather than just being able to do the best job that I can.

Benigno Aquino III

best-job able jobs

The Philippines has vast minerals that are still untapped. It has one of the world's largest deposits of gold, nickel, copper and chromite. Through responsible mining, we intend to generate more revenues from the extraction of these resources.

Benigno Aquino III

uranium-mining gold world

Peace in the Middle East is of prime importance to the Philippines, due to the presence of around 2 million of our countrymen working in that region.

Benigno Aquino III

philippines prime middle-east

Pictorial is something that I am not used to. You have to pose, smile, bend your arm, straighten up, look to the left.

Benigno Aquino III

i-am look you smile

Strategic partnership is based on a shared set of values.

Benigno Aquino III

set partnership values strategic

The most powerful person can wind up in jail.

Benigno Aquino III

person jail powerful wind

Anytime emotions are involved, you cannot come up with an impartial and objective assessment of any given problem.

Benigno Aquino III

cannot emotions you problem

The Philippines-U.S. Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement takes our security cooperation to a higher level of engagement, reaffirms our country's commitment to mutual defense and security, and promotes regional peace and stability.

Benigno Aquino III

security peace country commitment

Both President Obama and I shared the conviction that territorial and maritime disputes in the Asia Pacific region should be settled peacefully based on international law. We affirm that arbitration is an open, friendly and peaceful approach to seeking a just and durable solution.

Benigno Aquino III

solution just peaceful law

President Obama and I recognize the importance of strong economic engagement for the continued growth of both the Philippines and the United States.

Benigno Aquino III

economic growth strong president

My administration's compact with the Filipino people will demand no less than the attainment of lasting peace and equitable prosperity. We will employ all the tools at our disposal to achieve this.

Benigno Aquino III

will achieve peace people

I try to put myself in others' shoes: How does any country give up any sovereignty and expect to survive as a government? I don't think that any Philippine president, or any leader for that matter, can afford to give up any portion of territorial sovereignty. That would be political suicide.

Benigno Aquino III

myself shoes government suicide