I would take the floor on Monday to answer criticisms against my proposal. I am going to push for it whether or not I get the urgent certification of the President.

The President should not overlook the ballooning population as it has a direct effect on the plans and delivery of basic services.

The Church should give freedom to Catholics. They should not be myopic to the serious problem of overpopulation. It does not infringe on the Constitution.

Albay Representative Edcel Lagman*
told INQ7.net in a telephone interview

We might not even need to legislate a law on population control. Population management in every Filipino family should not be a free choice but an informed choice.

pro-opposition Congressman Gilbert Remulla*

Our relationship with the United States is moving on. This is the bilateral support for our initiatives in Mindanao for the displaced people. You see, this links to what's happening to our policy.

Muslim women play an important role in the future of Mindanao. It has always been my interest to promote and increase national and international awareness of issues and concerns confronting Muslim women.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Delia Albert*

I admire Gracia Burnham's courage and faith and her determination to bring terrorists to justice.

Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo*

She did not observe collusion between the Abu Sayyaf Group and the military.

Justice Secretary Merceditas Gutierrez*

True, the Sona is a constitutional requirement, but do we really need it? Is the two-hour or more visit of the president to Congress worth all the trouble of pulling out thousands of uniformed personnel from their regular assignments to secure the Batasan premises, disrupting office and school activities, and creating a situation that could give rise to bloodied heads and broken bones?

Does the country get something beneficial in return for footing the high cost of hosting this once-a-year exercise that is long on form but short on substance? Personal lobbying and horse trading, not speeches, determine the legislative action that the executive can get from the lawmakers. To the ordinary Filipino for whom life is a daily struggle for survival, the Sona is meaningless; more so if it is delivered in a language they cannot understand.

What adds to their frustration and disgust is the sight of men and women who attend this glorified fiesta in resplendent clothes and expensive accessories. The masa can only look with envy at their representatives who have a license to dip their fingers into the public treasury to indulge their vanities.

When the Constitution comes up for review in the future, the removal of the provision on the Sona should be seriously considered.

by Raul Palabrica*
Editorial, Inquirer News Service

The right wing is not where America is at.

Most Americans, in their heart, are liberal and progressive. It's just a small minority of people who hate. They hate. They exist in the politics of hate.

They're not patriots.

They're hate-triots, and they believe in the politics of hate-triotism. Hate-triotism is where they stand, and patriotism is where real Americans stand.

It's all over but the voting.

They're not going to go without a fight.

and believe me, they are better fighters than we are.

I mean, they are up at six in the morning trying to figure out which minority group they're going to screw today.

The hate, they eat for breakfast. They are going to fight and they are going to smear, and they are going to lie, and they are going to hate.

by Michael Moore *
Producer, director, author

Carried a home movie camera to record his exploits for later viewing.

Kerry would revisit ambush locations for reenacting combat scenes where he would portray the hero, catching it all on film.

Kerry would take movies of himself walking around in combat gear, sometimes dressed as an infantryman walking resolutely through the terrain. He even filmed mock interviews of himself narrating his exploits. A joke circulated among Swiftees was that Kerry left Vietnam early not because he received three Purple Hearts, but because he had recorded enough film of himself to take home for his planned political campaigns.

by John O'Neill *
Kerry’s Relief as a swift-boat commander

On February 28, 1969, now in charge of PCF 94, Kerry came under fire from an enemy location on the shore. The crew's gunner returned fire, hitting and wounding the lone gunman. Kerry directed the boat to charge the enemy position. Beaching his boat, Kerry jumped off, chased the wounded insurgent behind a thatched hutch, and killed him. Kerry and his crew returned within days, armed with a Super 8 video camera he had purchased at the post exchange at Cam Ranh Bay, and reenacted the skirmish on film.

by Lt. Col. Robert "Buzz" Patterson *
Author

I cannot apologize for being a protector of my people.

Sacrificing Angelo de la Cruz would have been a pointless provocation. It would have put the lives of 1.5 million Filipinos in the Mideast at risk by making them a part of the war.

Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo*
on her SONA

The real state of the nation is one of extreme poverty, escalating political repression, more taxes, more economic burden and no immediate relief for the people.

spokesman Renato Reyes*
leftist group Bayan told The Associated Press

We appeal for sobriety... Let's have a peaceful SONA. We're here to protect everybody. We guarantee freedom of assembly. But as law enforcers, we can't allow abuses.

Director Ricardo de Leon*
National Capital Region Police Office

The elaboration of [Ms Arroyo's] 10-point program during her SONA would only be a rehash of her old and tired promises of the last three years.

secretary general Leody de Guzman*
Buklurang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas

Isn't this a bit sneaky? Why? Because the President never mentioned her plan to impose a new round of taxes during her campaign. On the contrary, she deliberately avoided them. We are hearing them for the first time.

The President cannot claim that her election is an endorsement of her tax proposals.

Now she sings a different tune: times are bad so we have to bite the bullet.

Senator Joker Arroyo*

We are a bit wary about the new taxes that she may announce in her Sona. Congress needs to pass at least three of eight priority tax bills in the next six months to help raise about P60 billion in additional revenues.

Jovis Vistan*
AB Capital Securities