I was invited by President Bush to come to the United States on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the mutual defense treaty.
I ask the educational system, the parents, the church, and pillars of the community to help shape a new culture of honesty, patriotism, respect, discipline and service for young Filipinos.
We have to be bold in our national ambitions. First, we must win the fight against poverty within the next decade. Second, we must improve moral standards in government and society to provide a strong foundation for good governance. Third, we must change the character of our politics to promote fertile ground for reforms.
College education is the great Filipino dream. But in a world of rapid technological change, getting a job or keeping it depends as much on how well one reasons as how well one uses his hands.
We must weed out corruption and build a strong system of justice that the people can trust.
The power of one, if fearless and focused, is formidable, but the power of many working together is better.
My responsibility as president is to take care to solve the problems we are facing now and to provide a vision and direction for how our nation should advance in the future.