Philippines: Quote and Unquote

• There is wisdom in a modified old adage that says "waste is what inordinate haste makes."
• The wounds of War have not been totally healed by six years of imposed autonomy (ARMM).
• The country should not harbor any illusions about its current economic performance because poverty is still pervasive.
• Strategists both from opposition and the administration have been trying to outgun each other.
• In Philippine Politics, Backstabbing, name calling and skirmishes (like kids) are commonplace.
• Tactical compromises may be necessary to achieve short- term victories.
• There is a need to balance the concept of National sovereignty with the requirements of national security.
• Filipinos are becoming less upbeat about the economy.
• The War in Mindanao is deeply rooted in history.
• A weak state can not strategically respond to challenge.
• A Presidency that will remain inward looking will have difficulty managing security issues.
• A war environment is not conducive to the crafting of creative solutions.
• It will never suffice to assess the President as just a bundle of traits, inherited or learned.
• A rise of leader is a society's response to the needs of time
• In any large and complex society, Democracy can only be representative and not direct.
• Political Party-Hopping is another endemic practice to Philippine Politics.
• Legislation that fashioned in the same chambers that have housed generations of politicians can not- with the symbolic bang of the gavel- eradicate the ills of the electoral system.