“I write entirely in English; Tagalog chauvinists chide me for this. I ...” — F. Sionil Jose Quote

“I write entirely in English; Tagalog chauvinists chide me for this. I feel no guilt in doing so. But I am sad that I cannot write in my native Ilokano. History demanded this; if it isn't English I am using now, I would most probably be writing in Spanish like Rizal, or even German or Japanese.”

“Tourists as well as natives want to see cultural achievements - whether it's the Banaue Terraces, the old churches or museums.”

“The past could liberate or imprison - it creates a nation's character, provides the nourishment or the poison a people imbibe in their very marrow.”

“For the first two weeks after he passed, we were done as a band. We were just done. And because of the fans and Jimmy's parents and relatives and stuff like that, they just demanded that we continue on and spread the legacy that is, you know, the crazy James 'The Rev' Sullivan.”

“Writing a play, you start with less, so more is demanded of you. It's as if you have to not only write a symphony, but invent the instruments as well.”

“The Capone gang was actually a public utility; it supplied what the people wanted and demanded.”