Leadership Quote by Gloria Macapagal Arroyo

Progress, but not victory: the phrase is engineered to project competence without inviting complacency. Arroyo’s line balances on that narrow political beam where you have to reassure a public that the state is in control while also justifying continued security measures, spending, and diplomatic alignment. “Much progress” offers a headline-friendly success story; “still much work to do” keeps the emergency alive enough to sustain policy momentum.

The real work of the quote happens in its repetition and its careful vagueness. “Work together” and “together” are less redundancy than insistence: a nudge aimed outward at allies and inward at domestic institutions that may resist coordination. It signals that counterterrorism is not merely a policing issue but a legitimacy project, one where shared intelligence, joint operations, and harmonized laws are framed as common sense rather than controversial expansions of state power.

Context matters. As a sitting president in the post-9/11 era, Arroyo is speaking into a global script where terrorism becomes a diplomatic currency. By emphasizing multilateral cooperation, she positions the Philippines as a responsible partner and reinforces ties with powerful states whose assistance (military aid, training, intelligence) carries both benefits and political costs. The subtext is also preventative: if another attack occurs, responsibility is diffused across an international “we,” not pinned solely on her administration.

It’s a classic leader’s formulation: sober, collective, forward-facing. The ambiguity is the point; it invites agreement while leaving room for hard choices to be made off-mic.