31 Memorable Gloria Macapagal Arroyo Quotes

I have always wanted to write an article about the then sitting president: Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. But procrastination always got in the way until today.

At the height of her career, she seemed infallible and indestructible. Yes, there was a time in history when this iron lady's demise seemed unthinkable.

I remember looking forward to her SONA (State of the Nation Address) speeches every year and what better way to reminisce this president's golden age in politics than by remembering some cunning and memorable lines from those speeches.

This is a tribute to the Fallen President.

Gloria Macapagal Arroyo Quote 1- "I did not become President to be popular. To work, to lead, to protect and preserve our country, our people, that is why I became President."

Gloria Macapagal Arroyo Quote 2- "To those who want to be President, this advice: If you want something done, do it hard, do it well. Don’t pussyfoot. Just do it. Don’t say bad words in public."

Gloria Macapagal Arroyo Quote 3- "Governance, however, is not about looking back and getting even. It is about looking forward and giving more—to the people who gave us the greatest, hardest gift of all: the care of a country."

Gloria Macapagal Arroyo Quote 4- "I am accused of misgovernance. Many of those who accuse me of it left me the problem of their misgovernance to solve. And we did it…."

Gloria Macapagal Arroyo Quote 5- "I know what to do, as I have shown, I will defend democracy with arms when it is threatened by violence; with firmness when it is weakened by division; with law and order where it is subverted by anarchy; and always, I will try to sustain it by wise policies of economic progress, so that a democracy means not just an empty liberty but a full life for all…."

Gloria Macapagal Arroyo Quote 6- "I am falsely accused, without proof, of using my office for personal profit. Many of those who accuse me of it have lifestyles and spending habits that make them walking proofs of that crime….:

Gloria Macapagal Arroyo Quote 7- "But I never declared martial law, though they are running scared as if I did. In truth, what they are really afraid of is their weakness in the face of this self-imagined threat…. I say to them: do not tell us what we all know, that democracy can be threatened. Tell us what you will do when it is attacked…."

Gloria Macapagal Arroyo Quote 8- "Everything right can be undone by even a single wrong. Every step forward must be taken in the teeth of political pressures and economic constraints that could push you two steps back-if-you flinch and falter.. I have not flinched, I have not faltered. Hindi ako umaatras sa hamon…."

Gloria Macapagal Arroyo Quote 9- "In the face of attempted coups, I issued emergency proclamations just in case. But I was able to resolve these military crises with the ordinary powers of my office. My critics call it dictatorship. I call it determination…. We know it as strong government…."

Gloria Macapagal Arroyo Quote 10- "At the end of this speech I shall step down from this stage…but not from the Presidency. My term does not end until next year. Until then, I will fight for the ordinary Filipino. The nation comes first. There is much to do as head of state—to the very last day…."

Gloria Macapagal Arroyo Quote  11- "As your President, I care too much about this nation to let anyone stand in the way of our people’s wellbeing. Hindi ko papayagang humadlang ang sinuman sa pag-unlad at pagsagana ng taong bayan. I will let no one – and no one’s political plans – threaten our nation’s survival."

Gloria Macapagal Arroyo Quote 12- "We are three branches but one government. We have our disagreements; we each have hopes, and ambitions that drive and divide us, be they personal, ethnic, religious and cultural. But we are one nation with one fate."

Gloria Macapagal Arroyo Quote 13- "Hindi ako sagabal sa ambisyon ninuman. But make no mistake. I will not stand idly when anyone gets in the way of the national interest and tries to block the national vision. From where I sit, I can tell you, a President is always as strong as she wants to be."

Gloria Macapagal Arroyo Quote 14- "Sa ating mga kababayan, a journey of a thousand miles does not begin with a single step. It starts before the first step, with gathering the means to complete it successfully. Those means are now at hand."

Gloria Macapagal Arroyo Quote 15- "We are a great people. We have honest students and honest cops. We have scaled the heights of Mount Everest, dominated the Southeast Asian games, we have won international beauty titles, and of course punched our way to triumph in the boxing world. Our people compete and win every day in every imaginable job throughout the world. Individually, we've taken the world on and won; together, we must take on the challenge of creating a new, peaceful, humane and competitive nation and prevail."

Gloria Macapagal Arroyo Quote 16- "For those who want to pick up old fights, we're game but what a waste of time. Why not join hands instead? Join hands in the biggest challenge of all, where we all win or we all lose: the battle for the survival and progress of our one and only country."

Gloria Macapagal Arroyo Quote 17- "After three years, eleven months, and six days, I shall relinquish the Presidency, with much if not all that I have outlined completed. I do not want it said then that, in the end, I defeated my enemies. I would rather have it said that all of us, you and I, friends and foes today, achieved together a country progressive, prosperous and united."

Gloria Macapagal Arroyo Quote 18- "Ours is a country divided; the story of our nation is a tale of two Philippines; Almost, as it were, two countries under the same name."

Gloria Macapagal Arroyo Quote 19- "The people want government that works for them at every level. They want good government that begins at their doorstep in the barangay, and does not end before the closed door of a bureaucrat in Metro Manila."

Gloria Macapagal Arroyo Quote 20- "Perhaps it's time to take the power from the center to the countryside that feeds it."

Gloria Macapagal Arroyo Quote 21- "Tough decisions will have to be made. It's going to be tough love from here on. It must be tougher on those who've had it easy than on those who've had it tough already."

Gloria Macapagal Arroyo Quote 22- "The worst offender yet the hardest to pin down is corporate corruption. Businessmen must adopt an attitude of tax acceptance not tax avoidance. They must stop trying to outrun the tax collector. They must recognize that only a fiscally stronger government can create a more congenial business environment: greater security, better infrastructure, cheaper credit, more business."

Gloria Macapagal Arroyo Quote 23- "Our nation is divided by social and economic fault lines. The tectonic plates may shift with unthinkable consequences."

Gloria Macapagal Arroyo Quote 24- "I have shown that government does care even for a single Filipino life. Now we must show that we care for the rest of the Filipino people, especially the weakest among us."

Gloria Macapagal Arroyo Quote 25- "Bureaucratic corruption with its numerous leakages is bad. So is government incompetence. Unlike in the private sector, where the free market punishes mistakes, government incompetence punishes only the public."

Gloria Macapagal Arroyo Quote 26- "No one has a monopoly on right ideas. I am reaching out to all segments of society and all parties, be they with me or against me, to join me in those things that should be everyone's concern because they rise above politics to the level of patriotism."

Gloria Macapagal Arroyo Quote 27- "I do not want a honeymoon period after which we can forget the country and go after each other again. I want a marriage not of convenience but of conviction, across the spectrum of parties and groups, encompassing the range of intelligent political, religious and economic views. I want a marriage for at least the life of this congress. I do not ask for unprincipled support because it will not hold."

Gloria Macapagal Arroyo Quote 28- "Every year, every president tells congress that it is the last chance for meaningful change.This time I will say it again, adding only that past presidents were right. And that each time change doesn't happen, makes change harder and less likely to happen the next time around. The time for change is well past due. This time, let me say, let's just do it!"

Gloria Macapagal Arroyo Quote 29- "But a strong republic does not happen overnight; not even in two or three years. Nor does it happen once and for all. Nor does it happen once and for all."

Gloria Macapagal Arroyo Quote 30- "In this setting, the first virtue of a modern leader is a constant sense of correct perspective, the capacity to retain her original focus, and plod on regardless. She must stick to priorities that were carefully chosen, rather than dump them at every first issue that is recklessly raised."

Gloria Macapagal Arroyo Quote 31- "I do not subscribe to trickle down economics and social policy. Those who have less in life should not have to scramble for crumbs at the feet of those with too much on the table."