Thank you very, very much for your hospitality.
If I become
president of the Philippines, I shall return to this very place
and try to duplicate this environment. I will hear mass for the
students, and I will give you free lunch.
I just want to ask you a few pick-up lines.
Are you Google? Because everything I’ve been looking for,
I’ve found in you.
If I would give you a grade from 1 to 10, and 10 is the perfect
score, you’ll only get 9 since I'm the one who will complete
you.
Let’s play anything except for hide and seek because
someone like you is hard to find.
It’s fine with me, if you’re dizzy as long your world will circle
around me.
You've asked me, with your generosity and spirit to come
join you and discuss politics in the future. It's not so difficult
if you're a student of Our Lady of Fatima University to find out
what the three essential characteristics of a true leader of
the people who might possibly come from this university are.
Number one(PAUSE), the person who should be the next
president should be characterized by academic excellence.
The most intelligent in the class is a must(PAUSE), not the
most notorious one whom when I see in television would say
anything as if he’s the most knowledgeable one. Our
leader(PAUSE) should be the best, not just someone else
who is very wealthy.
Now, may I ask you(PAUSE)? If a presidential candidate
campaigns and has spent huge amount of money for
advertisements in television, whether millions or billions,
where did they get those huge amount of money? They steal
money, then, once they have been elected, they will steal
again year after year (PAUSE)after year!
Then, the first characteristic we’re looking for is academic
excellence; the second is professional excellence. After you
graduate, you become a doctor, a nurse, or a lawyer, or an
engineer, or an architect, whatever the profession that you
might choose, you should want always to enjoy a reputation
for good, honest work from your colleagues.
In other words, you should be the best wherever you have
studied and whatever course you’ve finished. That is called
professional excellence. Finally, I hope in addition to
academic excellence and professional excellence, we shall
see from you moral excellence.
There must be academic excellence, professional excellence,
and moral excellence. We should be able to live our lives in
such a moral way that we can always face our Creator and
tell Him, "I did my best for your greater glory and the salvation
of my soul." That is the goal that every student in this
university should have.
We don't hope to become each one a leader. Let’s not aim to
become the wealthiest in our barangay, or in our society, not
to have several houses, cars, or mistresses. Do you know
who pretends to be kind, but we know in the Senate that
those who haven’t gone home yet are already being called by
their mistresses over their cellphones. Their shamelessness
embarrassed our nation!
If this is all we have reached after so many years of
American-oriented education, it is a shame. It is a shame we
have gone to school for so long, and we have not yet even
discussed the basic principles of what makes a good citizen.
In any country, there will always be riches in natural
resources and people resources. However, in any country,
there will always be stories of horrendous poverty. There
should not be some who are very rich, there should not be
others who are very poor, everyone must be equal, and
there should not be rich people disregarding the poor ones
nor those who think that once they’re in the position, they are
free to steal the government’s money.
It is time for the Filipino people to arise! Rise up and fight
for our country. You ask me how to change this country?
I've already told you what the ingredients are, but most of all,
the foremost requirement to change our society is to change
ourselves.
People pray, "God, change the world. It's such a bad, bad
world!" But I say no, you can improve on that prayer. Instead
you say, "God, change this world and begin with me."
What we can conclude for today's gathering is that everything
is possible for as long as our heart is pure, and we demand
for the Filipino people only the best that we can give. We
demand courage, we demand the freedom to speak and to
write. We demand a country worthy of every Filipino.
Therefore, we say to the poet who recited this poem before,
we say this back to him; the poet said:
It matters not how strait the gate, how charged with
punishments the scroll, I am the master of my fate, I am the
captain of my soul
Ladies and gentlemen of Our Lady of Fatima University,
come, be the masters of your fate and the captains of your
soul. Thank you.
