Remarks of Welcome to President Quirino of the Philippines at Washington National Airport

Mr. President:

It is a great pleasure to welcome you to the United States as a guest of the people of this country. I recall that, as Vice President, you were our guest in May 1947, and that the late Manuel Roxas visited the United States as President-elect in May 1946. The present occasion is significant, for it is the first time a President of the Philippine Republic has visited the United States. For that reason, we wish to make our welcome doubly warm to the representative of our young sister nation.

There is, happily, a long history of friendship between the Philippines and the United States. In the past 50 years, our two peoples have together written a memorable chapter in world history. It is a record of peaceful pursuits of our own choosing, and of two great world wars, not of our choosing, in which we fought side by side and shared defeats and victory.

In the words of the late Franklin Roosevelt:

"The United States and the Philippines have learned the principles of honest cooperation, of mutual respect, in peace and in war. For those principles we have fought--and by those principles we shall live."

In these recent troubled years, the people of the United States and of the Philippines have been steadfast in their adherence to the principles upon which their countries were founded and upon which world peace must be built. Both nations are dedicated to curing justice and liberty and to promoting the general welfare of their own citizens. As members of the United Nations, they are dedicated to securing the same blessings for all peoples everywhere.

There is a new struggle in the world today, a struggle of ideas, a struggle that ignores national boundaries and even national loyalties. Doubts are being cast upon the validity and the sincerity of the beliefs by which we live. Again our two peoples will be found on the same side in the struggle, which they must accept as a challenge rather than as a threat. With pride in our common traditions, strength in our beliefs and faith in our future, we dedicate ourselves anew to the cause of all free men.

I hope, Mr. President, that you will enjoy your visit among us, and that you will take back to the Filipino people the warm regards of the people of the United States.