“I was put into office by the people who believed in my idea that corruption is the root of poverty; that an end to corruption would mean an end to poverty.”

Although I was born to famous parents, I know and feel the problems of ordinary citizens.

I had a simple goal in life: to be true to my parents and our country as an honorable son, a caring brother, and a good citizen.

Peace in the Middle East is of prime importance to the Philippines, due to the presence of around 2 million of our countrymen working in that region.

The Philippines has vast minerals that are still untapped. It has one of the world’s largest deposits of gold, nickel, copper and chromite. Through responsible mining, we intend to generate more revenues from the extraction of these resources.

Tourism is a crucial industry that could employ millions of Filipinos, skilled and unskilled alike, cross those 7,107 islands of the Philippines.

I remove a lot of the pressure from myself by saying I’m not competing with my parents. They are the persons who taught me my ideology. They actively practiced what they preached. They’re the exemplars and the role models. So how does one compete with a mentor?

My father offered his life so our democracy could live. My mother devoted her life to nurturing that democracy.

I mean being a writer is like being a psychoanalyst, but you don’t get any patients.

I just can’t sit still and meditate; that doesn’t kind of work for me. I don’t even know exactly what it means.

My secret for success? I don’t know what the hell success means.

The [Bob] Dylan sessions were very disorganized, to say the least. I mean, the “Like A Rolling Stone” session I was invited by the producer to watch.

The first generation from the ’50s that were in 1650 [Broadway] were pretty much all crooks,

It’s hard for a liberal to go on between Sean Hannity and Rush Limbaugh, because it’s like doing country music after hip-hop. I mean, just, the audience doesn’t go from one to the other.

Well my wife and I just had a baby ourselves and it makes it harder to be on the road.

But adult love means you’re not in denial, and you want the loved one to be the best they can be.