Continuous persecution of widows and orphans is a crime. Even the Bible says there is a specific place in hell for those who oppress widows.
The Philippines is where Asia wears a smile. Beautiful products can only be made by happy people.
Filipinos want beauty. I have to look beautiful so that the poor Filipinos will have a star to look at from their slums.
I'm like Robin Hood. I rob the rich to make these projects come alive... not really rob. It's done with a smile.
President Marcos was investing in precious metals long before he entered politics.
I have never been a material girl. My father always told me never to love anything that cannot love you back.
Why should people be afraid that we use a few small pellets of uranium at the nuclear power plant in Bataan? Don't they know that we're surrounded by uranium? We have the world's fourth largest deposits of uranium. Yes, we're all radioactive -- must be the reason why we have so many faith healers!
I get so tired listening to one million dollars here, one million dollars there, it's so petty.
I was no Marie Antoinette. I was not born to nobility, but I had a human right to nobility.
I did not have three thousand pairs of shoes, I had one thousand and sixty.
I hate ugliness. You know I'm allergic to ugliness.
The problems with First Ladies is that you have to set the standard. My role is to be both star and slave.
I have no weakness for shoes. I wear very simple shoes which are pump shoes. It is not one of my weaknesses.
The Philippines is in a strategic position. It is both East and West, right and left, rich and poor. We are neither here nor there.
You know, not even your British Queen is called just Elizabeth - she's Elizabeth the Second. There's only one Imelda.
What's wrong with shoes? I collected them because it was like a symbol of thanksgiving and love?
I hardly can sleep. I feel that my target now is really to save Mother Earth for humanity. And it's doable.
My husband does not like me to give interviews because I say too much. No talk, no trouble.
I have a different way of thinking. I think synergistically. I'm not linear in thinking, I'm not very logical.
They call me corrupt, frivolous. I am not at all privileged. Maybe the only privileged thing is my face. And corrupt? God! I would not look like this if I am corrupt. Some ugliness would settle down on my system.
People say I'm extravagant because I want to be surrounded by beauty. But tell me, who wants to be surrounded by garbage?
If the shoe fits, buy it.
Perception is real, truth is not. I'm not fighting for money and possessions. I'm fighting for something more precious. I pray that as we enter the cyber age -- the Age of Transparency -- the facts and the truth will out.
Our opponent [Cory Aquino] does not put on any make up. She does not have her fingernails manicured. You know gays. They are for beauty. Filipinos who like beauty, love and God are for Marcos.
They need a role model. They need a star!
My dreams have become puny with the reality my life has become.
I would have to ask the public to choose between a culture of hate or a culture of love. I am sure our poor will pick the latter. With the Marcos assets, we could regain this value of sharing love with one another.
I will come up with a project that will wipe out poverty in the Philippines in two years. I want to remove the people from economic crisis by using the Marcos wealth. Long after I'm gone, people will remember me for building them homes and roads and hospitals and giving them food.
We practically own everything in the Philippines.
I am my little people's star and slave. When I go out into the barrios, I get dressed because I know my little people want to see a star. Other presidents' wives have gone to the barrios wearing house dresses and slippers. That's not what people want to see. People want someone they can love, someone to set an example.
I will not say sorry and be pardoned for doing a godly act.
The Philippines is a terrible name, coming from Spain. Phillip II was the father of the inquisition, who I believe died of syphilis. It is my great regret that we didn't change the name of our country.
More than life, I value vindication. When you are at peace with the truth and you know that you are on the side of the right and God is on your side, you are not afraid of anything, including jail.
I beg Osama to stop warring. He is a Muslim, and Islam means peace. Nobody wins in a war... I wish I were tapped in the problem about Iraq. I knew Saddam enough that I could have talked him into surrendering. But it's too late.
It is not expensive to be beautiful. It takes only a little effort to be presentable and beautiful. But it takes some effort. And unfortunately people think of beauty as luxury, beauty as frivolity, ... or extravagance. Beauty is a discipline, beauty is art, is harmony, in the ideological sense and in the theological sense, beauty is God and love made real. And the ultimate reach in this world is beauty.
It is shallow people who think beauty is frivolous or excessive. If you are bringing beauty and god, you are enriching the country. Rice feeds the body, books feed the mind, beauty feeds the soul. It is one thing I can really be proud of and stand tall in the world.
The only rich person is a person who is rich in spirit. I have no money deposit. I have only beauty deposit.
Life is not a matter of place, things or comfort; rather, it concerns the basic human rights of family, country, justice and human dignity.
The Reagans were dear friends for many years, even when he was governor of California. Nancy appreciated a lot of Philippine-made things.
Beauty is not extravagance; beauty is life.
I am beyond logic and rationality.
If you know how rich you are, you are not rich. But me, I am not aware of the extent of my wealth. That's how rich we are.
My grandchildren are growing up and they could not understand why the Marcoses are still being crucified although we keep on telling them that we did not steal from the Filipino people.
God is love. I have loved. Therefore, I will go to heaven.
It is terribly important to do certain things, such as wear overembroidered dresses. After all, the mass follows class. Class never follows mass.
They went into my closets looking for skeletons, but thank God all they found were shoes, beautiful shoes.
The problem of the world today is the people talk on and on about democracy, freedom, justice. But I don't give a damn about democracy if I am worried about survival.
If you know how much you've got, you probably haven't got much.
I am First Lady by accident. I was not elected by the people but here I am.
Filipinos don't wallow in what is miserable and ugly. They recycle the bad into things of beauty.
Funny, I never shopped. Even my jewelry - not a piece of my jewelry I bought for me.
When they see me holding fish, they can see that I am comfortable with kings as well as with paupers.
I get my fingers in all our pies. Before you know it, your little fingers including all your toes are in all the pies.
Ferdinand was a gold trader. He was a lawyer for mining companies. When he entered politics in l949, he had tons and tons of gold. When Bill Gates was a college dropout, Ferdinand already possessed billions of dollars and tons of gold. It wasn't stolen.
I love everybody. One of the great things about me is that I have a very positive attitude.
In the material world, where everything is valued, when you commit yourself to God, beauty and love, it can be mistaken for extravagance.
It's the rich you can terrorize. The poor have nothing to lose.
Doesn't the fight for survival also justify swindle and theft? In self defence, anything goes.
Win or lose, we go shopping after the election.
The Marcos era was the golden time for the Philippines. We had the lowest crime rate in the world in Manila and real development then. At last, people are starting to understand this.
Never dress down for the poor. They won't respect you for it. They want their First Lady to look like a million dollars.
My dreams were always small and puny. All I ever needed was a little house with a little picket fence by the sea. Little did I know that I would live in Malacanang Palace for 20 years and visit all the major palaces of mankind. And then also meet ordinary citizens and the leaders of superpowers.
I always say you can never be extravagant with beauty. Beauty is God made real. Beauty is life.
I really had no great love for shoes. I was a working First Lady; I was always in canvas shoes. I did nurture the shoes industry of the Philippines, and so every time there was a shoe fair, I would receive a pair of shoes as a token of gratitude.
I do not have 3,000 pairs of shoes, I have 1,060.
They've listed my name in the dictionary - 'Imeldific' is used to mean ostentatious extravagance... But the truth will prevail.
