Quotes from Benigno Aquino III

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

The most powerful person can wind up in jail.

Let me make it clear: The Disbursement Allocation Program is not pork barrel. Of the DAP releases in 2011 and 2012, only nine percent was disbursed for projects suggested by legislators. The DAP is not theft. Theft is illegal.

I have never stolen. I am not a thief.

I will not only not steal, but I will run after thieves.

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.

If we say yes to something we believe is wrong now, what guarantee is there that the wrong will not be further exacerbated down the line?

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

I've talked to so many people, so many institutions, about how China works.

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.

Part of my mandate is to curb corruption and streamline a cumbersome, graft-ridden bureaucracy, to put resources where they will provide the clearest results, and to untangle a complicated regulatory environment.

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.

My obsession is to provide food and jobs to people in Tarlac. The province is primarily an agricultural province; food security tops the priority.

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?

China itself has said repeatedly that they will and have been conforming to international law.

I can try to convince somebody else of my beliefs, but I should not be imposing.

Perhaps the strongest signal of reengagement with Southeast Asia was the U.S.'s accession to the Southeast Asian Treaty of Amity and Cooperation.

When my father returned home on the twenty-first of August 1983, he had a speech prepared. Filipinos never got to hear it, because he was murdered right on the tarmac.

When the Walkman was the craze in my generation, I was one of the first to have it.

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.

You may have the might, but that does not necessarily make you right.

As far as same-sex marriage, I really would want to think about that a lot more given the fact that my focus would be always on the child. The innocent should not be given more even burdens than what is absolutely necessary.

I am not concerned about getting reelected. I can make the unpopular but necessary decision. Your focus from day one is on your legacy rather than political considerations.

I've been called 'hardheaded,' 'obstinate,' 'unreasonable,' etc.