Imelda Marcos Quotes

I did not have three thousand pairs of shoes, I had one thousand and sixty.

People say I'm extravagant because I want to be surrounded by beauty. But tell me, who wants to be surrounded by garbage?

Filipinos want beauty. I have to look beautiful so that the poor Filipinos will have a star to look at from their slums.

They went into my closets looking for skeletons, but thank God all they found were shoes, beautiful shoes.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Doesn't the fight for survival also justify swindle and theft? In self defence, anything goes.

I have never been a material girl. My father always told me never to love anything that cannot love you back.

I am beyond logic and rationality.

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.

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.

Win or lose, we go shopping after the election.

I do not have 3,000 pairs of shoes, I have 1,060.

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.

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!

God is love. I have loved. Therefore, I will go to heaven.

I hate ugliness. You know I'm allergic to ugliness.

It is terribly important to do certain things, such as wear overembroidered dresses. After all, the mass follows class. Class never follows mass.

I always say you can never be extravagant with beauty. Beauty is God made real. Beauty is life.

In the material world, where everything is valued, when you commit yourself to God, beauty and love, it can be mistaken for extravagance.

Never dress down for the poor. They won't respect you for it. They want their First Lady to look like a million dollars.

When they see me holding fish, they can see that I am comfortable with kings as well as with paupers.

My husband does not like me to give interviews because I say too much. No talk, no trouble.

They've listed my name in the dictionary - 'Imeldific' is used to mean ostentatious extravagance... But the truth will prevail.

I hardly can sleep. I feel that my target now is really to save Mother Earth for humanity. And it's doable.

I am First Lady by accident. I was not elected by the people but here I am.

The Philippines is where Asia wears a smile. Beautiful products can only be made by happy people.

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.

I get so tired listening to one million dollars here, one million dollars there, it's so petty.

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.

The only rich person is a person who is rich in spirit. I have no money deposit. I have only beauty deposit.

My dreams have become puny with the reality my life has become.

I was no Marie Antoinette. I was not born to nobility, but I had a human right to nobility.

Life is not a matter of place, things or comfort; rather, it concerns the basic human rights of family, country, justice and human dignity.

I get my fingers in all our pies. Before you know it, your little fingers including all your toes are in all the pies.

Beauty is not extravagance; beauty is life.

President Marcos was investing in precious metals long before he entered politics.

Filipinos don't wallow in what is miserable and ugly. They recycle the bad into things of beauty.

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.

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.

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.

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.

I love everybody. One of the great things about me is that I have a very positive attitude.

I have a different way of thinking. I think synergistically. I'm not linear in thinking, I'm not very logical.

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.

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.

If you know how much you've got, you probably haven't got much.